Social media sites provide an unprecedented opportunity to network and grow your business online. Don’t throw away this golden ticket by making these 12 costly mistakes!
1. Posting long, messy, nasty URLs. Use a URL shortener like bit.ly.
2. Posting too often. Rein this in by posting only when you actually have something significant to say.
3. Not spacing your posts. Sending 20 posts in 10 minutes and then not posting the rest of the day is – well – dumb.
4. Not making sense. Posting, “ARGGHHH” with no other information just annoys people. Post complete thoughts that actually mean something.
5. Too much personal stuff. You’re doing social media to promote your business or service, right? Then keep it 90%+ business and less than 10% personal.
6. Being boring. Posting that chocolate tastes good (No! Really??) or that you had cold cereal for breakfast is so……..
~ yawn ~
……………….
Excuse me, I fell asleep for a second.
See what I mean?
7. No picture. Yes, you need a profile picture. And yes, it should be a good one. If need be, pay to get your portrait taken – it’s worth it.
8. Wrong picture. Your profile picture needs to be of YOU, not a puppy or a cheerleader (unless the puppy or cheerleader is you.)
9. Not giving credit or attributing the wrong source. Give credit where credit is properly due. Always.
10. Being wrong. Again, check your facts if you’re unsure.
11. Being a jerk. No matter how much you disagree, the other person is never an idiot, a moron or a jack***. Remember, once you put it on the net, you can NEVER take it back.
12. Getting political. You’re entitled to your own politics, but they have no business mixing with your business. Keep them 100% separate at all times.
13. Using TrueTwit. Someone wants to follow you, so you punish them by making them click a link and enter CAPTCHA code? What a great way to frustrate new followers and lose them in the process.
14. Ignoring shares and RT’s. Someone retweets or shares something of yours, what do you do? If the answer is nothing, you lose. Instead, THANK them for sharing your content and start a conversation.
15. Spamming. Think about community, relationships and building trust as your first priorities. Yes, you can send out an affiliate link now and then, but most of the time you should be sending content or having a conversation.
Most marketers using social media make at least 3 of these mistakes regularly… But not you. You’re smart. You read this article, and are going to use social media wisely, and profitably from now on!
