Social Media Marketing Mistakes That Are Killing Your Online Reputation

Social media platforms have become a powerful asset to any business in this day and age. Utilizing social media marketing can be highly rewarding but can also be volatile as well if not done correctly. With one single great post, you can expose your brand to thousands of visitor and new followers. On the other hand, with one terrible post it can cause visitors and followers to turn away from your business. Making mistakes in your social media marketing strategy can cost you hundreds to thousands of dollars in potential sales in the long run. So what mistakes do you need to look out for, you ask? Fortunately, the mistakes are easily seen and can be managed efficiently so you don’t make the mistakes that other companies do.

Top Social Media Marketing Mistakes to Avoid:

Posting Offensive Material

Posting offensive material will damage your online presence and reputation. This is common knowledge, yet so many people still feel the need to post it. Your social media manager should know the difference between offensive and shareable material. Offensive material that is posted regularly or every once in a while has shown a brand’s reputation to decrease in popularity. The reason why offensive material may be posted by a brand is because they either mistakenly posted it or they believed it wasn’t offensive. In either case the situation is preventable. Some offensive material includes, but isn’t limited to:

• Racist material
• Nudity
• Sexting
• Rants about someone else or another company

This is a good example of what not to post:

Any information posted on social media should be double checked by a third-party to make sure it isn’t offensive. Stick to inspirational posts if you’re unsure.

Ignoring Your Followers

The whole point of social media is engaging your audience, unfortunately many businesses don’t realize this and simply don’t take the time to interact with their followers. When you ignore your followers, it can place major strain on your reputation. Ignoring your followers can include, but isn’t limited to:

• Not responding to questions
• Not responding to comments
• Ignoring feedback given by customers or followers
• Not interacting in posts that you’re tagged in if relevant to your business

Always respond to posts like this:

Even if you can’t respond to all requests or you can’t respond within a few days still try to make the effort at least once a week. If you don’t it can potentially lead to your company losing followers.

Failing To Post Proofread Content 

A major way to damage your reputation is by having mistakes in your comments, posts or any other text that you post on social media. Mistakes in your text can lead to your followers thinking you’re not a legitimate business. In the business world, it’s expected that all companies be professional at all times. Anything less than professional can really ruin your reputation. Check for poor grammar or bad spelling before every post is sent out.

This is an example of a major no-no.

Over Posting 

Over posting has been a big mistake for many businesses. While keeping your followers in the loop is essential to your online social media marketing success you don’t want to overwhelm them. Just like too little content is bad, too much content can negatively impact your brand greatly. Your followers will eventually start to unfollow you because they don’t want to see their social media feed filled with your posts.

Instead regularly schedule posts out across the week, and make sure you stick to these days every week. Your followers not only like limited content but structure as well. Also try to limit the promotional content to once a week. The other selected days should be used for interacting or posting inspirational content.

Poor Handling of Negative Feedback 

While we would all like have our say when it comes to negative feedback, it doesn’t always mean you should say what your feeling. Unfortunately, many businesses make the mistake of poorly handling negative feedback. Some companies ‘bite’ back with harsh comments. This isn’t the way to handle it.

Negativity will only result in more negative feedback against your company. Instead it’s best to approach it with a positive spin. Always thank them for their feedback and try to sympathize with them. Your key goal is to resolve the problem in a polite manner.

Overdoing The Hashtags 

Hashtags are a common trend on many social media platforms, however, try to minimize how many hashtags you use. Using an abundance of hashtags can really affect your business’s reputation.

Try to keep your hashtags to a maximum of two to three per post. Overusing hashtags will seem as if you’re spamming your audience. Your followers will notice and think this also and avoid seeing or clicking on your posts.

Not Creating Content Which Shows an Expert Level of Knowledge 

When creating content or blogs to share on social media platforms it’s important to create content as if you’re an expert. Your followers expect your business to be expert in what they do. This means your content needs to meet this expectation. If you believe the content isn’t up to expert level, don’t post it.

A week without a post is better than posting mediocre content that no one will share. It will only damage your reputation further.

Overall 

Social media platforms can be a great tool to use for any marketing strategy. Remember though, it’s important to think out your social media marketing plan well before implementing it because, if done incorrectly, it can be hard to build back the reputation you have lost in the first place. So which social media mistakes were you making?

Aaron Gray is the co-founder of Studio 56 and is a passionate digital marketing expert who has worked with some of the largest digital marketing agencies in Australia. He has been working in the digital marketing field for 10 years. Aaron loves to travel the world to not only enhance his cultural experiences but learn and enhance his skills in the digital marketing industry. He is dedicated to helping others reach their online marketing goals. 

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