The worst social media analysis advice we’ve ever heard!
There are a million and one people online who declare that they are a “social media consultant” online who will try to give you advice on social media analysis in your region be it Manchester or elsewhere. Much of it is, admittedly, very useful. Other bits are less so.
With so much counter-productive and potentially damaging advice spread around the web about social media analysis, it’s worth highlighting a few of the worst pieces of advice and explaining why their views aren’t worth listening to.
1. “Just copy what other people do”
It’s many amateur’s knee-jerk reaction to any difficulty they come across in business: just copy what the professionals are already doing and it will turn out fine. Unfortunately this simplistic approach doesn’t bode well for social media management.
Every company sells different products and services and has their own particular audience in mind. So, however much engagement another’s posts may be receiving, that doesn’t necessarily mean that analysing their approach and copying it verbatim is going to work for you as your services and target audience interests may not align with theirs.
2. “If something does badly in the analytics, never do it again”
Aside from being a very defeatist approach to business in general, this is also highly counter-productive. In order to discover the social media marketing approach that works best for your company, you have to try out a wide range of techniques.
In many occasions, these techniques will initially fail and poor results will show up in your analytics reports. Yet that doesn’t mean you should ditch each idea altogether: for all you know, you may be on the right track but need to make a few small tweaks.
Ultimately, you’ll only know how effective an approach is once you’ve tried it a number of times. As any good scientist will tell you, you have to repeat an experiment multiple times in order to reliability. The same rule applies to social media analysis across the UK.
3. “You can only reach large numbers by paying for adverts”
This is a rather convenient conclusion for companies to reach and can see them reaching into their marketing budget. It is also completely untrue.
Yes, it is true that sponsoring a Facebook post or a promoted tweet can potentially “reach” many people. Your analytics may show you’ve achieved a significant reach, they may also highlight how few of them engaged with the content. This is because when reaching beyond your fanbase you are could be aiming at people who aren’t necessarily interested in your products and services. People tend to pay less attention to non-organic posts as they see it as another form of advertising.
Alternatively, if a post is well-crafted to suit a particular audience’s interests, then it will likely receive more likes, Retweets, pins and so on that way without the need to pay for any of them.
4 “Go Global with your Social Media from the start”
This one is a doozy! If you are a local independent bricks and mortar company that doesn’t sell anything online it will simply be easier, cheaper and more effective to keep your activity to your local community. Facebook, for example allows you to be specific – so you should be.
If you are based in Manchester in England you should look to partner with a social media consultant in Manchester who can maximise your social media analysis in Manchester. Likewise If you are based in London try to work with a social media consultant that knows London’s traits and nuances to their best effect and in your favour!
If you’d like to filter out the bad advice and only read useful tips on how to build your Facebook following, download our report on How to attract customers with Facebook.
