The ubiquitous nature of social media tends to make a lot of content marketers take the platforms available to us today for granted. We all know how to post a picture, update our status, publish a tweet, and upload a video. Unfortunately, we’re not really maximizing the potential of the different platforms.

As someone who has worked in content marketing for years, I see a lot of opportunities that brands are missing simply because they keep on making these avoidable social media mistakes:

1. Not Using Original Visuals

There’s a time and place to share third-party, existing content on your feeds. However, I think it’s a big no-no when a brand relies solely on outside content and doesn’t make the effort to create original content to publish—especially visuals.

Social media platforms are largely visual and not taking the time to create eye-catching, engaging images to accompany your posts can reduce engagement. This is especially true for platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and Facebook Stories, where photos and images are the primary media used.

2. Using the Same Image Over and Over Again

This happens more often than you’d think. Brands—for whatever reason—can’t find time to produce a variety of images for their business so they end up sharing something over and over again. I often see a logo posted and reposted, or the same professionally shot image of a product appearing and reappearing on posts.

Remember, social media audiences want to see diverse content. Variety is what’s going to help your business become more memorable to your followers.

3. Not Optimizing Your Posts for Different Platforms

Not all social media platforms are built alike. Each one has different core users and different objectives, and thus, different best practices for content marketing. For example, Facebook has an older core audience than TikTok or Instagram. Twitter users prefer text over images, while LinkedIn requires you to post in a more professional tone.

Image Source

Familiarizing yourself with the different social media platforms allows you to optimize your posts on each to boost engagement. This means adjusting copy length, editing your writing style, and reviewing the kind of content you actually post—including the links and images you use.

4. Not Paying Attention to Your Profiles

Often, a brand struggling on social media can trace it back to one simple issue—their profiles aren’t set up properly. Business names aren’t consistent, links don’t work, many don’t have phone numbers, header images, or even brand descriptions.

Take advantage of any opportunity you have to share more information about your business. Also, be sure to use relevant keywords that might help audiences find your service or product faster.

5. Neglecting to Engage with Your Audience

Social media is about so much more than just posting. Once you hit publish, remember that you have to take the time to build relationships with your followers. Every post you publish can help with this objective. This means engaging with your followers as much as you can. Reply to their questions, ask your own questions, respond to their comments, engage them in conversation, and resolve their issues if they have any.

Hope my answer helps! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out via email at Leadspanda. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.