The Dos and Don’ts of Social Media 

Social media is a great outlet businesses can use to make their presence known to the public. It allows you to connect with potential customers you would not have otherwise.

Social media can be tricky to navigate. There is a certain unwritten etiquette to social media usage. There is a lot of “make sure you do this and whatever you do, do not do that.” It can be difficult to determine what the guidelines are for social media etiquette. The dos and don’ts in this article will help you learn about this etiquette. 

Social Media Platforms

Before you can learn more about social media dos and don’ts, it is important to use the correct social media platforms for your business. There are many platforms you can choose from. Some of the most popular platforms are Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn. 

These platforms have both pros and cons to utilizing them for your business, which is why it is important to find the right ones for you. To find the right platforms, you need to find your target audience on social media sites. The demographics of social media platforms vary greatly.

You want to match your target audience demographics to the demographics of the social media platform. For example, let’s say your business’s target audience is young adults. It would be beneficial to use Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube as your social media platforms. All of these sites’ users are heavily concentrated in that age group. By matching the demographics, you can be sure you are reaching the right audience for your company and brand. 

The Dos of Social Media

Social media can be an extremely helpful marketing tool for any business. It is an important way to attract consumers. Here are five things you should definitely do when using social media for your business.

Do Use a Social Media Calendar

It is extremely helpful to create a social media calendar. You can use this to plan your posts ahead of time so you are not scrambling at the last minute. You can also schedule what days of the week you want to post your content. Using a calendar is one of the best ways to stay organized.

Do Create Visually Appealing Content

The majority of social media users quickly scroll through a home page. By creating visually appealing content, you will be attracting the user’s attention. You want to create content that aligns with your brand. Use colors and aesthetics that match your brand’s aesthetic. 

Including images and videos will increase your social media postings’ engagements. Tweets with images are 34% more likely to get retweeted than tweets with no images. Utilize images, GIFs, and videos to boost your engagement. 

Do Write for Your Target Audience

When creating captions for your social media posts, you want to remember who your target audience is. If your target audience is teenagers, they most likely will not want to read paragraphs about your company. Instead, keep it short and sweet. 

This also ties into the social media platform you are using. Content you post on Twitter most likely will not have as much success on Instagram. When creating content, you have to remember which social media platform you are using. Content will need to be adjusted to be successful on different platforms. Keep this in mind when creating content.

Do Create Engaging Content

You want to create content that will attract potential customers to engage with your company. Some ways to create engaging content are polls, memes, question and answer polls, and contests. These are all a great way for online users to interact with your company and learn more about it. They also help to keep your company relevant.

Do Regularly Interact With Your Audience

A benefit of using social media is it allows you to communicate directly with your current and potential customers. Regular interaction will show your customers that you care and that they are being heard and are appreciated. Try your best to reply to comments and questions left on your posts. This will help you build a connection with your audience. 

Social media allows for real-time feedback. Listen to the comments being left on your posts and take them into consideration for future decisions. Another benefit of interacting with your audience on social media is you can do damage control if needed. If a negative comment is left on your feed, you can try your best to resolve the issue. This is a great customer service tool. 

The Don’ts of Social Media

When it comes to social media, there are a lot of moving parts. It is constantly evolving. Here are five tips on what not to do on social media. 

Don’t Post Without Double Checking Grammar and Spelling

Before posting, make sure you have proof-read your post for grammar and spelling errors. Everyone makes mistakes and it is fairly easy to make these errors. You want to make sure your message is clear and understandable. Check over your post at least once before posting it. It cannot hurt to have another person check it over as well. 

Don’t Try to be on Every Social Media Platform

Yes, you want your content to be seen online and your company’s visibility to increase. 

But, you do not want to exhaust your efforts by having your company on every social media platform available. This could lead to a decline in the quality of your posts. Instead, you should choose a few that best fit your target audience. Then you can focus our efforts on those platforms. These posts will be of a higher quality because you will be able to focus more on them.

Don’t Overuse Hashtags

Hashtags can be helpful because appropriate hashtags connect your posts to other related social media content. You need to choose the most relevant hashtags for your product and company. You do not want to hashtags every word of a sentence. When it comes to using hashtags, less is more. 

Don’t Overshare Your Content

When you create a social media posting calendar, you want to make sure you are not posting too often.  You need to find the correct frequency for your social media postings. This varies based on your company, audience, and what social media platform you are posting on.  

Social media postings differ based on the platform being used.  A general suggestion for Instagram is one to three posts a day for small to medium-sized businesses. Some larger companies can post on Instagram up to thirty times a day. The suggestion for Twitter is to post between three and thirty times a day. 

The “correct” amount of times to post varies for each company and platform. It is important to find the posting frequency that works best for your business. 

