Social media is spreading its wings wide and all the so called experts of social media are taking their dig on this matter stating some quotable quotes about things that they are not even aware of.
It is not necessary that what you read online comes from experienced people.
Sometimes people with less experience also try their hand in jotting down some advice in the form of blogs for people.
If you are an expert then you know what is right or what is wrong but a person who is just taking the first step will find it hard to differentiate between the correct and not so correct advices, therefore they end up messing up almost everything.
So for all you people out there, here are 50 terrible social media advices which you must always IGNORE:
50 Terrible Social Media Advice you Should Ignore:
1. Make your presence felt on all social media platforms:
There are so many social media platforms out there. If you want to be part of everything and anything that is there online, then you will lose out your main objective.
Maintaining so many sites is almost near to impossible, so hand-pick some of them and keep your post updated on them so that you do not face any problem in managing your social media account.
2. Facebook is the main hub:
One site cannot be the main hub, instead you must try out some more platforms. It is not necessary that you stay everywhere, but it is also not wise to concentrate on only one and neglecting all others.
Therefore, it is important that you take 2-3 accounts and focus on the best.
3. No need to respond to negative comments:
You are completely wrong, if you listen to this advice because it is very important that you address the unsatisfied customers, so that it doesn’t lead to your inability of handling customer service properly.
If you are not replying to the negative comments then that might irk anger in the customer and what might follow is a series of negative comments which will affect your brand name. So it is better to address it on the very first go.
4. Remove any comment that is negative:
If you are in the social media platform, then everybody has the right to say anything about your service.
Therefore, if they don’t like your service, then you have to face the consequences of negative comments and deleting them will not serve any purpose.
When you attend the customer who is not happy with your service, then it will give you the chance to win them over with your words and prompt services and add them up to the list of your loyal customers.
5. Every Negative comment requires attention:
You need to filter out between genuine concerns and others who are doing it with some bad intention.
No need to reply on everything that appears on your timeline instead make sure that you know where to emphasize.
6. Made a mistake, then hide it and delete all concerned posts:
If it is your fault then it is better to accept it and compensate it rather than deleting the comment to fix the issue.
Once any comment is made then it is there for the world to see even when you delete the post from your screen. So before the negative post goes viral, act quickly and solve it.
7. Keep your employees away from the social media:
It is not possible these days to keep them away from social media because of the Smartphone they use.
They are always in there so what you can do is use their personal networks to build your business network. Be smart and think smart before you do something silly.
8. Don’t get personal:
Getting personal is the keyword on any social media platform so if you are apprehensive about getting personal then you must not be there in the first place.
It will do you good if you can share some personality of yours on the social media.
9. Social media is completely free:
The signing up is definitely free, but who said social media comes free of cost.
In order to get maximum response you will have to use the platform to publish content and interact with followers. All these activities need time and time means money.
10. Intern will help you out:
A person with no work experience cannot serve you better, but if you train them properly, then there are chances that you will get the right mix of people who will help you out.
11. Use a tool that will auto-publish posts on all social media platforms:
If you use the same thing for all the platforms, then it will definitely save you time but it is not a good practice at all.
It is good to automate some of the content, but going overboard is not appreciated.
12. By publishing more on different sites you will be benefited:
It is not a good idea to publish more and be present on every other site.
Though quantity matters but quality is still ruling the chart.
13. Improve exposure by including popular hash-tags in your tweets:
It is not necessary that you will be able to increase traffic by using popular hashtags. In some cases it works and in some cases it won’t.
So it all depends on you, about how you want to go with it.
14. Your prospective buyers are not there, so don’t use it:
On the contrary, everybody is there on the social media platform. So if you are not making use of it, then you will be losing out a whole lot to your competitors.
15. Automate all updates:
It takes up a lot of your time to update your social media, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you will go for auto update.
If you are not serious about your account, then even the customers will know that and within no time they will stop reaching out to you.
16. Social media is SEO:
Many people have been advised that Social Media is the all new SEO so prepare yourself for that.
The Reality is a bit different though social media enhances search rankings but it is not the only thing.
