Social media is a staple for businesses across industries. It’s an easy way for your customers to reach you and for you to share your expertise with them. Dealers across the commercial industries have to reflect on how they’re really viewing social media for their business and how to adapt to changing communication. But how do you navigate all of the types of content to post on your page?

To help you create a clear path in the jungle of content, Social Media Today has listed 9 types of content you should avoid posting on your social media accounts, which we’ve summarized below – with some of our own thoughts as well:

1. Extremely promotional content: Your social media channels should be platforms that your customers go to for research on the products you sell and informational news about your industry. Using these channels for constant advertising will ultimately deter your potential customers. While it’s completely fine to post about what sales you’re running or a particular piece of inventory you want to move, you should have a wide variety of content to show expertise in your field.
2. Political or religious content: This may seem obvious for some, but since your customer base is made up of a diverse group of individuals with various backgrounds and beliefs, you can guess that it’s the same for your social audience. It’s best to keep your business page neutral and separate from your personal beliefs and viewpoints by keeping these pieces of content to a personal account.
3. Viral posts: It’s important to know your demographic and cater accordingly. While viral posts are entertaining, your audience has most likely already seen the original source or has seen the post from another source they follow. Posting irrelevant viral posts will make your page seem less professional. Now, if you’re a heavy-equipment dealer and see a viral post about a piece of equipment you sell by all means post away! Just make sure it ties back to your overall message.
4. Negative content: While it can be frustrating to have dissatisfied customers posting on your page, the best recourse is to take the conversation offline. Simply apologize for their experience and ask them to send you a direct message so you can handle the situation appropriately. This also shows other customers that you are willing to fix any potential issues they may occur.
5. Posts with spelling or grammatical errors: Your social media is an extension of your business so take the same care with proper grammar and spelling as you would with any written document. 
6. Inconsistent content: Keep your social media plan consistent and on-brand. Your followers are there because they want to know about your expertise, helping them feel confident in supporting your business. Creating a social media strategy, as well as a content calendar, will help you plan out posts that stay on track with your company’s goals.
7. Posting the same content across multiple social media platforms: It can be tempting to copy and paste the same content across your social media networks. However, different social media platforms were created for different purposes, and often have different audiences (for example, older folks are more likely on Facebook while younger people are more often on Instagram), so you should publish messages that fit appropriately. 
8. Not giving credit to your sources: We all had to credit our sources in school and should continue this practice in business. When posting a relevant quote, always cite the source. If you’re posting an article from a different account, perhaps share the post so your followers know the original source. This is an easy way to make sure you’re following regulations and is a great way to connect with other businesses in your industry.
9. Over-using the hashtag: While the hashtag is a valuable social media tool to reach more customers, adding too many irrelevant hashtags can make your post unreadable and will take away from the useful hashtags you’ve included. Do some research on the best hashtags for your industry and strategically disperse those throughout your posts.

Avoiding these pieces of content will help your social media avoid online disaster. If you need some assistance (or you just don’t have the time), check out our social media management services to help get you on the track to social success.