Social media mistakes that can destroy your company's reputation
Lauren Beeching
Most companies today recognise the potential of social media. Popular sites like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter draw millions of users daily. However, a large majority of companies perform in a way on their social platforms that can destroy their reputation.
Popular social media channels have millions of active users every day. It’s key for a company to get this right and not make mistakes, social networking takes effort and many companies fail to invest sufficient amount of time and energy.
So let us see what you shouldn’t do.
Don’t be heavily sales focussed
Don’t assume that social media only serves as an advertising medium. No matter what you’re offering, endless sales pitches and hype about your product or service will only irritate people and send them elsewhere. Do you log onto your Instagram to see advertisements from brands? No. You have to be savvy and subtle in your sales approach on social, a great example is Abercrombie and Fitch who post outfit ideas using their clothes in a very non-salesy way.
People may follow you to learn about the products or benefits you provide, but you have to give them reasons to stay and to keep coming back. Failure to appreciate that social media is about relationships will only cause followers to drift away. Who wouldn´t be annoyed by a company that keeps bragging, forcing people to buy and bombarding them with annoying messages? Steer clear of such a practice.
Don’t post too much
OK, you might be posting interesting content, which is great – you are on the right track. But be careful – no matter how much appealing content you can come up with, posting too much is a mistake. Churning out excessive content is flooding your audience with more information than they want. If you overdo it, audiences will feel overwhelmed, annoyed and unfollow you.
What to do about it? Give useful information in measured doses. Don’t exaggerate your claims, and try to be innovative. Posting the same kind of content repeatedly, or stale content they can find anywhere, is boring and of little value. To keep things interesting, post a variety of content on different subjects. Play with jokes and visuals. Share interesting videos. Just keep it diverse.
No activity is just as bad
The other end of the spectrum is a low activity or no activity at all, this can really damage your online reputation. Some companies start a Facebook page and post a few articles or videos expecting that will be enough to sustain interest. But if there’s no further input, the followers you do gain will become bored with it. Always presume no one cares about your brand so this is a platform to show why they should care.
People won’t talk about your company unless you properly engage them. Larger companies may hire social media agencies, but small companies on small budgets should set aside enough time to devote to social media marketing. This is a precondition of success in today’s digital world – you can no longer be a successful marketer without utilising social media.
Bad customer service
Posting comments on Facebook or tweeting on Twitter is all necessary, but not enough to really be appreciated in your peoples´ minds. If your customers try to reach you by asking a question or posting a comment and you fail to respond, it gives your company a bad reputation.
Such behaviour indicates to your audience that they’re being ignored or devalued, and they’ll abandon you. And not only that – they may be so dissatisfied with your service that they write a bad review on their profile. Remember – it only takes one viral post to seriously damage your reputation.
Social media is a great opportunity to provide brilliant customer service, so make it a point to be sympathetic, responsive, and helpful to people. Answer their inquiries and resolve their issues. When customers see that they matter to you, they feel more involved and are more likely to recommend you.
Neglecting your following
Besides poor customers service, you can also fail by ignoring your followers altogether. A failure to respond to people’s comments, suggestions, and other feedback – even if they don’t ask you anything directly – is not a way to build relationships. It’s important to remember that all communication is a two-way street. If you are not interacting with followers, their interest will soon dissipate.
So be communicative! When dialog about your brand is taking place, keep the conversation going. Like and share other people’s posts, retweet comments, repin pins, talk to your fans, seek feedback… – do anything your audiences expect in social platforms. Social media benefits you by allowing you to communicate with fans and followers, so always to your best to keep the communication alive.
Being too formal
Audiences want to interact with real people, not with machines – if you communicate in an overly dry and formal way, you will only turn people off and give your company a bad reputation. So don’t sound like a robot, be a person. Don’t address people with formal phrases such as dear sir/madam – write their names instead. They will appreciate it and feel comfortable if you show them how approachable you are.
Of course, you should remain professional, but write in an upbeat tone and add a personal touch. Use casual vocabulary and a little humour, as if you were speaking with friends. To succeed on social media, your company must be easy to relate to.
Poor grammar and bad taste
Always double-check your posts for spelling and grammar errors before you launch them online. If you have too many errors, it looks like you’re not professional. If audiences see that you don’t care enough to even proofread your own content, they won’t take your company seriously. Avoid this silly reputation risk.
Furthermore, sometimes emotions or strong opinions can lead you to abandon courtesy, but remember that you’re crafting the public image of your company. Crude jokes and offensive statements aren’t what people want when they do business.
Overall
Success in social media is not easy to achieve and if you aren’t dedicated enough, you can easily make one of these mistakes. However, if you make enough effort, it’s much easier to avoid them.
Avoiding such mistakes helps you build relationships, engage customers, and promote your brands positive reputation. Proper use of social media will grow your company, while poor use will embarrass your company and drive audiences away.