Social Media Don’ts: Leave These Faux Pas in 2018!
In today’s digital age, it is essential for your brand to build and maintain a strong social media presence. Even if you don’t use social media for personal use, you should be using it professionally to engage with your target audience. It’s pretty common sense to figure out the “Do’s” of social media, but what about the “Don’ts”? Here’s a list of social media don’ts to keep in mind:
Use Lots of Filters
Visual platforms like Instagram and Pinterest have evolved, and so have their users. Social media users are growing smarter and savvier, and want to see authentic, unfiltered content on their feeds. High resolution photos and graphics perform best on these types of platforms. So, ditch the filters, set your iPhone to portrait mode, and post only your highest quality content!
Pick Quantity Over Quality
We see it all the time: a social media account that has thousands of followers but almost no engagement. While acquiring lots of followers is great, it means little if they are not interacting with your brand. Stay away from buying followers! Using relevant hashtags, communicating with your audience, and advertising unique, on-brand content will help your account attract plenty of followers and engagement.
Connect With Everyone
Just because someone follows you does not mean that you have to follow them back. When using platforms like Twitter and Instagram, follow only people and brands that are relevant to your business. Following too many other accounts can clutter your feed with content that does not interest you, and it can make your brand look spammy. If you are following double the amount of followers that you have, step back and re-evaluate what some of these accounts mean to you. You are a creator, not a consumer – and you want your follower count to reflect that.
Be Inactive
Remember when you convinced your relative to create a Facebook account, and now they only use it to post “Happy Birthday” to your timeline every other year? Don’t be that relative! Use your social media account to post content, respond to comments, and “like” other pages frequently. Depending on the industry, we recommend posting to social media three to four times per week, and responding to notifications as needed. Social media is a fantastic business tool that can enhance your brand and help you gain customers, but only if you use it as intended!
Forget to Spell-Check
This is an obvious social media don’t, but it’s one of the most important on the list! A misspelling or simple grammar mistake on a social media post can tarnish your professional credibility. Fortunately, these mistakes are easily avoidable. Before publishing, we suggest running copy and captions through an online grammar checker, such as Grammarly.
Treat Every Platform The Same
Where you post is just as crucial as what you post! Different social media platforms attract different demographics, and are therefore used for different reasons. Instagram attracts a young, mostly female demographic, while more middle-aged internet users prefer Facebook. Twitter is great for directly responding to questions and shout-outs about your business, and LinkedIn is the perfect platform for sharing blogs, news articles, and career updates.
Are You Making Any Of These Social Media Mistakes?
If you find yourself guilty of committing any of these social media ‘sins,’ don’t fret. Social Fire Media specializes in social media management and custom content creation. Allow us to navigate through the social media do’s and don’ts so you don’t have to! Contact us today to ask about our social media marketing services.
