Everyone knows that social media has to be part of your online marketing strategy. Of course, there’s a right and wrong way to post. There are a lot of ways you can mess up on social media, and many businesses have suffered the consequences of ill-advised posts. If you’re not getting any online love, maybe it’s for one of the following reasons.
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You Sound Kinda Desperate
Internet marketing is not totally unlike dating, and one piece of advice holds true in both: don’t be too needy. If you seem like you’re begging for attention, people won’t be interested in what you have to say. Offer something of value, absolutely, but leave them wanting more.
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Your Posts Are Boring
Remember that you’re competing against a lot of other content. Like the guy who does interpretive dance moves while holding a sandwich sign outside the retail store, you need to add a little extra something to your advertising efforts. Definitely avoid sounding like you copied and pasted your status update from a medical textbook. Boring posts are vanilla and the masses want rocky road. Throw a few nuts in the mix once in a while.
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Your Posts Are Not Boring Enough
Yeah, so here’s the thing: it’s all about balance. You want to get noticed, but you also need to be taken seriously. You should totally post some funny and interesting things, but do so selectively. Getting “likes” feel pretty nice, but even a million of them won’t attract anyone to your practice if you’re not posting things that are informative and relevant. Stay on-topic and always remember your overall objective, which is to turn your social media attention into real-life business.
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You Contribute to the Clickbait Epidemic
Look, it’s great to have a catchy headline but clickbait is never okay. Obvious clickbait headlines (“You’ll never guess what happens next!”) and blatant scare tactics are sensational, misleading and, most importantly, totally annoying. Don’t be tempted to go that route, unless your goal is to get unfollowed en masse.
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You Ignore People
Rude! Don’t just post something and then not engage with the people who leave comments! If people are starting conversations, respond to them! And do it quickly. In today’s world, leaving someone hanging in the comments section is the online equivalent of standing there staring at your fingernails while a customer’s repeatedly bashing the “ring for service” bell.
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They Can’t See You
Just because you post something doesn’t mean people will actually see it, even if they’re already following you. Just look at how Facebook’s pay-to-play system works. Research each social media platform you use, and figure out how to make the most of your posts in terms of visibility.
There are plenty of other things you can do to make people hate you (or worse, ignore you) on social media. The bottom line is that you need to have a good social media content strategy to navigate the harsh waters of the Internet.
