We can all think of a few examples of social media blunders (just check our series of #Wins and #Fails blogs) so we know it’s easy to get things wrong sometimes. But when it comes to your company’s social accounts, it’s important to get things right.

Here at 24 fingers, we’ve come up with 24 things to avoid doing on social media to keep you and your audience happy. They might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised.

Try not to…

1. Lie.
We all know what happened to Pinocchio, right?

2. Be offensive or vulgar 
It goes without saying that vulgar and insulting language will offend other users, particularly if it’s aimed at a person or another company.

3. Be too negative
It’s important to show you and your brand in as positive a light as possible, so avoid negativity on your news-feed.

4. Forget to give credit where it’s due
If you’ve borrowed a quote or an image from somewhere else, check the copyright and name the source.

5. Reveal personal or confidential information
Obvious ones to avoid are credit card information, passport details and personal addresses. But you should also be careful when posting location data or personal phone numbers.

6. TMI: Too Much Information
There’s a fine line between sharing and over-sharing.

7. Ignore people
Social media is all about… well, being social. Replying back to messages shows that you are both friendly and engaging.

8. Spam people
Posting the same things over and over again. Avoid it at all costs.

9. Do something that will humiliate somebody else
Whilst everyone enjoys a good laugh, think twice before posting a photo that might humiliate the person in it. Would you want that picture up on the internet if it were you?

10. Disclose private conversations/privileged information
This is especially important when it comes to business. Don’t post anything that shouldn’t be shared publicly, or that could cause damage to you or your company.

11. Flash the cash
“I’ve just won the lottery!” (we wish) might be a tempting post, but it’ll also be tempting to criminals too.

12. Post something you might regret later
Do you have access to your social accounts when you’re on a night out? Step away from the phone… you might really regret it otherwise.

13. Self-incriminate 
We hope you’re not getting up to anything bad and we certainly hope you’re not posting about it either.

15. Over use of hashtags #### 
Hashtags are great to use, particularly on Twitter and Instagram. But use them in moderation.

16. Fake your followers
It might seem tempting to bump up your following for just a few £££, but it’s obvious when users do this and it can actually get you blocked.

17. Post things that don’t make sense 
When you’re trying to engage with your wider audience, make sure that they’ll understand what you are trying to say. Sounds obvs but you’d be surprised.

18. Click-baiting
“CLICK HERE! CLICK HERE!” – they’ll click on your content if it’s good content and not a lie (see point 1)

19. Posting too often. 
Try not to clog your audiences newsfeeds and go for a ‘quality over quantity’ approach…

23. Posting too little
…but don’t disappear from their newsfeeds altogether! Check out our tips on how often to post.

21. Be overtly promotional
Social media is an invaluable tool for businesses, but mix up your posts between sales and fun to keep interesting.

22. Post the same things on all platforms 
Not all the time, at least. Each social platform has its own strengths and weaknesses, so your posts should be tailored to each of them.

23. Post in a hurry
Typos, typos, typos. Write in haste, repent in leisure.

24. Get left behind 
The world of social media is an incredibly fast-moving, so it’s easy to get lost. If you think you might need a little help, then drop us a message. We’ll promise to keep you on the straight and narrow 😉