5 Social Media Mistakes Every Brand Must Avoid

Brands and Social Media has been quite an interesting affair over the years. We have seen brand blunders, heart-touching campaigns and everything in between. But in this article, we’ll talk exclusively about blunders. Yes! The Blunders that your brand should avoid at all costs to make sure your Social Media presence benefits your brand. 

Not making mistakes and staying consistent is the reason why so many brands keep getting it right while others fall behind. And as important as it is to know what a brand should do, it is equally important to know what not to do.

Social Media Blunders to Sidestep

1. Working without a Plan

The most common mistake brands make on Social Media is posting without a plan. In the quest to stay consistent, they keep on posting without any pattern or engagement strategy. 

To avoid these mistakes, you can follow a three-step process:

  • Set out a list of Social Media objectives you want to achieve for your brand. 
  • Create a Budget you will require to reach those objectives. 
  • Devise an action plan based on the objectives and make sure you stick to it.

Whatever plan you create, try to stick to your brand’s identity. Just to gain traction on Social Media Platform, you must not move away from what your brand is at its core. So, make sure your plan is well-thought out and finalised.  

2. Too Much Self-Promotion

Why do people scroll their Social Media Feeds? Obviously, to relax a little and get their minds off their stressful life. The last thing they want to look at is a brand telling everyone why they stand out from the competition. 

So, be careful when it comes to self-promotion on social media. Now, you may ask, why should I use social media when I can’t promote my brand? Well, there’s nothing wrong in promoting your brand if it is done in a subtle manner. 

And if you overdo self-promotion on Social Media, it will definitely hinder the connection you have with your target audience and you’ll watch your followers count gradually receding.

Why? Because there’s nothing more annoying than a brand talking about themselves all the time. 

3. Not Clearly Defining your Target Audience

For whom are you creating your Social Media Content? Confused? Still trying to figure it out? If yes, then before you make even a single piece of content, answer this question. Every brand should know who their target audience is and put out their social media content accordingly. 

Every Insta reel, Tweet, or Facebook Post you put out should be relevant to the people who will be interested in your product or services. Your target consumer should either relate, gain some information, or feel reiterated with your content. 

4. Not Diversifying your Social Media Strategy

Every Social Media platform is unique in its own way. What works on LinkedIn will not work on Instagram and vice versa. The algorithm of these platforms is different and the same goes for the audiences. The same way you dress for the occasion, your style on Social Media should also depend on the platform in question. 

So, before hurrying to devise a Social Media action plan, take your time to research each social media platform you intend to use. See what the audience on the platform is like, figure out the type of content that works best on that particular platform, and so on. 

For instance, here are some cool Twitter Marketing Tips that can help you make the most of the platform and bring lots of eyeballs to your brand. 

5. Buying Followers

It is always better to learn from other people’s mistakes. A lot of brands have suffered massive loss of credibility because they chose to buy followers on platforms like Instagram. Why so? Well, here are some reasons why:

  • Buying followers will lead to you seeing those inappropriate bot comments so common on Instagram. 
  • The algorithm of most social media platforms has been updated to identify and purge fake followers, as a result you will see a continuous drop in your follower count if you buy them. 
  • People have become increasingly aware and can easily identify if an account has fake followers. Naturally, if your brand’s social media accounts have fake followers, it can hamper your credibility. 
  • Any fake followers that you buy will not engage with your account. And the renewed focus on real engagement over just follower count has made buying followers an even worse choice for brands. 

So, instead of browsing the best deals on buying followers, devise a complete Social Media Strategy that will help you gain followers and engagement organically.

6. Relying too much on Automation

Many automation tools have made things easy for Social Media marketers and brands. But relying too much on automation can lead to blunders such as the one New England Patriots committed on Twitter

Apart from causing embarrassment for your brand, too much automation also makes brands lose the human touch on their Social Media accounts. So, try to strike a balance between automation and hiring a team that churns out relatable content for your brand. 

The Final Verdict 

One thing about Social Media Marketing is that it involves quite a lot of chop and change. After all, strategies that work today will not work a couple of months later. So, do not shy away from experimenting with content and strategies. Try out reels, text-based content, informational content and some wit and humour as well. You never know what may strike a chord with your target audience. 

Also, making a blunder with Social Media Marketing is not the end of the world. The biggest brands in the world like Coca-Cola and LG have made blunders as well. So, if you have made blunders in the past or performed poorly with Social Media Marketing, there’s nothing to worry about. 

Make a fresh start, do your own research, find out what works for your brand, and you will gradually see meaningful conversations around your brand on social media. 

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