The Top 4 Social Media Mistakes Brands Make

by Syrup | Aug 7, 2018

Business certainly isn’t easy, and as a small business owner, you have a lot to think about. Social media probably isn’t very high on your priorities list. Maybe you know that your business needs it, but you don’t have the time to make sure you’re doing what you need to each day. That might be because it’s easier to see direct ROI from things like paid media, email campaigns, and other efforts. Or maybe it’s because social media is ever-changing and it can be tough to keep up with. 

Whatever your reasons, I’m here to tell you that you’re not alone. There are plenty of small businesses out there that don’t know how to implement a social media strategy and who make social media mistakes every single day.

You can scour the internet for social media tips, best practices, and the top things you need to do to gain a huge following and ultimately see success with your social media. But what about those things you shouldn’t do? As a content strategist, I have an eye for those social media blunders that brands make, and it takes everything in me to avoid messaging them and to ask if I can give them advice.

Instead of doing that, I’ve put together a list of the top social media mistakes that brands make in hopes that I can help you stay away from them and give your brand a good name. 

Top 4 social media mistakes brands make:

They make it all about themselves.

You have a great product or service. You have a lot to offer to your potential customers. But you don’t need to shout that to your followers every chance you get. If every tweet you put out refers to nothing but your services, you’re not giving your followers a  chance to feel like they’re a part of your community or that you care about them.

Make your followers the hero of your story. Show them that you don’t just see them as dollar signs, and give them a chance to connect with your brand beyond making a purchase. Feature customers, acknowledge what they’re going through and what they’re concerned about, and motivate and inspire them with your content. This will help them arrive at the conclusion that your services are right for them, without you directly telling them this.

Content isn’t written with the correct platform in mind.

This might be one of the most common social media mistakes I see brands make. There’s a way to write up a post and send it out on every single platform you’re on with just a click of a button. Sounds great, right? Wrong!

Your LinkedIn audience isn’t going to connect with the same content that your Instagram audience will, so it’s vital to write with each specific audience in mind. Plus, certain features don’t copy over across platforms, so this can be a red flag and show your fans and followers that you might not know what you’re doing. Don’t let social media hurt your credibility.

Content isn’t useful.

It can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that if you find something somewhat relevant to your industry, you must share it – everywhere and immediately. While you might find something interesting and relevant to your industry, it might not resonate as well with your audience. If you’re sharing content just to share it, my best advice is to stop. Social media is definitely the right place to think quality over quantity. Spend more time perfecting a few posts instead of immediately sharing everything you can find.

Why is this such a big deal? Even if you have one big win on social media and send out a post that really clicks with your audience, plenty of them have already begun to ignore you in their feed. If you’re posting constantly (and your content isn’t helpful), it doesn’t matter how good that one post is; it will simply get lost in the noise of your many other posts.

They don’t know who they are.

I see brands all the time flip-flop between multiple personalities on social media. One day, they’re cold and serious. The next, their content is littered with bad puns (my love language) and fun photos. These brands don’t know who they are.

It’s fine to have a variety of content (i.e. thought leadership and culture posts), but it’s vital to establish who you are on each platform and how you’ll communicate these things to your audience. Before we ever begin writing content for a client at Syrup, we identify who we’re speaking to on each platform and what our voice is. We may choose a very professional voice for a B2B client with C-level audience members, but that doesn’t mean we can’t share a fun post of the team; it just means we’ll be doing it differently than we would for a B2C client with a millennial audience.

At the end of the day, you want your social media to create a community for your customers and potential customers. You want it to be a place where you can show who you are and what you’re all about. You can’t afford to have your followers distracted by these mistakes. Need some help creating a social media strategy and avoiding these mistakes? Let’s talk.