Social media disasters waiting to happen…

Your social media marketing efforts can be tricky enough without courting certain disasters you could have avoided. Social media is an excellent way for your business to establish and build its brand but it can also be a minefield from which there really is no return. This is an important and crucial part of your overall branding and marketing efforts and can’t be left to amateurs who know nothing about sales and marketing. Yet, sadly, too many small businesses are doing just that and are paying for it. Here are just a few social media disasters that are waiting to happen if you venture out there.

• Never, as in NEVER, discuss either politics or religion at any of your social media platforms. Do it and you will invite certain disaster from which you just might never recover. Religion tends to be about as personal a matter as there is and should be avoided as it will serve no purpose to talk about it. Politics, in the current environment, simply must be avoided. People are really only interested in whether you can solve a problem for them or make their lives better.
• It can’t always be about you. Shake things up a bit. What exciting things are going on in your industry? What are the coming trends? How can you help them solve a problem or improve their lives today? Engagement is the key. Keep running the same old sales ad and people won’t come back. Remember, today’s attention spans are ridiculously small.
• Finally, stay away from the negative about anything. No one cares about what you think of the reality around you and never say anything negative about current or former clients or customers. If you can’t be positive then do nothing until you can be. Also, one post a day at such platforms as Facebook and Instagram is plenty. People who tend to follow you already know you and have likely customers and clients already. In addition, don’t post anything you can’t validate as accurate and true. Propaganda and outright lies and slander tend to pose as actual facts and/or news these days soon don’t get caught up in it. Your reputation is everything and you probably don’t need to be reminded that you have to protect it all day every day.

-Written by Kevin Sawyer