5 Common Social Media Mistakes
5 Common Social Media Mistakes Your Brand Should Avoid
Social media has taken over our world—and a life of its own. There’s an art to it, yes, but also science. Social media gaffes here and there are par for the course as one navigates the streams of Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and a dozen other hot platforms. Some are more obvious than others, like not proofing your post before it goes live and missing that extra ‘o’ in ‘too.’ Other mistakes, though, are less obvious but more detrimental, like purchasing your followers (you know better than that, right?). Fake followers who never interact with your page will “tell” Facebook your page’s content isn’t very interesting, which makes it harder to reach real people—and potential customers.
So let’s dive into a few common social media mistakes to help reach real eyeballs.
1. Too many sales or promotional posts—follow the 80/20 rule. 80 percent of your content should be non-sales related. Think about breaking news in your industry, tips only you as an expert can provide, motivational quotes or other relevant entertaining content.
2. Not setting goals—why is your business on social media? Specifically, why Facebook? Why Pinterest? Know why you’re on there so you can tailor your marketing strategy. Posting without purpose is a waste of time. If you want to increase your exposure on Facebook, then you should put together a plan specifically geared to ramp up engagement and reach more people. If you want users to buy your products from Pinterest, you should be planning high quality photos and learning when your target audience spends time on the platform.
3. Not interacting with people—whether it’s a negative response or a question, you should never ignore a fan/follower’s interaction with your page. Social media is…social. The more you interact with them, the more likely they are to continue engaging with your brand. And when they engage with your brand, they may just turn into a Superfan (those are our favorite). Superfans do your work for you; by commenting or sharing your posts, they increase the number of eyeballs on your content. So don’t ignore them, even if all they did was simply share your post. “Like” that share. That little notification icon that you engaged back will give them all the feels.
4. Not posting consistently—you posted two weeks ago. Or two months ago. Anyone who visits your business page and sees it’s been awhile since anything was posted might assume your products, actual store, or brand isn’t relevant or serious either. It can be a big turn-off. As can over-posting. Limit yourself to 1-5 posts per day on Facebook (and even 5 may be too much if you have fewer than 1,000 followers). Similarly, don’t upload all your product onto Pinterest one evening and flood your followers’ feeds. Space it out consistently. Do your research and see what’s recommended for your industry on specific social media platforms.
5. Lack of lead generation strategy—it’s great you post consistently on Twitter or Instagram, but if your goal is more web traffic or even sales from your website, are you driving people to your website? If Facebook or Twitter were to suddenly disappear, do you still have a connection to all your followers? Nudge them toward your e-blast sign-up or opt-in pages on your website so you can contact them outside of that particular social media platform.
Avoid these social media blunders and cultivate your social media brand. It’s a new year, so make your commitment to make your brand shine!