Risks and Issues of Social Media for Businesses

Social media may feel very new still too many old-school businesses, but it’s super simple to take the reigns on. It’s easy to think you should be down with today’s youth to spice up your social but that isn’t the case. It can be easy to get into understanding the risks and issues of social media marketing is essential.

What is social media marketing?

Social media marketing is the use of online social networks in your marketing strategies. SMM promotes your brand or service, engages with customers and clients, and drives traffic to your website. 

The use of a social media platform offers companies opportunities to understand what people are saying about their business or brand. You can monitor mentions of your business by using social listening and additionally respond to queries, questions, or even just praise! 

Businesses can also understand how they are performing by using social media metrics to determine reach. You can measure your reach on social media using engagements like retweets, likes, and mentions on your social media accounts.

Social media offers companies the ability to engage with clients and post engaging content. All whilst keeping a close eye on their competitors and how they’re using social to drive success in their business. 

Using social media has become a necessity for businesses looking to expand their reach online and find a wider audience. 

Risks and issues of social media for businesses

Potential damage to brand reputation and Credibility: 

Each business requires a strategy to handle any social media crisis or problem.

Damage to a brand’s reputation or its credibility can be caused in many ways. For example, poor behavior on social media sites and posting words or content that is harmful or distasteful. Promoting inaccurate products or services can lead people to believe you offer something inaccurate. Additionally, if you’re unable to respond to and handle conversations on social media, your brand can come across as digitally inept 

All of these factors can result in self-inflicted damage to the brand’s reputation. Brand revenue, ethical reputation goodwill, and the trust your customers’ palace in your business can all be affected. 

Your social media output and conversations need to be reflective of the morals and values your brand holds as a whole. 

Vulnerability to online threats : 

Putting your business out there online is leaving your business vulnerable and the door wide open to online security breaches. The smallest mistake can see heavy impacts on the way your brand is consumed. Hacking can affect any business big or small. We have seen this with companies like Burger King so no one is off-limits to hackers.

In 2013 Burger King fell victim to an online hack via the social media platform Twitter. The hackers renamed their Twitter account ‘Mcdonald’s’ the name of their fast-food rival. They sent out a series of Tweets including  #soldtomcdonalds #failurewhopper and making drug-related comments online. 

Despite security risks, online companies can do various things to keep their info safely protected. Consider updating your passwords and using a central management system with built-in firewalls for your social pages. Perform social media risk assessments to ensure security is up to date and to keep those sneaky social intruders out!

Inconsistency: 

Social media marketing can be easy to start and originally you may think constant content is the way to go. However, being inconsistent when updating your profiles and content can be one of the risks or issues of social media marketing. An outdated social media profile could lead your audience to think your brand is abandoned, inconsistent, or poorly managed. 

A tip to remain consistent on social media is to create a social media plan or calendar for yourself to follow. Include content updates, campaigns, and links to outgoing content. Updating your social profiles with interesting and engaging content will present your brand with a consistent image amongst competitors.

Too much consistency: 

On the flip side think about quality over quantity. It’s all well good to have a consistent, active social media profile. 

However, just because you are posting consistently doesn’t mean your content is effective. Be mindful and don’t just churn out meaningless irrelevant content for the sake of posting something. Think about what your audience will want to see and read and focus on producing top-quality forms of it. 

Brand thieves: 

On the internet, there is a wide risk of brand hijacking and content stealing. This is where infiltrators gain access to customer details all whilst using the company’s name or brand logos without anyone’s knowledge. 

Unapproved use of brand company names, trademarks, or any product counterfeiting or misinformation of your brand is an example of fraud. Companies can opt to hire a third-party team to keep tabs on all references to their business online. They can monitor mentions and discussions on social media and internet sites. 

As an SME business, you are less likely to be targeted by brand thieves. It is far more common for larger businesses to be affected. This is purely down to being a larger business with a lot more data to potentially steal.

The bigger platforms give a hacker an opportunity to essentially rain chaos on by posting whatever they deem comedic. Additionally, some hijackers will post political views to campaign onto a wide platform from an ultimately trusted business.

Copyright and legal: 

Content appearing online or being shared and reposted doesn’t mean it’s automatically a free game to use. This also applies if the content falls under the creative commons license. In some situations, exceptions to copyright and law within a license can make material available for uses including personal use.

This means you can use the content for your own use but not as a business or for profit. However, in most cases, this will not apply for commercial use which includes using the content in advertising or a campaign. 

Be a little cautious of anything you perceive as ‘free to use’ online when posting. Consider license attributions or whether there are any restrictions around commercial use. 

Social media presents businesses with excellent opportunities to further their digital marketing and gain a competitive advantage over other businesses. However, you must consider the business risks when managing social media accounts. This is to ensure your business doesn’t fall victim to legal issues, brand thieves, and any other online threats. 

Here at ROAR, we offer various services to heighten your business check out our Digital Marketing Consultancy page for information on how ROAR can help your business. 

Contact us today to set up a call with one of our team.