10 Social Media Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make by Jharri Agency

10 Social Media Mistakes Made By Entrepreneurs

Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................... 2 Fail to Set a Social Media Goal........................................................................... 4 Never Develop a Social Media Strategy ........................................................... 5 Forget to Establish a Target Market .................................................................. 6 Hashtag Hell ........................................................................................................ 7 Have Incomplete, Inconsistent or Incorrect Profiles ....................................... 8 Focus on Selling Instead of Marketing ............................................................. 9 Use a Personal Page for Business .................................................................... 10 Neglect to Have a Process in Place.................................................................. 11 Fail To Engage With Their Online Community............................................. 12 Neglect to Use Reporting and Analytics ........................................................ 13 Summary............................................................................................................ 14

Introduction Starting a business takes courage and determination. It is NOT an easy feat no matter how intelligent an entrepreneur may be or how stellar the product or service is. In todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world of globalization, advanced technology, and an unstable economy, it has become easier to start a business and more people are moving towards becoming selfemployed, which has increased competition among many startups, speakers, and entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs no longer have the advantage of launching a business and being the only game in town that has a product to sell that is demand. Today, a single click from a consumer may be the only thing that separates one business from the next business. Accessible from any smartphone or mobile device, consumers have the convenience to shop, research and compare goods and services across the world any time of day or night and receive real-time, up to date information. For many businesses the consumerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easy access to cyberspace is a dream come true. But for start-ups and entrepreneurs the worldwide web can easily become entangled in this living nightmare. Starting a business is difficult enough without trying to balance marketing campaigns, promotions, selling, and staying focusing on core competencies as a solopreneur or with the good intentions of a willing spouse or friend. Marketing a new business usually becomes a combination of trial and error. Or it is often the first item dropped to be dropped to the bottom of the priority list.

Whether you are an author, speaker, artist, entrepreneur or start-up, social media marketing is the fastest-growing, low-cost way most effective way to market and promote a new business, product or service. Social media provides the opportunity to 2|P a g e Jharri AgencyÂŠ2016 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

gain access to an audience that are normally out of reach, while providing real-time feedback, and serves as an additional sales pipeline all at a price that can fit any budget. Why is it that some entrepreneurs thrive online while others seems to barely survive? Considering every audience, industry and fan base is different; there is not a silver bullet or magical antidote that will lead to social media success. But, there are a few selfsabotaging mistakes that most entrepreneurs make when it comes to social media marketing. This shouldn’t be a surprise because entrepreneurs are bombarded with social media how-tos often taught by good speakers, not by individuals that have achieved social media success. Or in many cases entrepreneurs avoid social media training all together only to run their social media campaigns the same way they operate their personal accounts, which in itself is a huge no-no and can potentially destroy an entrepreneur’s business before it can even get off the ground. There are 10 major social media mistakes that most entrepreneurs make that have a negative impact the success of their business online. Those mistakes are; Fail to Set a Social Media Goal, Never Develop a Social Media Strategy, Forget to Establish a Target Market, Live in Hashtag Hell, Have Incomplete, Inconsistent or Incorrect Profiles, Focus on Selling Instead of Marketing, Use a Personal Page for Business, Disregard a Call to Action, Fail To Engage With Their Online Community, and Neglect to Use Reporting and Analytics. Do some of those business blunders sound familiar? If so, you can take comfort in knowing you aren’t alone. Many entrepreneurs and start-ups can’t make heads or tails surrounding the creation, implementation and management of a successful social media campaign. But, this guide will help you navigate around the less obvious cyberspace pitfalls and gain an understanding to the impact on your business.

