3 Social Media Blunders You Must Avoid

We all get caught up in the moment sometimes. Fast-paced topics with friends, family and the news media constantly bombarding us with the latest updates or recent developments.

We want to tell our opinions too. We have a voice, we like how we think, and we want to be heard! However, this isn’t always the best idea. In fact, in many cases, it can be outright disastrous.

Before you Twitter away a regrettable tweet, slap yourself on Facebook, or commit yourself to an instant Instagram death, consider a few things. Other’s have made some spectacular social media blunders ahead of you, which means you don’t have to. Below is a few critical mistakes you should dodge well in advance.

Don’t Commit These Social Media Blunders

Using a tragedy to self-promote or sell your stuff

This is probably the worst of the social media marketing blunders that you can commit. Aside from just being completely tacky and shameless, it’s also heartless. And yet, we see this repeatedly from people and businesses. It’s not right! Whether you agree with me or not, if I see someone taking advantage of a disaster or human tragedy to promote themselves or their company, I promote them straight to my personal life trash can. If, for one second, people that think this is okay just took a moment to think of what it would be like to be on the receiving end of a tragedy, there is a good chance they would think better of it.

In other cases, people don’t care about anyone else but themselves. Distinguishing between a heartless person and a careless person is nearly impossible from something as simple as a tweet or a Facebook post however. So, once it’s out there, it’s really too late to fix it. No amount of apologizing can make up for bad public perception, so you’re better off saying nothing at all.

Don’t use language or images that can easily be misinterpreted and backfire

We all have seen some pretty crazy photos or tweets that make us laugh, even when we know we probably shouldn’t. For whatever reason, some things might strike us as funny, albeit inappropriate. These are fine when you’re dealing with a handful of close friends, but when it comes to your brand, that’s another story. Your brand is often supported by many people, from all walks of life, and from various different age groups. And what might seem funny to you, could be deemed extremely offensive to someone else. So keep those edgy pictures and comments in the private column, and don’t risk your image being destroyed by something you find amusing.

We live in a sensitive society these days, whether we like it or not. You can’t change society very easily, but you can certainly change yourself as it pertains to your business.

Make sure you change passwords if you let employees go that have access to your social media accounts

This one sounds like simple common sense, and it is, but you’d be surprised how often companies forget this detail. Nobody with a heart wants to fire an employee, but sometimes, for various reasons, a business has to cut ties. Often times, that reason doesn’t settle well with employee’s that are being let go. And one of the more common responses to a termination, is to lash out against your now former employer, and roast them via social media.

If an ex-employee has access to your social media, the aforementioned roasting can and likely will take place on your own platform. This isn’t a good situation for anyone involved. People often have a commiserating heart for someone who just lost their job, and while you can’t stop the disgruntled former worker from lashing out among their own friends, you certainly don’t need to air out your dirty laundry for all to see on your business accounts. So, be sure you change those passwords BEFORE you drop the axe, and avoid all of the headache’s and backlash.

Take the road that was paved before you

Avoiding these social media blunders isn’t that hard, as long as you think before you act. These are all mistakes we've had to avoid in our business too, to be one of the top portland web design companies ourselves.

Other’s have made these mistakes so that those of us who come after them don’t have to. Follow the path to success by avoiding these already identified pitfalls, and you’ll have a much smoother ride to achieving your business goals. Successful marketing, with well thought out statements and actions, are the keys to building and maintaining your brand’s image in the public eye.