7 Social Media Habits to Avoid

No matter which social media platform you use, there are a number of practices that will hold you back from engaging effectively with your ideal audience.

Here we have listed, the top seven negative social media habits we believe should be avoided.

1. It's all about us!

Social media, is as the title suggests a social activity and information shared should not focus on just the company or sales. Continuously posting broadcast posts is very likely to disengage followers.

2. Unclear Branding

Companies may choose to use multiple social media platforms to promote their brand to a variety of audiences; however, the branding should be consistent across all platforms to ensure strong brand recognition.

3. Confused Content

As much as an eclectic mix of information may be interesting, it gives out a confused message to followers; removing focus from you and your brand.

4. Keeping your website url hidden

Social media platforms are a tool to raise brand awareness and funnel traffic to your website. If website details are omitted from profiles or links within relevant content, your audience is unlikely to go looking for the additional information.

5. Not engaging

It may be a comment, follow or mention depending on the platform; but this interaction is a great opportunity to connect with audiences and make them feel valued.

6. Intermittent posting

Posting avidly for a couple of days and then disappearing for weeks at a time will leave your audience unsure of what to expect. In addition they are likely to question if this approach is reflective of your customer service. Establishing a clear strategy in advance, which you can tweak if required, will keep your brand in front of an audience on a consistent basis.

7. Automation

Linking Facebook posts to Twitter feeds is just one example of this. Remember the platforms all work differently. Facebook allows 2000 characters whilst Twitter only 140. Therefore, when posts are automatically pulled through from Facebook, Twitter will not edit the content to fit and posts will often not be reader friendly.