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As marketers, we all tend to think that our content is great. We are always providing value in a fun, memorable way. The sad reality is, if we aren’t careful, our content can do more harm than good. Since both paid and organic success on social media hinges on a high-quality content strategy, it is important for brands to understand what their audiences do and do not want to see. Luckily for us, a new study of 1,000 U.S. consumers discovered what annoys consumers about content from brands. Want to keep your social media audience happy and engaged? Avoid these 8 faux pas!

1. 39% of consumers are annoyed by content that is too wordy or poorly written

Humans are fallible. Grammatical mistakes are bound to happen when creating a ton of content. Just keep in mind that too wordy or poorly written content is a big turnoff for consumers. Be clear, concise and accurate with your language. Have another team member review your content for quality just to be safe. Perfection isn’t attainable, just keep in mind consumers want easy-to-understand and -digest content!

2. 28% of consumers are annoyed by content that is poorly designed

Visual content rules the roost on social media. It is VERY important to ensure that all content is visually appealing. If creative design isn’t your forte, lean on a team member to help you out or consider starting with a template from a platform like Canva. At the end of the day, you are creating content to convert social media consumers into customers, and it won’t be as effective if it is unattractive.

3. 25% of consumers are annoyed by content that is too personalized and creepy

Personalization is an amazing thing; however, too much of it is just plain creepy. The key to not turning off consumers is being relevant to their situation, but not so exact that it freaks them out. Facebook has had a lot of bad press about data sharing, so you wouldn’t want your marketing message to get overshadowed by someone feeling like you are spying on them. Offer a valuable solution to their presumed situation, not a creepy nudge that you know everything about them.

4. 23% of consumers are annoyed by content that has been seen before or is stale

Brands in every industry are constantly pumping out content trying to achieve the same goal. With this competition comes the mantra of curating content over creating content. Be careful with this! The more a consumer sees a concept, the less impact it will have. If your brand is the 3rd or 4th to have shared the same piece of content, it looks lame and of no value. Consider putting your own spin on curated content to freshen things up a bit!

5. 22% of consumers are annoyed by content that isn’t personalized to them

As a counter balance to point #3, consumers prefer content that relates to their questions or situations. It is important to create content with an audience in mind, so that everything you publish will appeal to that audience in some way. The relevancy and relatability of your content will position your brand as a resource for consumers!

6. 21% of consumers are annoyed by content that isn’t optimized for their device

Facebook recommends focusing on mobile-first creative as a best practice for advertising. This is smart, considering most social media content consumption takes place on a mobile device. Considering that screen size can vary widely across devices, it's in your best interest to customize content to the device upon which it will be consumed. Make everything robust, easy-to-read, and great to look at on any device!

7. 17% of consumers are annoyed by content without video or images

While people do still enjoy reading, consumers enjoy content with video or fun imagery more than text only. Every social media platform skews greatly toward using photos and videos, so make this a standard in your overarching content strategy.

8. 16% of consumers are annoyed by content that gives a promotion for an already purchased item

How frustrating is it to buy something only to see a coupon for said item after the fact. Blah! Save yourself some trouble and be considerate of what kind of content you serve to customers as well as to those who haven’t become a customer yet. You have much more control over this through social advertising. From a content strategy perspective, consider it a best practice to avoid publishing redundant promotions to people who have already converted and can't utilize them.

Avoid the above mistakes and you minimize the risk of annoying social media consumers. After all, if they don’t like your content, they will likely never buy from you!