17. No need of email:
Though social media has changed the way we communicate, we still need email. Even when you want to sign in to any of the social media platforms you will need an email address for that.
18. Cannot ask for tweets or comments:
You can actually gain by asking for comments and retweets. You will be surprised to see how people get benefited by asking people to share.
19. Different social media account required for different departments:
Do you have any idea about how tough things can get if you are running your business with limited resources?
It is hard to maintain one account, then how will you come up with great content for all different accounts!
20. Once an account is set up social media is a cakewalk after that:
It is not easy at all instead you have to invest time and energy to get things running smoothly.
21. Strategy is not required for social media:
You need to be always on your toes to get things done here so it is important that you have a proper strategy. Chalk out a goal first and then work towards achieving it.
22. Publish messages of companies:
It seems like boasting about yourself when you are publishing the messages which includes recent awards and latest releases only.
Including articles where people can relate themselves is a necessity too.
23. Engaging your audience:
You need to know how to connect with your audience more and what they are expecting out of you, to gain more popularity rather than just engaging.
24. Growth in Followers is an important metric:
It surely looks nice when you have many followers. But they won’t help you with payment, therefore concentrate more on customers and leads.
25. Social media cannot be measured:
It can be measured in every possible manner, starting from customer calls to new leads.
26. Social media is all you need:
IT is not all in fact it is a part of the huge marketing strategy that any business undertakes.
27. Outsource social media:
Outsourcing won’t help because nobody knows your customer better than you, therefore it is important that you keep it to yourself.
28. Auto DM new followers:
Auto Direct Message can be termed as spam and doesn’t help the cause either, so it is better to avoid it.
29. Need to post X number of updates daily:
It is not necessary to follow the numbers of posts instead concentrate on quality.
30. Have a policy for social media:
Concentrate on guidelines more than policy in order to keep the momentum going.
31. Sharing everything:
Sharing is important, but that doesn’t mean you will keep on sharing anything and everything.
32. Updating frequently on a daily basis:
If you are new then you will want to grab attention by updating in numerous times, but that is not the right thing to do instead update when you really have something to update.
33. Update videos:
Video updates will help you only when it talks about your business and not what your employees do at a party!
34. Starting a tweet with username:
When you do this it means that people who follows you will have it updated on their timeline and people who goes through your business profile will also have it updated on their account
35. Don’t add addresses to your Facebook account:
If you add the address on your FB then it will only help you gain more business.
36. Don’t use a third party app on Facebook:
Instead of following this if you use a third party app, then you will be able to promote your business even better.
37. Lot of likes required:
Likes looks good, but is not that important either, quality always rules over quantity.
38. Mass follower:
Do not follow everybody in an expectation that they will follow you back instead look for options which will benefit you.
39. No need to get updated about guidelines of FB:
Not only the Google algorithms, but even the guidelines for FB keep changing from time to time, so you must keep yourself updated with relevant information
40. Follow everybody who is retweeting:
Only follow back who have some relevance to your account and people who are really interested in your post.
41. Time isn’t important while updating:
Posting your updates on right time will fetch you good traffic. So, just before the hour or just after the hour will work best for you in terms of business as most people check in at that time.
42. Customer service is not important
In fact social media is the best platform to solve customer query and gain their confidence.
43. Real time update not necessary:
When you are updating any event real time then it attracts more traffic and if you can do it effectively then you will get good customer for your business as well.
44. Market only company page in LinkedIn:
Include social selling through LinkedIn and do not just restrict yourself to company page only.
45. Don’t be readily accessible:
If you answer promptly then it would show how effective customer service is and that will earn you more customers.
46. Can’t get business:
In reality you can earn business through these social media platforms if you work effectively.
47. Don’t add up the list:
Upload training videos and also give away some freebies to see how your email list brings in business through social media.
48. Cannot use like button as a method of voting:
You can now ask your fans to hit the like button or post a comment and vote for them through this.
49. Must not notify winners through Facebook:
You can now use this platform to announce winners, including the status updates and comment stream.
50. Cannot run a promotion on Facebook:
This is the best place to run a promotion through your timeline, so now enjoy promoting your business.