7 Deadly Sins of Social Media

In Week 2, we began to read "Social Media for Strategic Communication." This book is written by Karen Freberg. She discusses the basis of social media, ethical and legal fundamentals, and personal and professional branding within the first three chapters. 

In Chapter 2, Freberg digs into ethics and what it means to be "Ethical." There are seven behaviors mentioned in this chapter that are not usually welcomed into social media and if they are, negative feedback is usually involved. If you can avoid these seven behaviors, you will be well on your way to creating a successful social media platform.

#1: MISAPPROPRIATION

When a company or brand is involved in a viral trend that does not relate to them in any way, this is misappropriation. You see brands hopping onto trends that do not give any meaning to who they are as a brand and what they represent. Misappropriation can cause a major downfall on a brand if the consumers or other brands that support them do not agree with what they are doing. Brands that focus on putting out relevant content relating to them will top the brands caught up in viral trends.

#2 ABANDONMENT

Building and maintaining a community is the key to success in social media. Finding what works best for your brand and staying consistent on a platform will allow your community to grow. If you are using a platform and don't give it a chance to grow, you choose to abandon it. Which also abandons your community.

#3 MANIPULATION

Manipulating your community or followers to get them to see you as someone you are not is something seen across all social media platforms. There are many unethical creators or businesses out there who will do anything they can to reach a certain number of likes, comments, or views. This is because it may create more revenue for them or it may make them seem more successful than they are. Being ethical and showing who you are is the best way to grow.

#4 IGNORANCE

Being ignorant and not showing you care for others is a good way to lose most of your social media following. If you do not take the time to engage with others, showing them you are all equal, then they may go somewhere else to find interaction. Staying within guidelines and being respectful to others will bring in more traffic to your social media accounts.

#5 MONOTONY

Monotony is a lack of variety. Putting out the same content is going to lose you followers, plain and simple. The audience wants fresh content that is going to entertain them and keep them engaged in your brand. Avoiding repeat posts and having variety is a great way to increase your platforms.

#6 NARCISSISM

Narcissism is an excessive interest in yourself or your social media. Quality over quantity is one of the most important things to consider when on social media. If the content you post is solid content and it keeps your audience engaged, but you only post a couple of times a week, this is what people want instead of horrible content including random pictures or pictures of yourself, posting 20+ times a week. 2-3 good posts are worth more than 20 average posts obsessing over yourself.

#7 UNIFORMITY

When posting across multiple platforms, you need to switch it up. I see it all the time on social media where people post the same thing on three different platforms. This is so unnecessary because each platform has its differences and if you are sharing the same content, at least post it at varied times or change the formatting so it doesn't look identical.

If you avoid these seven deadly sins of social media, you should have a great chance at growing and building a community that will engage with you daily if you engage with them!