In order for social media to be effective, it’s important to know the common mistakes businesses make. Sometimes the smallest adjustment can make the biggest difference. Let’s talk about the 5 common social media mishaps:
1. Quantity Over Quality
One of the most commonly made mistakes on social is having the mindset that the more you post, the more engagement you will receive. Contrary to popular belief, this isn’t the case. While having a healthy posting cadence is great, it is the quality of those posts that truly matters. Users are more inclined to engage when you provide something eye-catching, useful, and relevant to THEM. If you are flooding your social channels with too many posts, chances are your followers will lose interest. Take the time to plan out your content ahead of time and put the extra thought into what you’d like to post for the week, month, or year.
2. Not All Social Channels Are Created Equal
Each social platform (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) caters to different audiences. You wouldn’t post the same content on your Instagram feed as you would on your LinkedIn profile. It’s crucial to tailor your content, writing style, tone, and media to the platform you are posting on. To avoid posting the wrong content on the wrong channel, here are some tips on what you SHOULD be posting:
- Instagram: High-resolution photos, quotes, stories
- Twitter: News, blog posts, and GIFs
- Facebook: Videos and curated content
- LinkedIn: Jobs, company news, and professional content
3. When Shade Is Thrown, You Ignore
A common question asked by clients is: “Should we delete this negative comment?” This is another “duh” moment that can be avoided. It’s important to address ALL comments, including the negative ones. Although this isn’t the most ideal type of post to respond to, addressing these comments shows that your business values each of its followers’ needs and thoughts. Ignoring negative reviews/comments may actually have the opposite of the intended effect as it could result in additional backlash from the user. Additionally, a lack of response could be noticed by other followers and could lead them to believe your company doesn’t value its customers. Therefore, they would likely no longer want to purchase your goods, use your service or recommend you to others. At the end of the day, you NEED to acknowledge the good, bad, and ugly.
4. It’s All About Me
While you’re great and all…no one wants to see a million posts solely about just YOU or YOUR business. People are one track focused and when scrolling through social channels, they want to know what you can do for THEM, not the other way around. Essentially, the goal here is to benefit your audience in some way, shape, or form.
To avoid having your social channel seem self-involved, keep posts about yourself to a minimum. Again, incorporating that healthy mixture of content will be key. Always focus on your brand, but don’t forget to sprinkle in other kinds of posts depending on the type of brand and audience you have.
5. Not Letting Em’ Know You Care
Another common mistake made is not engaging on your social channels. Don’t miss the opportunity to interact with your audience by conducting regular community management. Your followers deserve a little love too! Being active in engagement on your channels is just as important as being consistent with posting. Show your followers you care by responding to their comments, retweeting them, liking their posts, actively engaging in conversations, and giving them a follow. If you want your followers and future followers to be active with you on your social channels, it’s imperative that you do the same. Sometimes something as simple as recognizing someone on the platform can make that much more of a difference with their loyalty to your company or brand.
If you need help amping up your social, drop us a line here.
