10 social media mistakes to avoid

Off the top of your head, could you tell the 10 social media mistakes to avoid?

Nowadays, you’d probably find it difficult to find a person or business that doesn’t have a presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn. You’re on one, or a few of these platforms too, aren’t you? Then you’ll know that it all gets a little confusing sometimes, with all these changes and new trends. But as much as you might sometimes want to throw your hands up in the air and give up on social media, it has proven to be a powerful marketing tool. Here are some social media mistakes you should sidestep, and what you should be doing instead.

Giving up too quickly

So many businesses are enthusiastic when starting a new social media account. They shower attention on their brand new page, start posting a lot, but leave it unattended and un-updated a few months down the line if they don’t see results right away or if they can no longer find the time to do it.

It’s important to commit to social media for the long term. Nothing in social media happens overnight and you need to consistently work at it, embracing it as a daily part of your business routine. You’re in for the long haul.

Keeping it static

If you think you’re all set after posting a great display image, an attractive cover picture, a nice ‘About’ section, and writing an engaging caption, think again. This is just the beginning.

Your page needs to be updated regularly, offering something fresh for your audience on a consistent basis. Also, change your profile and cover pictures once in every few months, and keep your audience engaged. Once your page is too silent, it’s more difficult to get it up and running efficiently again. So keep it dynamic always.

Deserted page

Haven’t posted in a while? The message it sends to your audience is that you aren’t really serious about your business – or have maybe gone out of business! This is one of the most common social media mistakes you should avoid.

Always have a content strategy. Take some time to plan what you’d like to share with your audience, and schedule at least one post per day for a week, or better still, even a month in advance. An editorial content calendar will help you have an overall direction. This way, even if something else comes up, you’ve still got your daily posts covered. Remember, people have short memories, and you need to regularly remind them of your presence! You need to show up, come what may, to make sure that they will think of you first when they need you.

Social media overload

There are an overwhelming number of social media platforms on which you can share your presence. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn…you name it! However, you don’t have to be everywhere. Instead of spreading yourself thin across every platform, or worse, opening accounts and then leaving them neglected and unused, it’s better to choose a single platform and master that. Choose a social media platform that is most likely to fetch you quality engagement and which is best suited to your purpose. Once you’ve mastered it, you could choose to open an account in another one. Practice makes perfect.

Relying on automation

There are plenty of tools that allow you to automate your social media activity. While automation may seem like an immense time saver, there’s a downside to this and sometimes, it can go wrong. You might even have a large number of posts within a very short timespan, causing your followers to ‘unlike’ your page or even hide it. Posting the same thing, at the same time, on Instagram and Facebook is another social media mistake to avoid.

There’s a reason it’s called ‘social media’. It pays to personally know where your audience is, get to know your followers, start conversations and build a relationship. Furthermore, the culture of each platform is different, so post accordingly; one size does not fit all. You can schedule in advance but do not automate everything.

Industry jargon

Your posts should speak to your audience, your end user, not just your colleagues. Industry jargon may be alright in conversations at work, but when conversing with your audience, always remember that communication works best in simple, understandable language. Find your tone of voice and be authentic and genuine always.

Lack of interaction

Interaction is key on social media. Apart from sparking conversations, you must make sure you respond to every comment and question made to your post or page, quickly and thoughtfully. The simplest response is better than no response. It makes your audience feel that they are important to you, and that their voice matters. And, mostly, never leave a negative comment unanswered. Always acknowledge everyone. Take the time to interact, because it is vital in creating a loyal following. Not avoiding or correcting this social media mistake could cost you in the long run.

No lead generation strategy

Social media is a very powerful tool for building a community, engaging with your audience and conveying your brand message. But it is just a means to an end. Think how everything is integrated, and define your objectives. Social media channels can drive traffic to your website, where conversion actually happens. So make sure everything you do on social media has some thought and purpose behind it. Direct your followers to your blog or website so they can subscribe to your newsletter and updates. Think strategy and why you are posting what you are posting.

Inconsistent branding

This one’s a huge mistake on social media! It’s confusing to people when they see a different colour scheme or logo for your brand, on different media. This makes your brand unmemorable. So make sure that your branding is consistent throughout all platforms, and hence recognizable. People may not read everything but they may remember a picture or a logo.

Focusing on the wrong metrics

Don’t think that a growing number of followers on social media equates to ROI. If these followers are, at the end of the day, not engaging with you or buying your products or services, then these numbers don’t really count. Instead, target the followers that focus on your message and brand. Facebook Pixel is a website plugin that you can use to measure the effectiveness of an ad campaign. You can use the data to create custom audiences for your ads and measure conversion rates for that audience. But remember to review, test and repeat for better optimization.

While these are only 10 common mistakes businesses make on social media, there are more. But for starters, you could learn from these, and avoid the pitfalls that gave a few businesses these learnings!

Think strategy, plan accordingly, be consistent, and mostly, have fun!

If you’d like to know more about leveraging social media platforms in the best possible ways to suit your brand’s purpose, then get in touch! We’ll guide you, and help you avoid these, and other common social media mistakes that most businesses make.