Social Media can be a wonderful way to enhance your brand and spread awareness, but we often misuse it. Sometimes we post things that we probably shouldn’t – we’ve all been there – but what are the “rules” in terms of what to post professionally? We took a note from Social Media Today’s post on nine types of content that should be avoided on social and decided to put together our own general PSA of what we think should not be included in your social media portfolio:

Types of Content to Stop Posting on Social Media

Aggressive Hashtags

Ever been on a company’s page and saw their caption includes 25+ hashtags? Yeah, it’s pretty awful. Not only is it messy, but some of the hashtags aren’t even increasing traffic. If you have so many hashtags that it looks like its own soliloquy, go through each one and find which has the most posts. Keep the ones in the thousands.

On another note, if you do have 25+ hashtags that work well for your page, then keep them! Just make sure they are hidden and not right beside your caption. We suggest putting them in the comments.

Needy Content

We get it. You want likes and followers – who doesn’t? But, just like no one likes a friend who’s always talking about themselves, no one wants to follow a brand that only has promotional content. Your audience isn’t only investing in what you sell, but also who you are as a brand. They want relevant content, not constant advertisements and promotions.

Instead, try conducting polls and using the results to create content that your audience wants to see. Do some research on what your top fans are paying attention to. Is there a particular show that’s got them hooked? Maybe a new food trend? Try to keep up with your audience by incorporating their interests into your posts.  As a rule of thumb, try to keep a 3:1 non-promotional to promotional content when posting.

Off-brand imaging

Take a look at the grid on your Instagram for a moment. Do these images all coordinate in some way? Is the same quality of photo being used? Is there one photo in particular that stands out from the rest? Having a consistent brand is so crucial in growing your social media presence. It shows that you took the time to pick out and edit each individual picture so that they visually flow.

Your social media should reflect the level of time and commitment you put into your work and the vibe you or your brand gives off. Your users follow your page for a consistent look and quality to the content, so posting something out of the norm can “shock” people into unfollowing you if you aren’t careful.

Anything you might have to apologize for in the future

Don’t be rude or hateful. If you feel the need to post something negative, take a few breaths before reacting. Ask yourself, are you posting because you’re angry? Are your words harmful or hateful? Is it a political post that contains offensive material? If your answer to any of these questions is “yes”, you should probably not post. In general, if your content does not contribute to the betterment of society, don’t post. You likely have followers from all different backgrounds and beliefs, so as a general rule of thumb, it’s best to simply avoid anything politically or religiously charged.

Also, be mindful of the accounts you follow and interact with on social. Just because your page isn’t’ directly posting or sharing something hateful or offensive doesn’t mean your followers won’t see it and catch the bad vibes. Remember, every social platform lets followers see the posts you’ve liked and commented on in some form or another! So when in doubt, just be nice.

Types of content you should not stop posting

Your values

Be proud of who you are. Don’t be afraid to take a stand for what you believe in! If there’s a subject you really feel passionate about (that’s not hateful or harmful), don’t be afraid to post about it. Want to make a Pride-positive post? Go for it. Involved in a particular charity you really admire? Share their page.

At Matchstick, we support both female empowerment and small businesses, so you’ll see those types of posts in our feed. We want our audience to know what we stand for because they might share the same values and feel encouraged to spread awareness, too.

Videos

Videos are fire lately on social media. Consumers are constantly being thrown content whenever they look at their feeds, so it’s easy for the content you’re trying to push to get lost in the shuffle. The simple truth is that we humans have ever-shortening attention spans, and static posts just don’t capture our attention the way they used to. That’s where videos come in. They’re an easy way to stand out from the barrage of posts, and it takes the consumer very little effort to watch one after another. There has been an overall huge increase in video viewership recently, with the numbers to back it up. In short, video content is easy to ingest and easier to share, making it a no brainer for you to incorporate into your brand’s social feeds.

Dogs

People love dogs. You probably love dogs, too. If you don’t, maybe you should reevaluate your life choices. Either way, dogs make great content. They’re cute and are in no way offensive. It’s the purest content you could post. Need to post on a Monday to cheer some folks up? Post a gif of a puppy. Want to post a cute food pic but not sure if you’ll get those likes? Put a high-quality pic of your pup with the food in it. Don’t know how to deal with haters? Post a meme of a pup not giving a f*ck in your story.

Dogs make people happy and give us a break from this horror show we call life. They also can give your image a bit of humanity. For most pages, your audience will be happy to see that you’re just like them. You want them to be able to relate to you, and including dogs in your social media is just the way to do it.

Got more questions about what you should and shouldn’t be posting on social media? Drop us a line and learn how we can work with your brand to make your social media dreams come true.