5 Social Media Mistakes Small Businesses Make (and How to Avoid Them)

Social media is a great place to promote, but… only if you know what you’re doing. Many small business owners approach Instagram or Facebook on the principle of “I’ll throw something in every now and then, and it’ll definitely pop.” And then it didn’t, because there was no reach, no sales, no likes .

The good news is that it can be fixed ;)

❌ 1. No strategy = chaos

The biggest sin? Publishing “because it’s the right thing to do.” Without an idea, without coherence, without a goal.

The result? The feed looks like a patchwork of random photos, the messages don't stick together, and the recipient doesn't know who you are and why they should follow you.

Solution: Determine who you are talking to, what your goals are, and what emotions you want to evoke. Build a communication strategy—simple but well-thought-out, just don't post the same old "Hi, check out our blog, we're up and running, morning coffee, and so on" every day. And then stick to it consistently.

❌ 2. Lack of consistent visual identification

One day a sepia filtered post, the next a yellow text post, the third a meme from the internet. Sounds cool?

The result? Your brand is not memorable. And without recognition, it is difficult to gain loyalty. In the meantime, just look at brands such as:

• Coral – ice cream and iconic slogans like “It’s always time for ice cream!”

• InPost – yellow parcel lockers + characteristic communication with a wink.

• Kubota – revival of the flip-flop brand as a nostalgic lifestyle symbol

• BOLT – Local humor + color.

Solution: Establish a color palette, fonts, and graphic style. You don't have to have a full brandbook and use all of CANVA's templates (pick one or a few and stick to them), but a basic graphic style? A must-have.

❌ 3. Ignoring the community

Did someone comment? Ask? Share? And you did nothing? (Obviously, we don't take into account those comments that are too stupid) This is one of the most underrated mistakes.

The result? Your audience feels ignored and the algorithms consider your profile as "dead."

Solution: Reply. Like. Comment. Protip: WATCH SIMILAR CONTENT FROM THIS PROFILE Interact.

Protip 2: Saved messages, someone tagged you? Hit on that person ;) Building relationships on social media – that's the foundation.

❌ 4. Content focused only on sales (You can't do worse)

"Buy now!", "Order!", "Reserve!", "Come in for breakfast, a drink, lunch, Sunday dinner!" – if that's the only message coming from your social media… sorry, but people are fed up with it, we went through this about 5 years ago.

Effect? Unfollow :( Because social media is not an advertising column, but a space for relationships between customers/guests.

Solution: Give value. Show how you cook that Sunday dinner, tell a story, share knowledge. Sell between the lines.

❌ 5. Lack of consistency (i.e.: ghosting your own recipients)

You post once a week. Then nothing for a month. Then you post something again because "you have to". And again silence.

The result? Recipients forget you exist. Algorithms even more so.

Solution: You don't have to post every day. But regularity (e.g. 2x a week) is key to engagement and visibility.

A simple content calendar helps with this — or an agency, someone who handles it for you. 😉

To sum up, 5 mistakes in running social media

If you recognize any of these mistakes in yourself — cool! It means that all is not lost, you can fix them and make your media finally work. You don't have to be an expert — just stop sabotaging your own profile.

Pawn!