Mucha Murapa of Matrix Global Media sat down with Jeff “Make Social Media Sell for You” Molander to find out the most common mistakes small business owners and marketers make with social media marketing—how to avoid them and what to do instead.

Listen in as Jeff reveals the Big 3 most common mistakes.

Here’s a look at the #1 mistake small business owners make with social media marketing.

#1 Marketing with social media

WHAT?!

That’s right, using social media to market your company is a sure-fire losing strategy. Instead, focus on solving customers’ problems with it in ways that you can easily connect to what it is you want to sell.

#2 Telling your ‘unique story’

(nobody cares!)

Jeff advises to avoid broadcasting on social media and resist telling customers all about your business, your “unique story.”

As it turns out customers don’t care about your culture, origins, how funny or “human” you are—not enough to earn a lead or sale. They care FIRST about their own problems or goals.

So make everything you do with social media answer questions (provide solutions) in ways that provoke a specific response from customers. This engages customers AND creates business leads—focused conversations that you can connect to your products and services.

#3 Listening with social media

Yes, listening and monitoring what customers are saying/thinking/experiencing about you is important. But what you do with what you hear is where most small businesses fail. It’s a common mistake to listen and then not act—or not know what to listen for.

Jeff says, “If you’re listening customers are always telling you what to blog about, post on Facebook about or what kind of YouTube video they want or need—they’re telling you what to do and where to do it with social media!”

In fact, by listening for fears, ambitions, goals and skills customers need to develop we now know what to be doing with social media—the problems we need to help customers solve or the experiences they’re craving samples of. This is fed back into the “social design” of your blog posts, ebooks, Facebook updates, LinkedIn Group discussions, etc. to create leads and sales—the easy way!

Act now!

Tune in as Jeff gives you tips to act on in this short, pithy podcast above.

“Ask yourself: Are you inviting your customers on a journey to get a problem solved or experience something in a powerful, new way… a journey that creates demand for what it is you’re selling?” says Jeff.

Have you ever found yourself staring into your browser or blog software saying to yourself, “what do I blog about?” Jeff has the cure for this pain too—and a way to eliminate it by turning social media into something that works for you (rather than the other way around!)

Instead, listen to your customers—listen for what it is that has them scared or concerned… or what they are yearning to accomplish… the goals or ambitions they have. THIS is what to blog about. These are the problems to solve and the way to avoid the most common mistakes small business owners make!

Jeff will show you a way to use these insights to your advantage and make social media sell for your small business. Tune in now by pressing play above or downloading!

The post The 3 most common mistakes small businesses make with social media (and what to do instead) appeared first on Make Social Media Sell PODCAST with Jeff Molander.