Everyone makes mistakes.
+Spilling milk.
+Auto-correct errors.
+Falling asleep in the sun with a tennis racquet on your face, creating a checkerboard face.
While those mistakes are temporary, social media mistakes last a lifetime.
By Alex E. Proimos
Sure, you could delete that tweet, amend that Facebook post (you can edit them now!), or delete your blog, but all that content may still be floating around cyberspace. Someone may have snapped a screenshot or reposted your blog post and now it exists forever.
Since most of us don’t want our mistakes to last forever, here’s five social media mistakes you can’t afford to make.
1. Tweeting and Driving
Need convincing that it’s bound to catch up with you? Watch AT&T’s “Where r” commercial. I also posted about tweeting during the Daytona 500 here.
2. Way too Personal
I’ve seen business owner’s social media following rapidly dwindle simply because the content they posted on their business account was way too personal. Updates such as “ugh, hangover again. Happy Monday to me” are not only negative, they’re simply unprofessional.
3. Disappear
Growing silent on social media is certain death. The name of the game is conversation, and if there is none, no engagement exists and the platform slowly dies.
4. Running Faucet
Salespeople are notorious for being talkers. And (generally speaking) customers don’t like salespeople. But if a salesperson pauses or asks a question, the customer is engaged and is more likely to become comfortable with the salesperson. With social media, make sure the conversation is a two way street by asking questions. Which leads us to…
5. Update o’ Rama
Space out your updates, just like a good athlete would space out meals and snacks throughout the day. A smattering of tweets and updates is annoying to your followers. Use tools such as Timely, Buffer, or Hootsuite to help you space out your update.
Question: What social media mistakes have you made? What tips can you offer?
