Social Media: The Do’s and Don’ts

In the whirlwind of prepping content, creating designs, scheduling posts, and chasing virality, it seems like the rules of social media are changing every day. Trends go as quickly as they came, topics that take over today’s feeds will probably be gone tomorrow, and the neverending list of what’s cool and what’s not is consistently being rewritten by a culturally-smart Gen Z audience. 

Staying relevant in a digital world is hard enough as is, so how do you give your brand the best shot at mastering the art of social media? Let me introduce my list of Social Media Do’s and Don’ts. 

At its core, social media profoundly impacts our personal and professional narratives. Although it seems like the landscape is changing daily, there are a few unspoken rules to stick to if you want to survive and thrive online. We’ll go over how to create a vibrant online community through your brand’s social media strategy while steering clear of common pitfalls that can give your brand a negative reputation. Let’s first dive into our list of what you should be doing to enhance your social media presence. 

The Social Media Do’s ✓

If you want to boost your brand’s digital presence, reputation, and engagement, following some basic principles can help make this happen while elevating your overall social media approach and strategy.

DO: Be authentic and transparent in your engagement ✓

At the top of the list is to remain authentic when engaging with your brand’s audience on social media. Consumers are more perceptive than ever before to how brands approach comments, reactions, and community engagement. A real, genuine interaction will help humanize your brand and make your accounts, and your business, more authentic. Consider posting some behind-the-scenes materials or DMing a personalized thank you message to someone who tagged your brand in a post. A little will always go a long way. 

DO: Be consistent ✓

While it may not seem as important, being consistent across your social media channels is key for growing your community and your brand recognition – especially for a new business. Be sure to keep a consistent visual identity and tone to reinforce your brand’s personality. This will help you come across as familiar and trustworthy, but also make it easier for you to create batch content. 

In the spirit of being consistent, also remember to post on a regular schedule. Your audience will come to expect these posts and taking a long posting hiatus can harm your growth goals. Posting consistently can be tricky to do, so set aside time to create and schedule content in bulk. Need help with that? Let’s chat!

DO: Build a community  ✓

Social media isn’t just a way to post your brand’s content online – it’s an amazing tool to establish a loyal community of followers around your business. You can start this by simply responding promptly to customers, addressing any complaints or feedback, and replying to comments on your posts. You can also consider launching campaigns featuring user-generated content or setting up ways to directly interact with your audience, whether through polls or live feeds. Foster a sense of collaboration with your consumers to make them feel like they’re a part of your team – and a part of your cause. 

Now that we’ve covered the basics of shaping your brand’s social media etiquette, let’s get into things you should avoid doing in the social media landscape. 

The Social Media Don’ts ✗

If you’ve spent countless hours on your social media strategy but still aren’t seeing the results you expect, you could be making some mistakes that are undermining your efforts. Let’s get into things you should avoid when it comes to your social media strategy. 

DON’T: Spam your community ✗

Over-promoting your brand can quickly annoy your consumers. It’s important to strike a balance between posting consistently while being mindful of your audience’s time and attention. If all of your posts feel like a sales pitch, consider switching up your material to make it more useful to the readers and less promotional material for your business. 

DON’T: Avoid criticism ✗

Criticism is an inevitable part of running a business. Someone somewhere will always have something to say. While you can’t control the negative feedback, you can control how you handle it and approach such comments online. Have a strategy and templated responses ready in place to help you address criticism professionally and show your community that you’re committed to improvement. 

DON’T: Skip your research ✗

In today’s heated economic, social, and geopolitical climate, social media is flooded with controversial opinions and information, sometimes coming from false sources. Before you comment or repost on a sensitive situation, educate yourself and do the proper research beforehand. It can be easy to be swept into the emotional frenzy of things you read online, but keep your brand’s reputation intact by researching to ensure accuracy. If you’re not sure about something, err on the side of neutrality and professionalism. Posting something false could damage your brand’s reputation and lead to reliability issues.

Conclusion

Social media can seem like a complicated, ever-changing world of trends and fleeting fame, but there are a few foundational rules you should follow to not only build your following, but also build a community for your brand. Remember to be authentic, consistent, and genuine while also never spamming your followers, ignoring criticism, or skipping out on research for important topics. It may seem like each comment, each interaction, and each direct message is a small step, but it all comes together, brick by brick, in building the foundation of your brand’s digital house. 

If you want a more personalized checklist and social media strategy for your business, I’ve been helping companies build, launch, and grow online communities through social media for years. Fill out the form to get in touch.