5 Things To STOP Doing on Social Media

I have said this time and time again: I am a social media junkie. I absolutely love it. It is fun to have different outlets to connect with people online. Not only is it a huge part about being a blogger, but it has become a huge part of our society.There is a constant need to interact with people to create a community. Social media is a place to turn to for networking and just having fun taking a peek into other people’s lives. With the frequent changes of each social media platform I am always fumbling my way to figure out the new ways of connecting with my friends, family members and readers. Each social media channel is different, and needs to be approached differently. I am sure you know that Twitter is a quick way to chat with people while Pinterest primarily focuses on images and not conversation. Over the years I have learned quite a bit about social media and wanted to share with you 5 Things You Should NOT Do on Social Media:1. Automation - There is a fine line between automating messages and coming off spammy. One of my biggest pet peeves is receiving an automated direct message on Twitter about how happy someone is to connect with me and the other places that I can follow them on social media. This just seems very impersonal. Not only do I know that the message has been sent out to everyone who has followed you, but you are immediately asking me to go to another network to ‘like’ your page or following you again. To tell you the truth, I am guilty of doing this in the past. I thought it was a great way to say hello to new followers until I started receiving harsh comments back from my audience.[bctt tweet="Are you making these social media mistakes?"]2. Mishandling Negative Comments - I actually cringe when I read some of the comments I see left on my Facebook page. Some people can just be down right mean. But, they are entitled to their opinion. I have seen way too many Facebook page owners take the low road and mishandle comments. One of the best pieces of advice that I received in the beginning of blogging that pertained to social media was to positively respond to comments and/or properly delete or hide them. Although this is personal preference and you can comment back as you wish, social media comments never go away. Watch what you say and how you handle comments because everyone is watching.3. Over Using Hashtags - Yes, I definitely use hashtags and they are a huge part of social media, but there are too many people who go overboard. Not only is it hard to read the message when every other word has # in front of it, but the whole purpose of hashtags is to categorize the post with similar content. You do not need to hashtag every single word. 4. Ignoring Your Audience - The whole point of social media is being social. You cannot expect to create a community if you are not engaging with your followers. Interact and just be ‘social’ rather than constantly self-promoting.5. Being Salesy - Like I mentioned above, your main focus needs to be on engaging and being social. Do not just try to direct sell your audience. Building trust and loyalty by becoming a friend or an active representation of your brand or business will be much more beneficial. Selling will come over time in a more conversational way. One of the worst things is following a new page and then constantly seeing their ‘Buy Now’ posts all day every day.What would you add to this list? Any social media pet peeves?