[This post was updated February 2023]
Social media is as present as it’s ever been. You only have to look over our other recent blog posts to realize that it’s been a hot topic here at TourismTiger. And for good reason! With its already colossal number of users continuously growing, businesses all over the world are taking advantage of the various social media platforms with the attempt to reach the audiences whose eyes are evidently all in the same place: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and the list goes on…
So we have established by now that in order to effectively expose your brand to a huge audience, you cannot skip having your tourism business present on at least one social media platform, but better yet – all of them! That sounds like a lot of work, and you’d be right in thinking so.
A common mistake in business marketing on social media is thinking you can do it all by yourself and keep it simple. Unfortunately, this won’t get you very far. Unless you are an idolized pop star or tv celebrity romanticized the world over, posting a random photo with no context will be of no interest to the average social media scroller. That and several more errors are frequently committed by new businesses trying to market themselves on social media. If you’re a tourism business that is just getting started on social media, take a look at 7 social media marketing mistakes you must avoid:
1. Posting the Same Content on All Social Media Platforms
Each social media platform is unique, so it is important to remember that the content you upload to each platform should also be unique. How many times have you seen a brand posting the same thing on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and all other platforms? You have to realize that many of the same people will follow your brand across platforms, so make sure to show them something different on each one. Using the same post across multiple platforms will appear repetitive and boring to readers.
It’s wise to hire writers from a good paper writing service. They can complete content for each platform, and they will make sure it’s relevant to the target audience. These are trained marketing writers, who will convey the brand’s message through the right tweets, Facebook posts, Instagram captions, Medium posts, and more.
Landscape is a great tool you can use for resizing visuals. Each platform has its own style, so you have to adjust the format and size of your images.
2. Posting Boring Content
Your main goal on social media is to grab people’s attention! Remember that your competitors are seeking the attention of the same audience as you. Showcasing your products isn’t enough. Listing details isn’t enough. The occasional discount code isn’t enough. The key to engaging your viewers is to be original, have unique collaborations and to add a touch of humor. This is also why point number 1 is so important! It may take an expert team to achieve all of this.
Take advantage of influencers and talented content writers to help promote your brand. Heepsy is a useful influencer search tool to find the indicated person to represent your brand, while talented content writers are required for the descriptive aspect of your marketing plan. Best Essays is not only useful for academic purposes, but also great at completing blog posts, presentations, and other types of content that will improve your brand’s social media presence.
3. Staying Low-Key
Social media is not the place to be shy. Especially when you’re trying to promote a brand. Many business owners can’t build a presence for their brands because they don’t want to impose themselves on their followers. That’s a mistake. You shouldn’t be too aggressive or boring, but you should definitely be active with your campaign.
One post per day on each platform is the least you can do when trying to make your brand popular. On top of that, on FB and Instagram you can take advantage of sharing your posts as “Stories”, in order to broaden the possibilities of them being viewed by users who may not have seen the post at the time you uploaded it.
4. Not Digging into the Analytics
Each social media platform gives business pages access to analytical reports. Many business owners ignore them, and that’s a huge pitfall.
Social media analytics tell you how your pages are performing. Yes; you can count the likes and comments on different posts, but you need a real look into the engagement. Plus, analytical tools can inform you about buying trends and conversions. That’s an essential part of a successful marketing campaign.
5. Deleting Comments and Blocking Users
This often happens on Instagram. When a brand or an influencer gets criticized for something, the comments get deleted and the users who expressed an opinion get blocked.
This is not okay. If your brand is getting a burst of criticism, there’s a reason for that. “Blocking negativity” is not how you deal with this situation. You have to respond to the criticism. This doesn’t mean lashing out in the comments and justifying whatever was criticized in an aggressive manner. That would hurt your reputation, and your business would likely lose followers. Being polite even in response to criticism is always the right answer. If it makes sense, you should really make some changes and inform your audience about them.
6. Being Offensive
We’ve seen in the past that some brands don’t shy away from using foul language and even making insulting comments. Ideally, by the time you come around to starting up your first social media account for your tourism business, you’ll know the type of audience you’re looking to attract and can use your professional criteria to determine what kind of language would be appropriate to use.
Remember that you are trying to build a positive reputation, and influence viewers to purchase your products. Being polite and respectful in the language you use will make people trust you and they’ll be more likely to follow your business.
7. Not Investing in a Dedicated Social Media Team
Experts know how to use people’s inclination to check their feeds all the time. That’s why marketing pros publish content, collaborate with influencers, and do their best to bring different brands to our attention all the time.
A common mistake new business owners make when starting on social media is assuming it’s enough to post an occasional photo and a status update. The reality is, that’s not going to be enough to grab viewers’ attention and make your brand flourish on social media. If you’re considering going all out and having all the social media platforms to help promote your tourism business, you’re going to need an entire social media marketing team.
Managing everything from campaign planning, and content writing, to monitoring analytics, and having high quality photo and film shooting and editing is a full-time position. You also can’t skip having customer support representatives to answer questions on social media. For your social media to be a success, you’ll need to assemble a team of experts to cover all the areas mentioned.
Say you decide to take it slow and start with just one social media platform, even though it might be a little less work than managing 2 or more platforms, you should still consider having at least one dedicated person to take care of your social media marketing campaign.
For beginners, Facebook and Instagram are an ideal starting point as they are connected and have similar user interfaces, so by learning how to use one of the two you may find the other one quite intuitive to use as well. Just remember point number 1, you should avoid posting exactly the same content across platforms.
Planning and running a successful social media marketing campaign is a full-time job, and the process involves constant monitoring of analytics. This is not something you’ll want to impose on an employee with existing responsibilities.
Managing your business social media probably sounds exhausting by now, if you haven’t already started, but when it’s done well, your company will reap the benefits. Popularity on social media platforms rarely rises overnight. It requires long-term commitment from a team of specialists in order to get it right.
If you are just getting started setting up social media for your tourism business, the best thing you can do is learn the basics and be sure to keep learning. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter et al are continuously being adapted, so it’s important you stay on top of the changes too, and adapt your pages accordingly.
Finally, learn about the mistakes that beginners tend to make. When you learn how to avoid them and you replace those mistakes with proper strategies, you’ll be on your way to a great marketing journey.
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