4. Too many platforms
Social media always seems like a good idea until you find that each platforms needs a lot of work.
Small businesses usually start out highly motivated with every good intention of keeping social media in tip-top condition but we all know someone with an abandoned Twitter or Facebook account thats just sitting there collecting dust.
The trouble with a neglected platform is, they give a bad first impression.
Lots of consumers (myself included) will trawl you online presence to see how serious you are as a business. Empty socials can say “this business doesn’t prioritise it’s customer relationships.”
The trick to good social media (that will help your business flourish) – is one or two platforms done well. Not 7 or 8 done badly.
My advice? Find the platforms your best customers are using most, and stick with them. Cut the wheat from the chaff. It’s well worth it.
3. Checked your inbox?
Oh-ho-ho this is probably the biggest cardinal sin of all. An unoccupied inbox. Customers often like the personal touch of a reply on social media. For some, it’s the new email – particularly with millennial and Gen Z buyers.
Have you left an out of office to do the work for you? What kind of tone is it setting?
Most social media platforms like Facebook will let you ditch messengers and add a button that links straight to your website. If you really can’t bear an extra inbox, this is how to solve that little problem.
But for the love of all that is holy – do not leave an out of office that makes you sound hard to get hold of. Every lead is precious. Handle with care!
2. Where the heck are you?
As Kirsty Allsop would say “location is everything”.
Lots of businesses forget to put their location in an obvious place. Let’s face it, all of us have a short attention span when it comes to browsing online.
No clear map or location can be a real turn off. Keep new visitors on your platform with the right information and you might just draw them into your little world long enough to invest financially.
Top tip: put your postcode or ballpark location in all bios (and if necessary) in your “business name” section of your profile.
It’s not just about adding local awareness. Including your location in the right places helps SEO; in other words your pages will be more discoverable online. Those clever consumers who use Facebook or Instagram as a search engine will get to you faster!
1. Infographic disaster
Infographics are hard to get right without formal training in design.
I see its of small businesses using Canva (or similar software) to put together their own “top tips”, posters and guides that fall flat as a social media post.
When it comes down to social media, your text should be in paragraph form, not hidden inside an image. Facebook is a good example where algorithms rely heavily on text (as of 2023) to process the value and relevance of a post.
While we’re at it, Facebook also has a rather nasty habit of compressing image files so that any text can become fuzzy and hard to read. If your infographic has small text this will be against you.
When putting together posts, I find less is more.
A 1 minute talking head video with a relevant paragraph can do wonders for your business. Remember that people use social media for having fun, entertainment and staying in touch with friends. Heavy text is boring. They’re not there to read lengthy paragraphs about your business. Give them something worth seeing!
About the Author
Catherine Jarvis Clothier is a digital marketer and online presence consultant living and working in Kent, UK. She has worked in unusual UK businesses for over 10 years across the South of England, particularly in automotive and therapy-based enterprises. Catherine specialises in social media, SEO and web design. She can be contacted here for online business consultations.
