The average American spends about 135 minutes a day on social media. Seventy-seven percent of small businesses use social media to connect with their customers. There’s no question that social media can be a huge asset for many companies and particularly for smaller organizations and nonprofits.. Here are five common social media mistakes your brand might be making that can be easily fixed to get your accounts back on track for success.
Posting and ghosting
Social media (extra emphasis on social) should be used as a two-way form of communication. “Posting and ghosting” is the practice of posting content to your social media accounts and leaving it without further engagement. No one wants to be talked at, or in this case, posted at, they want to be communicated with. Brands need to engage with their community– responding to and liking comments on their posts, answering any messages they received, and proactively interacting with other accounts, brands, and users.
Brands should focus on community building and fostering genuine relationships and interactions with their audience rather than just throwing content at them. The American Red Cross does a great job of this by actively responding to comments on their posts and even responding to some comments with another video.
@americanredcross Replying to @LadyGardenings If you’re choking and no one’s around, don’t panic. Here’s how you can save yourself. #HowTo #Choking #ChokingAlone #FirstAid #SafetyTip ♬ Dove – niquo
Sharing graphics with too much text
Social media is fueled by the attention economy , which means anything that tries to capture our limited attention. If the content or graphics your organization is posting is very text-heavy, there’s a chance users will scroll right by. Since most use their phones to view social media and too much text is hard to read on a phone screen, most people will be immediately overwhelmed when they see a lot of text in a graphic and then choose not to read it.
Brands should make their content eye-catching and visually appealing to stop perpetual scrollers in their tracks. Instead of cramming all the text and information you want to get across into one visual meant to fit in a static Instagram post, consider turning it into a carousel post to allow for the text elements to breathe, users to scroll at their own pace, and the information to be more digestible.
CBS News Climate Watch recently posted a few facts about the spring equinox and opted for a carousel post format, which allowed users to take in the information without being overloaded all at once.
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Not repurposing content
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again– repurpose 👏 your 👏 content 👏. This goes for reusing/updating past content, repurposing content posted to other platforms, and reformatting content from brand blogs, newsletters, or articles. Just because you’ve posted something once before, does not mean you cannot, or should not, post it again. Think about it: you posted something a few months ago that did well, but you’ve grown your platform a lot since then. You have new followers, you’re reaching more accounts, and most likely, your existing followers don’t remember or never saw that post in the first place. You can share the same content, update it, or revamp the images/copy and it will engage a whole new set of users.
Likewise, you can repurpose content to create the best fit for each platform. That single image post that performed well on Facebook? Make it a short reel for Instagram. A carousel post on Instagram can be turned into a PDF and posted on LinkedIn using the PDF feature, then the text from the graphics can become a thread on X. Does your brand have a blog or send out monthly newsletters? Repurpose content from them for social media posts. One of the biggest social media mistakes a brand can make is not repurposing content– it saves time, energy, and resources, especially when most small organizations have a one-person marketing team.
We’ve utilized this tip with our client The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts by repurposing blog posts into formats that work for social media, like turning this listicle style blog into a carousel post for Instagram:
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Being overly promotional
Social media is not meant to be a giant billboard for your brand’s products and services. Your content should also add value to your audience’s feed– posting too much branded content aimed at selling or marketing your brand isn’t providing value for users. Aim to use the 80/20 rule: 80% of your content should inform, educate, or entertain, while 20% can directly promote your brand.
This doesn’t mean that any of the 80% can’t mention, refer, or feature your brand/products in the content. as long as the content’s main purpose is to inform, education or entertain. If your content provides value and users save and share it with others, they are promoting your brand in a subtle andindirect way. Ben & Jerry’s posted a collaboration with Wheyward Spirit to show how to make a boozy ice cream float for St. Patrick’s Day. The reel provided value and a recipe, while also indirectly showcasing their brands by using Wheyward Spirit’s alcohol and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to make the drink.
People share content that makes them laugh, is relatable, inspiring, or educational. They also share content that reflects how they see themselves or represents their beliefs. Being able to humanize your brand is important. Seventh Generation often posts relatable and educational content that’s still relevant to their brand, like this carousel post letting users know how often we should be washing our workwear (I know I found it quite informative).
Trying to win at every platform
With new social media platforms and updates popping up every day, it’s nearly impossible to be “successful” on every platform, nor do you need to be. There’s a misconception that brands need to have a presence on every platform and be posting across all of them. Instead, brands should figure out which platforms are most aligned with their target audience and business goals. Asking yourself which platforms increase brand awareness, are engaging your audience most and are showing the most growth can help you establish which platforms to focus on.
Now, this isn’t to say you need to completely abandon the other platforms. You can still post on those platforms while not prioritizing them and their growth as much as the ones that are working better for your brand. Language-learning app Duolingo currently prioritizes TikTok, Instagram, and X since those platforms align best with their brand voice, audience, and the type of content they post.
@duolingo why doesn’t anyone fall for an owl? #duolingo ♬ BAILEYS SOUND – Me!
If your brand is making any of the above social media mistakes, don’t fret– all these mistakes are easy to fix so your brand will be slaying social in no time! And if you’re looking for more tips to up your social media game, check out the top 2024 social media trends you should know.
