How to Not Be Effective on Social Media
Buckle up — this might sting. In this article I'm going to satirize everything you shouldn't do on social media, then give you a general roadmap for doing it right. If you need more tailored advice, don't hesitate to reach out and tell me about your project.
1: Completely ignore what people say about you on social media.
If your social media presence is part of your marketing mix, definitely don't monitor what people are saying about your brand. Don't use any mention-tracking or keyword-monitoring tools. Obviously, there's no point in responding to satisfied or unsatisfied customers — who cares if they're using your product wrong or absolutely loving it? It's sold. Done. Next.
The extreme opposite isn't great either — you don't want to overhaul everything because of one bad review on Google or Yelp.
You can set up monitoring alerts using tools that notify you every time your brand or company name is mentioned, so you maintain a bird's-eye view.
2: Don't bother with a social media strategy
"Anyway... we still don't know if posting cat memes brings in money!"
I could almost stop right there. But I'm committed to serving up only the finest tips for failing on social media, so let's keep going.
As everyone knows, there are zero statistics or documentation about social media — so I recommend just poking around every platform to see what sticks.
No need to set goals or implement a social selling strategy, for instance. To truly waste your time, I strongly suggest being inconsistent and making sure your audience never knows what to expect from you.
At a minimum, define a purpose for your presence. Ask yourself: "What value do my social channels bring to my customers and prospects?" If you're there just because everyone else is, you're on the wrong track.
Posting cat memes will indeed get you nowhere. Sharing valuable, educational content will pay off in the long run. Define a tone of voice and decide how your page should extend your brand identity.
3: Let everyone wing it
It doesn't matter whether department heads know what they can or can't post on social media. Everyone should jump in with their own ideas and do it their own way. For example, Jacqueline from accounting is hilarious at lunch — she always has the funniest images — so let her post them. You have to be funny on social media, right?
Why pay someone to tell us what to do when Facebook stickers are already funny enough...
Social media doesn't necessarily need to be managed by a single person, but the people involved absolutely need to know what they're doing. You can also prepare or funnel content ideas to whoever manages your social presence (IOquery, perhaps?). That way, you'll avoid missteps and ensure everything is handled professionally.
Sure, social media should be entertaining — but there's a world of difference between a professional brand page and your uncle's email forwards.
A solid strategy in the right hands is not something just anyone can pull off. It's a real skill.
4: Post nothing but promotions and corporate announcements
The ultimate move is to share only your latest deals and new offers. Take note — a red discount badge is the pinnacle of social media value.
The key to engaging your audience is talking about new industry regulations, running the same promo post all week, or gushing about the great deal you got from the vendor next door on your new CRM software.
If reading your own content feels about as warm and human as a spreadsheet — you're on the right track! Post it everywhere! On every social platform imaginable, send it to your family...
In fact, that's the real test. Send your content to your family regularly. If they complain, don't read it, cough awkwardly when you bring it up, and especially if you don't get invited to the next holiday gathering — congratulations, you're doing it right.
If your target audience doesn't find what you post useful, and they don't already know you, they won't find you useful either.
When deploying a social media presence, I'd say you should ban commercial announcements entirely at first.
Start posting your offers once you've built a solid, engaged audience. You need to create value on social media. You need a differentiating social marketing positioning — which is exactly why a real strategy matters so much.
5: Treat social media like a one-way broadcast
If after all this excellent advice you're still not sure how to fail on social media, this is where it gets really interesting.
People go on social media to unwind and connect with friends and family. You've understood that the best way to bomb is to disrupt that vibe and blast promos everywhere.
But even if Jacqueline's posts somehow get reactions — don't respond. Push information out and that's it. Social media isn't a space for two-way conversation. Everyone knows that.
The mistake that 50%? 70%? 80%? of companies with social accounts make is ignoring what the name says. "Social" media. It's almost redundant. In a network, you exchange. You socialize. Your social channels are spaces for sharing. If you plan to communicate in one direction only, you're set up for failure.
6: Skimp on resources for your social media presence
Don't allocate budget for content creation and don't use the advertising platforms built into social networks ("Facebook Ads?"). Ignore influencers. Don't use any external tools. After all, Facebook doesn't make its money from advertising and user data, so why would you pay for ads when you can reach anyone for free...
Once again, social media is absolutely not an end in itself — it's a means to an end. It's a touchpoint with your audience, your prospects, and your customers. Your channels need to be fed with content, news, and more. That has a cost (whether you outsource it or allocate hours for an employee to create content).
Since the benefits of social media compound over time, it often makes sense to run a paid follower-growth campaign when launching your social presence — among other occasions.
7: Don't establish guidelines or a crisis plan
If you truly want to crash and burn, definitely don't prepare response guidelines based on audience reactions. Don't establish a tone of voice for replies. It doesn't matter if the sarcastic developer from the third floor had too much coffee and stubbed his toe this morning — his response will just be edgier and funnier: "In IT, the problem is usually between the chair and the screen!!!!!!" Trolling your customers... what could go wrong?
Obviously, I strongly advise against torching your customers. If you do clap back, be 200,000% sure your argument is bulletproof and professional. If it is, you may have silenced a troublemaker. If it isn't, you've stepped into quicksand. You'll end up deleting everything and losing credibility because of someone who just wanted to stir up drama (it happens...).
Unless you're a giant utility company, a simple demonstration of your quality of service, your good faith, or a graceful professional recovery will do the trick. If you're genuinely at fault, regroup internally and course-correct without delay.
The takeaway is clear: to be effective on social media, you need to think things through upfront and set both short-term and long-term goals. Social media ROI comes in the medium to long term. It's almost always the byproduct of consistently creating content that brings real value to your customers and prospects.
If you can't define an effective social media strategy on your own, outsource it to a professional. You'll save both time and money.