From not updating your social media account regularly to using automated direct messages, social media mistakes can cost you money. But in the spirit of new beginnings, the timing couldn’t be better to put your social media mishaps behind you.  Sometimes the best way to learn is from the experiences of others. Here is an insightful lineup of social media fails along with best practices from the Business to Business Community:
1. “Twitter followers who follow you, you engage with them and follow back, they have unfollowed you.†~ @Arcape International
Social Media Best Practice: If unsure whether to follow (back) someone, put followers in a list (if that feature is available) and see how it goes from there instead of following them right away then unfollow them later. I know a couple of active internet mavens who not only unfollow accounts once they find out that they’ve been unfollowed; they, also, block the offending account/brand.
2. “I would have to say companies that have social media accounts and have not posted in a year or more, or not at all. ~ @solutionsdirect
Social Media Best Practice: If you don’t have staff to manage this, hire a social media consultant. If you don’t want to do that, un-publish the account, or delete it. Don’t leave your social media account orphan for a long time. Your not saying (posting) anything, tells your followers so many things. Besides, your smart competition could leverage your absence online to their favor.
[RELATED: READ SIMPLE WAYS TO BOOST SALES ON TWITTER]
3. “Posting a nondescript picture with no caption. Why am looking at parking lot right now?†~ @Thomas RPN
Social Media Best Practice: Unless you’re running a “Caption This†contest, describe your image. You know why you posted it; but we, your followers, don’t. We don’t read minds. Image ought to be used to reinforce a content; therefore should be in-context.
4. “Social media is supposed to be social. Stop promoting and start engaging.†~ @ecowrites
Social Media Best Practice: Yes, you can use social media as a publishing and promotion tool but people are looking for connection. It starts with a conversation. Engage! How? I’ve recently written social media engagement tips to encourage conversation.
5. “Tired of people on twitter following who are just out there pimping their “buy followersâ€. I don’t want to buy followers so I’m always muting them.†~ @bxboy52
Social Media Best Practice: Dial down self promotion. Smart users don’t buy followers. It is counterintuitive if building an engaged community is a KPI (Key Performance Index).
6. “Ignoring brand mentions from folks who are promoting your products. Just rude!†~ @bluesteeletx
Social Media Best Practice: Manners rule online. Remember behind an avatar is a person.
7. “My #1 Pet Peeve is when people Tweet from Facebook. It communicates that they aren’t present. Why should I have to click over to Facebook to see your hamster riding a turtle?†~ @YouTooCanBeGuru
Social Media Best Practice: Strategy is doing the right thing, in the right place, at the right time and the right way. Twitter audience treats posts differently from Facebook users. The savvy users will just scroll past your post when they figure out you are just automating it, and that you are not “there†in the platform where they are at.
8. “Too many hash tags, hash tags on Facebook, DMs after following someone on Twitter, people not responding to you on SoMe, people that RT Follow Friday lists…I could go on.†~ @tracycopy
Social Media Best Practice: Use hash tags sparingly. The way hash tag is used, accepted and tolerated on Instagram won’t apply in other platforms; build relationship first before you send DM asking new follower to do another thing when you just have followed each other; dial down the digital #FF noise by just sending the person a “Thank you†tweet directly, if that’s what your RT means.
9. “Peeps not being social. I’m not a robot— I like to talk.†~ @AdventureGlass
Social Media Best Practice: ‘Nuff said.
Do you have any social media do’s or don’ts? Let us know by leaving a comment below or #Soundoff at @BlackEnterprise on Twitter.