How the Best Social Media Marketing Plans Fail

Between eager startups raring to get a chunk out of the local market and deeply established family-run business, the world of social media marketing in the Philippines is a fairly novel concept.

Much of the information they learn – be it from local workshops and seminars to reading about online reputation management is new. They freak out (and believe me, they do). That’s where I come in; I hold their hands and tell them it’s absolutely okay to freak out.

From my years of taking client calls and responding to support tickets, I can tell you that most of these brands and businesses fail on their first attempt at promoting their companies via the social media.

One of the most common reasons why even the best social media marketing plans fail is that brands and businesses in the Philippines have a very strong tendency to bite off more than they can chew.

Promoting a brand or business via the social media is easy; it’s convenient and the best part – it’s ridiculously cheap (to the point of obscenity). Given the same budget for a 30-second ad on the local radio station and spending it on marketing via Twitter, a particular company could reach at least a hundred thousand users.

The massive scale, combined with the reach, convenience and the price point drives small business owners to over-enthusiasm (and up to a point, madness). They bite off more than they can chew, set unrealistic targets and ultimately – fail.

Here are a few tips on how to avoid failure in the world of social media marketing:

1.      Avoid shameless self-promotion. It sends future customers screaming to the hills. Also, it’s just sad.

2.      Not updating your social media profiles. Don’t put up a Facebook page for your business just for the sake of having one. You’ll bum everybody out.

3.      Don’t overthink your results. The social media is a living, breathing organism. You can’t turn it on and off like a faucet. The best you can actually do is to condition its behavior.

There are a ton more things I’d like to share but you’ll want to start with How NOT to Build Your Online Presence: Five Social Media Marketing Rookie Mistakes to Avoid.

Has your social media marketing plan succeeded? Let me know or ask your questions in the comments below.

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About the Author: Between planning weddings and chasing pavement, Shandi Tan is a Community Manager for Pulyetos, the premiere resource for online reputation management and social media marketing in the Philippines.