Although social media is an amazing tool that can connect your brand to audiences all over the world, the truth is it requires a certain amount of know-how to maneuver this beast. Let’s take a look at eight social media habits that can actually cause more damage than good to your brand.
1. Over-Automation
Automation is definitely a time-saving tactic. But too much automation can backfire. Setting up automated Twitter DMs and automated Facebook messages can make your brand come across as too lazy to invest in a human being to reply to customers in a timely fashion. Don’t be robotic – keep a human element intact and you’ll be surprised at how much goodwill you build in the long-run.
2. Delayed Interaction
Let’s get one thing straight – your brand isn’t entitled to anything on social media platforms. Acknowledge comments, shares, tags and ratings. Social media is all about engaging audiences in a conversation – if someone is taking the time out to invest in your brand, try to keep the conversation rolling.
3. Overdoing It
Just like ignoring audiences is a total buzz kill, overdoing things is also a complete no-no! There’s a difference between consistency and spam. A few pointers –
a) Don’t go on a re-Tweeting spree – your brand should have its own personality. If you’re constantly re-Tweeting or re-sharing third-party content, it looks as if you have nothing to say that’s original.
b) Refrain from blowing your horn 24/7 – Social media has been designed for engagement, not hard sells. If someone is taking the time out to follow you, that means they already know the basic details about your brand. Similarly, don’t keep bragging about how amazing your brand is – it might look a bit arrogant. Furthermore, try not to force products/services to your audience. Experts suggest 80% of your content should not be promotional! Instead, your content should add value and encourage various forms of engagement.
c) #DontHashtagEverythingLikeThis – First of all, Facebook does not require hashtags. Secondly, turning every word into a hashtag is annoying and looks really needy.
d) Avoid unnecessary tagging – Tagging people in posts all the time is bound to get you blocked or blacklisted at some point. Only tag other handles when it is appropriate.
4. No Tact For Damage Control
Wash your dirty laundry in public is a bad idea. If you have a disgruntled customer, exercise some tact and skillfully take those conversations into DMs, email or phone calls. Don’t let the whole world watch you do damage control. Also, refrain from deleting negative comments – that can cause negative feelings to escalate even further.
5. Over-Connected
Don’t beg your customers to keep liking and sharing your posts – it looks like needy, shameless self-promotion (unless it is part of a contest). And, don’t ask people to over-connect! Similarly, try to resist the temptation to get onto any and every social media platform – you will spread yourself thin. Instead, invest in a handful of platforms that are truly relevant and make sure you plan out different content for each handle. Replicating the same content on 10 platforms is a bad idea – there’s no incentive to connect with you on different platforms if the content is identical or overtly similar.
6. Neglecting Basics
Please remember the utmost basics – spell check and grammar check. Studies indicate that such errors can reduce a company’s sales by 50% Another basic thing many brands forget is to run social media ads; remember – there is no point in posting content if no one is even seeing it.
7. Too Generic
Taking a cookie cutter approach toward social media isn’t the brightest idea. Many companies post at the wrong time. According to social media pro, Neil Patel, when Fortune 500 companies posted videos on Instagram during off-hours they saw an average of 33.4 per 1000 followers interacting, versus 22.5 per 1000 followers interacting when posting videos on Instagram during office hours. Don’t be too generic with your social media plan – take time out to build schedule that is tailored to your particular brand’s following.
8. Vanity Analytics
If you’re using the wrong social media metrics, you’re going to get wrong information. Just because the number of followers is increasing/decreasing doesn’t mean your campaign is a hit or flop. Instead, take a look at the following areas –
a) Is your Web traffic growing, and is it linked to social media?
b) Are more people engaging with your SM handles?
c) Which particular SM posts are leading to more traffic and/or sales?
We hope these eight pointers helps you clean up your social media act! If you need help with developing a targeted social media campaign that is blunder-free, don’t hesitate to reach out to us right here.
