Social media mistakes checklist: 20 checks

Key takeaways

This social media mistakes checklist has 20 yes or no checks in five groups of four: aim, profile, posts, replies and results. Count your yes answers. 16 or more means your accounts are sound, 12 to 15 means fix the weakest group, and under 12 means start with aim and replies.

• 20 checks in 5 groups of 4.
• 16 or more yes: sound, keep improving content.
• 12 to 15: fix the group with the fewest yes answers.
• Under 12: start with aim and replies.

Aim: are you aiming at the right target?

Answer yes only if each statement is true today.

• 1. We have one goal with a number and a month.
• 2. We can describe our buyer in one sentence.
• 3. Our main platform is where those buyers are.
• 4. One named person owns social media.

• The most common social media marketing mistakes small businesses make
• Posting without a goal: the mistake behind wasted effort

Profile: can a stranger act in five seconds?

Check each profile on a phone, as a stranger would.

• 5. The bio says what we do, for whom and where.
• 6. The link goes to a page about one offer.
• 7. Message, call or booking buttons work.
• 8. At least two internal admins with two-factor authentication.

• Business social media profile mistakes that lose enquiries

Posts: do they give buyers a reason to act?

Look at your last ten posts.

• 9. Most posts are written for our buyer.
• 10. Most posts have a next step.
• 11. Posts are adapted for each platform.
• 12. Paid or gifted posts are labelled as ads.

• Posts with no call to action: interest with nowhere to go

Replies: do buyers hear back?

Check last month's comments and messages.

• 13. Comments are answered within the working day.
• 14. Messages are answered within the working day.
• 15. Complaints get calm, public replies, not deletions.
• 16. Spam and scam comments are hidden daily.

• Ignoring comments on social media: why silence costs

Results: do you know what works?

Answer from your own records, not platform insights alone.

• 17. Social links are tagged with UTM parameters.
• 18. We count enquiries from social media monthly.
• 19. We ask new customers how they found us.
• 20. We review results monthly and change something.

• Social media measurement mistakes that hide what works
• Social media mistake scorecard: check your accounts in 30 minutes

How do you get an honest result from the checklist?

Get an honest result by answering from evidence, not memory. Use a phone for the profile checks, your last ten posts for the post checks, last month's messages for the reply checks and your own records for the results checks. If you have to think hard about a yes, mark it no.

• Use a phone for profile checks.
• Use real posts and messages.
• Use your own records for results.
• Mark doubtful answers as no.

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: businesses scoring well on posts and badly on replies and results, usually between 10 and 13. The fastest gains come from the reply group, which costs time rather than money and shows in enquiries within weeks.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Using the checklist

• Answer honestly, using real data.
• Count yes answers per group.
• Fix the weakest group first.
• Re-run the checklist every quarter.

• A 90-day plan to fix your social media mistakes
• Social media mistake scorecard: check your accounts in 30 minutes

Next step

Run the 20 checks today and write down your score and weakest group. Re-check in 90 days.