9 Things People Do Wrong On Social Media

A couple of years ago I wrote a pretty comprehensive post titled 31 Big Mistakes People Make Blogging And In Social Media. It’s still one of my post popular posts, and it almost reached 100 comments (okay, 50 comments since the other half are mine lol).

social media tips

School’s open on social media

One thing bloggers need to know is that sometimes you have to rehash a particular topic because time goes by, and you’re not marketing some posts as much as the articles get older. You can either address the entire post or you can bring over elements from a previous post and add new items. If you bring previous topics you need to be ready to write about them in a different way.

Out of the 9 topics I’m going to address about things people do wrong on social media, I’ve touched upon 3 of them previously. This time around the title topics are written differently and I’ll talk about them differently, using different words and examples. After all, one should only copy from themselves a little bit; am I right?

Before I go further, let me say this one thing. Though I’m saying these things are wrong, these are actually things that irritate me more than their being wrong. If you’re into doing any of the things I complain about here, keep at it; don’t let me dissuade you. If you’re open to seeing why I’m irked by these things, since I’m sharing my thoughts for your benefit, then please check them out.

Enough of that; let’s get into it:

Posting too many times in an hour

I love Twitter; it’s my favorite social media platform. I love the chance to interact with other people and it’s proven to be the place that generates more shares than any other site.

I know the same happens for a lot of other people, which makes Twitter a great place to market one’s services, products and thoughts. Yet, something I see happening too often is a person deciding to share lots of posts in an hour or two. And I mean a lot of posts! Often the exact same thing, even if it’s worded differently.

Folks, there are 24 hours in a day. There are ways of posting on social media sites that allow you to spread out your marketing. You can try Buffer for many of them; I use it for everything except Twitter, where I use Tweeten. This will help you alleviate the overkill while you’re online, which is probably why you’re posting that way, and allow you to space your messages out to reach a higher audience.

Posting non-business articles on LinkedIn

I have two points that are specific to a social media site, and this is the first one.

I know that Linkedin wants to be Facebook in the worst way possible. Just last week they mentioned that they’re adding trending topics to the site; ugh! However, it’s still supposed to be for business purposes, even if they’re making it harder to do.

Since that’s the case, and almost everyone should know it, then why are people posting things that have nothing to do with business? Motivational quotes; Facebook & Twitter. Motivational images; Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus. Fashion pictures when you’re not a designer; other places please!

The way I see it, if you’re not doing anything to help promote yourself or someone else, or you’re not sharing something that’s within your industry or business related, you’re making yourself look like you really don’t care about business or making business contacts. You don’t have to take my word for it. Just visit your profile page and you’ll see people you’re connected to posting and making inappropriate comments that has to be making them look unprofessional. Do you want people thinking that about you/

Posting too many sales messages in your personal Facebook stream or Instagram account

Nendoroid And Figma Prezzie

Danny Choo via Compfight

I love Instagram because I love looking at the pictures. I like Facebook because I like seeing what’s going on with my friends and family. What I don’t like on both of these sites is that lately more people are using both sites for advertising their wares and services more than as a truly social medium.

I get it; Facebook has over a billion potential customers is hard to keep away from, and they also own Instagram. You never know where a customer might be, and that’s a lot of people to have the possibility of reaching. With that said, there are other ways of reaching people if you’ve got a message to put out that not only will be of more benefit but could end up going to a targeted audience, which will improve your potential to make sales or get business.

First, there are business profile pages you can create like like this one I have for my content. There are also group pages that sometimes allows people to post advertisements of some type, which you could get around by creating your own. Finally, there’s Facebook Ads where for a nominal fee (depending on genre) you can not only post an ad but gear it towards specific demographics and potentially reach a lot of people you’re not even connected to.

I’m not saying that you should never post any type of marketing to your Facebook page, because your friends and family might not know what you do, so it never hurts to clue them in from time to time. I’m saying to please, PLEASE, don’t do it all the time!

