3 Common Mistakes Businesses Make with Social Media

When compared with other forms of advertisement, reaching out to the public as a business via social media is relatively new. As such, it’s not uncommon for business owners to make mistakes when advertising through social media. Often, these individuals and teams may not even be aware of the mistakes they’re making.

Let’s cover three of the most common mistakes businesses make with social media so that you can ensure that your business is avoiding these pitfalls.

Do not treat all Social Media platforms the same way.

Each social media platform functions differently, has different aims, and different tools available to best utilize the platform. As such, companies should avoid using each platform with a seemingly universal approach.

Change up your posts to fit the style of the platform you’re using, rather than posting the same exact message across each of your accounts. The customers who follow your company on more than one platform will see the lack of effort as impersonal and potentially spammy.

Do not neglect quality over quantity when it comes to followers.

Having a million followers on a given platform barely matters if there is no engagement within those numbers. A company can have countless people following, but if no one likes, comments, shares, or otherwise engage with the content, there’s very little benefit to be had.

As a business, you’ll want to focus on the quality of your followers. Place your value in customers and audience members who are willing to engage with your content. A couple of hundred followers who are very active in your community can present to you far more quality than millions who ignore every post your company creates.

Do not delete negative comments, and respond with tact.

When your company advertises through social media, it’s important to have a team (or at least one individual for a very small business) dedicated to keeping an eye on comments.

Customers often leave complaints or negative comments on a company’s social media pages, and often, they’re doing so in order to reach some sort of solution.

Because of this, it is not a good idea to ignore the comments or respond to them in an unprofessional manner. These comments are public, and other customers will see both the complaint and the response.

As such, it’s in a company’s best interest to address comments like they would any other customer complaint, with compassion. Respond as soon as possible and try to offer a solution. Social media platforms are often implementing new tools, and businesses are constantly developing the ways they use social media for advertising.

Your continued dedication to learning about social media practices will help you avoid these issues in the future, as well as helping your business grow online.