Social media is constantly evolving. This means that as the person responsible for your company’s social media, you need to stay updated on new features and the different formats that work on various platforms. It’s a task that is not always easy, which is why we have gathered seven common mistakes that companies make on social media – so that you can avoid them.
1. Being everywhere – even if your target audience isn’t there
There are advantages to having company accounts on all social media platforms, but the big disadvantage is that you’re most likely spending time on a platform that ultimately doesn’t benefit your company’s goals or brand. Being visible on all platforms and creating tailored content is also very time-consuming, time that could be restructured and spent on content creation for the platforms that actually create value for you and your company. Review the platforms your company is currently on, where is your target audience, and which channel performs the best?
2. Focusing on quantity instead of quality
It’s easy to get stressed about the recommendations regarding posting on different social media platforms. According to Sprout Social, the general recommendation is to post 11 times a day across all platforms to reach your target audience. Just for Facebook, companies should post 4-5 times a day. For most companies, it’s not realistic to produce content in that quantity, so focus on quality in your content instead of quantity. We promise you can grow on social media without posting 11 times a day.
3. Not keeping track of the right format
Different platforms prefer different types of formats. Formats can be tricky, especially since recommendations are constantly changing. For example, Instagram now converts all videos to the Reels format, which is 9×16. However, we still see many companies posting their YouTube videos on Instagram, resulting in black bars taking up most of the screen. This brings us to the most important aspect regarding format: create content that takes up space. The larger space a video or image occupies on a page, the more visible the content, leading to greater exposure. A video, for example, will be more visible on Instagram or TikTok if you make it vertical or square instead of horizontal. If you’re wondering which formats work on a specific platform, Hootsuite has created a cheat sheet for each platform, which you can find here.
4. Using the same content on all platforms
Creating content specifically for each channel is time-consuming. Therefore, it’s important to investigate which platforms are relevant to your company before you start creating content. It’s common to publish the same content across all active channels, but the fact is that consumers have different expectations for different platforms, which means your content may perform well on one platform and poorly on another. The goal should be to create unique content for each platform, and if that’s not possible, at least change the hashtags you use to make them suitable for the channel.
5. Only publishing company content
Of course, companies should share their own content on their own channels, but exclusively doing that can easily result in one-sided content. Therefore, share content that is relevant to your industry, whether it’s written by you or someone else. However, make sure you share high-quality and factually correct content.
6. Not responding to questions and comments
Communication is a significant part of social media. That’s why it’s important for your company to be present when your followers comment or ask questions on social media. A whopping 70% of potential consumers are more likely to consume a company’s product if the company responds and is active on social media. Don’t leave questions or other comments unanswered and respond to everything that comes in.
7. Thinking from the inside out instead of creating content for the target audience
Reaching the right target audience is essential for growing on social media. Be mindful of how you choose to articulate yourself, how you target your content, and conduct in-depth analysis to find the right target audience. After that, just go for it! As social media constantly changes and finds new expressions, it can be interesting to review the target audience and make adjustments.
Need help creating a social media strategy? We’re happy to assist you. Contact us and book your first free consultation!
Sources:
- https://buffer.com/library/social-media-mistakes/
- https://sproutsocial.com/insights/how-often-to-post-on-social-media/
- https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-image-sizes-guide/#:~:text=Recommended%20image%20size%3A%20Width%20of,image%20is%20landscape%20or%20portrait)
Author: Martina Tideman, Digital Content Specialist, Strong Contents
