With the prevalence of social media growing in our world, things are quickly changing. Social media is no longer simply an outlet for private people; companies utilize it and utilize it very well. Depending on the industry that the business operates in, many would consider social media marketing an essential practice. By using social media websites, companies large and small can build a following, engage their audience, and even sell their products without ever meeting their customers in-person. This shows that social media is a perfect solution to all our marketing problems, right? Wrong.
As with anything that requires someone to manually do it, there is always the potential for costly mistakes when using social media on behalf of a company. Over the years, there have been many social media blunders. Some of these blunders have been considered offensive, ignorant, or downright dumb. Many people question why a company would consider posting things that could be construed as controversial, but the perspective may be different from inside a company. Although mistakes are still likely to be made, here is some of the content to avoid posting on social media for your company.
Content to avoid posting on social media
Poorly written content
This tip goes for any type of content that you post whether that is a new blog post, a press release, an image, or anything else that you have created. One of the most important things that you can do for your business’ social media image is proofread your content before you post it. If you post content that has spelling and grammar errors, your credibility will likely go down and potential customers may avoid your business. Proofreading does not take a long time and can really be a lifesaver for your image and your chances of gaining new customers.
If you do not have the capability to proofread and edit your content for grammar and spelling yourself, websites like Fiverr allow you to find someone to do it for an affordable price. You can also hire Focused Engagement to create, proofread, edit, and publish your content for you! We make sure that anything we publish for a client is in tip-top shape.
Political/religious content
Unless you are a political or religious organization, it is a good idea to stay away from posting content of this type of your company social media. We recommend not posting this content because many people are strongly opinionated and may take offense if something that you post does not align with their viewpoint. There are also people that do not care for religious or political news, and they may feel left out if you post this sort of content. Obviously there are exceptions to this rule of thumb, such as posting about human rights issues that your entire organization feels strongly about. Use your discretion when it comes to posting these types of things as backlash is still possible.
Posts that have nothing to do with your audience
As we mentioned before, internet culture is growing and thriving every day. More and more people that were not previously aware of it are learning and engaging more than ever before. This causes a lot of viral things to pop up, such as news stories, memes, and much more. Most of the time, it is likely that these things will have nothing to do with the type of work that your business performs. Viral memes top the list of content to avoid posting on social media for your company, simply because many viewers may not understand them. Again, if they are relevant to your business, posting these things might not be a bad idea, but this is more uncommon.
Negative content
Let’s just face the facts: there will be times that your business receives criticism or backlash for something that happened. Whether this is severe or nothing serious, it is best to deal with these issues outside of social media. By responding to negative content on your social media platforms, you may make your company look bad or unprofessional. Take the time to write the commenter a direct message or put out a statement on your social media feed. Do not respond angrily towards negative comments or bash your competitors on social media.
Private company details
Most companies have trade secrets or things that they do not want to get out, and these things are high on the list of content to avoid posting on social media. If you have a disgruntled employee that is threatening to use your company social media to expose these precious details, we recommend reevaluating who has access to social media privileges. Just one post about inside details of your company has the potential to ruin everything that you have built. This is exactly why social media must be used with extreme caution.