Keep posts varied, short

Having a social media presence is vital for a business today. With Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Foursquare, YouTube, Google+, blogs, e-newsletters and websites, it is hard to imagine that you can overdue it with your posts, but you can.

Be an annoyance or narcissistic and your gains in social media numbers can disappear in a heartbeat. Good social media skills, like proper manners, are never going to steer you wrong.

Knowing when your social media efforts are going over the top is key to understanding how to effectively use these emerging communication tools.

Here are 10 ways businesses overdue social media:

1. Overposting on Facebook and Twitter – Hammering followers with 25 posts a day may sound like a great way to get your name out there and dominate the social media scene, but eating up that much of a person’s day is going to turn them off and result in “unlikes” and lost followers. Keep your name out there without being a nuisance.
2. Too self-centered posts: Tweets and status updates telling people where you are at or what you had to eat for your business lunch isn’t vital information. You may be an accountant and love numbers, but your followers are not going to be engaged by tales of your afternoon of number-crunching. It is good to gauge followers’ interest in your posts. Get their input on what they want to see more and what they want to see less in your updates.
3. Increased postings with increased popularity – Just because your followers or friends have increased doesn’t mean you are suddenly that much more interesting and engaging. You do not need to post more once your popularity increases. Keep your postings at a consistent level, or, if anything, cut back slightly as your popularity rises.
4. Posting in only one specific area – While your position or your business may be specialized, people don’t want to hear just about your niche. Let them know about company news of broader interest. Let that know about discounts and deals. Tell them when business numbers are up. Invite them to upcoming company events, when appropriate. Inform them about upcoming company plans and projects. Give them recaps of events and fiscal year performances.
5. Writing too much – Long posts are not your business’s friend. People don’t want every detail of your business day. Keep posts short and too the point. This is a “need-it-now” society. People don’t have time to wade through paragraph after paragraph to get to the point of your post. Twitter breeds brevity with its 140-character limit, but know that you don’t need to use all 140 characters to get your point across to readers. Keep Facebook posts to quick recaps of business events and happenings,
6. Overhastagging on Twitter – More than one or two hashtags in a post is over the top and completely unnecessary. Hashtag only what is essential. Don’t hashtag every word. And keep hashtagging to Twitter. It does not have a place or purpose on Facebook.
7. Reciprocated “Likes” – Exchanging “Likes” with other pages on Facebook can boost your fan numbers, but doesn’t do anything for your page. In fact, such reciprocal moves can hurt your business because these reciprocal fans won’t interact with your content. Facebook algorithms detect such discrepancies and lessen your visibility on fans’ newsfeeds.
8. Too many posts early – Business tend to heavily promote an event or a deadline way in advance and then slack off as the event or deadline nears. Continue to promote an event or deadline until it passes. With everything so instant today, people have apps on their smart phones and can access information from anywhere. Keep posting until the deadline or event passes.
9. Automated responses – Yes, automated responses give people a response and free you up for other things, but it is a generic response – and not one that builds relationships. If people take the time to send you comments and concerns, take the time to send them back an honest reply. Taking the time to answer posts and tweets shows customers that you care. An automated response can say “thanks for your question or concern,” but also let that person know that he or she will hear back from someone – and follow through with that.
10. Hammering one social media site – Focusing all your attention on one social media outlet misses lots of other potential customers. While you may like only doing Facebook posts for your business, people who could use and buy your products or services may be on Linkedin or Twitter. You need to link your social media together and use them all to your advantage. Every social media outlet has its own benefits. Use its different style to benefit your company. Facebook, for example, is more visual. Post photos of products and services there. Twitter is more text-based. Pinster is visual, good for photos, but also for pinning websites, links and blogs. Foursquare allows people to check in and post about businesses. Make sure you are keeping a presence on all social media outlets.