Don’t Focus Too Much on the Numbers

It can be easy to get caught up on the numbers but try your best not to. Always keep in mind that it is about quality over quantity. Try to focus less on your follower count and instead use that time and energy to provide higher quality content to the audience you do have. 

Social Media Posting Tools

There are many tools available to help you manage your social media postings. Some of the most popular services to help you are Hootsuite, Buffer, and Loomly.

Hootsuite allows you to manage multiple social networks, connect with customers, and grow your brand on social media. You can choose from three different plan options starting at $29 a month. Hootsuite lets you manage all of your company’s social networks in a single place and will automatically post for you. 

Buffer is a publishing, analytics, and engagement platform. They focus on assisting their clients in telling their brand’s story and growing their audience. Buffer offers different sets of service plans in publishing and analyzing. The cost of publishing plans range from being free to $99. Analyzing plans cost either $35 or $50 depending on the plan. These are all monthly prices, but if you choose annual billing you can save up to 20%. 

Loomly is a brand success platform that focuses on seamless team collaboration. It is an all-in-one tool. They offer automated publishing, advanced analytics, auto-generated post mockups, advertising for your posts, and more. Loomly offers five different plans you can choose from with a $25 per month starting price. 

Use The Dos and Don’ts of Social Media

Social media connects people all around the world. It is a great way to reach customers and connect with them. There is a certain unwritten etiquette when it comes to social media. Use the dos and don’ts of social media mentioned here to grow your online presence. The tips will help you get the most out of your social media strategy.

 

FAQs about Social Media Dos and Don’ts

1. How do I choose which social media platforms are right for my business?

Match your target audience demographics to the platform’s user base. For example, if you’re targeting young adults, focus on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube. For B2B companies or professional services, LinkedIn is essential. For a broader audience including older demographics, Facebook remains valuable. Research shows that trying to be on every platform dilutes your efforts and reduces content quality. Start with 2-3 platforms where your audience is most active, then expand gradually as you master those platforms.

2. What’s the ideal posting frequency for different social media platforms?

Posting frequency varies by platform and business size. For Instagram, small to medium businesses should aim for 1-3 posts per day, while larger companies can post up to 30 times daily. Twitter allows for 3-30 posts per day due to its fast-moving nature. Facebook typically works well with 1-2 posts per day. The key is finding the right balance for your specific audience – too few posts and you lose visibility, too many and you risk annoying followers. Monitor engagement rates to find your sweet spot.

3. How many hashtags should I use in my social media posts?

Less is more when it comes to hashtags. While Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags, using 5-10 relevant, targeted hashtags typically performs better. For Twitter, 1-2 hashtags work best due to character limits. LinkedIn posts perform well with 3-5 professional hashtags. Focus on choosing the most relevant hashtags for your content and industry rather than using hashtags on every word. Research trending and industry-specific hashtags, but avoid overly generic ones that won’t help you reach your target audience.

4. What makes content “engaging” on social media?

Engaging content encourages interaction and participation from your audience. This includes polls, question-and-answer sessions, contests, user-generated content campaigns, behind-the-scenes content, and interactive stories. Visual content like images, GIFs, and videos significantly boost engagement – tweets with images are 34% more likely to be retweeted. Ask questions, create shareable memes relevant to your industry, and respond promptly to comments. The goal is to start conversations and build community around your brand.

5. Should I respond to negative comments or reviews on social media?

Yes, you should respond to negative comments professionally and promptly. Social media offers real-time damage control opportunities. Address concerns publicly when appropriate, showing other followers that you care about customer satisfaction. For serious issues, invite the conversation to private messages or phone calls. Never delete negative comments unless they’re spam or offensive – this often backfires. Use negative feedback as an opportunity to demonstrate excellent customer service and potentially turn dissatisfied customers into brand advocates.

6. How important is visual consistency across my social media platforms?

Visual consistency is crucial for brand recognition and professionalism. Use consistent colors, fonts, and aesthetics that align with your brand identity across all platforms. This doesn’t mean every post should look identical, but there should be a cohesive visual theme that makes your content instantly recognizable. Create brand guidelines for social media that include your color palette, logo usage, and visual style. Consistent branding helps build trust and makes your business appear more established and professional.

7. What are the most common social media mistakes that can hurt my business?

The biggest mistakes include posting without proofreading (grammar and spelling errors hurt credibility), focusing too much on follower count instead of engagement quality, over-posting or under-posting content, using irrelevant or excessive hashtags, ignoring comments and messages from followers, posting the same content across all platforms without customizing for each audience, and failing to have a content strategy or posting calendar. Additionally, mixing personal opinions with business content or posting controversial content without considering your brand image can damage your professional reputation.