5 SOCIAL MEDIA MISTAKES COMPANIES STILL MAKE IN 2017

Three months into a new year and we keep seeing companies making the same blunders – it is not even funny anymore.
Here we go: a practical top 5 ranking of what is going wrong – and how to fix it.

NO TAYLORING

Probably the most common mistake – and it is so 2006!
When it comes to social media, one content doesn’t fit all. Those ones thinking that they are cleverly by-passing others by lazily re-posting the same thing over all social media, a bit of advice: you are problem losing money and a great chance to engage with your audience.
Different social media requires different image cropping and, guess? Different wording, too.

How to fix it: when writing copy for more than one channel, keep it short even if you don’t have a limit of words. That way you make sure your content is sharp and also will be very helpful when you have to edit it to an even shorter format such as the 140 Characters Twitter gives you.

LONG ABSENCE

Social media has a very clear function: it is a daily dose of something to inform or distract. From cute cats to more serious topics and empowering messages, users will often crave for good content and if the gaps between posts are far too long, people will simply forget to keep coming back.

How to fix it: At least 1 post per day (Instagram) and 2 posts for social platforms such as Facebookand Twitter will keep your channels active enough to attract viewers.

WRONG TONE

Have you ever read a post and it didn’t ring true? It isn’t that companies set out to post content that feels a bit fake. The problem is the tone of it.
Take for example humorous or sarcastic posts. It may seem very funny when you read it in someone else’s timeline – especially if that person or company has adopted it as official way to engage. However if overnight you dramatically change your content, don’t expect your following base to simply agree with it. Also make sure to find the right balance between fun and questions marks. Trying too hard to be funny or asking something at the end of every single post, just for the sake of it, will easily annoy people researches show.

How to fix it: take a step back and ask yourself if your company or yourself would talk like that in real life – social platforms should be positive mirrors of your best – not an entire new voice or persona.

THE MUTE ONES

If you like to see the comments and likes popping under your posts, you should engage back, thank you very much.
It sounds obvious, right? But it astonishes the number of companies that do not reply nor even acknowledge when people interact across their social platform. Remember: social media is a two-way conversation.

How to fix it: Set a time of the day for you (or you team if you have one) to reply to comments, it is the best way to keep on top of your engagement without dropping everything else every time you see a new message/like/share flagging.

TAKE IT GRACIOUSLY

No one likes criticism (who invented such a thing?!), but in social media – like in fashion – less is often more.
If someone left a comment in one of your social channels that you do not agree, think twice (actually think five times) before replying to it.
Don’t go mute either (see topic 4), but do not engage in a counterproductive battle of words. At the end of the day, feedback should always be welcomed.

How to fix it: Be short, gracious and, mostly important: make users feel that you care. Be very careful if using emoji s or sarcasm to reply – some people will not get it and it will look worse.