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5 Social Media Faux Pas

SEO & Social Media

5 Social Media Faux Pas

Almost everyone uses social media these days but not everyone who does gets it right. If your business is just starting out in the world of Twitter and Facebook, or you’re not getting many followers or much engagement, you’re probably doing it wrong. Here are five things you should not be doing on social media.

Being sales-y

If every other tweet is intended to direct people to your website, promote products and services or points to your blog then you’re selling yourself too much. Don’t do it. Instead be a human and post things that are interesting, funny or informative. The only way you’re going to get followers and drive engagement is if you add value. No one is interested in be pitched to all the time. Forget the sales talk and start a conversation instead.

Using a generic voice

Brands that are too formal or dry will not interest any potential customer. If you want followers and interaction, then you need to develop your brand’s unique voice. It must create a positive vibe above all else but people should be able to know or at least have a good idea who the post is from, without reading the poster’s name, based on the language and tone used.

Not utilising multiple social media sites

Don’t just pick one place to do all your social media, pick two or three. Each social media site – Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, for example – will have a different audience and enjoy looking at different content. By setting up a profile on a few of these, you can increase your brand awareness to different people in different places. Don’t post the same content on each site either. Remember that each social media site has its own purpose and audience so pick the ones where your target audience is.

Posting too much

No one wants their Twitter or Facebook feed to be clogged with posts from one person or brand. That is the surest way to get them to unfollow you. Instead, schedule between 3-5 posts a day for Twitter and even less for Facebook. Pick the times to publish when you know your audience will be online. Here’s a hint: Most people check social media during their commute to work/school.

Not having a plan

If you don’t have plan you’ve got nothing. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail as the saying goes. Don’t just use social media because it’s there, work out which social media sites you should be using. Think about your content, what you’re going to post, what’s going to drive the most engagement and make a schedule of topics or themes.

Think about your tone and voice and who your audience is.

Who is going to post? Don’t just leave for anyone of your staff to do it. Make sure someone is responsible.

Most importantly, what do you want to get out of social media? Is it brand awareness, loyalty, hits to your website? Your goals should be at the forefront of your mind and knowing what you want will help you work out a strategy.

A strategy will help map out the time for planning, posting and analyzing results.

 

Lucidica will be holding a FREE social media seminar on 16th September at our offices. Everybody is welcome to come along. Keep an eye on our Twitter feed for   times and confirmation.