Avoid the 5 BIG Social Media Mistakes Companies Make

Do you have a sense of humor? No? Then your company needs to acquire one – and fast! – if it’s going to venture onto social media. (And if you’re in business today, you pretty much must venture into social media. Having an active social media presence is as important as creating a website for your company was 10 years ago.)

A September 2012 article on Forbes.com discussed the five big mistakes companies can make on social media. Not having a sense of humor was one of them. What are the other four? Read below.

The second on the list was being too slow to respond to comments on your social media sites. Social is all about relationships, and your followers or commenters should not be ignored. Also, in our hyper-speedy society where we all want it yesterday, and where we can see it and snap a picture of it, or watch it and then write about it instantly – and then post it to Facebook or Twitter instantly? Well, you need to respond quickly.

In other words, monitor your social media feeds and social media in general for instances of your name cropping up. And respond.

The third mistake? Companies are playing it too safe. “Corporations do their best to be politically correct and inoffensive,” the article said. “That’s boring. To be successful with social media you must have voice.”

Our takeaway? Don’t be afraid to show a little personality. After all, what are companies really made of but people (no people, no company). Every person brings something to the company and so each company has its own “personality.” Let your company’s shine.

The fourth mistake is related to the third:  Companies tend to hide behind the corporate wall and don’t make an effort to make a real connection with followers. Get out from behind that curtain! Have real conversations with your followers.

So what’s the fifth mistakes companies make with their social media? Thinking that they if they just get the “process” down, they’ll have it made.

But, the article concludes, “[t] here is no set of inputs and outputs like a machine. Rather, think about social media as a living, breathing organism that you must nurture and form a relationship with.”

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