What Customers Don't Like About Brands In Social Media [Infographic]

We’ve all seen or heard about brands in social media taking unfortunate missteps. Whether it was an employee who was logged into the wrong account before ranting, or just plain inappropriate behavior, there have been many embarrassing examples over the past several years. But what about the stuff we don’t hear about? I’m referring to everyday things that brands in social media do that repel customers and potential customers. These are the things people really don’t like.

This infographic called What Customers Hate About Your Brand In Social Media by Disruptive Communications lays it all out in a very straightforward way. This information is based on the opinions of 1,003 consumers in the UK. In my opinion, that’s not a large enough sample of the population to make any generalizations, but it’s still a good place to start.

I’m not surprised to see that poor grammar and spelling ranks as number one on the list. I’ve seen several lists like this, but this is the first time I’ve seen ‘trying too hard to be funny’ listed as an annoyance. Ouch.

Even though 18-24 year olds don’t care as much about spelling, poor English grammar still remains important regardless of the age group. ‘Salesy’ updates also top the list, and they become even more annoying as we get older it seems. It’s easy for brands in social media to get a bit too relaxed, but as this infographic points out, it’s worth taking a moment before posting that status update to be sure the spelling and grammar are just right, and that it doesn’t come across as too ‘me me me’ (salesy).

This data can also be helpful if you are targeting a particular age group of customers. Although overall the same things are annoying across the board, there are a few differences worth noting. Good luck!