Fail to Set a Social Media Goal There is nothing more gratifying than logging into your social media account(s) and noticing that the number of LIKES, SHARES, REWEETS, FOLLOWS and PINS on your posts has risen. It is exciting to see that people are noticing the content that you have crafted about your product and/or business. The goal you set was to have 100 new page likes by the end of the month. Or, add 2,500 new followers before some significant future date. You have set and achieved your goal, now what? Is the goal to keep increasing likes, retweets and follows? Or, is the objective to grow your business and increase profitability? With the incremental growth in activity, is there an ultimate number that you have in mind before you feel like you have accomplished social media success? The question becomes, did you go into business to simply get more likes and followers on social media? Or did you go into business to deliver a product or service and make money? I know the mindset of an entrepreneur is visibility will equate to opportunity! Often times, that is true, except when it relates to page likes and followers. Just because people LIKE or FOLLOW a business page, does not mean they are potential buyers, or even interested in the product or services that are being offered. When you consider your own social networking habits, how many pages have you liked or followed solely because it belonged to a friend, family member, or simply because it belonged to a fellow entrepreneur and you exchanged a like for a like and never visited the page again? A like or follow alone means nothing to the goal of social media marketing unless they are accompanied with engagement, a purchase, a referral and ultimately brand loyalty. Also, just because a person never clicks the like or share button, does not mean they are not a potential customer either. A successful social media campaign should include a goal that is manageable, measurable and in alignment with the sales objectives of the business. The focus should be profitability through the investment of time and resources. The time and money that entrepreneurs spend using social media should result in business revenue. If not, nothing in being gained and valuable resources are being lost. What is your business goal using social media?

Never Develop a Social Media Strategy There is little to no thought that goes into what most people post on their personal social media profile pages. Everything exists from moments of angry rants, to sharing precious moments of weddings, birthdays, and fun times with friends and family. Scriptures, jokes and recipe videos may also appear as timelines are continuously scrolled throughout the day. The posts by individuals are dictated by what they are doing at the time, their current mood, or whatever may be trending. That type of social interaction is perfectly acceptable after all; they are interacting with people that they know, are comfortable with, and are not looking to sell anything. Many entrepreneurs fall under the fallacy that having a social media presence is a strategy. That is like thinking; just showing up on the football field will guarantee that you will win the game. Whether it’s on a football field or in cyberspace, there has to be a plan, preparation and a strategy in place in order to win the next deal or land the next client. Unlike a football game where you are facing a single opposing team, stepping into cyberspace your business is up against millions of businesses worldwide, not to mention the social noise that exist in the background can easily drown out a post, especially if it’s not eye catching or memorable. Other entrepreneurs believe selling their goods and services is the strategy. And, that is also a huge misconception. Selling is the objective, how to sell becomes the strategy, which includes marketing and promotions, and should be why utilizing social media to promote and/or market a business is called online marketing, social networking, and social media marketing. The word selling does not appear. Proper marketing and promotions will result in a successful sales pipeline without selling. Let’s be clear, repeatedly posting what you have to sell is not a strategy either. In fact that strategy can be considered as spam and will cause people to unfollow your business online. Throwing content out into cyberspace without a plan, preparation, or strategy is like throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks. Although you may get something to stick, think about the time and other resources that were wasted when your efforts fall to the ground or in this case, go unread and unnoticed. What is your social media strategy for your business? 5|P a g e Jharri Agency©2016 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Forget to Establish a Target Market There are more than 7.1 billion people living on earth today. Wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t it be great if all, or at least half of those people were your customers? Reality is no matter how awesome your product or service is everyone is not your customer, even if everyone can use what you are selling. Trying to go after the world and convert them into customers is like trying to boil the ocean; you will definitely fail and waste valuable time and resources. Entrepreneurs begin to use social media with the expectation that cyberspace will open up and shower a wealth of buying customers. Yes, the internet is definitely a conduit to reaching potential customers that a business owner would not normally have unlimited access to. However, blindly casting a net of posts across the social media platforms can yield both ineffective and costly results. Most entrepreneurs have great ideas about products and services which is why they went into business. But, these eager entrepreneurs never explore who not only could, but would purchase their product. When entrepreneurs have a product but do not know who they are talking to about the product, make it extremely difficult to know what to say in a way that is appealing, engaging and will prompt consumers to purchase. If you think about your own buying patterns you will notice that the things you wanted to purchase as a child changed when you became an adult. And, those things that were a priority for you as an employee changed once you became an entrepreneur. The same principles apply to consumers within the World Wide Web. When the target market is not established, entrepreneurs position their business to be a target for failure. Establishing a target market saves time and money for entrepreneurs because it easier to communicate the message of the business when you know who you the audience is. Who is your target audience?

