Social Media Gaffes That Could Sink Your Organization

by Infinity Concepts | Jul 5, 2017 | Branding, Digital

It is widely known and accepted that social media is one of the most powerful forms of communication today. With power this great also comes the risk of consequence. Social media is the one of the strongest forces available to amplify your platform. It can also can amplify your mistakes.

For many organizations, these mistakes can be costly. Once something is made public online, it is permanent. Many organizations have tended to not fully jump into these deep waters. However, a partial dive can be equally as costly if you are making these social media mistakes.

How many of these social media gaffes is your organization guilty of?

Business Vs. Social
Social media should be an ongoing conversation instead of an online bulletin. If your platform only features announcements, you will lose out on getting to know your audience. You must always keep the “social” in your social media. Strive for 80% social interaction and limit your announcements to approximately 20%.

Inconsistent Attendance
In order to encourage engagement and foster a connection, your audience needs to be able to rely on consistent content. Do not only post on a whim when an idea comes to mind. If time is a factor, you can schedule in advance in some of the platforms or use social media management tools like SproutSocial and Hootsuite.

Blind Novels
The quickest way to lose the attention of your audience is to create lengthy posts with no images. Facebook posts with images get over 200% more engagement than those without images. Visuals are the key to successful interaction on social media. Always strive to incorporate images and videos when possible.

Hit and Run
Social media is a two-way street. If you add a post without engaging with your audience, your efforts will fall flat. Make it a practice to review the comments your audience posts under your content and respond to them frequently. They need to feel there is actually a personality behind the brand.

Fluff Over Fulfillment
While it is important to maintain the “social” aspect in social media, you need to ensure the topic of interest is vital to the needs of your audience. As readers scroll through their feeds, they always have in thought “What’s in it for me? Be sure that your content answer this.

Social media should be embraced and not feared. When managed effectively, the rewards can be bountiful to your organization. Despite these gaffes, remember the greatest mistake of all is not participating in social media at all!

Let us know if Infinity Concepts can help you
optimize your social media program.