Are you committing any of these 7 common social media mistakes?

Here are 7 of the Mistakes I see the most often when I do social media audits for new and prospective clients, along with some tips on how to avoid them:

1. Focusing on the wrong goals
2. Only posting one type of content
3. Posting without engaging
4. Trying to do everything, everywhere (and be everything to everyone)
5. Not including or adapting your calls to action
6. Posting inconsistently
7. Using overly broad, vague hashtags (or not using any at all)

Let’s dive in a little deeper, shall we?

1. Focusing on the wrong goals (like follower count or likes)

Remember to set clear business objectives for your social media strategy (boost sales, grow brand awareness, attract new customers…) & use that as your key focus!

2. Only posting one type of content

Different people will connect more (or less) with different content formats & topics. Don’t miss out on connecting with them – while staying true to your brand & social media strategy.

It’s also important to try out whatever type of content a social media platform has recently rolled out or is focusing its efforts on. For instance, with Pinterest it’s idea pins (especially video ones – check out my wrap up of the latest Pinterest trends here). For Instagram, it’s Reels – of course! YouTube and Facebook are also trying to gain traction in the short form video content space.

3. Posting without engaging

Want your audience to engage with your brand? Then remember to engage with them too! Start conversations in the comments, share posts they make about your brand… This is especially true for platforms like Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. Less so for Pinterest.

Trying to do everything, everywhere (& be everything to everyone)

4. Trying to do everything, everywhere (& be everything to everyone)

It’s tempting to be on all the platforms to maximize your brand visibility but each one requires time, resources & a dedicated strategy. Make choices focused on your business goals & ideal clients first & foremost.

5. Not including or adapting your calls to action

Whether it’s in a static post, a video or a story, let your audience know what you want them to do after engaging with your content like: leave a comment, go to your website, sign up for your newsletter, etc.

This also goes for your newsletters, your website content, digital (& non-digital) ads…

6. Posting INCONSISTENTLY

Try setting a realistic posting frequency to stick to for your brand & prepare your content calendar ahead of time. It’s better (for both your audience and most platforms’ algorithms) if you post 2-3 times a week, every week, than daily for a few weeks, not at all for a while, and then posting again randomly.

7. Using overly broad, vague hashtags (or not using any at all)

Hashtags are still a great way to reach new people and help categorize your posts.

Include a mix of different hashtag types & sizes. It’s also important to know how many hashtags (and what type) per platform. Also, it’s important to note that more and more platforms are moving beyond the hashtag to detect keywords in captions to categorize posts accordingly, so don’t rely exclusively on hashtags and make sure the ones you do use are relevant to both your ideal audience and the topic at hand.

Not sure how to harness the power of hashtags for your conscious brand? Then check out this free guide I created!

Let’s recap

It’s normal to make mistakes in your social media journey. And good news: you can still grow your business & online presence making these mistakes, but perhaps not as quickly or sustainably as you would with a social media strategy tailored to your brand and goals!

That’s why it’s important to continually adapt and perfect your social media strategy as your conscious business and the various social media platforms continue to grow and evolve.

If you’re a purpose-driven entrepreneur looking to make the world a more beautiful, sustainable place & want some help with your social media strategy, content or ads:

Ready to hop on a free discovery call together? Then head over to my contact page!