I see so many businesses struggle with social media. They see it a lot like print. Running a job, perfecting the details and then distributing it. After that, job done, everyone can go home.

Except it’s not.

The real analogy (in my opinion) – is seeing social media as a friendship. It’s enables you to become friends with the people who want to hear your opinion, buy your products, share their opinion and talk about your brand.

Here are some mistakes your brand might be making

Overdoing the professionalism

Social media isn’t the place to wear a suit, read out a legal letter or ask permission to step out to lunch. It’s not work, so best not to make it sound like work. I like to think of it as semi-casual. It’s got a smart, savvy tone. It doesn’t take itself seriously, but doesn’t sound like a dork either. Unless of course that is the point.

Coming across like a sales guy

Please note, I didn’t say “car salesman”. But just don’t try and sell. Overtly. Let people be curious about your brand. Understand what there is to gain. And the right people will naturally want to buy what you’re selling.

Putting the record on repeat (regardless of how good the track is) gets annoying pretty fast.

Does your brand make gorgeous dining plates? Don’t jam up a feed with gorgeous dining plates. Too much of a good thing is still too much. Variation really is the spice of social media.

Missing out on opportunities

I spoke to a client about this. He was getting flooded with emails and wanted to reply to all. To cope with the back log he started pasting template replies. This would have been fine if he’d bothered to add a custom line or two. But he hadn’t. Now, we make sure he says something personal and genuine (or his social media manager does) and we’ve added more connection opt ins at the bottom of his emails to encourage people to engage with the brand on Twitter and Instagram.

Every email, every tweet, every comment is a chance to connect.

Don’t miss it when you’re busy because then you’ll really miss it when you’re not.

Going au naturel

Just because it’s meant to be natural and “home video like” doesn’t mean it is. Now social media is becoming scheduled, curated and extremely well thought thru. We’re getting smarter about it and we don’t even realise it. From selfie sticks, DSLRs and the newest version of LOLs – we’re upping our A-game. Leading profiles on social media (celebs aside) often feature excellent photograph and it’s not a mobile game. We’re taking the time to snap, transfer, edit, transfer. Captions aren’t “typical Friday night” anymore. They’re getting witty and sassy.