By the way, I know that Instagram doesn’t have groups and such, but they do have advertising that uses the same algorithms that Facebook does. Also, I believe that we’re all marketing all the time no matter what we do or where we are, so you might as well make yourself a kind of brand celebrity and show people a bit of what you’re made of. Most buyers like to know who they’re working with or buying from so take a break every once in a while and show something of yourself. Please! lol

Never posting anything of your own

I’ve mentioned this one before, and now I’m going further with it. I used to only see this on Twitter, but now I’m seeing it on all social media sites.

First, if you’re ever sharing my stuff I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. It’s always appreciated.

With that said, every once in a while I’d love to have the opportunity to promote your stuff when I see it. The problem is that most people either don’t have anything of their own to share, or are too cowed to do so. Those who are doing it don’t understand what they’re missing.

As LinkedIn becomes Facebook, this has become quite pervasive there as it’s always been on Facebook. LinkedIn is supposed to be a place where we can promote ourselves and our business, but few people actually do it. Facebook might be a place where more people are socializing yet I see a lot of people (including me) posting things they’ve found on other websites, including YouTube.

The difference for me is that I also post my own things, although not all that often. I post my business works on my business site on Facebook, but I also post them on both LinkedIn and my business profile page on Google Plus. I post my local missives in my local blogging group site. Every once in a while, if I write about diabetes I’ll post it in my diabetes group on Facebook. If I feel I’ve done a video that I want to get some outside feedback on that I think my friends or family might enjoy, I’ll post it on my Facebook timeline.

Twitter… everything goes on Twitter! ๐Ÿ™‚ I space it out so that I’m not inundating people; no one wants to deal with that. Still, there are a lot of people who aren’t even trying; don’t let that be you.

Never sharing anything from other people

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The Advocacy Project via Compfight

This is the antithesis of the previous gripe. It’s “all about me not about you” syndrome. You might put out some pretty good stuff, but if you don’t look like you’re ever going to share other people’s content which shows that you’re actually trying to help or inform others I’m probably never going to follow you… unless you’re a celebrity who follows me first (it happens more often than you think)! ๐Ÿ™‚

“Sharing is caring” isn’t supposed to be empty words that sound pretty. There’s more to life than just talking about yourself all the time. You’ll find that the law of reciprocity as stated by Amirah Hall benefits all parties, way more than you might anticipate. Give it a shot and prove to yourself how it can benefit you.

Never giving credit where credit is due

I’ll own up to the one being hard to do most of the time because people or sites don’t help us to help the authors give them credit. Sometimes we have to go above and beyond to find a way to highlight someone whose words we like, kind of like I did above with Amirah (whom I don’t know).

Going out of your way can be time consuming, so I don’t fault anyone for not going the extra step I do most of the time. What I will do if fault people who never show love for someone by mentioning them in a blog post, even if they link to someone else’s site, or acknowledge that they wrote something when you repost something they’ve written when they give you share buttons with their social media personal contact information in them. Even if it’s not in the share button, if you’re on someone’s blog they’ll probably have a link to Twitter or some other site right on the page where their content is (I know everyone doesn’t but most do); it won’t take much longer to add that link to something you might share when it’s possible.

I know it’s harder doing it when someone posts an article on someone else’s blog or website, but many times if it’s a quality site they’ll have a person’s links next to their name somewhere. I’d rather give credit to the writer than the website, since the website’s going to benefit just by your going there; who’s with me on giving credit where credit is due?

Arguing too much with others

I’ll admit I have a trigger topic that used to get me arguing with people at a moment’s notice. What I’ve learned over the years is that arguing accomplishes nothing except getting one or both people upset. Discussions are always a better option, but you won’t find a lot of that happening online because we don’t know each other all that well, and we can’t see facial expressions or body movements.

Getting into an occasional argument is no big deal. Doing it all the time, everywhere is definitely a big deal. It got to be a big deal for me, even though I’d stopped participating in it (especially during the election season) that I almost left social media. I know a lot of other people who either left social media or just dropped certain sites, never to return. Even now, a lot of it just seems to have gotten worse.

