Top 5 Social Media Blunders That Businesses Make

Managing social media can be an overwhelming task for small businesses. This type of digital marketing takes planning, time, and focused effort. However, there are some very basic social media blunders that have the potential to cause damage to your online presence and brand perception.

Below are the most common social media mistakes small businesses regularly make. If you do anything on social media today, make sure that you do your best to avoid these five issues.

1 : Not being social

It sounds obvious but there are still scores of companies that don’t respond to comments on their posts.

These are comments from your customers and potential customers. Being “social” means being friendly, communicative...you know, sociable. By not responding, it tells customers that you don’t have time for them (some may think that you don’t really care) or don’t understand the point of social media. 

The Fix - It’s crucial to have someone in your company read comments and ‘listen’ to your audience. Form a thoughtful response, showing that you understand what the poster is trying to communicate to you. Develop a strategy around managing and triaging comments.

Depending on how busy your channel is, you might want to employ a social media monitoring app.

Bonus: Engagement will boost your profile (algorithms favour engagement).

Double bonus: Making your audience feel like they’re welcome, and are part of a community, will also lead to brand loyalty. 

2 : Self-absorption

Stop talking about your company all the time. Not many people enjoy one-sided conversations. Similarly your audience doesn’t want to only read about all the incredible things that your business has been doing or all the recognition it has received.

Social media is meant for social engagement: What does your audience want to see and talk about?

The Fix - Act like a good dinner guest and mingle with different audiences and mix up the conversational content.

Don’t try to straight-up sell people your stuff. Think about ways that’ll make your customer react in positive ways, like a smile or laugh. Create posts that apply to your audience’s lives and solve their problems.

3 : Abandoning ship

By starting a page or account, you’re committing to using that channel on a somewhat regular basis.

Making your presence known with one post, and then leaving the page to gather dust for over a year does more harm to your brand than good! We’ve all been here at some point, and it’s okay to take a break but be sure to return to your page before too many months pass.

Imagine a potential customer is interested in buying a product from your company and in their research discovers that your last Facebook post was February 2, 2017. What impression does that leave?

The Fix - There are plenty of ways to work around a busy schedule and still produce posts.

Three ideas: prioritize social media over other marketing tasks, pre-schedule posts, and/or embrace employee advocacy.

If you can’t find time to use that channel, create a post that tells people where to find fresh content (e.g. “We’re taking a break from Facebook, head over to our Insta feed @werebusy for photos of recent projects.”).

When opening social media accounts, be VERY realistic as to how many platforms that you have time to manage. Determine which ones are the best fit for your business and customers.

4 : Unfinished profile

There is no excuse for not including the basics on your business profile like the correct business name, contact info, hours of operation, and a short description. Otherwise what’s the point of having a presence online?

Related to this issue is not setting up the right page type or category; not keeping accurate business hours; or not checking erroneous user-generated edits to your profile on Facebook and Google My Business. 

An unfinished profile frustrates customers, confuses potential customers, and negatively affects Local SEO for your business.

The Fix - Don’t take shortcuts when setting up your profile. If you’re tight on time or knowledgeable staff, hire a digital marketing professional to do it for you.

Create a master reference document with your NAP (Name, Address, Phone) plus a business overview. Ensure this information is included in all business profiles in the same format. Note: a consistent NAP is very helpful for Local SEO.

5 : Random branding

When your brand looks different across the internet, you have a random branding issue on your hands.

E.g. Your company website has the new logo, but the Facebook page has the old logo, and the LinkedIn page doesn’t have a logo. Some profiles have the whole brand platform happening, while others are questionably related to your business.

The Fix - Ensure your business’ branding is consistent across all platforms and touchpoint. This includes offline too (e.g. signage, vehicles, business cards, etc.).

Your brand identity should be immediately recognizable as visitors navigate across mediums, and it should be consistent.

If you’re not sure where the logo should be placed, either in the profile pic or cover image, consult a professional with experience in digital marketing.

Not sure if your social media accounts are set up properly? I can offer a quick social media audit—contact me to set this up.