Top 10 Social media mistakes to avoid (2021)

If you are like 99% of businesses out there who know they need to do something on social media but have no idea where to start. Here’s a quick guide on what NOT to do. I’ve made most, if not all of these mistakes in the past so don’t worry if you have already made them because virtually every other business has too at one point or another.

1. No clear objectives. I recently visited a Facebook page for a shared workspace business. They posted content every day about things going on in the area such as parades, concerts and Holidays. The highest number of likes I was able to see was 2 on any given post. I wondered how much time they were devoting to the creation of the content and why they were doing it at all. Even if someone engaged with the content, I’m not sure how it would help the business in any way. If your social strategy is not tied to a business goal with measurable success, then it’s a complete waste of time.
2. Braggart! Have you ever been to a site that has nothing but press releases exclaiming how great they are, how big, all the problems they solved or awards won? It doesn’t feel very authentic or approachable. Without authenticity you are very likely to be overlooked and you may as well be purchasing an advertisement which will also be ignored by most of people who see it. Rather than talking about the award, talk about the struggles you faced or how the team helped in winning it. It’s far more interesting, makes you more approachable and will ultimately get you a higher engagement rate.
3. No advertising budget. If you are going to spend the time, energy and resources to create content for your social media then you should certainly put some budget behind promoting it. I’ve seen time and time again where someone nails the content but very few people actually see it. Even a minimum $1/day budget to boost a post every day on Facebook will only cost you $30/mo. I would recommend putting a budget equal to the cost of producing the content. You will reach thousands or even hundreds of thousands of potential customers if you put even a minimal budget here.
4. You left me hanging bro. If you have great content, put a budget behind it, get a lot of great engagement but never respond to it then you have missed a tremendous opportunity. The purpose of “SOCIAL” media is to scale the number of relationships you have. Imagine starting a conversation with someone on the street “Hey hello, how are you?” They respond “Doing great, how are you?”, and you never respond back. That’s essentially what you are doing online when you don’t respond to comments.
5. Link to the Website generates an error. Yep, I’ve seen it more often than you might think. Check all of your links in the “About” page of all of your social profiles to make sure they go to your website without an error. Check your phone numbers while you’re at it.
6. Buy Now! Have you ever had a friend who joined Amway or some other multi-tiered marketing program and they won’t shut up about it? That’s how you sound on social media when you only post ads. Use a buy post sparingly and only when there is truly a great deal.
7. Finger in the Dike. I get asked all the time about how I can help a client remove bad reviews or block angry customers. I have one answer… It won’t work. Even if you successfully block the customer from your page, they can still post on their own page and share with all of their friends. If you successfully spam Google search to remove bad reviews from showing up when someone types in your company name, they will continue to post on other social channels. There’s no way out but to confront the bad or angry customers head-on and publicly. If a potential customer can see you responding and offering up a solution to every bad review, it can actually work in your favor. There will always be trolls and there’s no stopping them, just give them a polite and respectful response and let the chips fall where they may.
8. Too many memes, not enough substance. Memes get a lot of attention, engagement and comments, but often times the user only remembers the meme and not the business posting it. It’s certainly OK to send out a few which validate your philosophy or message but sending out a business quote every day gets a little old and I question the business purpose. Instead, mix in relevant content which elicits an engagement such as “read more”, “download now” or “click for more info”. The goal should be to move someone from the top of the funnel down and memes generally don’t move a prospect any closer to a sale.
9. Politics kill just about any conversation. I try not to talk politics with friends or family, unless of course I am ready to go home. It’s a sore topic for many especially in today’s climate. More importantly there are very few business cases where politics will actually move a prospect closer to a sale unless of course you are a politician in which case this makes a lot of sense.
10. Consistency wins. I’ve seen countless pages where the owner will post a bunch of content for a short period of time, go AWOL for a few months then try to pick back up again. Most of the social channels have algorithms which track how often you are posting and the people who post more consistently tend to get more visibility. Choose a posting schedule you can keep up with for the long-haul. Don’t try to post multiple times per day unless you can keep that pace up.