Think about how too much arguing might make you look in the eyes of people you’re connected to. I can tell you that I’ve muted a lot of people on Facebook and removed a lot of people from my life on both LinkedIn and Twitter. I don’t have time for arguments in my life anymore as I reach for peaceful living. Discussions are a different matter because those have a chance to lead to understanding.

If you like arguing then go ahead and keep doing it if it makes you feel better. If not… just stop!

Hitting on people inappropriately

DSCF5091 #LDEAfrica

Paul Saad via Compfight

Ugh! This one is mainly for the men who might read this. Y’all need to get a grip on yourselves and stop being jerks by targeting women on social media sites.

I see a bunch of punks (yeah, I said it!) every day on Instagram and YouTube saying some of the meanest and vilest things to women about their looks, about their believed behavior, about the positions they take, about what they want to or are going to do to them while hiding behind fake names and fake accounts that it’s sickening.

Every once in a while when I see someone saying things like this I’ll follow them back to their page, especially on Instagram. I’ve been amazed at how many of these people have pictures of their children or family members there, or talk about religious things. What a bunch of phonies!

The way I see it, you purveyors of filth need to grow up and take some accountability for yourselves. I’ll block people in a second; occasionally I’ll call someone out, and I might even “accidentally” leak some of their contact information so others can see who they are (it’s amazing how many people hiding behind fake names and profiles don’t realize how much information about themselves they’ve actually shared lol) and address them in a more open battlefield. I don’t suffer fools kindly, and I hate misogynists almost as much as racists and bigots. If you wouldn’t say it to your mother, sister or daughters (or, for some of you, granddaughters), stop saying it to women you don’t know!

Not engaging others when they reach out

It’s called social media for a reason; the idea is to try to be social.

On Twitter, I’m following just under 1,360 people at the present time. On LinkedIn it’s just under 1,000. On Facebook it’s just under 600. I think it’s around 150 people on Google Plus.

Those are pretty low numbers for a lot of people so I’m not close to bragging here. The point I’m trying to make is that almost everyone I’m following or connected to is a person I’ve talked to at least once. Sometimes I’ll reach out to someone, while other times they’ll reach out to me.

Occasionally someone I don’t know will reach out to me because they saw something I wrote or shared. When that happens I’ll talk to them. After all, they took a moment out of their day because they felt compelled to say something. What kind of jerk would I be if I didn’t respond (unless they were mean; that almost never happens lol)? What kind of jerk are you if you don’t respond?

If you’re shy online get over it! I understand not making the first connection because that can be tough; believe it or not, I’m somewhat introverted when it comes to that sort of thing. But someone coming to you while you’re in your safe place and you not responding; that’s not cool at all. Go ahead, answer or say hello to those people; it can only benefit you and even make you feel good.

That’s all I have for the day; I believe I’ve probably said enough. If you have any thoughts on this article please go ahead and have your say. Hopefully it’s made you think of at least one thing you might not be doing that you can improve on.
 

32 thoughts on “9 Things People Do Wrong On Social Media”

  1. All good points to which I generally adhere. Though I have been known to do blog posts that invite discussion or civil argument, very rarely have I engaged in argument on other social platforms and when I have I will pull back when things start getting too out of hand.

    I will share this post as it has good points for others to read.

    Arlee

    1. Thanks Arlee. I’ve taken on controversial posts also, but I’ll stop an argument in a heartbeat. Discussions are the way to go so we will at least hear each other out… if we’re up for discussing those topics… which sometimes I’m not! ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. I think if you build it, they will comeโ€”possibly true of a baseball field in an Iowa corn field, but definitely not true of a social media presence. Take every opportunity to let people know. Include your Twitter handle and links to your Facebook page on your website and in the signature on your email, link to them in your newsletters and other communications, and publicize them at events. Use Twitter and Facebook as opportunities to comment on other peoplesโ€™ posts, as well, which is a good way to establish a presence in the community.

