Social Media: Ignore These 7 Pieces of Awful Advice

Everywhere you turn there are people giving you advice on social media. Some of this advice is based on limited experience or sometimes on no experience at all. Even some of the old savvy social media experts dish out bad advice based on their experience for one niche. How do you figure out which recommendations are worth listening to and which are misguided?

Take It With a Grain of Salt

While there are some terrible pieces of advice given there are still plenty of good tips and suggestions floating around. Before you worry about great advice take a look at some very bad views on social media. These might save you from having a headache later on.

7 Pieces of Advice About Social Media YOU SHOULD IGNORE:

You need to be on EVERY social network there is – WRONG. The fact of the matter here is that you probably have limited time and a limited budget for such activities. Figure out who populates these networks and then join the ones that best suit your needs. Of course, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn reach huge audiences and should be tried. When new sites spring up experiment with them but discard them if they don’t match what you needs.
Focus on ONLY one network – WRONG. The old saying says you should not put all your eggs in one basket. The same theory holds true here. Don’t spread yourself too thin but after you determine your audience focus on a few sites.
You do NOT need email – WRONG. You do need email. When social media came along it did not replace email, it complemented it. You use email for so many things and it’s still valuable. Don’t dispose of it.
Send an auto direct message to new followers – WRONG. This is a terrible thing to do when you have a new person interested in you. These are much too impersonal and are often considered spam. You want to nurture new followers, not treat them like part of the herd.
Don’t get personal – WRONG. As a matter of fact … do just the opposite. Although your website may not allow you to be very personal, social media sites will. Often, your personality is what gets you noticed on social media. You want people to like you so they will engage you and follow you.
Do NOT respond to negative comments about your brand – WRONG.It is good to engage someone who comments negatively about your product. Left alone, a small comment can garner much attention and sometime the right words can turn a complainer into a valuable supporter of your company.
Only publish messages about your company – WRONG. No one really wants to hear about your accolades and awards. People want to hear and discuss their problems. Engage them in that respect and you will gain followers.

While there are many great pieces of advice about social media as you can see there is some bad pieces of advice floating around out there. The more actively you can stay up to date with your social media information the more likely you will be able to spot the rotten advise. Try to take time to read blog posts from creditable marketing sources and eventually you will be able to identify these poor strategies right away.

Have you received any terrible social media advice? Share you comments below.