- Auto-posting Facebook Posts on Twitter
Auto-posting posts everything you share on Facebook to Twitter automatically. The problem for followers is that they often have to go to Facebook to THEN go to the original destination (like a link to a post). If you’re sharing an image on Facebook without any text, it just tweets out like “fb.me/cdjiotv” which looks a lot like spam. Also, if you writesomething longer on Facebook, the text cuts off because you have more space on Facebook than on Twitter.
Do this instead: Disconnect that option! The quickest way is to go to facebook.com/twitter and then click “Unlink.” Then use something like HootSuite or Buffer to post to both networks at once… but with a custom message for each platform.
- Overusing Hashtags
Too many hashtags just looks weird no matter what the platform. Spammy-looking post with 20 hashtags or the tweet that’s hard to read because there’s a #hashtag #on every #word in the #sentence is just hard to read.
But well-balanced hashtag use really depends on the kind of platform. You can probably get away with more on Instagram than you can on Twitter. I wouldn’t mind 5 hashtags on Instagram, but when you only have a 140 character limit, it seems like overkill.
On Pinterest you don’t even have to use them. Hashtags aren’t native to the platform and Pinterest says they’ll ding your pin if you end up using too many.
Do this instead: Keep your hashtag usage reasonable.
- Posting Too Much at Once
It’s annoying…the person pinning 50 pictures of bedroom decor ideas or a play-by-play that takes up the entire newsfeed. (An event or Twitter party is an exception, but still, no one needs 15 Instagram pics from you within an hour).
Posting too much content at once on a regular basis can bug your audience because they aren’t seeing as much content from other people.
Do this instead: If you have a lot of content to pin, consider putting it on a secret board instead of sending it through your newsfeed. If it’s stuff your followers would love, then try a scheduling tool like Tailwind Plus. Be conscious of how many times you’re posting in a row.
- Starting Tweets with @ When Sharing with Your Followers
Big brands do this too so don’t worry if you weren’t aware.
You want to tell your followers how awesome your trip to Disney World was so you tweet “@waltdisneyworld was such a blast!” Problem? Yes. That doesn’t go to all your followers.
Any tweet that starts with @ is considered a reply. Only people who follow BOTH you and @waltdisneyworld will actually see it. Since they follow you both, they can see the replies since your Twitter feed is public.
Do this instead: Either re-word the sentence so it doesn’t start with @, or you add a period in front of the @. It’s a lazy person trick.
- Asking People to Follow You Back on ANY social media platform
If there’s one that is sure to get someone NOT to follow you, it’s for you to follow them and then immediately say “Just followed you/just liked your page! You can follow me back?” On Facebook this is very common: “New like from X. Hope you’ll like my page/post back!” It ends up being the equivalent of comment vomit.
This one can be a rookie mistake. Until you get more involved in the blogging world, it is hard to wrap your head around how to get new followers. So this tactic of asking for followers or likes sounds innocent enough. But, the truth is that you have to earn followers and likes.
Do this instead: If you want people to like your page or follow you back, you need to interact with them and put in the effort to engage with your audience. Respond when they ask a question or leave a comment on a post. And of course, it is quite likely that someone will follow you when you follow them as a common courtesy. But just don’t ask for it and skip the effort.