Hashtag Hell The hashtag is a dangerously useful symbol that has made its presence evident in the wonderful world of social media and has been a driving force in effective social media strategies. The strength of a hashtag delivers everything from what’s trending among online communities, to a way to search for a variety of words across the various social media platforms, to a unique identifier of a tribe or online community. In almost every post, comment, video and meme, at least one hashtag can be found. But, many entrepreneurs miss the mark when it comes to effectively using hashtags. One of the biggest mistakes made by entrepreneurs is, they do not know how or when to use hashtags. Hashtags are a great tool used in online marketing. But a hashtag ALONE won’t deliver desirable results. Nor, is it the end all be all when using SEO. There has to be a method to how and when to utilize hashtags as part of any social media campaign. Some entrepreneurs will create social media posts that possess more hashtags than content. A cluster of hashtags won’t drive engagement or lead an online community to a call to action if the hashtags are not strategically used or carry a significant meaning to potential clients. Another hashtag mishap that entrepreneurs make is hijacking hashtags; which means they will add a trending hashtag to their post even though the hashtag has no correlation to their post. The fallacy that some entrepreneurs have is that hijacking a hashtag will draw attention to their page and increase the pool of potential buyers. Reality is, yes hijacking hashtags may cause visitors to glance at your post, but will cause the visitor to quickly abort their mission, which is engagement with a specific product, story or interest. The haphazardly hash tagged post will not spark the interest of the person who reluctantly followed a hashtag because they are focused on specific information not on the misrepresented post.

How do you effectively use hashtags for your business?

Have Incomplete, Inconsistent or Incorrect Profiles The profiles of many entrepreneurs have broken links, a web address or a statement directing visitors to send a direct message or inbox message for details about the product or service that is being sold. Imagine the disappointment when the potential buyer sends you a message only to learn that your business does not offer the product or service that they need? Not to mention the frustration of the entrepreneur that just wasted time speaking to someone that they cannot assist. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s even worse is when a consumer clicks a link or telephone number that leads to nowhere, that gives the impression that the business is not still in operation or experiencing resource challenges. The time of an entrepreneur is extremely valuable. There is not the promise of a paycheck on Friday simply for showing up, regardless of performance; which is why so many entrepreneurs believe that selling is the key to business profitability and growth. That is not completely true! If potential consumers do not know that you have a business, where the business is located, or how to contact your business, then how do you expect the consumer to make a purchase?

Admittedly, it is time consuming and takes a little creativeness to update a business profile to be accurate and engaging using less than 160 word characters in many cases. But, it takes more time to respond to multiple inquiries from people that are not in your target market. Even if a business decides to have a presence on multiple social media platforms, each of those platforms should have complete and current profiles. Reality is a business profile should rarely change, if ever at all so once itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s done, its done. One of the dangers of having an incomplete or incorrect social media profile is it has the potential to contaminate the brand integrity of the business. There may very well be various arms of the business but if one profile refers to a service and the references a product, a consumer can easily think that they may have clicked on the wrong business and move on to the next company that is offering a similar product or service. The danger of incompleteness and inconsistency is it leaves consumers wondering if your business is trustworthy. Are your social media profiles for your business complete and current?

