This month we have covered scary, spooky themes. Today we have 20 social media sins that we see across all platforms. There are small mistakes people make on social media and then there are sins that will live in your nightmares. Keep reading to learn what social media sins you should run from!

 

#1: Not Knowing Who Your Audience Is

We always ask our clients who their target audience is. Who is your biggest demographic? Eight times out of ten a client will tell us that everyone is their target audience. Everyone is rarely an ideal target audience. Everyone has one type of client who is the most perfect for what you need. If you find this audience you are more likely to get clients who work well with your business. 

 

#2: Being Personal Instead of Professional

Platforms reward businesses more than they do personal accounts. Facebook is locking down on people who post business material on a personal profile rather than a page. They have been shutting down accounts that promote their business on a personal page. You will get better engagement if you have business accounts on every platform. 

 

#3: Not Having a Bio or Missing Contact Information

As a social media manager, this is one of the most frustrating social media sins to see. When you are trying to reach out to a business and can’t find a way to contact them, you will probably just choose a different company. Your customers will do the same. If you prefer to text or email, make sure that is what you have on your website and social media accounts. It should be clear to your customers how they should contact you. 

 

#4: One Size Does Not Fit All

Not all content will work for all people or even all platforms. A video that does well on TikTok might not do as great on Instagram. Each platform requires different-sized images. Make sure you aren’t cutting off your graphics or photos because they do not fit on a platform. 

 

#5: Overestimating Capabilities

If you have seen the movie Ratatouille you might remember the phrase “A good cook can come from anywhere, but not everyone can be a good cook.” This statement works for social media as well. Just because your new hire is a 20-year-old college student doesn’t mean they can do social media correctly. Just because a person in your office has a son in college, doesn’t mean he should be posting for your women’s health clinic. Not everyone will do a good job on social media accounts. Someone who you might not expect to be good at social media could do great! It comes with learning and practicing. 

 

#6: Over posting 

 

Hubspot says Facebook pages should only post once a day. We have repeatedly tested this theory. The more you post, the less engagement you will get. There are exceptions to every rule, but most accounts should only post one time a day. Over posting is one of the main reasons people will unfollow you. 

 

#7: Choosing the Wrong Platform

If you are trying to sell insurance to senior citizens, you probably won’t be successful on Instagram. If you want to sell skateboards to 12-year-olds, you won’t find them on LinkedIn. Your audience determines that platform. Most businesses only need to be on one or two platforms. Superstar businesses can be on three, but it takes a lot of work if you want to do it right. Three platforms are too much for most businesses. 

 

#8: It is Never About You 

Your content is always supposed to be about the customer’s experience. Answer the question “What’s in it for me?” Being too salesy will cause customers to unfollow your account. Educate, inform, and entertain your audience. No one wants to be bored when they see your content. You can ask for a sale, but you have to give first. Sales should be posted 20% of the time. 

 

#9: Ignoring Analytics

Analytics and insights tell you what type of content works for your audience. Not every type of content will work for your business, and that’s okay. Choose to post content that has worked for you in the past. You won’t know what works if you don’t check your analytics! 

 

#10: Misspellings and Bad Grammar

There is no excuse for fragmented sentences and misspellings in social media content. Mistakes happen, but they shouldn’t be frequent. The information you put out must be correct. The only thing worse than grammar mistakes is posting completely untrue information. Not everything you find on the internet should be posted on your business account. Always fact-check!

 

#11: Ignoring Comments, Complains, and Direct Messages

You spend money and time cultivating the perfect social media presence for your customers. At the end of the day, the reason you spend so much energy on your social media is to get engagement from your customers. When you respond to your viewers they are more likely to engage again in the future. Leaving messages, comments, or even complaints sitting is flushing money down the toilet. Engage, engage, engage!

 

#12: Low Quality, Watermarked, and Pixelated Images

There are endless options for finding free images online. There is no excuse for choosing the worst possible ones, but we see it all of the time. No one should get sued over an image used in a blog post or on a website. Low-quality images are the worst option. Canva and other websites have options for free, high-quality images. 

 

#13: Not Using User-Generated Content

User-generated content includes anything in which another business or a client mentions you in a post, reviews your website, or says anything about you in a public forum. This is all content that you can and should use on your social media platforms. As long as the content is positive and appropriate, you should share it. More people see shared photos, and you won’t have to come up with extra content for that day. 

 

#14: Not Using Hashtags

If you are on Instagram or Twitter you must use hashtags. The Instagram algorithm is constantly changing. Each time it changes the algorithm is harder to be found on. Hashtags are one way you can combat this issue. 

 

#15: Not Using Video

Video is the primary form of content trending on each platform. People want to see videos on each platform. Idea Pins, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikToks are killer content. If you want to get found on a platform, see what video can do for you!

 

#16: Not Captioning Videos

A lot of people watch videos with the sound off. If you don’t add captions, those who watch without sound won’t understand what is happening. People want to watch videos when they are working, or in a more quiet atmosphere. If your videos don’t have captions, they will click off of them. This is bad for your analytics and you are losing potential viewers!

 

#17: Gaps in Posting or No Consistency

Have you ever searched for a business on social media, and they haven’t posted since 2017? It makes you question if the business is closed or lazy. Both of these thoughts are bad for business. Post regularly on your page. You don’t have to post every day, but people should at least know you’re open. Do what you can handle, and be consistent. 

 

#18: Buying Followers 

I can not stress to you enough how bad of an idea it is to buy followers. If you buy followers you are throwing away money, and probably a lot of it. Buying followers is an easy way to completely ruin your engagement rates. Instagram will stop putting you on other people’s pages when you have low engagement. You also will not sell products to followers who don’t care about you. Build a community, not a following. 

 

#19: No Call To Action

Tell your audience what you want them to do. Whether it be following a Facebook page, signing up for a newsletter, or buying a product, you must tell your client what they should do. If you have something to give your clients, tell them how to get to it!

 

#20: Ask For The Sale

If you never ask for a sale, you are wasting your time. Occasionally you need to be a little bit salsey. Tell your audience what you have to offer and why they need it. 

 

Boo! Did I get your attention? 

 

Next week we have an extremely fun topic planned! We will be giving you all of our favorite scary social media stories. Some are fun mistakes, and some are terrifying mishaps. See you then!