22 Things You Wish Marketers Would Stop Doing on Social Media

To make that scrolling less frustrating – and to help brands and marketers make social media a better place to scroll – we asked your fellow Content Marketing Institute community members for their biggest social media pet peeves. Ask but don’t reply It really annoys me when brands ask questions via social, but they fail to respond once you answer. It shows that they read a social media best practice of asking questions to increase engagement, but they miss the point of engaging themselves. Don’t do content Those who rarely post. But please don’t. Miss the people When brands don’t engage or care about their followers’ comments on social media – positive or negative, reply. Post gibberish Spammy comments on my Instagram posts. Distribute the same content Sharing the exact same post across all the platforms and not customizing Tracey Bradnan, marketing consultant 21. Don’t know the purpose People using LinkedIn like Facebook. Tell us the annoying things you see brands and individuals do on social media.

Author: Ann Gynn / Source: Content Marketing Institute

Scrolling through social media platforms can be an irritating experience.

Too many brands and individuals don’t use their digital megaphones effectively. At best, their lack of awareness (of the audience or platform etiquette) is annoying. At worst, it prompts people to “mute” or “unfollow” their social media.

To make that scrolling less frustrating – and to help brands and marketers make social media a better place to scroll – we asked your fellow Content Marketing Institute community members for their biggest social media pet peeves. And boy, did they share. Thanks to all who responded in our #CMWorld Twitter Chat and through our requests on social media.

Now, let’s get to the venting. (To avoid redundancy, we didn’t type “my biggest social media pet peeve is” for every response. Thus, some replies are incomplete sentences.)

1. Ask but don’t reply

It really annoys me when brands ask questions via social, but they fail to respond once you answer. It shows that they read a social media best practice of asking questions to increase engagement, but they miss the point of engaging themselves.

Amy Higgins, director of content marketing

2. Make instant pitch

When I follow someone on Twitter and instantly receive a direct message pitching or selling me. I (want to) say, “Slow down, and don’t you want to get to know each other at all?”

Holly Lawrence, writer and strategist‏

3. Sell instantly

Sales pitches via LinkedIn within two seconds of accepting a connection.

Cathy McPhillips, vice president of marketing

4. Think one size fits all

Every network has certain parameters, but I see a lot of companies use the same size, etc. for everything. Images look blurry, too small/big, and just unprofessional.

Stevie Howard, writer