Focus on Selling Instead of Marketing Buy my product. I sell this. My company does that are phrases that appear on timelines, in groups and inboxes. These blanket shout-outs of, I have something to sell and you should buy because I’m selling it, without knowing if the ender user need or want your product, is not enough to motivate consumers to buy. Effective marketing should not be a sales pitch. Of course every entrepreneur launches a new business with the intent of the business being profitable. Revenue is generated though sales which is why so many entrepreneurs concentrate on sales rather than marketing and promotions. One major misconception is that marketing is a costly expense that entrepreneurs, start-ups, and small business owners can’t afford. In actuality, marketing is an investment that entrepreneurs, start-ups and small business owners can’t afford to neglect. For an entrepreneur it can be daunting to see your competitors and the “big guys” hiring boutique marketing agencies with 6-7 figure marketing campaign budgets, celebrity endorsements and a team dedicated to manage their social media campaigns and marketing efforts. The thought is I’m a solopreneur there is no way that I can compete without the resources, time, or finances, so entrepreneurs take every opportunity to sell. Instead of networking they sell. Instead of commenting they sell. Instead of marketing they sell. After endless hours of selling, they never acquire new customers. The average entrepreneur spends tireless amount of hours pushing post after post without seeing an incline of revenue or a return on their investment. This happens because entrepreneurs are peddling products to their friends and family, tagging people in posts, with hopes that the person tagged will share the sales pitch. In theory, that seems to be a great concept. However, pushing a product or service to sell on the wrong platform or to the wrong audience will never help the entrepreneur move their product or service in cyberspace. Without a social media strategy, many entrepreneurs become frustrated by the lack of response from their audience or discouraged by those non-serious, time consuming inquiries that never result in a sale. Why is that, considering social media platforms are full of people that spend a vast amount of time on the internet? Selling starts with a relationship and a relationship begins with being engaged. How do you market instead of selling your product or service online? 9|P a g e Jharri Agency©2016 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Use a Personal Page for Business A personal profile on a single social media platform is where many entrepreneurs began their journey into cyberspace. And, some entrepreneurs find it too difficult and too time consuming to maintain a personal page and a page for their business so many entrepreneurs use their personal social media profiles to promote their business. When entrepreneurs use a personal profile for business purposes, it contaminates the brand because entrepreneurs are leaving it up to consumers to decipher what is the product or service that is being sold, the best way to contact the business, or other factors needed as part of the purchasing cycle. As potential clients peruse these muddled personal timelines they see everything from product promotion to back to school pictures, quotes, shares and selfies which leaves the question of what exactly is the product that is being sold or the name of the business. Not to mention the sidebar and personal conversations that may take place in the comments. The other pitfall of using a personal profile as a business page is the settings. Some social media users have their page settings private or limited that if a person isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a friend they cannot comment, share or message the entrepreneur directly that they are potentially looking to do business with. In some cases personal settings limit what is visible to people who are not friends of the entrepreneurs, which will cause a potential client to move on to the next business because they do not have the time or interest to mine for information. Of course everyone wants a bang for their buck, but if entrepreneurs are tagging their friends and family in their posts, it wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessarily increase the exposure for the business. Chances are the people that they are tagging already know about the business and have already decided if they are going to support the vision of the entrepreneur or not. Are the likes on your personal page resulting in a sale?

Neglect to Have a Process in Place You have the likes, tweets, pins and shares, the response about your product or service from your online community has been overwhelming. Potential buyers are calling, inboxing, commenting, emailing and texting. This is a problem that most start-ups and entrepreneurs wish that they had, dealing with more customers than they can handle. But, it’s detrimental to have potential clients lined up around the corner if the business cannot service them or communicate effectively with them. Some entrepreneurs hire copyeditors, graphic designers, and other freelancers and build an awesome social media campaign, but very few sales are made. Why? Because the entrepreneur did not anticipate the response that was received and failed to put the necessary measures in place and the business could not handle the volume. The bottleneck of backlog will cause consumers to lose interest or feel like they are being ignored and move on to the next business to fulfill their need. The marketing to sales pipeline is a part of the consumer’s buying cycle and if a phase of the process is missing or broken an entrepreneur can potentially lose prospective buyers before contact is even made. One of the best benefits of being your own boss is that you can structure your business however you see fit. You are in control of everything from hours of operation to territories served. But, even entrepreneurs also have the responsibility of putting a process together for the sales cycle which is from the moment the consumer sees or hears about your product to the moment money is collected and the product or service is delivered. It’s not enough to have a product; an administrative process of measures has to be in place to ensure a positive experience for consumers.

What is your social media to sales process flow?

Fail To Engage With Their Online Community

Many entrepreneurs fail to acknowledge their online community simply because the perception is that comments aren’t serious inquiries because the comment isn’t about purchasing. Entrepreneurs don’t see cyberspace as a networking tool but as a salesforce, meaning I pitch, you buy. Everyone has a desire to be acknowledged and generally like to have a sense of belonging. When entrepreneurs possess a sales driven approach on social media, communication switches from a two-way highway to a single one-way lane. It is easy for entrepreneurs to talk at their online community instead of engaging with them. The focus of the entrepreneur becomes one of, if you aren’t ready to buy, book or invest there is nothing we have to discuss, never realizing that responding to a single comment can reduce the repetitive inbox inquiries. Whether you are in cyberspace or face to face, every business has its fair share of tirekickers and people that may seem to lurk around, with thousands of questions and no intent to purchase. That is not a reason to stereotype or ignore a potential buyer, simply because he or she has not made a purchase, yet! Some small business owner’s use too much automation, which is why they aren’t engaged with their online community. These entrepreneurs rely on a tool to post on their behalf and never monitor their profiles How do you actively engage with your online community?

