Avoid This Type of Content on Social Media (and Here’s What to Post Instead)

Coming up with something to say on social media nearly every day feels like a challenge for many business managers. After all, you’re not that interesting, right? That’s the attitude shared by many of our clients.

Plus, once you come up with some things to say, you know you want to make sure they fit your brand, stand out from others, and offer helpful, useful, or amusing information. Unfortunately, getting all of those things to align is tricky, which is why some businesses occasionally put their foot in their mouth, so to speak, online. Let’s look at some content to avoid, and what you can post instead.

Why You Should Create Content

First, why post at all? A lot of people feel that social media is a waste of time and resources. Sure, it’s far more difficult to demonstrate ROI here. But it’s still worth posting. Consider the following:

• More people follow brands than celebrities on social media.
• Social improves your brand awareness through your followers, likes, and shares.
• Consumers will be able to see real people reviews, testaments, and pictures of the product.
• Social is the fastest and most inexpensive way to communicate for customer service.
• You can promote your brand with ads on popular sites.
• You can patrol what customers are saying about your brand (negative and positive), then respond accordingly.
• Similarly, social media offers a platform for listening to learn about your customers’ needs and wants.
• You can also monitor your competition to see what tactics they are using to target the market.

What Content to Avoid

A bad reputation is hard to shake; it’s critical to keep your company from posting inappropriate content. Educate yourself on the right and wrong content to avoid a bad situation, because an insensitive post can bring your business down. Think of social media as a cocktail party; what topics of conversation might you skip in that situation? You’ll notice a lot of these listed are similar.

• Never post about political topics; customers don’t want to hear about your controversial opinions. This can also put you in trouble with customers who don’t agree with you. If you’re a huge company, you might be able to get away with this, but for most medium-sized businesses, you’re better off playing it safe.  
• Stay away from sounding like a robot. Being too informative loses that personal touch that customers love from a brand.
• Never use religious phrases or words. This is crucial because you can get your business in trouble with the law and develop a horrible reputation.
• Trying to relate your business to tragic events for promotion is insensitive and will drive customers away. Same with huge issues, such as the now-famous Pepsi ad trying to connect the brand to the Black Lives Matter movement.
• Avoid irrelevant posts that have nothing to do with your business or brand. That said, it’s OK to be real and to show your team or toss in a joke.
• Do not post negative comments about other businesses or customers
• Never post content that has not been proofread and spellchecked. Posting this content will make you look unprofessional.

Content to Post

When posting your content, always keep in mind that it’s important to stick to the values of your business. You always want to be sincere, sensitive, creative, and engaging.

• Post about topics that are trending; this helps customers relate to the business.
• Behind-the-scenes posts show clients how involved and passionate your staff is.
• “Get to know the staff” posts; this can be outings or celebrations-either way, it humanizes your business and connects your clients on a personal level.
• Ask your customers for reviews, opinions, questions about topics. This gives you useful feedback that you can take into account when developing your brand.
• All posts must have a purpose; the content you put out is your chance to express your value and present what you have to offer.
• Be personal; customers are attracted to content that doesn’t look like ads.

Need help presenting the right content? Contact a professional Raleigh marketing agency that can provide you with creative and original social media posts.