6 social media mistakes to avoid to keep your audience engaged

50100623_s Engaging with your community online is one of the key objectives of any social media strategy. Of course, your chief goal is to turn your followers into clients and customers. For that, you need to keep them interested and engaged in your content. Every business is unique and has its own ways of engaging with followers. However, there are a few social media strategies that are mistakes in any niche.

Avoid these six social media mistakes so you can keep your audience engaged in your brand and on your side:

1. Spamming: No one wants to sift through an endless stream of sales pitches via email and social media. If you send content to your followers without their permission, you are spamming them – and you will most likely lose them. Give your followers the choice of whether or not to sign up for your information and, if they ever change their minds, enable them to opt out.

2. Posting the exact same content across all platforms: It’s OK to occasionally cross-promote the same content via different social networks. It is not OK to routinely post the very same information on all social media outlets you use. Your audiences will get bored of reading the same stories over and over again and will stop following you.

3. Inconsistency and lack of direction: There is no quicker way to tank your social media engagement than an inconsistent social media presence. Develop a social media editorial plan and commit to it. You will not be able to keep your followers interested with sporadic posting; they expect consistency and commitment from you if you’re to be a valued source of information to them.

4. Lacking personality: Content management platforms like Hootsuite are great time-savers for social media managers. However, using too much automation will rob your posts of personality. People like to connect with and talk to people; without a personal touch, you will lose your following. When your followers comment on your posts, they would like you to respond. Being genuine, friendly, kind and approachable will help you attract new followers and develop deeper connections with your existing ones.

5. Ignoring feedback: Your social media supporters let you know daily what they think about your business. Listening to their feedback will help you improve your social media strategy and your company. Graciously acknowledging positive feedback and productively dealing with negative comments will help your followers see you as a company that cares.

6. Not sharing other content: If you only post information about your own business, it will become boring and old very quickly. Focusing on your community rather than yourself will keep your audience engaged. It’s important to occasionally share valuable content from other people and organizations, praise other information sources and make a point of carrying on two-way conversations.

Take your social media presence to the next level with our Essential Social Media Management Guide, designed to help your business stay engaged with your target audiences so you can build stronger connections – and a stronger bottom line.

Yulia Yulia Dianova is a public relations professional who is skilled in building relationships with target audiences. She provides counsel to organizations that seek PR help to further their growth and reach their goals. Yulia earned a master’s degree in public relations management from University of Maryland University College. She is fluent in Russian and English and is always looking for a new challenge.