You can’t ignore social media. Eighty one percent of Americans have at least one social media account somewhere, and that percentage is only going to continue to rise. Whether we’re showing off photos on Instagram, promoting blog posts on Facebook or sharing tips on Twitter, having a social media presence can be an important part of marketing success. With that comes knowing how to deal with social media mistakes.
Things happen, even to the biggest brands on the planet. However, your business is not defined by the mistakes you make on social media, but by how you respond to those mistakes. Before we look at some common social media mistakes, we want to remind you of two of the golden rules of social media.
The Golden Rules of Social Media:
- Always double-check your work. Even when you’re in a rush, taking a few extra seconds to make sure everything looks perfect on a social media post will save you headaches. You can’t be called out for mistakes you didn’t make.
- If you do get called out for something, step away from the computer before responding. The world is full of people who want to revel in your mistakes. Don’t give them the satisfaction of responding when you’re fired up.
Even when keeping rule number one in mind, errors can happen. Here’s how to deal with some of the more common social media mistakes.
Examples of Problems and Solutions for Tricky Social Media Situations.
Problem: You’ve misspelled something in a post.
Solution: If the post doesn’t have an interaction associated with it, quietly delete it then repost it again with the corrected spelling. If people are interacting with your post in spite of the misspelling, keep the post up, but post a corrected version later. If anyone calls you out on the misspelling, thank them politely for catching it before posting an updated version of the post.
Problem: You’ve linked to the wrong media.
Solution: Copy/paste fails are rare, but they’re usually not the end of the world. Delete your post, and make sure to apologize for the error when reposting. This is a great time to show off that social media voice you’ve developed in order to come off as sincere and personable.
Problem: You’ve posted something from your personal account on your business account.
Solution: Again, this is something that can happen to any company, no matter how large. If in the heat of the moment you forget to make sure you’re logged into your personal account, delete the post and make sure to explain the mistake quickly. Be honest, be sincere and apologize if necessary.
Need more help with your social media strategies? Design At Work would love to apply our experience to your business.