Top 10 Common Social Media Mistakes to Avoid

EcoConsultancy recently created an excellent overview of the top social media mistakes.  Below is a summary of their findings and simple tips on how to avoid these social media missteps.

1. Over-following: Social media is based on the foundation of making connections and it is important to build these over time by adding value to the community.  There are no shortcuts so be careful about following too many people in a short amount of time.  This will only result in an unmanageable account with no “true” connections to build on.
2. Using too many social media tools: A quality social media campaign requires focus and patience.  Before trying to create a presence on every social media site, achieve success on one and then leverage your learnings in additional accounts.
3. Abandoning your social media profile: While it is easy to create an account, it can be very difficult to maintain an active profile. Before jumping in, you must be prepared to spend the time to maintain your account for the long haul.
4. Failure to train employees: In addition to providing your staff with a baseline of the basics, it is encouraged to set expectations and provide policies for employee participation.
5. Selecting the wrong employee to manage your accounts: Since your profiles provide the “voice” of the company it is essential to select an employee with a detailed understanding of your brand to manage your social media accounts.
6. Thinking social media is free: While it does not cost anything to sign up for a Twitter or Facebook page, it does require somebody’s time to create and manage the accounts.  These costs must be accounted for when calculating your financial investment in social media.
7. Posting first, thinking later: Since social media “conversations” happen in real-time, individuals tend to act reactionary. It is always better to think before you post and in some instances it is better to say nothing at all.
8. Forgetting to measure metrics: It is important to define the metrics by which you will measure your campaign results.
9. Assuming ROI is impossible to calculate: Many companies believe that social media is important but that they can’t assign a value in terms of ROI.  This is a huge mistake as it is achievable to produce tangible values that can be attributed to the bottom line.
10. Expecting the world: Social media is helping to change the landscape however it does have limitations.

Author: Brian Rice     Brian Rice on Twitter Brian Rice on LinkedIn Brian Rice on Google Plus Brian Rice RSS Feed

Brian Rice is a marketing professional with a decade of experience on both the client and agency side of marketing.  He holds a BS, Marketing from Cabrini College and a MBA, Marketing from Saint Joseph’s Haub School of Business.  Currently, Brian is on the Global Social Media Team at SAP... View full profile

This article is an original contribution by Brian Rice.

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