Amp Up Your Social By Avoiding These Faux Pas

If you wake up in the morning and the first thing you do is open your eyes and swipe through some notifications, you’re like millions of other social media users who use their phone to do just about everything. If you find yourself on the brand side of things, you want to ensure you are creating top-notch content that your audience consumes first thing in the morning. The reality is, social media is everywhere and we want to make sure you know what to avoid in order to WORK IT on all your channels. Here are the six social media faux pas that are definitely not helping your social game.

Sharing on Multiple Platforms

You don’t use Facebook the same as you would Instagram, so don’t replicate content. Every social media platform has a different type of media preference. That is why when you get the option, as a business, to share straight from your Instagram on Facebook, SAY NO. An alternative? Post the same photo on various platforms but change up the copywriting to fit that platform and its unique audience. Formatting is completely different on each platform and so are hashtags. Sharing the same post that you created for one specific outlet may look unprofessional on others.

Links

Let your followers know about your amazing accomplishments - social media is the perfect platform where you can brag about what you are doing! When you don’t share links to your website or to your other social media channels, potential clients will not know where to go. Links can be your best friend - make sure you use them. The more people that are clicking those links, the more reach you are getting. Oh and please, PLEASE make sure the links work.

Spelling and Grammar

When you are typing something, you never type the way you speak. We’ve all seen those spelling errors and autocorrects that go viral, some of them even make the news. You don’t want to be known for a mistake, you want to be known for your brand. Make sure you are triple checking all the spelling so that it is easy to understand. Grammar is also a huge problem as well, read everything out loud and make sure it makes sense. The key to a successful social post is to make it so that everyone can understand it easily. Grammar and spelling errors can affect your credibility, so make sure that you’re always putting your best foot forward.

TMI

Don’t over share. Not everyone wants to know about the nitty gritty about your life all the time, especially how that lunch affected your Fitness Pal goals for the day. Don’t forget that everyone can see what you’re posting online and there are some things not everyone wants to know. It is okay to get a little personal, especially if sharing those minute life details corresponds well with your brand, but make sure you don’t cross that fine line into the world of oversharing. Think about it this way: if it isn’t something you’d want someone to know about you in a job interview, then trash it! Nowadays, your social media is as important as your resume - this is how potential clients or your next boss will see your personality. Make sure you WORK the best part of you online.

Lack of Engagement

The only way to get people to actively interact with you is if you interact with them. There is nothing worse than reaching out to a company with a concern and you do not receive a response. Make sure that you are not only replying for the bad things as well, try to reply to as many tweets or posts that you can. Another option is active outreach: be sure to review what people are talking about, using the hashtags that correspond with your brand. Or use Twitter’s advanced search functionality to find potential customers by using keywords or even searching by geographical location! Create those relationships through active engagement and see brand loyalty increase significantly.

Saying No to Social

A lack of a social media presence, or insufficient posting, is the WORST faux pas of all. Social media is one of the best and easiest ways to connect with key audiences, so there is no reason why brands should not utilize these platforms effectively.

If you need help with getting started on social media, or want to find out how to WORK IT even better on social, we are here to help. Be sure to drop us a line at hello@workitsocial.ca for more information.