20 Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media in 2025

We can’t deny that social media has become the most impressive tool, not only in presenting yourself and communicating with friends but in creating a brand. It doesn’t matter whether you are trying to grow a personal label or building a strong presence for a small or big business, social media marketing strategy is the key to success in this sphere.

It is a beautiful mechanism that can sell, influence, and distribute information in the way you want it to be. However, if you fancy winning this game, you have to be aware of 20 essential social media marketing do's and don'ts that will help to avoid mistakes in the initial stages.

Top 10 Social Media Do’s

1. Choose the Platform That Suits You
2. Regularity Is Secret to Stable Audience Growth
3. Produce Appealing Content
4. Discover Your Unique Way to Communicate
5. Talk Less, Listen More
6. React to Negative Opinions
7. Set Realistic Goals
8. Monetize Your Account
9. Give More
10. Business Is Business

1. Choose the Platform That Suits You

Yes, the idea of being everywhere may sound logical if you are planning to be really well-known, but consider that if, for example, you are looking for new employees or partners, LinkedIn may be a better idea in this field than Twitter. At the same time, Instagram may be what you were looking for for making a bright appearance or generating advertisements. Know your strengths and compare them with what social media has to offer.

2. Regularity Is Secret to Stable Audience Growth

Regular posting is one of the hot topics of social media do's and don'ts. The thing here is not to over-post, as too much content can be irritating for the public. On the other hand, something like a timetable can be beneficial. It will assist you in keeping track of the quantity and being consistent in your social media actions.

During a recent Q&A session, Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, shared insights on the optimal frequency for posting to foster growth on the platform. Specifically for Instagram Stories, he suggested that brands should aim to share a couple of stories daily.

3. Produce Appealing Content

Make sure that the content you are generating meets the needs of your audience. To understand whether it resonates in people’s minds or not, you just have to read the comments below your posts. Don’t forget that unique content is what will attract clients to your page at all times. Also, the videos and photos published should be of high quality. And remember that taking somebody else’s data is never a good idea.

4. Discover Your Unique Way to Communicate

The way you interact with people is fundamental in real life, and it doesn’t change in social media. Your tone of voice is also a part of your brand-building. Yes, probably, for some institutions, it is necessary to stay serious, but as a rule, customers like little jokes and some fun content. Anyway, everybody admires entertainment, so it definitely will be among social media do's for business.

5. Talk Less, Listen More

Guiding this principle is another aspect of social media advertising do's and don'ts. Here you should be careful and deliberately choose the conversation that you want to join. Keep in mind that the reputation of companies and influencers with whom you are having a discussion will directly affect your positions, too. But generally, participating in social media talks is one of the best promotional ways. It is an opportunity to show your competence, knowledge and get noticed as a leader.

6. React to Negative Opinions

Often the beginners think that answering negative comments isn’t necessary. Actually, it is ultimately the opposite, and that is why this advice sometimes appears among the do's and don'ts of social media. In reality, reacting to negative opinions, you indicate to the customers that you can solve the problems and prevent yourself from spreading negative buzzes.

7. Set Realistic Goals

This advice isn’t directly practical, like previous ones, but not less constructive. Understanding where you are moving and how fast is not a question of social media do's and don'ts because it’s always done. If you plan to get ten hundred followers by the end of the month, it’s totally unrealistic. Fixing some more minor but real expectations will help you clearly see your progress and not be disappointed in the final.

8. Monetize Your Account

Despite some negative thoughts about it, adding some promotions to your account will have only a positive effect. Organic advertising can be very profitable for both sides, clients and you. The same thing works for giveaways. Your followers receive recommendations and prizes from giveaways, and you get customer growth and, of course, money.

9. Give More

In addition to the previous point, still, there is a rule utilizing which you will have a stable interest in your page. Of course, you aim to sell, but if you have more advertising content on your page than valuable information, that will only irritate users. Ensure that you are following the 80/20 - content/advertisements correlation, which is among the do's and don'ts of social media for business.

10. Business Is Business

When you are at the beginning of your social media journey, it seems a bit normal to post data about your brand on your personal page. But after a while, you start mixing your private information and work. And this is completely inappropriate. Entering a company account, clients expect to find what they are searching for, and they aren’t really interested in what you had for breakfast today.

Successful Social Media Campaigns

Dunkin' Donuts

Collaborated with TikTok star Charli D'Amelio, resulting in a significant increase in app downloads and product sales.

Gymshark: Launched the #Gymshark66 challenge on TikTok and Instagram to encourage positive habits and an active lifestyle.

Häagen-Dazs: Collaborated with local New York City influencers for a summer campaign, achieving high levels of engagement and impressions.

The Open Container initiative by Häagen-Dazs made a remarkable splash in the digital world, amassing an impressive 14.3 million impressions and sparking 27,400 instances of social media interactions. This figure was a remarkable 400% higher than the typical engagement rate seen in similar campaigns. As a direct outcome, both Walgreens and Häagen-Dazs experienced a significant boost in their market presence, with a 148% increase in their share of voice, underscoring the campaign's resounding success.

Animalhouse Fitness

Sent MonkeyFeet products to fitness influencers, generating significant revenue and increased brand awareness.

In total, 1,471 influencers engaged in promoting MonkeyFeet, resulting in approximately 3,710 posts, encompassing both images and videos.

HelloFresh

Worked with celebrities and influencers on a culinary challenge aimed at busy moms and professionals.

HelloFresh recently launched a 21-day culinary challenge in collaboration with 15 micro-influencers, aimed at promoting healthy, homemade meals using their recipes. The influencers shared their cooking experiences through videos and photos under the hashtag #RefreshWithHelloFresh, targeting the UK market. Focusing on women aged 30 to 50, primarily busy moms and young professionals, the campaign highlighted the ease and joy of cooking with HelloFresh, emphasizing healthy eating and the pleasure of home-cooked meals.

