My last article on 30 Things to Tweet About Your Brand – A Short Guide that also got published on SocialMediaToday.com went viral across the web with more 2,000+ Retweets, 2,000+ LinkedIn Shares and 600+ Facebook shares on total. This time I have come with a extensive list of things that you should not do as a Brand or Brand Manager. After doing a lot of research on the most common mistakes that we did as a brand or for clients we handled and also on the basis of observation done on other brands on the web the compilation below will help you understand things that you should not be doing on Twitter for your company. Both best and worst practices helps in future references. Here are list of 60 things that you should avoid doing as a Brand on Twitter:
1. Do not just keep broadcasting your tweets. Remember, you are not a news channel, it could be annoying.
2. Retweet of a Retweet of a Retweet! Trust me; it will confuse your followers.
3. Do not keep tweeting continuously. Give ample intervals between your tweets. Best thing to do is to schedule your tweets.
4. Do not talk only about your brand, 24/7. Share diverse posts, aim to impart knowledge, acknowledge others and add value to the ecosystem.
5. Do not tweet a link as it is. Give an appropriate description alongside to make it credible enough for your followers to want to click it and read the link.
6. Do not protect your tweets. If you really wanted to protect yourself, you should have not joined twitter itself.
7. Do not make spelling mistakes! Check your tweet twice before posting.
8. Do not post facts without giving credits to the sources or add a source link to make it look more credible.
9. Have either a profile picture of your CEO or the logo of your brand and avoid using cartoons, landscapes, flowers etc. only then you will mean serious business besides, people love to know who they are talking to.
10. Do not use an animated picture as your profile pic. DO NOT!! Unlike Facebook, Twitter is much more credible in terms of business and things like these will result in numerous unfollows.
11. No tweeting in CAPITAL LETTERS! Avoid them. They are the equivalent to yelling online and does not send out a clear message.
12. Though Twitter shortens the link automatically, it is suggested not to just copy paste the link as such. Instead shorten it using link shorteners like bitly and then post it. It will make your tweet look neat besides saving you characters.
13. Do not use aggressive or foul language. Be polite and subtle. Remember, when people are complaining, they are not complaining about you. They have an issue with your product and they just want you to sort it out.
14. Do not take negative comments and feedbacks personally if you are handling your company’s twitter account. This is a root cause of various nuisances that can impact brand adversely.
15. Do not use unrelated hashtags. Oh yes! I have seen brands doing it. Use a hashtag that is relevant to your tweet/brand.
16. Do not send an automated tweet that announces how many new followers, mentions and retweets you’ve gained in the past week. Nobody cares.
17. Do not follow people at a stretch. Maintain your following to the followers ratio. You might land up in trouble and your account would be blocked for NO REASON!
18. Do not have an incomplete/misleading/confusing profile. Keep it complete, simple and straight. It just takes a minute to write one. That just simply means having your bio, location and website link in place.
19. Do not get into personal talks until and unless they are not talking about your brand. Twitter is all about sharing, people share their personal experiences and many use twitter as a chat medium but as a Brand – Talk what makes sense to your organization and not to your personal self.
20. Do not tweet in your native language. Tweet in the native language of your audience.
21. Do not use twitter validation services like TrueTwit to verify that your followers are real. It might confuse people and trust me, people don’t have the time nor the necessity to validate their credibility to you and to prove that they are genuine.
22. Do not have an inactive twitter account. It is better not to have an account at all if you intend to open an account just for the sake of it.
23. Do not have a ‘follow us on twitter icon’ integrated to your website or any other branding if you are not active on twitter.
24. Do not be without following anyone. This might showcase you as an arrogant brand who only wants people to follow them. Interact and engage not only with your followers but others as well.
25. Do not keep your twitter account a secret. Integrate it on to your website, email signatures, LinkedIn profile, business cards and newsletters. Only then people will know of your availability on Twitter.
