There are a lot of big social media changes that have been happening lately across a number of different platforms. The past few months have been extra busy for marketers, to say the least, while we scramble to make sure we understand the new rules and adjust accordingly.
There are, unsurprisingly, a lot of new social media rules that have accompanied these changes, and with everything happening, a few of them have been easy to miss or forget. That doesn’t mean they’re not important though. After the data breaches, every social platform is cracking down hard on users and brands who break the rules they’ve laid out– even if they’re new.
In this post, we’ll take a look at 5 new social media rules that you might accidentally be breaking without even realizing it, and what you should be doing instead.
1. Scheduling the Same Tweet Over and Over Again
This is the first of Twitter’s new anti-spam rules, which we covered in-depth here. In an attempt to improve the quality of posts happening on the platform and reduce the clutter, Twitter now forbids brands from reposting the same tweet multiple times on the same channel.
Many brands have historically used the recycled content strategy to get the most out of their evergreen content, sharing timeless Tweets linking to blog posts, quotes, or fun facts about the business several times over a span of weeks, months, or even years. Now, though, this strategy is out.
What can I do instead?
Instead of scheduling duplicate Tweets, take a few more minutes to schedule multiple similar but ultimately unique tweets on a single topic at once. Even if you’re sharing the same blog post once a month for six months on Twitter, just write six different Tweets and schedule them at the same time. This will save you time but still give you that automated marketing process.
2. Scheduling Tweets to Multiple Accounts
This is the second half of Twitter’s anti-spam rules, and it dictates that a single marketer can’t schedule duplicate tweets to multiple different accounts.
I, for example, manage multiple social media profiles for different B2B businesses. While they’re all in different areas to avoid conflict of interest, general business quotes do well on each. Previously, I could have scheduled the same quote to go up on these different profiles all at once.
Now, that’s out of the question.
What can I do instead?
Create custom content for each individual channel. Not only will this keep you from breaking Twitter’s rules, it will ensure that the Tweets you post are directly relevant and optimized for each brand. Quality over quantity and all that.
3. Using “Custom Audiences” is in Violation’s of Facebook’s Rules
Facebook has always had rules about their “custom audiences” and how you can create them, specifically when it comes to user data. It’s pretty much always been the case that you were supposed to only create lists to target users who had opted-in to your list.
Unsurprisingly, however, there have been a lot of pretty sketchy practices were brands and advertisers ignored this rule entirely. Some brands and businesses don’t even realize they’re breaking the rules, even though this one has been around in some form for awhile.
Where most people get in trouble is either through bought lists or non-opted in data. Maybe users buy from you but don’t agree to have their email addresses added to your list, and you target them anyway. Maybe you’ve purchased lists from a third party company. Both…