10 Don’ts of Social Media 

1. Don’t Show Yourself Needy
2. Don't Spam
3. Don’t Hashtag Too Much
4. Don’t Post the Same Content Everywhere
5. Don’t Do Spelling Inaccuracies
6. Don’t Automate It All
7. Don’t Share Without Fact-Checking
8. Don’t Be Homespun
9. Don’t Promote Your Personal Feelings
10. Don’t Compare Yourself With Others

1. Don’t Show Yourself Needy

This one you have to remember once and for all because it’s the worst you can do in the do's and don'ts of social media marketing. Never ask users to “follow us back, please”, or “retweet our post”. It’s not a strategy. It only indicates your incompetence and inability to attract people naturally.

2. Don't Spam

Keeping your hand on the pulse, and reacting on time to the latest news, is a great strategy, but pay attention to balance. Oversharing the content or posting ten posts a day can be really annoying. Also, mass following of the random users, and self-promotion on every corner, isn’t a panacea. As they say, the measure is a treasure.

3. Don’t Hashtag Too Much

The next point in our do's and don’ts of social media list are hashtags. They can be instrumental, as they assist in being highlighted in topics that are relevant for you and organizing posts on your page. Don’t make hashtags from every word, and don’t add useless hashtags unrelated to your business.

4. Don’t Post the Same Content Everywhere

We know that creating absorbing content is complicated. But the problem of many companies is that they think that attaching the same posts across all the networks is a “that’s ok” thing. If you don’t have a resource to create completely opposed content, use these social media do's and don’ts for business and try to “remake” it in a different style.

5. Don’t Do Spelling Inaccuracies

There is no need to remind that orthography and grammar are the number one do's and don'ts of social media posting. Writing with spelling mistakes not only repels customers but also makes them wonder if you can’t make a text without errors then it is a question of whether you can be competent in other areas. First of all, it’s your reputation, and don’t let such a trifle ruin it.

6. Don’t Automate It All

Automation has penetrated all spheres of our life, and social media are an integral part of it. That is why, as an already technological product, social media needs this piece of humanity. Putting a robot on answering people’s comments and direct messages will likely make you less work, but nothing can replace real intercourse with an individual. It is one of the most controversial do's and don’ts of social media.

7. Don’t Share Without Fact-Checking

If you want to be an expert in the eyes of customers and followers, you have to become a useful source of information. Fact-checking is something that you should always do. This applies to any data from everyday posts to photos and videos shared by other users. Spreading the wrong information can turn off the buyers and display roughly on your brand image.

8. Don’t Be Homespun

In the pursuit of sales and to gain as many followers as possible, fresh marketers often begin to forget about the quality of the content they produce. Be prepared that social media do's and donts are a long run, and the trust and love of customers are the real value, which can save you in hard times.

9. Don’t Promote Your Personal Feelings

This rule applies to everything, and to a greater extent to politics. It is excellent to have political preferences, but this can weed out many potential audiences, who might not share your views. Moreover, politics is always a controversial topic for discussion, so if you don’t want to have unsolicited comments under each post, it is better not to touch this subject. 

10. Don’t Compare Yourself With Others

Let’s make it clear, a healthy dose of comparison for an objective assessment and understanding at what level you are now is necessary and can be very practical. But what we are talking about, in do's and don'ts social media, is your unique style and your own goals and expectations. Stop looking up to competitors all the time and go on your own particular path. 

Prohibited Content on Major Platforms

Instagram

Instagram's Community Guidelines emphasize maintaining a safe and authentic environment. Key prohibitions include:

• Intellectual Property Violations: Users must only share content they have created or have the right to share.
• Inappropriate Content: Nudity and sexually explicit content are largely prohibited, except in certain contexts like breastfeeding, health-related situations, and art.
• Spam and Misleading Activities: Activities like collecting likes or followers artificially, posting repetitive content, and commercial solicitation without consent are not allowed.
• Impersonation and False Information: Users must provide accurate information and not impersonate others.
• Illegal Activities and Violence: Support or praise for terrorism, organized crime, hate groups, and the sale of illegal goods like drugs and firearms are prohibited.
• Respect for Community Members: Content with threats, hate speech, bullying, harassment, and personal attacks is not allowed.
• Self-Injury: Content glorifying or encouraging self-injury is removed.
• Graphic Content: Extremely graphic or violent content is restricted, especially if it's shared without any context or for sadistic pleasure.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn's Professional Community Policies focus on maintaining a professional and respectful environment:

• Safety: Harassing content, bullying, and personal attacks are prohibited.
• Violence and Illegal Activities: Threats, incitement of violence, and content related to organized crime or illegal goods and services are not allowed.
• Child Exploitation: Any material depicting child exploitation is strictly forbidden.
• Misinformation and False Identity: Sharing false or misleading content and creating fake profiles or falsifying information is prohibited.
• Professionalism: Hateful content, sexual harassment, and harmful or shocking material are not permitted.
• Spam: Untargeted, irrelevant, or repetitive messages and content are not allowed.

TikTok

TikTok's Community Guidelines are designed to inspire creativity while ensuring safety and respect:

• Violative Content: Content that breaks TikTok's rules is removed.
• Mature Content: Adult content is age-restricted.
• Recommendation System Standards: Content promoted by TikTok's recommendation system must be appropriate for a broad audience.
• Empowering Community: TikTok provides tools and resources for a safe experience.

Final Words

In conclusion, navigating the do's and don'ts of social media in 2025 requires a strategic approach, balancing creativity with professionalism. By following these guidelines, you can build a strong, engaging, and successful social media presence.

FAQ About Social Media Dos and Donts