“Any man can make a mistake, but only a fool persists in his error”
Ooooof, anyone relate to that super hard right now?
If a mistake can be made on social media, odds are I have made it. That’s what you get for a) being human and b) doing something for a really long time. I’m not old. You’re old. Shut up.
Anyway, the benefit of my mistakes is that I can learn from them, and YOU can learn from them. And everyone gets better. Hooray!
Here are three common mistakes I see on client social media.
1. Tiny (But Impactful) Mistakes
The Problem
Let’s get this one out of the way first. It’s not FUN, but it happens. Errors go out on client social. It’s never FUN, but nobody died. That’s the first thing to remember. The second is that it’s a fixable issue.
The Cause
Posting last minute without a solid review process and not planning ahead with several key players assigned a specific role. This happened to me when I was either trying to do too much or had the wrong resources assigned to the review process.
The Solution
Leave yourself time to create, review, and schedule (ideally) different team members doing each task (like proofing, scheduling, reviewing) or (minimally) time between steps to refresh your brain and better be able to find those stupid little errors
2. Lacking Social Media Content
The Problem
In a perfect world, we would get amazing photoshoots and content ideas from our clients consistently. As evidenced by my lack of marriage to Chris Pratt, this isn’t a perfect world. So we often are left scratching our heads, trying to figure out what the heck to post on social media.
The Cause
Budgetary and time constraints often mean the client doesn’t have new content, new pictures, new ideas, or new anything. Adding insult to injury is the fact that many of the technical industries we work with are not conducive to pictures the way makeup lines, luxury boats, and food/beverage clients are.
The Solution
Time for some creative footwork here. First of all, identify a visual style that works for your client with or without photos. You can use sketches, illustrations, or infographics to bridge that gap. Also, I like to go nugget hunting on my clients’ websites to find little pieces of good info that are shareable. Finally, don’t forget the power of quote graphics, testimonials, or even more interesting stock photos.
3. Not Adopting The Right Trends
The Problem
It’s really difficult to tell which trends are right for your clients, especially if they’re a little old-fashioned or stuck in their ways. Also, let’s be real, not every trend is right for every client, ya know?
The Cause
This can be caused by an (understandable) hesitancy to suggest something risky, lack of bandwidth to do MORE, and being too close to a client you’ve worked with for a while to see the potential for a new trend.
The Solution
Time to think outside the box. Look for examples of content you really like and think about how they could apply to your customers. Here’s a fun example. One client was an IT solution provider whose more human content always played well across channels but had difficulty getting those pics consistently. We implemented a user-generated content (UCG) strategy but did it internally and had a photo of the month contest with employees to get pics of them having fun and embodying the core values of the organization. It was wildly successful, and we wound up with 5-10 great pics a month for the cost of a $50 Amazon gift card.
TL;DR
I get it. Posting day in, day out on client social media is HARD. But having a consistent presence is important. And the information we take for granted is super helpful for those who are looking for it. If you’re still thinking it sounds like a lot, I gotchu! Let us help you take this off your plate so you can still have social without any of the heavy lifting.
