9 Common Social Media Mistakes

Social media networks if well used can be one of the biggest sources of traffic to your site. Most bloggers get to social media hoping to benefit from the big traffic presence there but get frustrated when things don’t work out as they anticipated. In this article we look at some of the common social media mistakes most users make on these networks that could be contributing to them not getting the best results in terms of traffic to their websites or engagements on their posts. 

Sharing only your own content

Sharing only your own content may not lead to your fan base growing that much, in fact your audience may get bored by the same content coming from same source. Try as much as possible to share content from other sources, this will increase engagement and your audience base will grow significantly.

9 common social media mistakes

Posting the same content across different platforms

Try as much as possible to understand the different social media platforms that you are using in terms of their content expectations. Having tailored content for each platform increases reach and engagement. E.g. Content related to careers will work well on LinkedIn better than other networks, Hashtags can help increase your reach on Instagram but they quite don’t  have the same effect on Facebook.

Focusing on quantity over quality

Posting less but quality content will increase your reach and engagement. Reducing the number of posts that you make in a day, enables you to focus more on the quality of the posts rather than quantity.

Not uploading videos onto social media platforms

Note that native videos are likely to be shared more times than YouTube videos on social media platforms. So ensure that you upload your videos directly to your social media other than posting YouTube links.

Not boosting the right posts

When it comes to Facebook ads, do not just boost any posts that you think may perform well, rather look for those existing Facebook posts that have a high engagement rate. This gives you an indication of how successful the post is likely to be when boosted. To find details on engagement rate, go to your Facebook page insights posts tab, there you can be able to see the engagement rates for the published posts. Boost the posts with highest engagement rates.

Related Resources: Social Media Marketing for Small Business, how to create a successful strategy

Not replying to questions on social media

Try as much as possible to reply quickly to all the mentions and messages on your Facebook page, Twitter profile and Instagram profile from one place say by using your preferred social media monitoring and engagement  tool.  If you respond to your audience, they are likely to come back or share the good experience with other people.

Not targeting a specific audience for your content

Try to limit your posts to the relevant audience, for example by using Facebook, you can easily target your posts to a given audience that is more relevant to what you are promoting hence increasing the engagement rate.

Using only landscape videos and images

If you compare Landscape & Square videos and images, you will notice that Square videos and images tend to perform better on Facebook page and Twitter profile. Therefore it is worth trying to experiment to find out which videos and images perform better.

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Being on all social media platforms

Take stock of your social media profiles and consider channels that are performing for you and those that aren’t. You can decide to stop using certain platforms if they are not working for you. Fewer channels enables you focus more on better content and engage more with your audience.

You can also read: 10 Common mistakes bloggers make

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Comments

275 responses to “9 Common Social Media Mistakes”

  1. Really good tips! I’m signed up to a few different social medias but I primarily focus on two of them. For some reason. I really struggle with Twitter and have never really been into tweeting lol. I love Instagram the most, I guess I’m a pictures kind of person.

    1. Hi Jenn, focusing on a few that are working for you is the best thing to do. Personally I focus on around 3, and I have seen great positive results with that otherwise thanks for your insightful comments.

  2. These are some great tips! I have the tendency to do this but it’s definitely important to change things up.

    1. Hi Nicole, it is always good to start somewhere, otherwise your comments are highly appreciated.

  3. Thanks for the helpful tips. Right now, I think Twitter and Google+ are the platforms I struggle the most with. Google+ I can easily see passing on but people are ALL over Twitter. I just need to learn how to harness it.

    1. Hi Raquel, I too struggle with Twitter and Google+ but I have put my focus on Facebook and Pinterest, that is where most of my traffic comes from. Facebook groups if used well can bring in big traffic numbers.

  4. Very insightful post. These tips are very lit and I totally agree with them. Thanks for sharing.
    http://jessicahugoinspire.com

    1. Hi Jessica, your visit and comments appreciated. Welcome.

  5. Kristi McAllister Avatar
    Kristi McAllister

    Fantastic post! As someone who is new to the blogging arena, I need all the advice I can get. Thanks for sharing!

    1. Hi Kristi, your comments are appreciated. Welcome.

  6. Very good points! I especially liked the one about posting other content besides my own. I must admit, I’m trying to figure out FB. I get a lot of LIKES but hardly comments even when I ask an opened question. I was thinking I needed to post other content besides my own but I look for engagement. So I didn’t want to post other stuff and not get any engagement on those either. Idk… I’m still learning and trying to figure out this marketing industry lol. Thanks again!

    MsQueenRo.com

    1. Hi, grateful for those insightful comments. Promoting other people’s content increases engagement/audience base. Then you can leverage on this increased audience base with your posts once in awhile.

  7. I like your point about focusing on quality instead of quantity. I notice some bloggers post almost daily. That is a lot of content to manage and market. I like to post twice a week and the max being 3 times. Then I can focus on a quality article and tweak it as necessary. That also gives me the opportunity to really market that article. Thanks for sharing

    1. Yes, quality is important, but promoting your content to reach the desired audience is the key to successful blogging.

  8. I think the most important thing to do with social media is learn where to focus your efforts. If you spread your efforts out over too many social networks, you may not get the same attention as you would if you figured out the best network for your audience and spent the most effort on that one.

    1. Yes, focusing on the performing networks is the best way to go otherwise thanks for your comments.

  9. These are awesome tips! Love the tip about not posting the same exact thing across the board. I see so many brands do this! Each platform is so different!