26. Do not copy paste a tweet without giving credits to the original source. Tag whose ever tweet you have taken. Give him/her/that brand the credits.
27. Do not just expect others to retweet your tweets. You need to retweet theirs too. But make sure the tweet you are retweeting is relevant to your industry/product.
28. Do not tweet once in a month and disappear.
29. Do not hesitate to apologize when you find people complaining about your products/services on twitter. It is suggested to always apologize politely and deal with the issue offline. Remember, by apologizing, you are actually being considerate.
30. Do not buy followers. They will be of no use to you. Twitter is all about quality and not quantity. Many might disagree on this. But I believe in it. Build your audience slowly with your quality of work.
31. Do not send #FF (#FridayFollow) at all. It looks weird and reduces your quality and reputation on Twitter. You can however recommend your employees, analysts and bloggers in your industry vertical. Avoid giving it to your customers –it will simply make you look desperate.
32. Do not split your tweets into two unless and until it is really necessary. Try keeping it short and simple.
33. Do not mention your competitors. You are not here to wage a war! Keep your tweets healthy.
34. Do not allow Klout to broadcast your score. It really doesn’t matter to people.
35. Do not take ages to respond. Keep monitoring your twitter account and respond to people asap.
36. Do not link your Facebook to twitter. Messages on both the platforms needs to be customized according to the tool.
37. Do not use words like “LOL”, “ROFL”, “ha ha ha” as a brand. Keep your language dignified enough.
38. Do not tweet things that has nothing to do with your brand.
39. Do not use too many hashtags in a single tweet. It becomes irritating to read. Use only three hashtags at the most.
40. Do not ask people to DM you without following them. Remember that people cannot DM you until and unless you don’t follow them. So follow them first and then ask them to DM.
41. Do not change your username often. You are a brand and you need to stick on to one name for people to recognize you.
42. Do not offer your products rightaway to your followers if you are a product industry. Always listen to tweets and engage them first. Take up a casual conversation like “can we help you out”, “We do have a solution for you” and then talk about your product.
43. Do not forget to reply followers who have mentioned you. A Simple “Thanks for the mention” message will also do.
44. Do not automate your tweets. Give a human touch to them. This will fetch you response from your fans.
45. Do not publish all your tweets at one go! It is the most annoying thing a brand can ever do.
46. Do not stick to the same type of content. Tweet different types of contents which will entertain the audience out there.
47. Do not follow everyone who follows you. It is not compulsory. There are many fake profiles/spammers running around.
48. Do not ignore the negative responses. Reply to them in a kind at the same time professional manner.
49. Do not ignore your DM. Allot time to check your DM everyday and respond to the same.
50. Do not hesitate to RT something you think your followers would find interesting or helpful.
51. Do not share your twitter password with an outsider. Let it be within you or any of your team members who handles your brand.
52. Do not hesitate to ask advice! Twitter is a great place to crowdsource.
53. Do not use one long hash tag to describe your entire tweet. Eg: #readourcasestudyhere . DON’T. It is annoying and also it is many a times read differently.
54. Do not use jargons unless your target audience expects one from you.
55. Do not add people to your list if the list does not have a complete description. People will be left clueless as why you have added them to that particular list.
56. Do not hesitate to thank people who have shared your media coverage. They might be your well wishers. Follow them up and greet a small thank you message. (Use listening tool to track who have talked about your media coverage)
57. Do not tweet confidential things or sensitive topics that may upset or offend others. Do not forget that social media is a public media.
58. Do not just use words. Post tweets that contain photographs, videos and links to interesting information as Twitter embeds them on the timeline.
59. Do not allow third party tools to see your password, access your DMs and tweet on your behalf if you are using one (unless really needed).
60. Do not forget any of the points mentioned above 🙂
Twitter is still one of the most popular communication medium and brands must leverage it in the right way! Hope this article has helped you make your Twitter Marketing experience better.
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