The constant evolution of social media can make it hard to keep up with trends and best practices, but something that people don’t think of as often is etiquette. While etiquette seems like a straight-forward term, people can overlook what they’re posting or how they’re speaking to consumers. This can oftentimes become detrimental to their success.
Each social media platform has its nuances and when you don’t follow proper etiquette online, you run the risk of looking unprofessional: leading to a negative impression on your audience.
Let’s take a look at some very important don’ts when it comes to social media etiquette for business:
Don't Be a Spammer
Keep everything in moderation. Liking, commenting, retweeting, and sharing are all great ways to interact with consumers and other businesses, but doing that to every post or tweet looks spammy.
Don't Be Repetitive
Do you enjoy seeing the same verbiage or looking at the same picture over and over again in your feed? Put yourself in the shoes of your followers – or potential followers. By posting the same content, it ultimately shows that you’re lazy. If you want to reuse older content that’s fine: you just need to be creative with it. Reword the message entirely and change the image.
Don't Replace Human Interaction with Automation
Using the same content across multiple platforms is simply “okay”. The problem lies in not changing the message to match the network. The ability to post everything to multiple platforms is a huge timesaver, but taking the extra time to write an original message for each social media platform based on its audience, is the ideal thing to do. Original, fresh, and new content is what gets the most engagement.
Don't Abuse Hashtags
Adding the appropriate hashtags connects your post to all other posts on that topic, which is a convenient way for people to search content on social media platforms. Too many hashtags or unrelated hashtags, looks messy.
Don't Be Needy
Constantly asking your followers to “repost” or “like” your page is unacceptable (and a bit annoying). It’s acceptable to let people know you have a business page, but you need to tell them what the page is about. What will they expect to see? To read about? You need to earn followers with shareworthy content.
Don't Ignore Questions, Messages, and Comments
Every question, message, and comment, deserves a response. This includes negative comments, but excludes spam. Let’s say a customer left a poor review of your business on a post. Responding in a professional manner shows everyone else who interacted with the post that your customers matter and you want to rectify the situation. The same goes for someone for a positive review: not only does it show your audience that you value them, but it builds your brands’ credibility and consumer trust.
Don't Overuse Emojis
Using emojis in posts increases your number of likes by 57%, and shares and comments by 33%. It’s safe to say emojis boost a brand’s engagement; however, overusing or utilizing emojis that don’t compliment your message hinder your posts. A general rule of thumb is not to use more than a few emojis in one post. Common mistakes in emoji use include:
- Not recognizing the appropriate time and place to use emojis
- Using emojis that don’t make sense for your target audience
- Not understanding the meaning of the emoji you’re using
- Using emojis that do not relate to your brand
- Going after popular emojis to boost engagement, forcing them into your post
Having a well-run social media platform can help ensure you boost your online presence in a positive and efficient way. Making thoughtful decisions that not only align with your marketing strategy but also with your audience, is the way to develop visibility, personality, and community for your brand.
SCB helps clients with their social media strategy by posting professionally written content and imagery to their platforms, including paid social ads. We are not only experts in the world of social media, but also video production, content creation, and business marketing. We welcome you to contact us to see how we can further assist your business needs. Call us today or request more information online.
