By now, everybody has realised that social media is one of the most integral parts of marketing. In order to survive the cut throat competition, one needs to be a very smart while using social media as a marketing channel. Social Media Marketing is that tool which no brand can survive or thrive without and using the same incorrectly can hamper your virtual & overall reputation. Hence, it is very important to understand the basic rules of using social media and learn from others mistakes, more than our own. There are a few practices which most of us do without even realising it that can be fatal for our online reputation. Following are just a few of the social media practices which must be avoided at all times:

Don’t Be Too Hungry For Likes
People often feel that the number of likes is directly proportional to the success for the product; hence they indulge in like-baiting. Like baiting refers to all means which promotes your content and pursues the reader to like your product. However, if not done in the right, classy & ethical way, this can cause more damage than good. Never ever promote your product with a key sentence or a title which is misleading or taking the reader somewhere else. This can harm your image and can permanently dent your product. Do not give any misleading information in order to just get likes.

Don’t take Shortcuts
As mentioned above, likes are not everything. Do not live in an illusionary world that your content or your product has been liked by masses hence it’s popular. The biggest mistake most marketers involve in especially when they are in a nascent stage, is that they tend to buy likes and followers, little do they realise that these likes and followers are not real and would not provide actual gains. Better to invest time and energy in actually propagating your product in the eyes of true customers.

Don’t Over or Under post
We agree that followers love to be informed, but make sure that your quality & quantity must be right. Make sure that your posting does not become a little too much. Many times when you post too must content, and then important posts may just get overshadowed by your over-publishing. You never know which content might just get highlighted thus bring down the important post. Make sure to weigh the content which is most important and post it when it is likely to get due credit. Also before posting something, try and step into the shoes of the reader and see if it makes a difference to their life.

Don’t Fake It
All brands must accept that not everybody would end up liking everything you do, therefore never ever delete a negative comment rather take this as an opportunity to improvise it and gracefully accept your mistake while regretting the inconvenience caused to them. In fact a negative comment can act as a blessing in disguise if you are able to convert that negative comment into a positive picture by acting promptly and smartly.

What are some other Practices that you feel brands should avoid on social media? Share with us!