    1. Good stuff Victoria. Those are things I’ve covered in other posts (I’ve written a lot lol) that offer people many ways of promoting themselves without overdoing it on one social media site. It’s not marketing that’s bad but bombarding people that’s irritating.

      One of these days I’m going to have to see that movie lol

  3. Thanks Mitch. All good points.

    I’ll add another. How about getting a salesy DM direct message from a new follower or someone you follow?

    It’s called social for a reason!

    1. Hey Steve! You know how I feel about auto DM’s, but I’ve talked and fussed about that one so often that I decided to give it a pass this time. Glad you brought it up though; maybe it’ll get others to start talking & writing about it more often.

  4. “On Twitter, Iโ€™m following just under 1,360 people at the present time. On LinkedIn itโ€™s just under 1,000. On Facebook itโ€™s just under 600. I think itโ€™s around 150 people on Google Plus.

    Those are pretty low numbers for a lot of people so Iโ€™m not close to bragging here.”

    Aren’t you supposed to brag about how many are following YOU? I think you’re doing it wrong…but I’m glad you’re not just a member of Team Follaback. ๐Ÿ™‚ “Few times I’ve been around that track
    So it’s not just gonna happen like that
    ‘Cause I ain’t no follaback girl
    I ain’t no follaback girl…”

    Earworm? You’re welcome.

    By the way, I sended you readers. Well…A reader, at least! ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. LOL! You so crazy! I know the song you’ve covered but I’ve never heard the whole thing so no earworms for me this time around; whew!

      I think there are times when bragging can be good, but other times when it’s detrimental to making one’s point. I’m probably a bad marketing person because I’ve intentionally kept my numbers low so I could talk to those who I know will talk back. Others say the business is in the numbers, and I certainly know that advertisers fight each other for the right to back someone with outstanding numbers… without knowing if that’s their target market or not. Once again, a way I’m messing up my opportunity to be mega rich & famous because I insist on doing things my way. ๐Ÿ˜€

  5. Thanks for the nice article . Now i know what things should i follow to increase my reach and presence on social media.

    i will definitely give credit to the one who’s post i am using from now onwards.

    Also i would like to read some more post on social media. i m not good at it.

    1. Tons of posts here on social media; just check out any page where it says Categories on the right side column, then select social media and you’ll be good to go. Good on you for giving credit to others.

  6. @Holly, Mitch might not brag about the numbers he is following… but hey what about those celebrities that follow you first Mitch? lol Great post and well written. I do see a lot of aggressive trolls. Is it that they don’t realize they are using a public platform or they feel empowered by that fact (whilst hiding behind a comp screen). In any event, better in public where we can see them coming! But seriously, if you are trying to promote yourself, don’t be a douche. Unless you really are a douche then thank you for letting me know I should avoid you! ๐Ÿ™‚ Thanks Mitch make it a great week!

    1. Thanks Anthony; yeah, I love having celebs follow me first! ๐Ÿ™‚

      As for the trolls, weak people hide behind fake names so they can say the things to others that they’d never dare say to them in person. You see the same behavior on news websites that allow people to comment on the stories. We both know that none of those people would dare say things the way they do without hiding because they’d be worried about both their neighbors and their employers, let alone the pressure they’d put on their kids with their stupidity. I hate that kind of thing a lot, which is why I require some kind of real name when people comment on this blog… and I check out websites most of the time to see if some of the comments are actually coming from people on that website or if they might possibly be paid to comment, since often those are lazy comments.

      See, I also do blogging right! lol

  7. Thanks Mitch Mitchell for the article. I think you have captured all the points very well and moreover you have expounded them great. I think people frequently neglect to actualize their strategies in correct way. Marketing is important in all the social media profiles but targeting the right audience is essential and without that everything is nil.

    1. I absolutely agree on targeting, although I’ll also say that’s only for people who are trying to make a living via social media, since the overwhelming majority of people there are only looking for some enjoyment.

  8. I keep asking myself when I am going to stop being so damn lazy about some things social media wise.

    I go back and forth with being active and present on Twitter. There are times when I’ll have conversations just like the old days and then bam, I am just sharing links again.

