12 Social Media Marketing Do’s and Don’ts

1. Don’t: Make everything about yourself

When you begin your social media marketing journey, it can be easy to put yourself first and do everything you can to promote yourself and your brand. But getting caught up in only posting things that make you look good can have a negative impact on your social presence. Doing this can lead to audience dissatisfaction and disinterest as you focus on what interests you, rather than what interests your followers.

2. Do: Make your audience the main focus

While your primary goal may be to promote your brand and gain followers or attention on social media, it is important to remember this is not the only thing that matters. Remember: your viewers are your priority! Put yourself in your viewers’ shoes and think about what they might like to see. Making sure you have their best interests in mind ensures that the correct information and material is being marketed toward them. An example of this is Airbnb. Airbnb posts images of various Airbnb houses, locations, and vacation ideas to their social media platforms. Their dedication to posting content that inspires hosts and excites customers ensures that their social media presence is positively impacting their brand.

3. Don’t Get caught up in the success of others

Being surrounded by others on social media and seeing their successes and growth can create competition and jealousy. Wanting to achieve success and be the best is a natural response but you must be careful not to let these emotions and desires get too extreme. Focusing on how well others are doing and frequently comparing your progress to theirs will likely be a source of frustration and take away from time that can be spent reaching toward your goals.

4. Do: Focus on your goals and progress

Remember what it is that you set out to achieve, not what others are doing around you. When you set a goal, focus on what you are doing to reach that goal and put your energy into bettering your brand in a way that fits with your values. Gleaning inspiration from others and looking for areas to improve is a wonderful way to push yourself and go above and beyond.

5. Don’t: Ignore comments and interaction

When a post goes out on a social media platform, it is likely that comments will begin to roll in. Finding the right thing to say in response can be hard and it may seem easier to simply let these comments sit on your web page or post without engaging. But, while this may seem like no big deal, it can be detrimental to your business’s reputation. When a person comments or responds to a post and doesn’t receive any interaction, it seems as though the individuals behind the account don’t care for their customers or viewers. Falling silent and ignoring comments can lead to a loss of customer loyalty, trust, and satisfaction.

6. Do: Engage with your audience

Whether it is over a positive or negative response, audience engagement is essential to successful social media marketing. Engaging with your audience shows that you not only care for them but that their thoughts, opinions, and interactions matter. When you receive a message or comment, take a few moments to respond, striking up a conversation or simply answering a question they may have. Make sure to do so in a timely manner as to avoid making your audience wait for a response. Anything within 30 minutes is an ideal response time, as it allows you to prepare the right response and doesn’t keep your audience waiting for long. An example of this comes from Ncam, a real-time camera tracking company that quickly responds to questions over social media to keep their customer’s projects on track. They understand that the longer the customer waits, the longer the project gets delayed and the more at risk they are of customer dissatisfaction. Dedication to timely engagement shows your audience that you are there for them and will support them throughout their experience.

7. Don’t: React rashly or aggressively to comments

When a mean or offensive comment pops into your social media feed, it can be tempting to retaliate. Responding quickly and aggressively may make you feel good in the moment, but will likely have a negative impact on your entire social media presence. Once something is out on social media, it is out there forever, so be very careful of what you say. Especially when interacting on a public platform, these comments can be seen by a large number of people, negatively affecting your brand and its image on a wider scale than you may have intended.

8. Do: Take time to cool off and respectfully respond

Instead of responding to a negative comment as soon as it rolls into your feed, take a few minutes to step away from social media and breathe. If something appears that is threatening or elicits a hostile reaction, take yourself out of the situation and put some space between yourself and social media. Once you feel you have gained composure, go back and respectfully respond to the negative comment. If the comments rolling in are extremely negative or hostile, reporting them to the social media platform is a safe way to resolve the issue without getting involved.

9. Don’t: assume your content is optimized for each social platform

Posting content to numerous social media platforms is a common practice, but just because it looks good on one posting site doesn’t mean it will look the same on the rest. While many social media platforms may seem similar, there can be small differences that dramatically affect the presentation of your content. For example, a post may look perfect on Facebook, but after copying it to several other platforms such as Instagram and Twitter, the image may become skewed or cropped, showing only certain parts of the image. Long story short, don’t assume that your post will look the same on every social platform just because it looks good on one.

10. Do: Check posts on each social platform before posting

Check your posts on each social platform before posting. Looking to see how each image shows up on various platforms ensures that your content will be portrayed in the way you wish to have it. Although it may be slightly more time consuming, going through to find the posting style that works best for each platform can help avoid mistakes and make the process much smoother.

11. Don’t: Get too comfortable

When something starts to work well, we tend to fall into a pattern and continue doing what has brought us success. However, it is easy to become monotonous and begin to lack diversity. With the social media world constantly changing and developing new trends, failing to broaden your horizons and develop with the industry can have negative repercussions for your online presence. Ignoring new trends and continuously posting similar content going back to one point of focus can fail to achieve what people are hoping to see and begin to bore your audience.

12. Do: Pay attention and adapt to changes

Being up-to-date and aware of changes occurring in the social media world can prepare you to develop alongside it. Be sure to check all social media platforms and research what changes might be coming to ensure you are prepared to adjust your content accordingly. Keeping your posts interesting and adding variety will help your audience continue to remain engaged and excited to see what is coming next. While it may be tempting to stick with your original strategy and stay constant, adapting to the changes in the social media landscape and finding new and interesting angles for your content helps avoid audience boredom and disinterest.

Ready for a more tailor-made social media marketing strategy that’s unique to you? Get in touch with our team today to learn more about how we can help.