Avoid These Social Media Blunders

Everyone has contributed to the social media fail community. Even big name brands. When they make mistakes, it's worthy of letting the world know. Pretty embarrassing right? Well, keep in mind that the brains behind social media marketing are imperfect people. I'm going to cover three mistakes that should be avoided when handling a brand's social media.

The first mistake to avoid is crappy content. Are you showing you care, or are you just being cheap? Below is a tweet by Gap that was sweet and thoughtful at first, but then it quickly lost all sincerity when they followed it up with oh and by the way come shop at our store! Obviously people know that you want them to shop there...you don't have to shove it in their face. If you are going to care about someone or something, do just that...and then stop! Don't go on and ask people to buy your product. It will turn them away so quickly. 

 The second mistake to avoid is too many hashtags on instagram and twitter! I know it's tempting, but it can lower the value of the post considerably. Too many hashtags is annoying! Instead, post something funny, thoughtful, or anything that has value and let it speak for itself. If you target the right audience, you can guarantee retweets and likes. Only add a couple hashtags. I know it may seem like a simple suggestion, but it will make a big difference in the value of your brand and how everyone else sees you.

The third social media mistake to avoid is not posting a photo when posting an article to facebook. Today most people are too busy to read something unless it catches their eye. Think about it, when you're browsing the newsfeed in facebook, are you slowly scrolling and clicking on every post or are you speeding through and searching for the one post that catches your eye? This is the 21st century where everything is in high demand including interesting content. If you want more views, posting a picture will always make the odds be in your favor. 

The Kills, one of my favorite bands, is a great example of posting interesting pictures along with a link to something they want you to view, whether it is an article or a website. I always look forward to their posts and that is something important to me as a fan because I feel a part of their "team" or following.