We’ve all sneered at a brand for a tone-deaf hashtag or post. Social media mishaps are often the result of a lack of understanding about unspoken social media protocol.
Even though social media may seem casual, there are still some rules to engagement, even if you don’t post on your own account. The importance of social media etiquette has never been greater, particularly now that brands must be seen as “human” and authentic online.
This article will explore the do’s and don’ts for social media behavior. We’ll go over everything you need know about a brand’s social media presence, from crafting the perfect Tweet to handling a Crisis.
Bonus: Read the step-bystep social media strategy guide with pro tips on growing your social media presence.
What is social media etiquette and why does this matter?
Social media etiquette refers to a set conventions that define acceptable brand behavior on social media platforms. These informal (often unsaid) rules describe how brands should interact with their audiences, present themselves and respond to feedback.
Social media etiquette is essential for brands that wish to build and protect their reputations. These conventions will help you to improve your online reputation and build trust with followers.
Here are some concrete reasons for a company to care about digital etiquette.
Keep your company’s good reputation
As social media is a forum that is open to all, anything you post will be visible by everyone. A post that violates the norms could damage a brand’s reputation or alienate its followers.
Protect your brand against legal obstacles
Social media etiquette is a great way to stay on the right side while engaging with your audience if your brand operates within a regulated environment and must adhere strictly to privacy and compliance regulations.
Assists with navigating charged situations
Brands must be ready for any crisis. Brands can respond to crises with clear etiquette rules, minimize the fallout and protect their image.
Make sure your brand is empathetic
Brands who ignore social media etiquette may appear unprofessional or careless. This can result in customer dissatisfaction, and even lost business.
Avoid these 15 social media etiquette mistakes
We’ve put together a list with 15 social media etiquette mistakes and tips on how to avoid these.
1. Use hashtags as if they are going out of fashion
Have you seen a post that has a hashtag list longer than the caption on it?
It’s common to see hashtags overused, but it isn’t the only problem. Quantity is important, but relevance and quality are more important.
Hashtags can increase your post’s visibility. When used in excess, hashtags can be annoying and spammy.
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Too many hashtags will dilute your message, and readers may find it hard to follow. Using irrelevant hashtags will also make your content harder to find.
This social media etiquette mistake is easy to avoid. You can find a guide to hashtags for every social network, including how many.
2. Ignoring the messages and comments of your audience
Social media, unlike many other marketing channels is a two way street. Ignoring your followers’ comments, messages or questions is a no-no.
Engagement and relationships are the key to social media. People notice when a brand hides or ignores comments. It looks like they don’t care. This is a surefire method to lose customers and damage your brand’s image.
Nobody wants to feel as if they are shouting in the void. People expect to hear back from you when they send a comment or message.
It’s important to reply to all comments and messages. Your team can respond quickly to inquiries with a social media monitoring tool.
Hootsuite’s social team demonstrates how to do it by responding to all comments and inquiries on their posts.
3. Spam bots can be used to generate fake engagement
You may be tempted to buy followers or use spam bots to like posts. This is not only unethical but can also harm your brand.
Fake engagement may create an illusion of success. By artificially inflating numbers, you’re only hurting yourself.
Bots are also easy to detect. People become suspicious when an account with a lot of followers has almost no engagement.
Not only followers will be able to tell. Social media algorithms are becoming smarter, and they can detect fake engagement. This could result in penalties or even account suspension.
Do not risk the reputation of your brand. Focus on creating content that is valuable to your audience.
Still want to buy followers? Check out our results before you pull out your credit cards:
4. Cross-posting of content without repurposing it for each platform
TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn. Each channel has a specific purpose and targets a particular segment of your audience.
It may appear to be a good idea to copy and paste the same message across multiple platforms. It’s a common mistake. It’s not a good idea to cross-post without repurposing.
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Changes to the way you do things
Cross-posting on all social networks in 2022 is passé… In 2023 it will be all about a strategic cross-posting approach. If you believe that your audience on each social channel can benefit from certain videos, then it might be worth trying to cross-post them. Not every TikTok video needs to be shared on LinkedIn. You should now do a deeper dive into the unique audiences you have on each platform. Attention to what type of content your audience prefers (long or shorter videos? Think-provoking copy or cheeky copy, for example? What are their interests, and what creators/brands do they follow? Brainstorm ways to deliver value and engage them so that they become loyal followers. But remember
We don’t want this strategy to be completely thrown out. Cross-posting can help maximize the reach of a piece. Be intentional about the content you create and where you decide to share it! #socialmediamanager #smm #socialmediastrategy
Original sound – Hootsuite
Cross-posting is a good idea, but you should think about it. Optimize each post for the unique algorithm of each network. This will increase engagement and strengthen your brand’s presence on social media.
5. You should not react too quickly to negative comments about your brand
It can be tempting when you receive negative feedback or comments about your brand. Sometimes, a quick response is necessary. Your mother was right in this case (and so many others): talking before you think can do more harm than good.
It takes time to respond thoughtfully, especially when the criticism is valid. Careless responses can increase tension and this is not good for business.
A quick response can even escalate into a social media crisis for your brand. This can lead to more negative comments and an even greater public backlash.
