We have observed that too many brands regard Facebook page likes and Twitter followers as metrics for social media success. Yes, it is important to have a substantial fan base. However, an absolute obsession with the number of new fans added over a period of time is senseless. Engagement is much more important than simply having a million page likes or followers.

Paid promotions should be used like a tactical tool to increase engagement when it is absolutely justified, such as during festive seasons and major sporting events. There are a lot of brands out there who seem to be indulging in paid promotions exclusively for increasing their fan base. What is the point of having a large fan base when they are not interested in engaging with you? If they don't engage with you, you can't expect them to be loyal advocates of your brand. Brands should focus on having a higher engagement to followers ratio. This would require them to have a potent content strategy in place.

Different social media channels respond to different content. For instance, a lot of brands tend to replicate their Facebook content on Twitter. Through our monitoring tool, we have uncovered that a lot of brands don't seem to have a clear engagement strategy. Engaging Twitter users requires a talent driven content strategy as they respond best to humor. Take the upcoming Cricket World Cup for instance. A brand which live tweets witty updates about a match will receive much better engagement as opposed to scheduled updates which talk mostly about the brand. Each social media channel has its own characteristics due to the nature of engagement on them. Needless to say, content on each channel should be specially crafted.

Creating different accounts for handling conversations pertaining to the same brand is a bad practice. In certain cases we have observed that brands create a separate Twitter handle or Facebook Page for a specific event. This goes against the basic principles of building a social media fan base. Creating another presence on the same social media platform dilutes the effort already being put towards the original social media presence. It can also create confusion for somebody who wants to follow the brand. It gives an inconsistent brand experience to potential and current customers.