[PPMA Pulse] Achieve Social Media Marketing Success: Avoid Five Common Pitfalls

Editor’s note: Cindy Mannes will become the new executive director of the Professional Pest Management Alliance on Aug. 3. (See news article on page 15.) As such, she’s taking over writing this quarterly “PPMA Pulse” column. PCT thanks former PPMA Executive Director Missy Henriksen for her years of contributions to the industry — and to PCT!

Integration of social media into the overall marketing mix is quickly becoming the norm for large and small companies across all industries, including pest control. In fact, recent research from the CMO Survey Report found that companies plan to significantly increase their social media spend over the next five years. But, as all good marketers know, executing those social media tactics isn’t always as easy as it sounds. With this planned increase in social media budget, companies will have more chances to succeed, but also be presented with more challenges.

Regardless of whether your company has an entire social media department, a one-person team or the guidance of?an external agency, the potential for failure and embarrassment exists simply due to the unpredictable nature of social media. For every funny, clever or poignant social media campaign that becomes ingrained in the public consciousness, there are just as many – if not more – that don’t work as well as planned and become examples of social media “don’ts.” As the pest control industry continues to increase its presence in the social media sphere, learning from others’ mistakes is a crucial part of developing and sustaining successful interactions with current and prospective customers.

There are a number of social media?rules that, when disregarded, can result in catastrophe. Whether it’s a failure to respond to customer feedback, a lack of sensitivity when dealing with current events or a simple case of human error, in some cases, the companies that are failing at social media don’t even know that they are in a free fall until it’s too late.

Social media marketing failures go far beyond a few ill-conceived tweets or Facebook posts. Instead, many social media marketing programs fail simply because companies are not using social media effectively to achieve their marketing goals.
 

Top Five Social Media Pitfalls

1. Using the wrong platform: Just because there are a dozen popular social media platforms, it doesn’t mean that every one is right for every pest control company. Large brands may be equipped to dabble in each one and conduct trial and error experiments, but small or mid-sized firms must focus on the platforms that will give them the most visibility. For example, such companies should focus on establishing a Facebook page and implement a number of tactics that will increase their engagement with their target audience, such as promotions, advertising, and regularly posting engaging and informative content.

2. Too much self-promotion: This “don’t” may give marketers pause considering promotion is at the root of social media and marketing, but a recent survey from Buzzstream and Fractl found 45 percent of a brand’s followers would unfollow them as a result of too much self-promotion. There are a variety of reasons customers may choose to interact with their pest control company on social media, but the bottom line is they do so because they already like the company and its services. Constantly telling them how great the company is will only turn them off. Instead, offer content that solidifies the value the company brings to their lives.

3. Lack of social interaction: The term “social media” implies the two-way interaction between users and brands and the creation of a community surrounding a particular brand/ company. By not responding to followers or sharing posts that praise the brand, companies are failing at the basic level to take advantage of the benefits of these platforms. Conversely, using automated responses, especially during a crisis, is a terrible idea as it offers a perception that the company doesn’t care or isn’t interested in providing real, human answers and interactions when its followers demand it. Responding to compliments and complaints immediately and in a professional manner?is the best way to manage interactions and mitigate future problems. When it comes to complaints, responding directly to the customer and taking the conversation to “private” messaging is also advisable as it will remove the conversation from the public sphere.

4. Lack of originality: Posting the exact same content across every single social media platform is an all too common mistake.?Each platform within social media functions differently and offers different features to its users, and posting the same content across the board gives followers the perception that the company lacks imagination and creativity and also may not fully understand how social media works. Pest control companies are better off using Instagram to show photographs of pests and the damage they may cause and using Facebook for direct engagement with customers about pest problems.

5. Not paying attention to detail: Just as typos and grammatical and punctuation errors aren’t acceptable on marketing collateral, the same goes for social media. These mistakes not only signal a lack of care and professionalism at the firm, but also can diminish its credibility in the eyes of the people the company is trying to reach. Ensuring the person in charge of the company’s account is posting from that account and not their personal account and taking an extra minute to double check posts for errors will go a long way in protecting a firm’s reputation and building its customer base.
 

The Bottom Line.

The value of incorporating social media into a marketing program is well documented and when done correctly can produce great results for pest control companies and their brands. In order to achieve social media success, companies must take the time to ensure they are reaching their target customers through channels they use and serving content they want to see while being mindful of making easily avoidable mistakes.