5 Pitfalls of Running Your Own Social

Aug 25, 2016

Best Practices for Scheduling Social MediaToday, we’re taking a walk to the other side – the dark side. We’re talking about the downside of social. We’re talking about 5 pitfalls of running your own social media accounts. Of course, there’s more than just 5. Here’s the short list I’ve compiled:

  • Lack of commitment
  • No cohesive plan
  • No strategy
  • Unreliable volunteers
  • Lack of control over posts from employees
  • Lack of foresight
  • Less reporting
  • Subjective viewing (too close to the issues to see them)
  • Choosing the wrong or too many social platforms
  • Poor content

Let’s go into deeper detail on just 5 of those. 

5 Pitfalls of Running Your Own Social

Lack of commitment

When you run out of time to take care of everything on your list, what’s the first thing to go? Your social, of course. It’s not vital to your company, so it gets dropped. There’s no shame in it, but there it is.

The solution? Have a back up plan. What happens when you get overwhelmed and can’t do it all? Do you start re-posting old content? Do you call for support? Do you hire an intern? Whatever the solution, have it prepped ahead of time.

No strategy

Your social should be a part of a larger marketing strategy. If you haven’t considered that aspect in your social media efforts, it’s time to take a step back and reconsider. Don’t post for the sake of posting: have a strategy behind it.

Unreliable volunteers

If your company is one that relies on volunteers or interns to manage the social accounts, you’ve probably already experienced this. Be picky: choose only the best of the best to help your company with its social platforms.

Less reporting

How often do you run reports on your social efforts? Monthly? Quarterly? Yearly? Not at all? If it’s the latter two, you’re not reporting enough. The awesome thing about social media is that your efforts are measurable. You can easily ascertain whether your methods are working or if they need to be changed. So, do it! Check in, and check in often (monthly is great, but quarterly works, too).

Subjective viewing

Just because you like the content, your boss likes the content, your coworkers like the content…that doesn’t mean your audience will like the content. Or the imagery. Or the links you share. The solution for this one is to ask for feedback. Every once in awhile, ask your audience if they like what they see. Or, try out a focus group. Or, take it home to your kids – what do they think? Get some eyes on your social that aren’t directly associated with your company.

And the point is…?

OK, so why am I telling you all this? It’s simple: so you can be on your guard! Keep your eyes out for these common pitfalls of running your own social, and they’ll be less likely to happen to you and your team. And, if even keeping an eye out isn’t enough, get in touch with us. We like to be the caretakers of our clients’ social accounts – talk to us about it today.