The Biggest Social Media Mistake You Made Last Night

Unless you have been on a social media fast, then you know that the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers played in Super Bowl 50 last night. Ultimately the Broncos won 24-10.

As usual, there was a significant amount of attention on 3 things for the Super Bowl: the National Anthem (which Lady Gaga did really well), the half-time show (solid job by Coldplay, Beyonce, and Bruno Mars), and the commercials (not the best year).A quick glance at any of your social media streams, especially Facebook and Twitter, would tell you exactly what was happening during the game. Everyone-friends, family, celebrities, and others-were talking about everything surrounding the Super Bowl. But there is a chance you or someone you know made this huge mistake during the game:You had scheduled messages post on social media that were not related to the game.

In other words, you proved that you don’t understand rhythm when it comes to social media.

Scheduling status updates and tweets is an incredibly powerful way to connect with your audience and provide valuable content. Spend a few minutes every day scheduling your posts, and you can quickly spread your message and grow your audience.Yet too many people don’t think about the big picture when it comes to scheduling social media posts, and that is understandable. It can be too easy to get so focused on publishing your content that you ignore what else is going on in the world.When you ignore what is going on, you tell your audience that you are disconnected from culture. As people are looking on their social media feeds during an event like the Super Bowl, they are looking for clever and humorous comments about what is going on. They simply don’t care about your latest blog or an upcoming offer.You can avoid this mistake by understanding the necessity of rhythm in your social scheduling. Rhythm is different than a schedule. In music, rhythm is a sense of timing that comes from both sound and rest. Great rhythm understands the value of space and appropriate timing.The same is true in your social media calendar. As you continue to clarify your strategy, make sure you understand the rhythm of your audience and plan for it. Do you live in Alabama? Then plan on doing something to engage the Iron Bowl. Do you live in Boston? Then acknowledge the Boston Marathon when it happens. Do you have a broad audience? Then post updates during huge events like the Oscars, Grammys, and the Super Bowl.The best way you can engage these events is to do something clever that acknowledges the event in a way that is unique to you, like Disney did on their @DisneyZootopia account.So as you plan your social calendar, don’t forget about the big events. You can show your personality and connect with people in a unique way.