Six Social Media Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
We know by now that each social media platform is an entity with its own community, its own rules, and its own no-nos. Because growing your socials can be such a long and uphill battle, it’s important to be aware of what you’re posting, how you’re posting it, and how your audience is responding. Without carefully considering each post and the platform you’re using, you run the risk of making a careless social media mistake that could cause your follower count to plummet.
Let’s take a look at six common social media mistakes and how to avoid making them.
Don’t Play Favorites
Diversity across platforms is the key to building a successful influencer career. You don’t want to limit your fans to one single social media platform, but in order to do that you need to put in a little extra legwork. Posts that are perfect for Instagram may not be quite right for Twitter, and Tik-Tok has its own recipe for viral success. It’s important to understand each platform and the audience you’re addressing when you craft your posts, otherwise you run the risk of limiting your fanbase or, worse, boring them.
The best strategy? Explore your platforms and come up with a game plan for each one. What do your Tik-Tok fans want to see from you? I bet it’s different than what you can share on Twitter, so don’t think your content is one-size-fits-all. Create a plan for cultivating and growing each platform on it’s own and once you have a sizable audience you can start cross-pollinating your content.
Don’t Ignore Bad Feedback
When you’re making your living on social media, the feedback of your fans is extremely important. And I’m not saying that you need to engage with every comment on every post (although the more you do, the better!), but when you do get a piece of negative feedback it’s crucial that you acknowledge it and give some indication of what you’re going to do to follow up. I’m not telling you to feed the trolls, but genuine negative feedback should always be addressed. Think of it this way — a fan with a problem is a fan you have the potential to keep. But if you ignore their issue, it’s more likely that they’ll simply unfollow you and find someone new to spend their money on. The more thoughtfully you engage with your fans, the more of them you’re going to see.
A great deal of these ‘negative’ experiences tend to fall on the tech side of things, and those are easy to fix! If you forgot to add a fan or discover someone who is having difficulty accessing your content, don’t ignore them. Respond as soon as you can and offer a solution (remember, for tech problems, FanCentro is there 24/7 to help!). If it’s a mistake on your end (like forgetting to add a new subscriber) be honest. You’re only human. Apologize for the oversight and correct it ASAP. Your fans will appreciate being heard, and it’ll only boost your reputation.
Don’t Be Aggressive
There’s nothing wrong with showing your fans who you are. Whether you’re taking a stand on a cause that’s important to you, speaking politically, or just venting, you have the right to let your personality shine. But you also need to remember that you’re building a brand, and one of the most common social media mistakes is alienating your fanbase with harsh, aggressive posts. You may have strong political opinions, but being too upfront about them on your business page could annoy your followers. Be mindful that you are running a business and everything you post will affect your bottom line. Before clicking ‘Post’ on a rant, consider the ramifications that you might face from your fanbase.
Don’t Ignore Your Mistakes
Look, we all mess up from time to time. Whether you mean to or not, eventually you may post a major social media mistake that pisses off a lot of your followers. Even innocent comments can blow up in your face, and instead of reacting negatively it’s important to take a step back, analyze how this is going to affect your business, and possibly take a hit and apologize. If you get called out for insensitive or uncouth behavior, be as neutral as possible. Consider whether it’s a hill worth dying on, and if you can acknowledge that you’ve made a mistake, take steps to apologize. You may not undo all the damage, but your fanbase will appreciate your honesty.
Don’t Be a SalesBot
Your social media posts should be a healthy mix of lifestyle content, general posts that will be interesting to your followers, and content you’re selling. But you should never make it all about what you’re selling. If your fans feel like they are constantly being fed a sales pitch, they’re going to grow bored and move on to more interesting pastures.
Don’t Leave Your Personality Behind
When you’re pushing an adult brand, you need to let your personality shine. You may think that your fans have a one-track mind when it comes to the content they expect from you, but showing your human side is only going to improve your bond with your following. Should you behave exactly the same way you do with your friends? No. But you want to think about what makes you valuable to your friends and let a bit of that come through. Humor, empathy, sensitivity, and quirkiness are all traits you can monetize if you use them right.
Do you need help whipping your social media presence into shape? Contact us for help! Our success coaches are on hand with tons of tips and tricks for maxing out your following and your payouts. Email success@fancentro.com to get in touch with the team.
