8 social media missteps (and how to avoid them)

Working hard to earn a prime spot in your followers’ feeds? Make sure your efforts are paying off: social media now plays a major role in sales and marketing strategies. Avoid these mistakes that can slow you down!

8 Traps to Avoid for a Strong Online Presence

1. Getting lost online. The web is a whirlwind of interaction, and it’s easy to get caught up in it, even in a professional context. Does your quick check-in on LinkedIn often turn into a long scroll? Before logging in, make a list of your goals: publish a post, adjust your ad campaign, share your brand ambassadors’ content, etc. Don’t hesitate to limit your browsing time!

2. Being inconsistent. Building a community takes time—both to engage your followers and to get noticed by the algorithms! Over time, followers get used to your presence, and the algorithms boost your reach (based on positive interactions). On the other hand, with an on-again, off-again presence, your efforts don’t build up: you’ll find yourself starting from scratch over and over. Keep in mind: being consistent doesn’t mean posting constantly. Quality should always outweigh quantity.

3. Ignoring SEO. Did you know a Facebook post can get picked up by Google’s algorithm and show up in search results? If it’s well-structured and includes the right keywords, it can climb the rankings. Integrating your posts into your SEO strategy is well worth it if you haven’t done so already. The result? Every word you publish online—from your website to social media—is optimized and aligned with your audience’s needs in a format Google likes!

“In B2B, social media offers a golden opportunity for lead generation. It’s a key part of your conversion engine!”

4. Trying to be everywhere at once. Choose your platforms based on your personas and your content and social media strategy. Maybe Instagram is perfect for showcasing your work, or maybe Facebook is more popular with your target customers? The important thing is not to waste energy where your audience isn’t! It’s often best to start with one or two platforms at a time and get comfortable before expanding.

5. Posting the same content on all platforms. Each social network has its own style and attracts different types of users. For instance, Facebook allows for slightly longer posts, and video performs best. Instagram is ideal for visual content. Twitter calls for shorter, punchier posts, while LinkedIn is great for more professional content. Analyze which types of posts perform best on each platform and adjust your strategy accordingly: take note of the topic, target, format and tone.

6. Being controversial. While this tactic may trigger lots of comments and debate, it’s often short-lived. Worse, it can harm your brand’s reputation in the long term. It’s not worth getting attention at any cost!

7. Overlooking ads and remarketing. While ads aren’t magic bullets, they can give you a boost in reaching the right audience—on Facebook and beyond. As for remarketing (targeting users who have already interacted with your site or ads), it’s a great way to stay top of mind! For these already-familiar targets, why not run different campaigns and A/B test to see what works best?

8. Not analyzing available data. If you don’t track your performance with key indicators (KPIs), it’s harder to know how your social media presence is impacting your targets or aligning with your goals. Engagement, reach, clicks, followers… track these metrics and their changes to understand how healthy your platforms are and refine your strategy.

By keeping these pitfalls in mind, you’ll be better equipped to get the most out of your social media. And if you need help juggling regular content publishing, creating meaningful interactions—or any other aspect of social media—our team has more than a few tricks up its sleeve!