The Top 3 Mistakes You’re Making on Every Social Platform
Recently, over on my LinkedIn page, I’ve been calling out some of the mistakes I see people making on different social behaviors (and correcting that behavior).
I’m talking: LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Maybe eventually I’ll get to posting about Facebook, X, Threads, and beyond. But if I’m being honest… they’re not my favorites right now (and yes, I know they serve their purpose).
I originally wrote all of these as their own posts. I started thinking about how funny it is that we spend so much time talking about “the algorithm” when, on each platform, there are some pretty basic things we could be doing better. All of these should be easy solutions.
So, in the interest of putting all of my advice into one place, here are the top three mistakes I think you’re making on each of the major platforms - and what you should be doing instead.
1. Your profile is empty.
Apparently, this one is not as obvious as I thought it was. Far too often, I visit a LinkedIn profile (and when I’ve been hiring/reviewing candidates too!) that has little to no information beyond a name and a job title. Sometimes we’re even missing a profile picture. What do you mean?
This is the easiest solution in the whole world, do not be the person with an empty LinkedIn profile. Especially if you’re looking for a job. Especially if you’re trying to build your network.
Do not make people dig for information about you. Your LinkedIn profile is essentially your personal landing page. If someone discovers you through a post, comment, referral, or search, you want them to immediately understand who you are and what you bring to the table.
2. You’re not engaging with other people’s content.
Stop with the posting and ghosting! This is a rule that can be applied to pretty much every social platform, but LinkedIn is especially relationship-driven.
If you’re only showing up on the platform when you have something to promote… you’re missing a huge part of what makes the platform work. And frankly, you’re missing the plot altogether.
You should be commenting on posts, starting conversations, celebrating other people’s wins, share other interesting perspectives. Anything other than just posting and logging off, hoping for the best.
You don’t have to spend all your screen time on LinkedIn, but be a participant — not a billboard.
3. Your headline only says your job title.
Your headline only says something like:
“Social Media Manager”
“Marketing Director”
“Content Creator”
Cool. But... what does that actually tell me? Nothing. Your job description alone does not tell anyone who you are, only what you do (at a super microscopic level).
Your headline is the most valuable real estate on your LinkedIn profile. It’s the first thing people see when they’re looking you up. Use those precious characters to communicate not only what you do, but who you help, what you’re good at, and what you bring to a team.
Especially if you’re looking for a job… don’t make recruiters or hiring managers have to guess what you actually do.
And don’t be afraid to get creative and have fun with it!
1. You’re posting and ghosting.
Even I’m guilty of this one. We all are. And on every platform, I know. But it’s still the easiest part of the problem to solve.
You spent all this time creating a great post, hitting publish, only to immediately close the app… Why not spend a few extra minutes engaging?
Social media is supposed to be social; let’s not forget that!
Stick around for a few minutes after you post: respond to comments, engage with other people’s content, start conversations. It doesn’t take that much added effort; it can only help you.
Your post shouldn’t be the end of the interaction. It should be the beginning.
2. You’re not checking your insights.
Please. Go look at your Instagram Insights. Right now. And if you don’t see any, it means you need to change your profile type.
Third-party social media tools are incredibly useful (I use them too, daily), but your native platform analytics can tell you things that your scheduling tool might be missing
Instagram is handing you information about:
Who is seeing your content
When your audience is active
What content is getting shared and saved
Which posts are actually driving engagement
How people are discovering you
Use the data you have. You don’t have to become a data scientist by any means. Just start paying attention to what your audience is telling you.
3. You’re inconsistent.
No, I don’t mean you have to post every single day.
What I mean is that you need to stop posting random content whenever you remember you have an Instagram. You need to have a plan. A content calendar if you will, but it doesn’t even need to be as strict as that.
You need some consistency in your topics and your overall voice.
Your audience should know what to expect from you, and the platform should have enough context to understand who your content is for, so they know who to serve it to. That’s what’s going to grow your reach.
▶️ YouTube
Full disclosure, I am not a YouTube expert. But I do work in social media and content strategy every single day, and there are a few things I see constantly.
1. You’re not adding transcripts.
This one is especially important if you’re thinking beyond YouTube itself. In the age of AI, the information I’m about to give you is crucial.
Google doesn’t “watch” your videos in the way that a human would. The text surrounding and within your video gives search engines important context about what your content is actually about.
And that same searchable content can help your videos become discoverable through AI-powered search and LLMs.
So if you’re creating long-form video content, don’t ignore the words. Your transcript is valuable content.
2. Your titles and thumbnails aren't optimized enough.
Your thumbnail has one job: Get me to stop scrolling and click on your video.
And your title needs to make it immediately obvious what I’m getting if I click.
Questions to ask yourself when you’re working on both:
Is the topic clear?
Is the title searchable?
Does the thumbnail work on a tiny screen?
Is there enough visual contrast?
Does the thumbnail and title work together rather than saying the exact same thing?
Don’t be afraid to experiment. If the platform gives you tools to test different titles or thumbnails, use them.
3. Your hooks aren't engaging.
Long-form content still needs a hook; just because someone clicked on a 20-minute video doesn’t mean you’ve earned their attention for the full 20 minutes. You still need to tell me why I should keep watching.
Give me a reason to care. Give me a reason to stay. Give me a reason to like, subscribe, and leave a comment.
You have to earn attention before you can keep it.
And again, I’m no YouTube expert, so if you’re a YouTube person, what would you add?
🎵 TikTok
1. You're not being consistent.
TikTok is not one of those platforms where you can disappear for three weeks and expect your next video to magically take off.
That doesn’t mean you need to post five times a day, but you do need to show up consistently. And that means defining what consistency looks like for you.
Post regularly (even if that’s just 1-2x per week).
Engage with your audience.
Engage with other videos.
Pay attention to what’s happening on the platform.
And, once again: No posting and ghosting. That should be obvious by now!
2. You're not adapting to the culture of the app.
AKA: You’re being too corporate.
TikTok has its own language, trends, humor, pacing, and culture.
That doesn’t mean your brand needs to suddenly start doing every trending dance. In fact, please don’t do this.
It means you need to understand why people are using the platform and what kind of content they’re actually there to consume. Loosen up. Have a little fun.
Your brand can still have a strategy and a personality at the same time.
3. Your hook is lacking.
Here we go again! If you’ve read any of my short-form content advice before, you knew this one was coming.
Your hook matters. A lot.
You have a very small window to convince someone not to scroll, so don’t spend the first five seconds introducing yourself, explaining the premise, or getting to the point.
Get to the good stuff. Make me curious. Make me laugh. Make me want to know what happens next.
Earn the next three seconds with the previous three seconds.
So... what’s the common denominator?
Here’s what I find interesting about all of these mistakes:
They’re not really about “beating the algorithm.” They’re about being a better participant in the platform you’re using.
Understand the culture.
Understand your audience.
Create content with intention.
Pay attention to your data.
Engage with other people.
And, perhaps most importantly, give people a reason to care about your brand and about your content.
Social media strategy doesn’t have to be complicated. The biggest improvements sometimes come from going back to the basics.
And yes, algorithms matter. Of course they do. But before we blame the algorithm, let’s make sure we’re actually doing the fundamentals well.
Because sometimes the algorithm isn’t the problem. We are. 😂
Tell me the biggest mistake you see people making on each platform — especially if you’re a YouTube or TikTok expert, because I know there are plenty of things I could add to these lists.
And if you want to see the individual breakdowns, I’ve also been sharing each platform’s top three mistakes over on LinkedIn.