13 Deadly Sins of Social Media

Ethics – A very small word with very big implications.

Ethics are a the set of moral guidelines and principles that influence our behaviors and interactions. When using social media to promote your brand or business, are you thinking about how to present yourselves ethically?

If you take a step back and look at your platforms, are you being authentic? Consistent? Is your content genuine and original, and if not, are you giving credit where credit is due? And most of all, are you being kind?

Below are three common ‘Deadly Sins’ of social media, and ways you can avoid them.

Misappropriation or Trendjacking (def): When brands jump on board with a trending topic, event, or situation on social media.

Many brands are shifting their focus from millenials to Gen Z. Gen Z is tech savvy, meme-focused, and has a strong authenticity meter that will turn them off of your product if they don’t believe you’re showing your authentic brand. Hopping on popular #hashtags and trends can work when used sparsely and strategically, but when it isn’t in-line with your authentic brand, it comes off as a cheap trick.

**When Pokemon Go became popular, many brands tried to hop on it’s success.**

Ignorance (def): Not being aware of basic terms and practices in social media.

A lack of basic social media literacy can lead to users ignoring your posts. An easy example to master is hashtags – #HaveYouEverSeenAnExcessivelyLongHashtag #Or #A #Hashtag #For #Every #Word ? When it comes to hashtags, it’s better to keep them brief. This way, it can be easily read, copied, shared, and understood. Hootsuite academy created a full glossary of social media definitions you should know in 2019 and it is a great resource!

Flame War Outrage (def): Emotional and extended argument streamed through online messages.

Flame wars are a form of online harassment and can cause your brand to lose credibility overnight. Although many flame wars are started by online ‘trolls’ trying to pick a fight, most are actually started through a miscommunication of tone in messaging. According to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, there is only a 50-50 chance of correctly determining the tone of an online message, but 90% of people believe they are correctly guessing the correct implied tone. The best way to avoid a public, online argument with someone provoking you is to take it to your DMs (private messages) and have a calm, private conversation to get to the root of the problem or miscommunication.