21 Social Media Mistakes To Avoid

21 Social
Media
Mistakes To
Avoid
SEPTEMBER 7, 2014 BY
KIM GARST — 7
COMMENTS
We have all made
mistakes when it
comes to social
media; but the best
way to avoid them in
the future is to draw
attention to them.
Following
are 21
common
social
media
mistakes I
see
business
owners
making all
the time,
along with
how to
avoid them!
1. Spreading yourself
too thin: Just
because a social
network exists
doesn’t mean you
need to be part of it!
It is better to focus
on a few networks
where you know
your target market is
actively looking to
engage with you than
to try to do it all and
failing because you
are spread too thin.
2. Posting what you
want (not what your
audience
wants): Instead of
posting about
whatever’s on YOUR
mind, focus on the
needs and pain
points of your
audience. Tweet This
3. Not being
consistent across
platforms: Your
design, values and
voice should be
consistent across all
platforms to present
a recognizable face
on social
media. Tweet This
4. Not engaging: This
is a big one! Too
many businesses are
still too focused on
posting, and not
focused enough on
responding,
interacting and
engaging their
audience. Tweet This
5. Not using images:
Images on social
media account for
93% of the most
engaging posts. Not
using images is a
HUGE opportunity
lost! Tweet This
Image courtesy of
Social Bakers
6. Not using
hashtags: Hashtags
are one of the best
ways to attract new
followers on social
media. Tweet this
You can use them to
find new
conversations to take
part in or to attract
potential clients or
customers who
would otherwise
never find your
content. For more on
this, see my post
How to Use Hashtags
to Find Prospective
Clients .
7. Posting
sporadically: Using
social media for
business is all about
building trust, and
only posting when
you want something
(traffic, sales,
attention) is a great
way to break this
trust!
8. Not having a social
media strategy:
Having a plan in
place allows you to
tie your social media
efforts in with your
business goals, and
ensures you are
using social media
most effectively.
9. Not understanding
that social media
posts function as
headlines: If you
want your followers
to take a specific
action, understand
which headlines work
best on social media .
10. Not measuring
your social media
efforts: If you don’t
understand what’s
working and what’s
not, you could be
wasting your
valuable time AND
missing out on tons
of opportunities!
11. Not thinking
strategically about
when to post: The
best way to figure
out optimal posting
times is to do some
testing and then look
at your own
analytics; and a great
place to start your
testing is by looking
at the research !
Image courtesy of
Dan Zarrella
12. Posting too much :
How much is ‘too
much’ will vary from
business to business
and industry to
industry. Do some
sleuthing to figure
out how often YOUR
audience wants to
hear from you.
13. Being
inappropriate: I often
talk about the
importance of
showing your human
side on social media.
This DOESN’T mean,
however, airing your
dirty laundry or
speaking negatively
of others!
14. Not networking:
Yes, social media is a
platform for your
business. But don’t
spend all your time
engaging on your
own page or with
your own content!
Reach out to others
by @ mentioning
them, tagging them
and responding to
their blog and social
media content.
15. Not posting a
variety of content:
Keep it interesting by
changing things up –
share links to your
content, ask
questions, shared
curated content, post
a fun image or
video…variety is the
spice of life (even on
social media!).
16. Not using social
media tools: Not
using tools can mean
a whole lot of wasted
time. For some of my
favorite tools, see my
post 9 Social Media
Tools to Save You
Tons of Time.
17. Not being active
where your customers
are: Do you know
where your
customers hang out
online? Do you know
where they want to
connect with you?
Searching for your
keywords on various
social networking
sites is one way to
figure out the best
place to invest your
time.
18. Not sharing other
people’s content: You
don’t have a
monopoly on
awesome content…
be sure to spread
the love by
retweeting or sharing
other people’s
awesome content
too.
19. Not having a
consistent voice: I’m
not just talking cross-
platform here. For
instance, how do you
want to come across
on Facebook? Do you
want to be friendly
and casual, or more
professional and
reserved?
20. Too much selling,
not enough engaging:
Long term success
will mean building
relationships over
time; constantly
focusing on selling
may drive a few
sales in the short
term, but will
alienate you from
your audience in the
long term.
21. Focusing on
quantity rather than
quality: This can
apply to the quantity
of your fans or
followers, or to how
much content you
create. Far better to
have a smaller but
targeted following,
and to produce
smaller quantities of
high-quality, highly
relevant content.
Have you fallen into
any of the traps
above? Which mistake
(s) are you
determined to avoid
in the future? Share
below!
About
Kim Garst
Kim Garst is the
CEO and co-
founder of
Boom! Social
Media
Marketing, and
authors one of
the top 10
social media
blogs in the
world. Kim is
also in the top
20 women and
top 50 Forbes
social media
power
influencers.
Bringing people
and businesses
together online
since 1995!
Comments
Matt says
September 7, 2014
at 11:51 am
Great reminders…
we have to make
sure our posts are
engaging, but
actually have to
engage back with
those who reach
out to us!
Look what Matt
just posted.. Why
Your Facebook
Page’s Organic
Reach Has
Dramatically
Decreased
Reply
michael
kawula
says
September 7, 2014
at 11:54 am
This was awesome
Kim!
Number 5 was
surprised to see
video being so low
compared to
images,
interesting. Each of
these were
amazing. Funny
how you had to
mention to
“Network” but you
see so many not
engaging and
wondering why it
doesn’t work.
Great Post ~ Mike
Reply
Joan
Harrington says
September 7, 2014
at 12:15 pm
Hi Kim,
Love this post! So
many on Social
Media do not know
how to do it
effectively and you
have listed some
great what NOT to
do and how to fix
it
Thanks for all that
you do for Social
Media and
Network
Marketing!
You are awesome,
Love your value:)
Look what Joan
Harrington just
posted.. How To
Build Your Brand
Using The Power
Of The Internet
Reply
Paul
Laplante
says
September 7, 2014
at 12:35 pm
Just one word:
GREAT
Thanks a lot Kim.
Reply
Janet
Harllee
says
September 7, 2014
at 1:34 pm
Another great
article Kim! What
stood out to me is
#4 and #11. Each
week I find myself
focused on making
sure I have
scheduled the
posts. I need to be
more strategic. I
schedule posts at
the same time
every day. Thanks
Kim!
Janet
Reply
Agfian
Muntaha |
@Ianfalezt says
September 8, 2014
at 5:45 am
i think i still got
plenty of them. I
know that
something is wrong
with my social
media strategy,
but i just don’t
know, what is that.
Thanks for your
post Kim.
Look what Agfian
Muntaha just
posted.. Cara
Move On setelah
Putus
Reply
Carlos Gil
says
September 8, 2014
at 9:47 am
Number 20, “Too
much selling, not
enough engaging”
is spot on! I always
say “social media is
NOT about selling,
it’s about
relationship
building”.