MEMEMEME – This is not me warming up for a solo. When you are posting, it should not just be about you. It should be about what your targeted audience wants to know. Be a source of valuable information that will entice them to want to do business with you. How much money you make, the type of car you drive and the wonderful vacations you take do not depict what your value is.
Religion, Politics and Do You Think I’m Sexy – In the USA, you should always be able to share your beliefs. Be aware that you may be losing a good portion of your targeted audience. Unless your business is politically motivated or religion based, stay away from fracturing your followers. If you are selling a clothing line that is all about baring skin, then keep posting your scantily clad videos while shaking your body. Otherwise, show some restraint.
Paying for posts that are irrelevant – This is very common in real estate specifically. If you are selling real estate on Cape Cod or North Carolina, what is the value of showing a beautiful home in Nevada? Sure, it is real estate. Sure, one of your followers may be interested in moving to Nevada. Chances of those are slim. Other posts about cleaning crawl spaces, adding a garage, cleaning out your gutters are mostly filler that gain no traction at all. Just look at the comments. Usually there are zero. Arguably the second worst part(the first being that you are spending $$) of these is that the few people that do click on your post, are taken to a site that has nothing to do with your business and they are gone, scrambling down some rabbit hole of useless information.
Not engaging with followers – This is a big one. It is call SOCIAL networking because it is supposed to be social. It is not “post and run” media. If you get a comment, you should always respond with another comment. Otherwise, it is similar to silently walking away from someone after they just answered a question you asked. A “like” is similar to a head nod- rude.
Measuring success in “Likes” – If you entered a party and a bunch of people turned and waved at you, yet never spoke to you, would that be a successful engagement? Would you go home and tell your spouse – “Hey Honey, 102 people waved at me and then I left. I’m so popular!”? I hope not. Engage with good content and keep the conversations going.
I had fun writing this. In part, I was guilty of just about all of the above. Well, I never did shake my scantily clad body(at least not on social media). Social media can be profitable and a key part of a marketing plan. Be smart and make it matter.