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Today, social media is vital for any business. Well-managed social media accounts don't just improve brand recognition. They also bring in more opportunities for brands to connect with their target market. If you want to increase sales, you have to avoid these social media marketing mistakes.
For this reason, many are putting a lot of effort into cultivating their online presence. However, sometimes, these things don’t work as expected. There are some popular strategies that might not be good for your social media account or your business. Here are 18 social media mistakes to avoid.
Posting Too Much (or Too Little)
Posts are the lifeblood of your social media accounts. It’s the reason why people follow you in the first place. Your posts matter. So does their quantity and quality.
If you’re posting too little, say once a week, or worse, once in a blue moon — which is to say never! — then you’re not properly utilizing your social media page.
If you’re posting too much, on the other hand, like around 10 times a day on Instagram or Facebook, then you might annoy followers. This can push them to tap that unfollow button.
So, what's the magic number when it comes to posting? We’ve summarized the important points for you.
When it comes to this social media platform, one to two posts a day is typically enough. You should schedule it strategically during the time when your followers are most active.
Just like with Facebook, the recommended number of posts per day for Instagram is usually one or two. Once again, you want to track when your users are most active, and post then.
Although sending tweets every five minutes using your personal Twitter account is kind of normal, that’s not the case with your business Twitter account.
Sending three to five tweets a day is ideal for your business Twitter account. Some brands can push it to 10.
With around 291 million active users monthly, 70 million of which are residing in the United States, Pinterest, the preferred social media platform of 55% of US online shoppers, has a huge potential when it comes to online marketing.
If you’re using Pinterest for your business, the recommended number of pins you should release in a day is three or more. Some recommend uploading up to 10 pins daily to maximize social media engagement on the platform.
Not Utilizing (or Adding Too Many) Hashtags
Number two on our list of social media mistakes to avoid is not using hashtags or using too many hashtags.
Hashtags on Instagram are used for discovering content. It works by collating images with similar hashtags into one stream. Adding them to your post can help improve social media engagement by allowing more people, who are searching for images under a particular hashtag, to see yo
Another good way to use hashtags on Instagram is through UGC (user-generated content) hashtag contests.
You're allowed to add up to 30 hashtags for every caption, but many agree that using 11 can help you get the most engagement.
In Twitter, hashtags are for finding or starting conversations. If you want to check out tweets on a particular topic, you can type the hashtag in the search box and it'll generate a list of related tweets.
Adding one or two hashtags per tweet is ideal to help make your posts more searchable.
Facebook has private profiles, which means the hashtags they use aren’t easily discoverable and can only be seen by their friends (or the people who follow them). Thus, we don't recommend using it to promote contests.
Companies often use hashtags on Facebook. You can add one or two hashtags on your post to make them more searchable.
Hashtags are a little different here. They're clickable only when placed in a pin description. It might help to still include them, although they might not have the same effect on your social media engagement as they do on other platforms.
Posting at the Wrong Time of the Day
You should be scheduling posts strategically. They should be released during the time when the people you are trying to reach are active. It may require you to experiment at first.
So, you might be posting at random times during the early stage, but you do this only to produce metrics. That way you can analyze when your potential clients are online.
Once you’ve got that information, you can start posting at the ideal time to maximize efficiency.
Posting the Same Content Repeatedly
Yes, it can be tempting to repost your posts, especially if it’s a promo you want to hype. But be careful with this. A lot of people don’t appreciate seeing the same thing over and over again.
If you really want to drill the info into people’s minds, get creative. Try repurposing the same message to look different.
Cross-Platform Auto Posts
This is a definite no-no. Although it can make your life easier, it will not benefit your brand. Each platform is unique. How you optimize posts for them also differs. If you want to get the best out of your posts, create a unique one for each social media account.
Inconsistent Reply Schedule
A lot of people prefer to reach out to companies using social media so it’s always good to set clear office hours. As much as possible, reply to comments or DMs ASAP.
