Social media – get it right and it can boost your business no end, get it wrong and one mistake can land you and your company in hot water and potentially result in customers leaving you in their hundreds. And this is the big issue with social media, as knowing what to post, when to post and how often to post is an art to say the least, and whilst you may never perfect the ideal formula, you can at least avoid the mistakes that can kill your profile.
With Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and all the many other social media accounts that a business is expected to use, update and maintain, it can be tough to get things just right, but when it comes to getting things wrong, sadly, this is all too easy.
Here are 5 mistakes to avoid when it comes to your business and how you use social media to promote your company.
Batch Updates
There is nothing more annoying than a social media profile that has 20 updates in one go and then nothing for 5 days, as batch updates not only look awful but they will do little for your business as very few people will even see them. Getting your social media right means frequent updates over the course of the week, rather than just when you have an hour and decide to post a load of your own blog posts, retweet 50 posts and then share a load of other stuff at the same time. Try posting at different times of the day and never be afraid of sharing the same update at different times over the course of the week, but try to make sure you update your social media consistently across the board and avoid the 30 minute mega batch updates when you finally have time to sit down and do something.
Arguments And Controversy
You have to remember that as a business, you will have customers that agree with issues and disagree with issues, so unless you want to avoid alienating half of your audience, it is best to steer clear and avoid getting involved in any arguments or controversial subjects. If you want to get involved on a personal level, then set up a personal account, but try to make sure your business stays out of things like immigration, EU reform, politics and anything else that is or could divide your customers and cause mini outrage amongst your consumer base. Stay neutral, focus on business and avoid any arguments that could ultimately reflect badly on your company.
Risqué Updates / Topics
We all like a joke and most of us will either enjoy or tolerate a slightly risky joke or adult topic, but from a business point of view this is best avoided and whilst you should have some humour from time to time and deal with people in a friendly manner, the more you can avoid taking a risk the better. I am not saying be boring, nor am I saying never have some fun, but anything that can be taken the wrong way or can divide opinion really is best off being left to your personal profile and let your business profile be positive and uplifting, for the right reasons.
Bad Spelling, Types Or Grammar
Your updates, posts and comments reflect your business, so if they are full of typos or really awful grammar, customers will not forgive this and it will reflect on how people view your company and of course your products or services. This means that you should be checking what you are writing and if you have a team of people working on this for you, make sure you are checking the updates to make sure they read well and look right, as good English is a requirement if you want your business to fly on social media (and in general).
Not Being Secure
More and more common these days are accounts being hacked and updates being posted that are not from the company concerned, and unless your customers are tech savvy they will often not realise what has happened and credit you with the dodgy updates. Make sure you have some highly secure passwords, change them often, only let people use your account that you trust and make sure you have all the backup and recovery options in place like mobile phone password recovery, something you simply must do in case you need to quickly recover your account.
