Bad Social Media Habits
14th September 2017

Bad Social Media Habits That Can Be Damaging For Your Company.

Everyone has bad habits, it’s a fact of life, but usually we can tolerate these bad habits from others or if it’s us, we might try and change it. Ultimately, these bad habits are never really serious enough for someone to avoid you or stop listening and talking to you. However, on social media it’s a different story. I’m sure we’ve all ‘unfollowed’ someone or even deleted those who have bad social media habits; perhaps they post too many pictures of their baby doing the same thing? Do they overshare? Maybe their perfect life is just too sickening – anyway, the point is that they could even be your best friend, but once your behind that screen they don’t even know you’ve clicked that ‘hide’ button.

Social media is tough, the audience is right there ready and waiting to judge you. So, have you thought about what bad habits you could have as a company? How many people you don’t even know are unfollowing you, ignoring you and missing out on what you have to offer all for a few little mistakes? Have you ever wondered why some company’s social media works and yet others fail miserably? Your company can’t afford to have bad habits so here’s a few pointers to make sure you avoid.

Posting too often
It might be tempting to post all day every day, but again, I’ll remind you of those people who tell you every time they buy a coffee or have a bath! No one needs to know and it’s boring.
Not posting at all
You just disappear after a while, you don’t stay in people’s minds and they won’t think of you when they need your services. There’s no point having social media if you just post once every three months, it’s worse than not having one at all. It looks like you either don’t care, are forgetful, don’t want to engage or are too busy – in which case, are you too busy to help them?

Oversharing
Similar to the person who posts all day every day, don’t overshare and vent all your feelings or company’s feelings out on social media, it can be a little embarrassing.

Not enough photos or videos
People don’t have time to read all the time, they enjoy visual satisfaction as they scroll down their social media feeds. They’re hungry for content and things that make them laugh or smile that they can share. A quick picture or video adds some colour and life to your page

Not engaging your followers
No one wants to be just talked at, engage with your followers, ask questions, and encourage them to get involved. Ask them for their opinion or to share their stories with you.

Failing to make a plan and a strategy
You need to be clear in your mind what you are using social media for, what message are you trying to get across, what audience are you targeting and what do you want to achieve from it?

It’s a good idea to make a plan a week or so ahead so you have an idea of what content you want to post, that way if you’re struggling to find something new or relevant you always have something to fall back on.

Bad spelling and grammar
The grammar police are swarming all over social media and they love to pick up on a ‘your’ instead of a ‘you’re’ or a ‘there’ not ‘their’ highlighting it to all the people who would never have normally noticed. Just proofread before you hit post or get someone else to check it.
Promoting yourself a lot
This is also rather boring and annoying. Ultimately, I have no doubt that the reason you’re on social media is to promote your company, but don’t go overboard. Have personality posts and humorous content. It will get people engaged with your brand without them even realising it. Mix it up and make sure there is variety.
Lack of quality content
Similarly, if you’re going to post content, post quality content. Don’t just retweet or repost others, make sure you have some of your own in there. Posting something original is great but if there’s no time to do that, just remember it is quality over quantity.
Not monitoring your social media
There’s no point in doing all this and then not paying attention to what’s working. Social media platforms provide great analytical tools now which make it so easy to see what people are and aren’t engaging with, what time people are looking at your page, what age range they are and where they live. Use this information to your advantage and do what works!
Measuring the success of your content
It’s really important to measure the performance of your social content on a regular basis, so that you can see what’s working and what isn’t being received so well with your audience. Remember, there are differences in how successful a post can be, for example; retweets and shares are much stronger than likes and these are what you should be aiming for in each of your posts.

Of course, every company will produce different content to appeal to their own individual audience groups, but ensuring that you nail the tone of voice for your brand, post out genuinely compelling content and create a strategy that works – you’re social following and engagement will increase.

At Big Cat, the pride work on a number of various social media accounts for a diverse range of clients, including; British Marine, YMCA Birmingham, The Marlowes Shopping Centre and many more.

Looking to grow and improve your social channel? Get in touch today! [email protected]

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