Common Mistakes Your Online Business Should Avoid

If you’re transitioning to the world of online business via social media, be wary of making these common mistakes that can cost you big time.

Here’s what you don’t do if you have a Facebook or Instagram store:

Don’t: Neglect to Post Often

If you’re only posting on your business’ social media page once every two weeks, it’s the equivalent of only opening your store for an hour a day. Customers won’t know you’re active and passionate about your business. They won’t even be familiar with your products/services.

You have to post as relevantly as you can to show your potential customers you’re active and up to date. This will drive engagement to your business page.

Don’t: “DM For Price”

One way to guarantee you miss out on potential sales is by asking customers to directly message you for your prices. A lack of transparency when it comes to pricing leads to a breakdown of trust between you and your customers.

“DM For Price” makes customers assume two things – your prices are above average expensive or you charge different prices depending on who’s asking. Also, the extra step they have to take to find out the price can be a turn off in itself. You’ll end up losing business to a competitor simply because they list their prices on their page.

Don’t: Ignore or Delete Bad Reviews

One common mistake businesses make is to either ignore or delete any bad reviews they get. In an era of screenshotting, that’s never a good idea for damage control, and often just makes your business look worse.

You can’t solve a problem by just making it magically go away, you have to face it head-on.

Respond quickly and politely. Don’t get defensive. Try to resolve the issue privately and one-on-one with the customer by messaging them and letting them know you want to help address the situation. Once it’s resolved, leave a comment under the bad review publicly explaining how you resolved the situation and the steps you’re taking to ensure there isn’t a repeat of the issue. This lets people reading the reviews know that you care, you learn from your reviews and you’re prioritizing good service.

Check out our blog on How To Deal With Bad Online Reviews for more on this.

Don’t: Use Your Business Page For Personal Opinions

You should separate your personal views and opinions from that of your business. Don’t post things that could alienate potential clients or lead to calls for a boycott of your business. Don’t use your business page to comment negatively on social or political issues. Keep your business page as neutral as possible and avoid controversial issues.

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