Things We Love to Hate: Can You Say Overrated?

This February, amidst all the Valentine’s Day love, we’re taking a slightly different approach. Today, we’re talking about the things we love to hate in the social media sphere – the common mistakes small business owners make, and a few personal pet peeves we just can’t ignore. Let’s jump right in!

The top 10 social media “don’ts:”

These aren’t ranked in order of importance, but rather a collection of practices that consistently hinder success.

• Buying Followers or Engagement: Stop! Fake followers are a waste of money, damage your credibility, and skew your analytics. You’ll never know what’s truly working, and you risk account suspension.
• Trying to Be Everywhere: You can’t be all things to all people. Spreading yourself too thin across every platform leads to burnout, inconsistent content, and wasted resources. Focus on two or three platforms where your audience is actually present.
• Ignoring Analytics: If you’re not tracking your performance, how do you know what’s working? Data-driven decisions are crucial for optimizing your strategy.

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• Spamming Direct Messages: Unsolicited DMs come across as spammy and ‘salesy.’ Relationships come first. You wouldn’t throw business cards at people at a networking event, so don’t do it digitally.

• Low-Quality Visuals: Blurry images, watermarked photos, and poorly edited videos create a negative impression and reduce engagement. Invest in quality visuals.
• Exclusively Focusing on Sales: Constantly pushing products or services without providing value exhausts your audience. Build relationships and offer valuable content.
• Ignoring Negative Feedback: Deleting or ignoring negative comments and reviews damages your credibility. Address them professionally and take the conversation private when necessary.
• Inconsistent Branding: Different logos, colors, and fonts across platforms confuse your audience and weaken brand recognition. Maintain consistency.
• Failing to Adapt to Platform Algorithms: Algorithms change, and your strategy needs to adapt. Sticking to outdated tactics limits your visibility.
• Lack of a Social Media Strategy: Posting random content without clear goals leads to inconsistent results and missed opportunities. Have a plan!

Personal Pet Peeves:

Beyond these general “don’ts,” we have a few personal gripes. Threads feels redundant, Twitter is a time-consuming dumpster fire (unless you’re an athlete or politician), and Meta’s customer service is virtually non-existent. We also find Canva to be a more practical and cost-effective tool than Photoshop for most users. Linktree is out, use your own website’s landing page. Dropbox is cumbersome; Google Drive is better. And please, no last-minute edits or surprises about upcoming events!

Most importantly, we are still struggling with helping people recover their hacked facebook accounts. It is nearly impossible. Use two factor authentication, and make your passwords complex.

Social media is a powerful tool, but it requires strategy and consistency. By avoiding these common pitfalls, you can build a strong online presence and connect with your audience effectively.