I wrote a blog post a couple of years ago about 15 random things NOT to do on Social Media. It must have ht a nerve for many, because it has been my most popular blog post ever, and was also picked up by Social Media Today.  I loved social media back then, and still do. What is really sad though is people haven’t learned, and are still doing the same random no-nos they were doing then.

I was going to repurpose the older post. Then I decided, no … do a complete rewrite with different pet peeves and social media faux pas, but sadly, after rereading my older post, people are still doing the same things. 

You would think people would learn, but evidently they don’t. I am happy to report that two of the ones on my previous post are a very rare occurrence now, but  I’m going to share the others again.

After 3 1/2 years, here they are … 13 of my pet peeves about things NOT to do on social media.

1. Use auto-DMs to welcome new followers on Twitter. Sorry, but this is impersonal and inauthentic. Especially if that auto-DM includes a link to your sales page or web page or anything else sales-y … NOT cool and it will likely get you unfollowed. Get to know me first before you try selling to me. Same reason why you shouldn’t expect a kiss on a first date, let alone at a first meeting! (Call me old fashioned but I am not alone on this one.)
2. Have your Instagram account set to private if it’s for business. If you are someone I know with a personal account and choose to keep your posts private because your account is about your kids or your personal life, fine. But if someone with a private business account follows me on Instagram, I don’t follow back. In fact, chances are I’ll block the user. If you’re not willing to share your posts with others, how in the world will they know if they want to follow you? What do you have to hide? Think about it. If you wanted people to come into your store, would you put a big “CLOSED” sign in front of the door? Same thing. 
3. Randomly tag people in a post on Facebook or Instagram. If the post is about someone, or to someone, or something you specifically want someone to see because you know it’s of interest to them, great. But don’t just tag people to get more reach (see #s 11 and 12) because that is icky. And in my personal opinion, the same goes for Facebook groups. Please, please, please do NOT tag a gazillian people in a post when you have a new training or something going on. If they are interested in what’s going on in your group … they’ll be popping in and out and see there is something new.
4. Hijack someone else’s Facebook post and make it all about you.  Keep to the topic. If someone posts about a specific topic or an issue they are having with something, don’t try and one-up them by changing the topic to your own personal issues and woes.  If they ask your opinion or invite you to share, great; if not, show a little respect and keep to the topic at hand.
5. Post links to your website or sales page or any other salesy information on someone else’s Facebook Business page. Never, ever post a link to your products or services on someone else’s business page unless you’ve been asked to. It’s their page, not yours! 
6. Comment on a LinkedIn Pulse article or blog post written by someone else, telling people you provide the services they are talking about and adding a link to your website. Nothing is more irritating than having someone comment on a post you’ve written about social media – only to say they provide social media services so please check out their website. It’s spammy and rude, plain and simple.
7. Be rude, argumentative or snarky in your social media comments just because you have a different point of view or opinion.  The “because I can” attitude some people have about Facebook drives me up a wall. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Sometimes I wonder what Emily Post would have to say about all of this. This is especially rampant during elections. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve unfollowed, and even unfriended, because they were nasty and hateful toward others.
8. Add people to Facebook groups without their permission! Oh baby … this one seems to hit the last nerve for so many. If you have a private or closed group that is one of the benefits of a coaching program, an event or a group where people have already given permission and know they are going to be added to a group, that’s OK. But starting a Facebook group and randomly adding people because you “think” they will be interested in what you have to say is a big no-no, and usually doesn’t end well.
9. Like pages when participating in a “Facebook Friday” event or when the owner of a group you’re in asks everyone to share a link to your Facebook page (or any other social media platform) with the sole expectation of reciprocity … and then leave a message on the person’s page telling them to make sure they share the love. It’s rude, and really skews their page algorithm. I used to enjoy participating in the various Facebook Friday events because it gave me the option to get to know other businesses while promoting my own at the same time. However … I stopped participating because of the tit-for-tat mentality of so many of the other participants, liking someone else’s page simply to get them to like yours back. When someone who owns a bra company or is a cosmetic consultant likes your page just so you will reciprocate … never to return again, it will hurt your page much more than the like will help. Beware of tit-for-tat Facebook Page likes. Likes by someone never to return cause more harm than goodClick to Tweet
10. Post spammy or scammy posts or comments anywhere on social media. This should be self-explanatory. Just don’t do it.
11. Tag a gazillion people in those dang spammy sunglasses posts on Facebook. This goes back to the tagging no-no of #3 and the previous no-no about spammy or scammy posts in #10. Whether it’s sunglasses or anything else, this is NOT the appropriate way to sell a product or service.
12. Use your Facebook profile to represent your business and sell products or services. It’s against Facebook’s terms of service to use your personal profile as a business, and it will get you thrown in Facebook Jail! That’s why there are business pages. It’s perfectly okay to share posts about your business that provide value and benefit to your friends, but it’s still your personal profile, so it’s not okay to use it as a business or to sell your products or services. For more information, check out one of my previous blog posts for more information about the differences between your personal profile and a business page.
13. Re-share posts on Facebook without first checking their validity and verifying they are not hoaxes. If you see a post that says so and so is giving away such and such to the first “pick a number” of people who like their page, it’s probably fake. Apple is not giving away iPads or computers, and Mark Zuckerburg is not giving away Facebook shares. And contrary to popular belief, you cannot protect your privacy or photos by copy/pasting a statement on your page. It’s not gonna happen. There are also so many other scams and hoaxes out there that either result in spreading viruses, snagging your personal information, and a lot of other things. I’m constantly amazed that the same hoaxes are propagated year after year, but people still don’t catch on. Whenever you see something like this, check Snopes first before sharing.

These are just a select 13 of the many social media faux pas that irritate me personally. I’d love to know which ones resonate the most with you … and are there any others that make you want to run screaming when you see them?

If you are interested in learning more about social media and how you can strategically build your presence and visibility without making people want to run, run, run away, just let us know. We’d be happy to help you get started with a new social media strategy!