5 COMMON MISTAKES ON SOCIAL MEDIA

1. You’re not paying attention to visuals
Online as off, a picture is worth a thousand words! Facebook posts with images get 2.3 times more engagement than text-only posts. And tweets with images are retweeted 150% more often.

Are you using photos/videos/infographics frequently? And do they accurately reflect your brand?

That means you should say goodbye to blurry photos or amateurish shots. If you can, take your own, original photos on your phone. Or, consider having a talented, amateur photographer friend build up a bank of photos you can choose from.

You can also use stock images – but if you do, make sure they don’t look too promotional. And never “borrow” someone else’s images without permission.

If you’re searching for images to use on Google, try this:

• Type in your search term, then hit “enter”
• Click on the “Images” option under the field where you typed in your search term
• Click on the “Tools” option at the far right
• Under the “Usage rights” option that pops up, scroll down to “labeled for reuse,” and click
• The images that appear are up for grabs! And you can even further refine your search by using the other options, like “size” or “type.”

2. You’re not being social
There’s a reason it’s called social media. And social media doesn’t work if you don’t socialize online. Growing your business requires connecting with people, commenting, sharing others’ content and not just pushing your own.

Remember! You’re trying to add real value to the lives of your target audience – not just toot your own horn.


3. You’re not asking for customer feedback
Never miss a chance to find out what your clients think! Especially when you’re launching a new product or service.

People generally respond best when given a number of options to convey feedback. You can post open-ended questions in the comments section to get a conversation started; create polls or surveys to get anonymous input; or form focus groups using a Facebook Live Q&A session.


4. You’re not responding when people complain
Much as we all wish it never happened, it does sometimes. And if a customer posts a ballistic word bomb, everybody else online is waiting to see how you handle it.

Always respond promptly and professionally. If you ignore the complaint, delete negative comments or get nasty or sarcastic in return, you’ll only make matters worse.


5. You’re not tracking how your posts perform
If you read our previous article, you know how important it is to determine your target audience as part of your social media strategy. And when you’ve got a target, you darn well want to know whether you’re hitting it.

Tools like Twitter Analytics and Facebook Insights can help you track how people reacted to specific posts, how often your business is mentioned, which demographics responded most favourably to posts – and more!


Next time: more common mistakes on social media and how to avoid them