Connor Brooke
Some social media mistakes are pretty obvious. You get that gut feeling, “Uh-oh, I think I just messed this up,” in about two seconds. Then, there are those mistakes that catch you totally off guard. You might not even realize you made these mistakes until days, weeks, or months after the fact. So, save yourself the grief, and take these social media strategy tips from our team!
#1 You have to discern between likes, shares, and comments.
The BuzzPlant team has been fortunate enough to work on Facebook campaigns of all sizes, from major motion pictures down to local, small businesses. When working on these campaigns, it’s essential that we have an understanding of how Facebook determines who sees what. (This complex algorithm is known as EdgeRank.) As brands like Boylan Bottling Co. and Jet Blue have discovered, “shares” hold a lot more value than “likes.” In fact, “Facebook’s News Feed algorithm gives up to 1,300 percent more weight to shares than likes,” according to BlitzMetrics, as reported by AdWeek.
One digital marketing consultant breaks it down like this:
- A Comment weights approximately as much as 7 Likes
- A Share weights approximately as much as 2 Comments
- Therefore, a Share weights as much as 14 Likes
Not paying attention to how these values break down is a huge social media mistake that might explain why a ‘Like’-driven campaign failed.
#2 Never, ever fake it!
Keyword stuffing and other “black hat” techniques are pretty much a thing of the past now that Google Penguin 2.0 is having its way. However, some businesses thought they could cheat the system by posting fake Yelp reviews. As it turns out, the practice of posting fake Yelp reviews (and fake reviews on other platforms, no doubt) is a growing problem. Yelp claims that 25 percent of all submitted reviews are fake, and they have no problem seeking legal action. The office of New York’s Attorney General recently fined businesses over $350,000, according to the same source.
Faking it might seem “okay” when everyone else is doing it, but this unethical behavior should never be a part of your social media strategy.
#3 Keep your social media strategy tight and concise.
Last August, I shared a little anecdote about the shotgun approach to social media strategy. Essentially, you activate as many handles as possible and then only use two or three. This is a bad strategy! At the time, it might seem like you really do need to be everywhere on the internet. But when users find that you don’t actually use a platform, it makes you look like you don’t care. Having inactive, dead social handles won’t do you any favors.
#4 Don’t ignore negativity. Always address conflict!
Think of the last time you were in a difficult situation, facing conflict. For many of us, the natural response is to avoid the conflict, and hope it will go away. Rarely does it actually disappear. Instead, things only escalate, and your duty to resolve the conflict becomes even more difficult as the hours or days pass by.
Just as this can happen in businesses and your personal life, it can happen with your social media strategy. No matter who you are, you will get a negative Facebook comment from time to time. Eleven digital marketing experts weigh in with their tips and advice in The Art of the Response on Social Media. Definitely worth a read; learn it before you need it. And, while we’re at it, make sure you don’t do these things!
What social media mistakes have you learned from in the past
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Connor Brooke.
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Good article. Ofcourse we dan add 20 points more. But points make sense
Thanks Henk! Yeah, I could have written about 30 more. But keeping it short allows people to stay focused… :)
Along with a good social media strategy, it is also wise to practice good online reputation management. Like Henk said, never ignore negativity, especially when it’s about your business’ reputation.