    I am pretty good about not using my primary FB and Instagram accounts for business stuff. I am not here to sell my friends and family crap every day.

    That gets old for everyone pretty damn quickly.

    1. That does get old Jack, but since I’m quite perspicacious in who I connect with on Facebook I rarely have to deal with that… at least initially. That’s why I promote FB Purity so often; it blocks tons of stuff I don’t want to see.

      As to the other… well… I’ve always wondered if you’re trying to reach an audience to try to make money or just entertain people. Your About page doesn’t quite give the impression that you need to make money by blogging, and you don’t have any of your books in a sidebar… heck, you don’t have sidebars! lol Therefore, you’re probably doing social media as a sideline type of thing; nothing wrong with that.

  9. Mitch – I loved your point about sharing non business related stuff on LinkedIn. That’s a pet peeve of mine. It’s not a social networking site like the others- it’s business related and professional. Let’s keep it that way!
    Folks should engage on all the networks, that’s what social is all about right? It does annoy me when some don’t ever engage….
    Enjoy the rest of your day Mitch!

    1. Thanks Lisa; I’m obviously with you on those pet peeves. LinkedIn is failing me right now because of all the nonsense stuff and people who’ve forgotten it’s supposed to be about business connections. Bad behavior across the board is bothering me also. Heck, maybe that’s exactly what social turns out to be; I’m hoping it’ll all improve.

  10. Actually, I don’t get any free time. Because i am a student who never thinks about time. I even don’t have a time-table.

    When i get some free time, I’ll go to Facebook or twitter and start sharing all my updated posts. After reading this blog post, i’ll never Share too many blog posts in less time.

    1. You can always use a site like Buffer to schedule your posts so you’re not inundating your audience. If you use Tweetdeck or Tweeten (I use this one) you can do the same thing, but only for Twitter. This way you can put things out way in advance so they’ll post while you’re in school.

  11. Much appreciated Lisa; I’m clearly with you on those particular vexations. LinkedIn is falling flat me at this moment in light of all the garbage stuff and individuals who’ve overlooked it should be about business associations. Terrible conduct no matter how you look at it is troubling me too. Hell, possibly that is precisely what social ends up being; I’m trusting it’ll all make strides.

  12. Can you please answer a question for me, it’s for my Ahrefs article. You linked to me. According to Ahrefs, your link is do follow. Is it? If so, do you know why? Thanks,
    Janice

    1. First, what’s Ahrefs? Second, my blog has always been a dofollow blog. There are some links that I’ll add the nofollow tag to but for the most part I leave those I’ll link to alone.

  13. Mitch ” Sharing is Caring ” This words touches my heart. Sometime I saw many people use social media to increase the like on their Display Pictures or their posts. They have no care about the society and other things. I think post should genuine and motivational which increase the positivity in the society.

    1. I don’t mind people trying to drive more traffic to their sites; I want to do that myself. I also want to share things I like and things that may help people that I didn’t produce on my own. I think it’s important to do both to be a more balanced person.

  14. Ok, I’m guilty of not posting my own stuff – kinda. I automate my blog articles on Twitter but I haven’t been posting updates because I feel like I have to put stuff up that matters to others and not to me. I don’t feel that I can be totally transparent because it may somehow backfire. And quite frankly, I don’t feel like I have anything to say that people want to hear.

    1. If you write it then you had something to say. Also, no matter what others say, it’s not really up to you to define your audience. You should share more of your stuff instead of the same things over and over because one, you never know who it might touch and two, you show your expertise and imagination. ๐Ÿ™‚

  15. Another fabulous post as usual.
    I always find Intresting and useful tips from you.
    I always share, only my blog posts on facebook and other social media platforms. But now I’ll post non business related stuffs aslo, as you said.
    Thank you so much for sharing.

    1. It’s not so much posting non business related stuff but posting things other people produce that may or may not be related to what you do for business. It makes you look well rounded… which you will be if you’re reading other people’s stuff… like you read this. ๐Ÿ™‚

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