Top 5 Twitter Faux-Pas for Businesses

Many businesses are on Twitter now, and while this can be an excellent way to provide real time customer service as well as value to your followers- there a couple things businesses need to be cautious of. Is your business making any of these faux pas?

1.  Automated tweets- It is obvious when most of your tweets are automated. Now, I think automated tweets are useful- however, not when every single one of your tweets are just blasts to the world. Remember that part about engagement? Is your Facebook linked to your Twitter? Are every single one of your tweets automated from Facebook?  It doesn’t look very engaging.

2.  Your avatar is lame- Hey egghead! DO NOT tweet if your avatar is an egghead, many people will think you are a spammer. Also, (this is just a personal preference) I feel so much more comfortable interacting with people’s faces rather than a logo or some other sort of an animation. As soon as I see a logo I feel that I will only be hearing about deals and promotions for a business, #fail.

3.  You don’t follow back- This is just Twitter etiquette. If you have 300 or 3,000 followers, and you only follow 17 people- that’s rude! Remember that part about engagement…again?

4.  Not using your Twitter background- This is a valuable piece of real estate, utilize it! Have a graphic artist take your logo to fit your Twitter background. Add your contact info to create a little advertisement for your business. Many businesses are partaking in this and I think it looks great.

5.  Not providing value- Blah blah blah! Make sure what you are tweeting offers value to your followers! Don’t blast nonstop information about your business. Before you tweet, think to yourself: “Does this tweet help or engage my followers?”

Do you have any other faux-pas to add to the list? What are you noticing businesses or people doing on Twitter that annoy you?

10 Facebook Faux-Pas for Businesses

I have been researching a lot of businesses in the area, and their use of social media.  I have met some wonderful business owners and I seen some stellar displays of brands upon Facebook. However, I have also come across many business pages that are…well… perhaps, misinformed. Here is my top-10 list of things businesses are doing wrong on Facebook.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work!”-Thomas Edison

1. Using a personal page as a business page- This is probably the biggest faux pas I have seen. If you are a business or an organization, you need to create a business page- not a personal. It is a Facebook violation, and they have every right to delete your page if you are caught.
2. Shouting!- Put the megaphone down and stop making announcements. Keep your content 20% about you, and 80% about your fans. Thinkinbound…Offer content which allows for your fans to respond and interact.
3. Over-posting- If you are posting more than 2 times a day, this can get a bit “spammy.” If you post too much, people will tune you out. It’s important to stay consistent, but don’t post too often.
4. Selling- There is a time and a place, but not here. Facebook is not for sales. If you try to sell to people, you will have zero fans. Let your page be a space for your customers to interact with your brand and create an online community.
5.  Self promoting on other pages- If you worked for Coke, would you set up a booth inside of Pepsi and sell Sprite? No. Don’t utilize someone else’s space to advertise your business, unless it has been requested.
6. Forgetting a social media policy- This is something that is frequently overlooked. If your business is being represented on Facebook it is important to implement policy and procedures so that your business is not misrepresented.
7. Deleting complaints- Social media for your business can be great, but it can get difficult when it comes to dealing with complaints. It will happen. Rather than deleting these complaints from your timeline, DEAL  WITH THEM!
8. Neglecting to interact with fans- If your fans are asking questions and making comments, respond to them! You will soon lose their attention if you ignore them.
9. Not posting current info- If I scope out a business’s Facebook, and their last post was weeks ago- I will move on. It’s important to keep your page updated.
10. Not having a Facebook page at all- Why wouldn’t you want to hang out where all of your customers are gathering? There’s a big, very big, conversation occurring on Facebook, I highly recommend joining it.