    1. Hi, thanks for your comments. Yes, for better results, try to use each network per its expectations.

  10. Great tips, I’ll be using most all of these! Thank you.

    1. Hi, I really appreciate your visit, and comments on this post. Welcome.

  11. darlingceo Avatar
    darlingceo

    These are all great tips! Thank you for sharing !

    1. Hi Thanks for passing by again. Most welcomed.

  12. This is a very helpful and much-needed post. Sharing!

  13. I KNow at first I had issues with social
    Media and my photos. These are great tips , I’ve gotten better with going with networks that bring traffic

    1. Hi, thanks for dropping by and for those nice comments. Yes, it is better to focus on those networks that bring in more traffic, and work even harder on them to get more better results.

  14. Your post is very helpful. Right now I focus on Facebook and LinkedIn.

    1. Hi, yes focusing on those networks that brings in most results in terms of traffic is the best way to go.

  15. Patricia @ Grab a Plate Avatar
    Patricia @ Grab a Plate

    Great tips! The last tip, especially – I need to lay a little lower on some of my social media platforms. Sometimes it gets to be a bit much! Thanks for sharing.

    1. Hi Patricia, thanks for dropping by.

  16. Great reminders to clean up my social media activities. I’m going to start playing with different size photos for Facebook.

    1. Hi Nicole, am glad you are picking some tips from this post. All the best.

    1. Thanks for passing by.

  17. Thank you very much for such a useful post… It turns out I am making some of these mistakes right now… so I will work on fixing them soon! Thanks a lot!

    1. Hi Jenn, thanks for those nice comments. Am glad that you are ready to implement some of these tips.

  18. Really great tips. Book marking this post. Thanks

  19. I’m new to blogging. Looking forward to putting this information into practice.

    1. Hi grateful for your comments.

  20. Thank you for the great info. I am struggling with the lack of traffic and given myseld a deadline to turn around or quit. I takes so much time!! Will heed a few tips first, thanks.

    1. Hi, traffic building is a long process. Take your time, do the right things, and soon you will see better results.

  21. Very informative and useful post. I did not know about even half of the list. Will try to implement these in my blog promotion and engagement routine.

    Thanks for this great post.

    1. Hi, am grateful for your comments. All the best.

  22. All great tips! I especially like the last one about being on all social media platforms. This can be a real time waster and you are likely connecting with people who have already seen your post over and over again which can cause them to skip over your content in the future. I always tell my clients to focus only on the platforms where there ideal audience is.

    1. Hi, am very grateful for those insightful comments. Welcome again.

  23. Sara Kohll Avatar
    Sara Kohll

    Thank you for sharing these tips! I agree with all of them. You definitely have to keep up with your social media if you want to be successful.

    Thanks!
    Sara
    https://thecococulture.com

    1. Hi Sara, I really appreciate your comments. Yes, social media can be one of the big contributor to traffic to any site if well used.

  24. Some very useful tips for Social Media use. I do find it all overwhelming at times, as there are so many outlets to use. I am focusing on Pinterest this year and so far the results have been excellent driving traffic to my travel blog. Thanks for the tips! Rob

    1. Hi Robert, I too focus on few social networks, and I have seen much more positive results when I use only few of them.

  25. Now posting videos on Social Media is very important as it grabs a large audience. This helped me manage to get few cents selling my products which was not possible with just post share.
    And we should definitely avoid above listed method.

    1. Thanks for commenting on this post. Yes, videos are great tool when it comes to attracting traffic to your posts.

  26. Thanks for sharing!
    Interesting and helpful.

    X Anneliesfitlife

  27. I agree with you on all points, especially on the last one. Pinterest, Twitter and LinkedIn (for example) are three completely different types of social media, targeting different audiences. Figure out where your audience hangs out the most and use that channel. Don’t waste time and energy on where they are not.

    1. Hi Vladimir, it is good to put focus where you get the best results in terms of traffic. Personally I put more focus on Facebook and Pinterest. I use Twitter and G+ just to a small extend.

  28. Thanks for sharing this information. I am currently only really focusing on Facebook and Instagram but I have accounts setup across all social media sites.

    1. Hi Kaylyn, I appreciate your comments on this post.

  29. What an interesting read! I had no idea square images and videos perform better than landscape. Thanks for the insight!

  30. These are very important things to consider. Thanks for the reminder. Quality over quantity ??

    1. Hi Kat, thanks for dropping by and for those nice comments.

  31. These are really good tips, I am trying to focus on quality rather than posting all the time

    1. Hi, am grateful for visiting and commenting on this post.

  32. Great read, I definitely needed this as I’ve been struggling with social media. I noticed I post the same content to all platforms & should focus more on really high quality posts. Thanks for the insight!

    1. Hi Terra, I appreciate your comments on this post.

  33. I must admit I do all of these! I try to keep my blog posts over 400 words also and link to old blog posts.

    1. Hi Wendie, thanks for passing by, and for those nice comments.

  34. Thanks so much for this post! Of the 3 social media platforms I’m on I have struggle with Facebook. It seems like no one ever sees my Facebook posts . I link Facebook and instagram together and get 200 likes on a picture but zero on Facebook. I see now that I need to treat them differently and make some changes to my Facebook page .

    1. I think when it comes to Facebook, try to focus more on groups, join FB groups in your niche, engage members, participate in daily promotional threads. If you do these, you will see improvements in your traffic from Facebook.

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