Constant Product Promotion
Another bad move for companies is constant product promotion. Yes, social media is about promoting your brand, but too much of something can be bad. If you only post things about your product two to three times a day for every day of the week, it’ll bore your followers.
Find ways to engage them. Add variety to your posts. You can run polls, or ask questions. You can post trivia or other fun and informative content. Think of ways to make it entertaining.
Or, if you really, really want to promote your product, do it creatively. Promote in a way that doesn’t seem like you’re hard selling.
Not Responding Appropriately to Negative Feedback
Next on our list of social media mistakes to avoid is not handling negative comments and reviews properly.
Whether you like it or not, there will be negative feedback. It's part of doing business. If you get these types of comments, remember these three things: keep calm, respond appropriately, and show them that you care.
Don’t just delete or ignore negative feedback or comments as it might anger those already irritated customers. Plus, it might give the impression that you have something to hide.
Take it as a learning experience and use the information you get from them to improve your product or service.
Using All Social Media Platforms Without Reason
Just because you can create an account for all the social media platforms available today doesn’t mean that you should. Focus on the platforms that can make your business shine.
For example, if your business relies on visual, like if you’re selling furniture or cakes, then you might want to focus on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. If you have a blog and content you want to share with people, Twitter can be helpful in spreading it quickly. See which platform works best for you.
Using Content From Other Business Pages Without Proper Crediting
Never do this. Sharing content is fine, as long as you give the proper credit to the original creator. You wouldn’t want other people stealing your content, so don’t do the same to others. This is a big no.
Not Sharing Blog Content
If you have a website with a blog, then don’t be afraid to share the link. Utilizing your social media accounts for this purpose can help improve your website traffic. One thing you should take note of when implementing this strategy is to not do it in excess. Remember, too much of a good thing can kill your social media engagement.
Not Adding Social Media Sharing Buttons
In order to improve your audience engagement, you should promote your social media accounts across platforms. For instance, post on Facebook telling your followers where to find you on Instagram.
You can also add links to your social media accounts on your website or blog, so people who visit your website can check out your social media content at the click of a button.
Buying Followers
This is one of the riskiest and most harmful social media marketing mistakes. If you want to increase your number of followers, buying them isn’t the way to do it. Followers you bought just for the sake of boosting that number aren’t likely to engage with your posts.
If you want real engagement, you should look for authentic followers. It’s not about the quantity of your follower count but the quality or their relevance to your business.
Not Having a Consistent Voice
This is a mistake that some brands make. One day they’re stiff and serious and the next they’re telling jokes. Identify your brand’s voice. It should suit your target market.
If you’re trying to reach out to teens, then use language that teenagers would relate to. If you’re targeting older people, then sound like someone they can communicate with. It’s not always about sounding cool. It’s about connecting with your niche.
Paying for Promotions Blindly
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Don’t pay for promotions blindly. Ads can be incredibly powerful for your social media engagement, but you need to have a good grasp of audience target and ad creatives.
Using Canned Responses
Canned responses can work to an extent, but don't go overboard. Social media is all about connecting to your followers in an authentic and genuine way.
Using generic responses might give your followers the impression that you’re using an auto response system, eliminating the personal touch you want to exhibit. Following a guide is okay, as long as you use it in moderation.
Sharing Video Links on Facebook
If you upload videos on your YouTube account and want to share it with your Facebook followers, it can be tempting to just copy the link and paste it on your Facebook post.
However, this shouldn’t be done. Videos that are uploaded on Facebook have higher engagement compared to video links. If you want maximum engagement, upload the video directly into the platform.
Not Adding a Call-to-Action
Encourage your followers to engage with your post by adding a call-to-action, or CTA. Ask relevant questions, run polls, ask them to click a link to your article or website, or add a “click here to download” CTA if you have apps or eBooks you want people to try.
There are many strategies to improve social media engagement, but you should also be wary of the social media mistakes to avoid that we've listed above.
