Top Deadly Sins in Social Media That May Be Costing You Some Serious Business

Photo: BlogsTechNet.com

So, we know that it is abundantly clear that social media in business is not just a nicety or luxury, it's a necessity.  Clients are now watching and engaging with brands before they buy.  The quality of engagement with the brand can mean the difference between a sale or not.  One of the biggest tragedies we see daily is the misuse of the (often misunderstood ) hashtag, a free tool that can actually drive potential customers to a business who otherwise may not have found it.  Here are our top most common mistakes we see daily out there in "Social MediaVille" that make us cringe:

9.  A "tone" that is not consistent with the brand. This applies to language style, spelling and grammatical errors and more.  Who and what you are need to be clearly portrayed in all mass communication and triply so in social media.


8.  Too much selling and stating and not enough engaging.  Constantly posting exclusively about specials you are running, what last event you did, where you are headed for your next big event, how great you and your staff are and our favorite:  incessant client reviews  is a one-sided monologue.  Clients and potential clients are more savvy than ever and if your Facebook status updates, Tweets and Instagrams are all about your fabulous work 100% of the time, today's savvy consumer believes you may have something to hide and are all about masking who you really are.  Which leads to the next point:

7.  Not enough balance in social media content.   There should be a noticeable balance between client thank yous and reviews, where you are headed , news updates, your great work and engaging questions with your fans, asking them their opinions on industry-related work and even occasionally, stating something personal about you and your staff (see next point) and even going so far as to entertain your fans.  Yes, I said "entertain" your fans.  Humor, sharing other businesses' status updates, posting trivia or history about your service , product or etiquette as it pertains to your product makes you stand out.  And let's not overlook the best of all: casting yourself as the expert in your field and providing helpful planning and service tips for your fan base at no charge.  

 6.  Not allowing transparency.  That is, not allowing fans to see who you really are.  In an age of social media, we know all too well that one can run the risk of "TMI" but in business, a tiny taste of who you are as a business on a personal level builds trust with your followers.  They see you as human and someone relateable and are more apt to give their business to those whom they trust. This does not mean you need to reveal too much about yourself.  It can be a photo of you doing non-work-related hobbies, or photo of you traveling or volunteering somewhere.  Not comfortable doing this?  How about your team? Who are the members of your team? Consider periodically introducing your fans to the personal side of your team.

5.  Not responding to fans when they engage on your social media.  The whole point of social media is to have a conversation.  If your fans are taking the time to respond to you, reach out, retweet, tag you and more, and you are not responding, you are missing a key element of establishing trust and a sense of being open for business and being "alive" that most do not take the time to do.  Tagging other followers and businesses in your posts also reaches their audiences and gets you in front of further potential customers.  Reach out, respond and stand out above the competition when you do this.  If you do not have the time to monitor and respond 24/7, consider hiring a professional, such as Engaging Inspiration.

4.   Not blogging.  Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram) are microblogs. They are a way to stay in touch in front of your audience regularly and in short "bursts". But BLOGS are a way to elaborate on the conversation and showcase your best talents with photos and verbiage that tell stories. But more importantly, if one is blogging properly, the key words used in the BLOG can be picked up by search engines for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and drive potential customers your way. This is an incredibly economical way to drive potential sales your way, but it takes someone who knows what they are doing and have mastered the art of writing beautifully and balancing it with a technical savoir faire, knowing key words to use in the midst of artful writing.  Engaging Inspiration provides this service for wedding businesses ranging from small businesses to luxury international resorts.

3.  Taking time off from social media for "downtime": In the wedding and special events industry, we work 24/7 and almost 365.  In the rare occurrence that we actually get a vacation, it can feel like a necessary relief not to engage on social media.  However, going "dark" on your social media implies that your business has closed. It also pushes your algorithms askew . When you are not posting and fans are not engaging, your posts are less likely to be seen in the future because the technology reads it as you being less interesting to fans and they don't want to push your content forward if fans are not interested in what you have to say. But also, remember this:  when you are not posting, your competition is.  There are numerous ways to make sure your posts are staying current and active:  you can schedule things to be posted with an associate or most social media has a way to schedule in advance, too, to ensure there is no "downtime" for your fans and potential customers.

2.  Being afraid to post the same content more than once.  This is number two and is one of the biggest mistakes of all time.  You know that status update you posted this morning?  Post it at noon and then again in the evening, with other status updates  mixed in of course, in between, so that all your posts for the day are not on the same status update.  Why?  You have a different audience in the morning, noon hour and evening.   Whatever you posted this morning may be lost on your afternoon and evening audience.  Also, don't be afraid to repost the same content later in the week, too.  The best social media international brands in the world do this, and for good reason.  They have studied and know that a successful social media strategy involves reposting the same content sometimes several times a day , a week or month, as it's constantly targeting different audiences. 


1.  Improper Hashtag Use.  This is the single most abused social media

deadly sin we see in business social media.  Here are the top hashtag violations we see:

• Making up cute names to hashtag, thinking it will draw attention to your brand.  The only time you should have one or two unique hashtag names is when you use those same hashtag names on all your marketing materials. The idea being that people will know to use those specific "cute" hashtag names you created when they go to look you up.  Otherwise Joe Q. Public , who has never heard of you , would never think in a million years on his own to search for " #EdibleCutsieStuff "  .  That specific hashtag is for your marketing materials telling people they can find you under that hashtag and see your work.  So, while it can be important to have consistent unique hashtags if you use them on marketing materials, they should not be your only hashtags .  See next point.

• Not choosing and using key hashtag terms relevant to your business.  Example: you are a caterer in San Francisco and you just posted a photo of an incredible dish and buffet you set up for an Indian Wedding.  You would choose hashtags that Joe  Q. Public could use  if he were randomly searching things like " #indian #wedding #cuisine #catering #sanfrancisco #californiaweddings  . Using key terms that potential customers may search for is more beneficial to helping potential new sales come your way.

•  Hashtagging too many words.  One international small business we follow lists 30 hashtags after every post.  This causes them to be listed as "SPAM" in social media and discounted altogether from any search of anyone looking for legitimate key words, and instead of driving traffic to them, they have no traffic because none of the hashtags they used will be picked up because they used too many and got labeled as SPAM.

Social media is not something to just hand off to the office assistant or college intern at your company, unless they have had specific training and stay up to date with the ever-changing world of SEO and social media as well as the wedding industry as a whole.  It takes a dedicated, educated marketing effort that starts with a complete evaluation of who you are, what your brand is and how you plan to convey that and then a dedicated strategy to implement that brand and voice and then someone who understands the technology and psychology behind it all.  If navigated correctly, social media can be one of the most powerful and economical ways to grow your business.  Engaging Inspiration provides customized training, consulting and social media solutions to the wedding business and hospitality industry as well as speaking engagements and workshops.