Look, we don’t want to be the social media police, but there is nothing more cringeworthy than watching businesses decrease their following with faux pas that are very easy to avoid. We know that not everyone is tech-savvy, but that doesn’t mean you have to look like someone’s Grandma has just hacked your Instagram account (sorry Grandmas, no offence).
To save you from yourself, we have put together this guide of the top 3 things NOT to do on social media. These are mistakes that people are making on a daily basis, thinking this is best practice. But, trust us when we tell you, it’s not. We hope the below explanations will help you understand why, and to come up with ideas that are going to help you with your small business social media strategy.
Auto DM on follow
Auto DMs on follow are lame for a couple of reasons. The old ‘Hey, thanks for the follow, here’s a promo’ sounds completely disingenuous, and absolutely everyone knows that these messages are by a robot. These canned responses are not even worth the time it takes to set them up. On social media, we are moving towards (or trying to move towards), genuine human interaction, and this is the complete opposite. There is no such thing as an automated personal response. So don’t bother.
Misusing hashtags
Yes, hashtags can be a useful way to get your content to more people, but nothing says ‘social media dinosaur’ like the overuse of hashtags. That means no more #nofilter #fun #weekend #yeahilovedancing. Or whatever those 50 tags are at the bottom of every post. Hashtags should be as concise and relevant as possible. If you make up new hashtags for every post, they are never going to get traction. Likewise, if they are completely generic, they will get lost in a flood of posts. Be smart and use hashtags sparingly.
Buying followers
This one isn’t immediately obvious as to why it’s a bad thing. Shouldn’t having heaps of followers on social media be a plus? Sure, it is, but buying followers doesn’t buy you engagement, and these phoney profiles are pretty easy for genuine users to figure out. For example, if you are followed by @socialmediagal101 who only has 8 followers, but is following 2,000 accounts, it is pretty clear that this is a fake account. And frankly, there is nothing sadder than buying followers. This is a surefire way to ruin your credibility. It is much better to build up your following gradually with good content and genuine connections.
In summary
In social media land, the landscape is always changing. What is considered a trend one day might be a faux pas the next. That is why it is important to your small business marketing to work with a company like Promotr that always has a finger on the pulse. When social media is used well it can help a small business go big. When it is used poorly, it can do more harm than good. At a minimum, avoid these 3 faux pas, and thank us later.
