3 Things You’re Doing Wrong on Social Media

If there’s one thing that I look at on a daily basis almost more than I look at my cute pups, it’s social media profiles. Whether I’m looking at Instagram profiles, Twitter accounts, Facebook pages or Pinterest accounts, I’m constantly analyzing different social media accounts and strategies. And I’m constantly seeing the exact same three mistakes happening. No matter the industry or company size, it seems that businesses are continuously falling short in a few places. But have no fear, I’m here to help you quickly whip your social media bum into shape. Starting below with the three most common mistakes I see and how to fix them in less time than it takes to get through one episode of Grey’s Anatomy (yes, people, Grey’s Anatomy really is still on. and still good!).

1.) Your location isn’t obvious in your profile info – Want to know my BIGGEST social media pet peeve (besides bullying and nothing but selfies)? It’s when businesses don’t list where they’re located in their Instagram profile info. ESPECIALLY if you’re a brick and mortar. How am I supposed to come buy that really cute outfit or necklace you just posted if it’s not extremely obvious to me where you’re located? What if you’re an amazing interior designer that I want to hire ASAP, but I can’t find where you’re located easily enough so I get frustrated and walk away (or rather, scroll away)? That would really, really stink. If your number one goal is to drive traffic in to your brick and mortar restaurant or shop then you absolutely 100% need to have your city location/address right up front in your profile. If you want to book more local clients, then tell the world where you’re located! You may think it’s obvious but it isn’t. If you don’t have your city listed in your profile then please stop reading any further & go add it immediately!

 

2.) You aren’t tooting your own horn – Alright, I get it. Talking about yourself (for some of us) can be especially awkward. Some of you run from talking about yourself and your talents in the other direction. I get this. I do it too. But guys, if we want to be known as a go-to figure in our industries, if we want to sell more of the stuff we put our heart and soul into, if we want to get people into our shops, then we HAVE to toot our own horn. There’s a reason we’re running our business, right? Right. We know stuff. We can do things. So now we need to talk about those things. Find a way that is genuine to you and feels as comfortable as tooting your own horn can be and then do that. Toot that horn. Toot it softly or toot it loudly, but just make sure you toot it (alright, alright, alright enough with the word ‘toot,’ right?). 

 

3.) You’re acting like the teacher who always talks & never listens – Social media isn’t a one-way street type of thing. It really is meant to be social. Social media, when implemented effectively, is the quickest and easiest way to create a community of people who are totally wild about you. But you have to be wild about them back. It does a business absolutely no good to talk and never engage. No one wants to just be talked at. Treat your social media posts as a genuine conversation that you would have with a pen pal. Sounds silly, right? But trust me. Ask questions, talk about things that are relevant and will generate a two way conversation, respond to your followers comments and questions, don’t ignore them. Show a real interest in who you’re serving. Your audience will feel that connection with you and if you treat ’em right, they’ll keep coming back. So engage, engage, engage, friends. Don’t let it be a one way street.

 

Until next time,
VHC