Take a deep breathe and take a step back instead of rushing to the keyboard. Do your research and then craft a thoughtful reply that addresses the issue. Be respectful and ensure your response is in line with your brand’s tone and values.
It will diffuse negative feedback and even make a customer who is upset into a brand ambassador.
6. You should not be disparaging your competitors, particularly small businesses
Although it may seem tempting to “takedown” other businesses, this tactic can have a negative impact.
You want to show that your brand is better than the rest. A mean-spirited attitude often shows the exact opposite. You look insecure when you trash-talk the competition.
Social media is expected to be a positive, transparent, and authentic place. You don’t need to create an environment that is toxic and distracts from the message of your brand.
It can look bad to target smaller businesses via social media. They often don’t have the resources necessary to counter the negative comments. Focus on building your reputation, creating great content and making your customers happy.
7. Too much effort to start a conversation
Engagement is good for everyone, right? Well, no. Forced engagement is invasive, alienating and can become overwhelming.
Social media is not just a platform for lecturing. It’s a place to have a discussion. You don’t just have to push out content. It’s important to be thoughtful in your responses to questions and comments.
You can overwhelm your followers with posts that are irrelevant if you try too hard to engage. It can be difficult for your followers to know if you’re listening or merely posting.
If you push too hard, it can result in irrelevant conversations or long threads. This can appear as a way to manipulate the algorithm through volume. Engaging with followers, keep the conversation relevant and constructive. Let the conversation flow.
8. Fail to credit third-party content
It is not always flattery to imitate. Sometimes, it’s straight-up bad etiquette. It’s important that you give credit to the original creator of any content you share, whether it is a quote taken from an article or an image.
If you fail to properly credit your sources, your followers might assume that the content was created by your brand. This implies that you do not understand or respect the ownership rights.
Do not forget to check the terms and conditions before you use any content from third parties on social media. Each social media platform has its rules regarding copyright violations and the use of content.
Consider incorporating collaborative posts into your strategy instead of reposting. When the creator receives a cocredit, there’s no need to worry about attribution.
9. Having strong opinions in a heated debate
Internet is an open platform. Even if your opinion is right or valid, not everyone will agree. Not every conversation needs to be a debate.
It’s important to avoid being too aggressive or confrontational when expressing an opinion about a hot topic. Personal attacks can reflect badly on your brand over time.
Don’t forget to remember that you are not only speaking for yourself. You adopt the voice of an organization when you manage social media for it.
Stay calm and offer constructive solutions when things become heated.
10. Combining personal and business accounts
Many social media managers use multiple accounts on their devices. Unluckily, this means it is possible to accidentally post from the wrong account. It happens a lot.
What’s the fun part? You can’t delete the mistaken post as someone will still see it. Remember Hozier as Handsome Squidward?) The rest of the Internet will never forget.
A social media management tool like Hootsuite can help you avoid this problem. You can be EXTRA sure that you are posting from the correct account when you schedule your posts on a central platform.
Hootsuite is free to try. You can cancel at any time.
11. Failure to disclose paid partnerships and promotions
It’s often a good idea to partner with other brands or influencers. It’s still important to ensure that all parties involved are aware of the partnership so there aren’t any misunderstandings.
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It can be a sign of dishonesty to not disclose these relationships. This may even be a violation of ethical rules set out by many advertising codes. The regulators could take legal action if this mistake is made.
Include disclosure statements with all sponsored posts to avoid this problem.
12. Reacting or sharing controversial viral posts
It is tempting to engage with your followers by riding the wave of a popular topic. It can be fun to create controversial posts that generate conversations, but these often contain inaccurate information.
This type of conversation is not a good idea if you want to appear professional.
You can encourage others to participate in the conversation by re-sharing or reacting to these posts. It’s important to avoid escalating the situation or making things worse for all involved. Avoid provoking debates on sensitive issues.
13. Use of humor in an inappropriate way
Avoid being too deadpan in your humor, unless you are Wendy’s. Particularly on sensitive subjects such as religion, politics and race.
Respect is essential when dealing with sensitive topics on social media. Focus on providing thoughtful, informative responses instead of making jokes.
You can still use humor to your benefit. Don’t be boring, but don’t go over the top.
14. Appearing to be politically biased
Neutrality is key for businesses when dealing with controversial issues and debates. Customers have a wide range of backgrounds, values, and beliefs. Your brand’s reputation can be damaged if you alienate any part of your audience.
Avoid offending your users by focusing on your product or services.
Aligning yourself with certain causes may have some advantages, but it is important to carefully consider these decisions.
15. Posting too often or at the wrong times
If you post a lot of material in a short time, it can become overwhelming to your followers. If you post the wrong content at the wrong time, your audience might miss it.
Posting enough content will engage your followers, but not overwhelm their newsfeeds. Posting when your audience is active is the best way to achieve this. You can maximize engagement by posting at the most appropriate time.
Hootsuite will help you determine the best times to post for each audience based on their goals and previous posts. This is the easiest way to ensure you are making the most out of social media.
On social media, remember that less is definitely more — as long as you’re focusing on the right things. Quantity doesn’t always trump the quality. Follow your own personal preferences when deciding how often to post.
Hootsuite makes it easy to follow these rules of social media etiquette. All from one dashboard, you can schedule and publish posts. You can also track online sentiment and engage your followers. Try it for free.
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