All of us enjoy consuming social media content. Who hasn’t caught themselves just wanting to check Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn – and suddenly half an hour was gone?! You are not alone in this! People around the world spend almost 2.5 hours a day on social media. This is because the mechanics of social media and good content make us addicted. We want more. The next picture, the next video, the next post.
But why is there nothing going on with so many company websites despite these addiction mechanisms? Some company pages seem dead: hardly any likes, few followers, and no comments. And this is despite the fact that it is posted regularly. Clearly, it’s the social media content. Because there are many errors that can lead to content being ignored or lost. Here are the most common ones…
1. They act without a strategy
You know it from the private Facebook or Instagram feed. A story here, a photo there, all a bit random and without a concept. Anyone who runs their company accounts in such a confused and jumbled manner should not be surprised at the lack of reactions.
Success on social media only works with the right strategy. Certainly, there are exceptions that go viral with a video or post. But these companies also have to deliver afterward in order to retain attention.
A strategy does not just include higher-level goals and the overall direction. It is also about details such as the right posting frequency and times as well as the uniform design and content conception. This results in a holistic appearance within your range of topics, which leads to people following you because they know what to expect from you.
2. The content offers no added value
Every post on social media must offer added value. This generally happens in three ways: information, inspiration, and entertainment. All good content can be assigned to at least one of these categories, ideally even a combination.
Entertainment is of course an elastic term. It can be humorous content that is very popular on social media. But aesthetic images can also appeal to and entertain. The same goes for inspiration, of course, because that too is ultimately in the eye of the beholder. What constitutes relevant information must also be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Ultimately, you have to know your target group well and be able to assess it.
Unfortunately, it still happens far too often that the individual goal of a post is not taken into account. Instead, content is simply published because it was so popular from above. And that leads us to point 3.
3. The content does not meet the target group
Especially in companies without much previous experience with social media, the whole topic is often brought up from the wrong side. Then it’s less about what the target group wants to see and more about what the management department would like to post. This is a fatal error that keeps popping up.
The furniture store posts e.g. B. Random pictures of reduced furniture or financial service providers are shown in chic hotels before meetings. What is not in view: the needs of the target group. Because furniture with aggressively advertised strike-through prices is much easier to find in online shops and the supposed standard of living of financial service providers only arouses envy and fuels prejudices against the industry.
If you want to produce successful social media content, you need to know and understand your target audience. Because you can only be successful if you see your content through their eyes and produce it for their eyes.
4. Your social media content is not appealing
No clear design concept, no attractive language, no addressing of the target group: When it comes to that To create engaging content, there are many pitfalls. Because the term “appealing” is of course subjective and can have different meanings. The most common errors related to this are:
- No direct addressing of the target group (You/Your/Your/Your)
- Carelessly designed visuals without a clear concept
- No polished texts that make you want more
- In short: The desire for appealing content fundamentally affects both text and image. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can only post really big pictures with excellent photo editing. It is much more about clear, visual, and textual language. The language of your target group.
5. The content does not match the characteristics of the network
If you want to use a social network, then you have to get to know it. Because every network has its own peculiarities and characteristics. So be sure to give yourself plenty of time to explore the various features. Because the networks themselves rate it positively in their algorithms if you exploit as many of the available options as possible.
This also means: You can’t just create content and on all Channels play equally. Of course, this may work depending on the strategy and content. However, it can make sense to adapt the content to the network in each case. For example, Instagram prefers B. Stories, but hardly allows working with links. Facebook, on the other hand, is ideal for displaying articles via link preview. LinkedIn, on the other hand, has click-through PDFs that are very popular.
So don’t make the mistake of lumping all networks together. Rather, take the time to explore them. This will definitely be reflected in your numbers.
Post better social media content!
Of course, this list does not claim to be complete. Beyond these basic mistakes, there are a multitude of smaller mistakes that can – and should – be made. Because of these mistakes, you can draw valuable lessons that gradually improve your social media content. No master has fallen from the sky yet. So avoid the big mistakes and give it a try! Because the more enthusiasm and fun you have when creating content, the more your target group will feel it!
