The What Not to Do Guide for Social Media
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There’s a lot of advice out there on why your company needs a [insert name of newest social media channel here], when the best time of day to post and how to best hashtag your tweets. It can be hard to keep up with the trends, advice and best practices for each channel.
So here’s 5 things you should definitely not do when it comes to social media.
1. Incomplete profiles
You registered for the account, made a post and then stopped. If you register for an account make sure it’s populated with the right information and relevant content, otherwise you run the risk of looking unprofessional. Make sure your contact information is up to date, your logo is displayed and that everything is spelled right.
2. Fear of missing out
Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, etc, etc, etc. There’s no shortage of social media platforms but that doesn’t mean you need to join them all. Pick the 2-3 most relevant for your business and your customers and focus your attention there. Your time is valuable and shouldn’t be spent updating your companies LinkedIn account when all of your customers are on Facebook and Instagram. It’s all about picking the right social media channel for your site.
3. One post to rule them all
It might seem easy to sign up for a Hootsuite or Buffer account and then just post the same content across all the channels, but this is the quickest way to get people to unfollow you or find you irritating. Twitter is best for short one liners, Pinterest for pictures and short descriptions, Facebook for longer posts or industry news, Instagram for photos or quick promo videos and tutorials. Some posts are worth sharing on all your accounts, some are really only appropriate for one.
4. Self-promotion is key
Self-promotion is NOT key. If all you do is post pictures of your new line of products you’ll soon find that your fans think of your posts as the equivalent of white noise and then ignored. It’s important to vary the content you post so that it’s relevant and engaging to your followers. Post articles you find interesting, trends in the industry, upcoming events that may be of interest, not just the same 10 images of your Spring line.
5. Consistency is everything
The key to long term success when it comes to social media is consistency. You want to use social media to create interest in your company and products, you can’t do that if your posting frequency can best be described as “once in the blue”. Setup an editorial calendar or guide for yourself and then pre-plan what you’ll post when so that you can keep your community engaged and your company top of mind.