Neglect to Use Reporting and Analytics Unless youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re an accountant or a person that has a passion for graphs and charts, there is nothing appealing about percentages, reports and analytics especially when the mindset is on socializing and selling. Measuring social media matrix becomes just another task on a never ending to-do list for entrepreneurs. Some entrepreneurs bypass analytics because their social media campaigns are not results-driven. A lot of entrepreneurs make the mistake of not reviewing analytics, results or reports of their social media campaigns, in fact the number of likes and retweets are the only numbers that even catch their eye. Or, they glance at the insights excited that they see an incline. The thought is if the likes and follows on the posts rise, then the campaign was a success. Going from 22 likes last week, to 57 likes on the most recent post appears as if the likes have more than doubled, and the social campaign was a success, which may be true. But, there is a greater story to be told beyond the obvious timeline results likes, follows, and retweets. Knowing the return on your investment provides important information about your social media campaign as well. When entrepreneurs neglect to review their social media analytics, they wander around aimlessly in cyberspace trying to find potential clients that are within reach. Analytics and reporting is an opportunity to determine what your audience responds to, how when and why. The information that is produced through reporting and analytics is invaluable to an entrepreneur because it delivers a true depiction of the entrepreneurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s online community.

What reports and analytics do you use to measure your online success?

Summary Are you guilty of one or more of these mistakes? Yes? There is no need to be ashamed or feel like you failed, this just means that it’s time to arm yourself with the tools to maximize your time and develop more engaging and effective online content. Knowing what NOT to do is not enough to launch a successful social media campaign and take your business to the next level; it also takes a little mastery. You don’t have to be a marketing guru to master social media marketing; all it takes is the proper tools and a little know-how. Introducing Social Media Mastery, a self-study eCourse designed with entrepreneurs in mind. You can choose to hex your online brand by flooding social media with campaigns on the wrong platforms that convey puzzling messages. Or. You can choose to positively influence your corner of the internet with campaigns that anoint your brand with a boost in consumer excitement. The difference between sanctifying your social media presence or watching it spiral downward is knowing how to execute a successful social media marketing campaign. Let The Jharri Agency educate you or your team, so you gain a clear understanding about the power of using social media to create business success. Not sure if Social Media Mastery is the right choice for you?  I know when my online community is most active on social media  I know what medium my online community responds to most often  I know who my ideal customer is  I know what matters most to my ideal customer  I know the behaviors of my ideal customer  I know what percentage of my sales are the result of my social media campaign  I know what my ROI is based on my social media efforts  I have a goal for my social media efforts and strategy to achieve it  I use various content mediums to keep my online audience engaged

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Why The Jharri Agency? An effective social media strategy encompasses four basic elements: content, community, consistency and creativity delivered with timeliness and relevance. The Jharri Agency discovers the perfect balance for your business to be positioned for success by determining how audiences perceive your product or service and responds to your brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s message. We stay on top of social trends, cultural influences and technological developments; tracking their effects on consumers and their online behavior. We possess a team of highly motivated professionals, devoted to providing unparalleled social media solutions and delivering creative content. Our strength is generated from our dedication to client satisfaction, employee development and creativity. The Jharri Agency is committed to leading the industry with innovation and ingenuity, while maintaining the brand integrity of our clients. We are dedicated to setting the precedence, through excellence and client relationships. We understand that our clients are unique and we are devoted to exceeding their service expectations. We strive to be efficient and integral as we partner with our clients to produce quality deliverables. The Jharri Agency has executed engaging and effective social media for our clients, as well as training entrepreneurs how to efficiently and economically gain visibility, build trust among consumers and increase business profitability.

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