Infographic: 15 Mistakes That Could Tank Your Social Media Strategy

There are so many ways to underserve your audience on social. You can expect everything to “go viral” without deciding on a strategy, or you can post at the same time across every platform. You can stretch your brand’s voice too far to fit into what’s happening on Twitter or Snapchat, or you can treat YouTube like a barren wasteland where you dump videos without thinking about packaging.

All the possible pitfalls that social media marketers face are laid out below, in this handy infographic from Red Website Design. From refusing to discuss issues with your followers to forgetting to attach visuals to most posts, there are so many ways to do social badly.

The simple way to avoid them is to set a strategy before you start posting. A detailed content strategy can and should include social. You may not be able to sidestep every bad habit, but building that plan will force you to justify decisions.

Overall, succeeding on social media hinges on how social you are. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and Reddit aren’t just RSS feeds for blasting out every single piece of content you create. Each platform is a unique place that attracts a slightly different demographic, and most of them have local vernacular and their own set of values. Of course, some things can change—Instagram captions are getting longer, young consumers are no longer rushing to Facebook, brands are performing mental health services on Twitter, and all platforms are experimenting with ephemeral “stories.” But it’s your job as a content marketer to keep tabs on these shifting tides and update your strategy accordingly.

What’s at risk? Your audience’s attention. When it comes to optimizing content for social media marketing, we all have a lot to lose, and a lot more to gain.