At the crux of every successful business is the ability to utilise the online tools at your disposal, but it is all too easy to fall into the latest internet trap: post and ghost.

Infoserve has created a ghoul-proof guide explaining how you can avoid this common error.

What is post and ghost?

Simply, post and ghost is the practise of posting content and leaving it without further engagement.

Are you guilty of post and ghost? 

Have you ever ignored comments on your social media posts? Do you look at negative reviews of your company and think they’re not worth the hassle? Have you posted a blog to your website with your fingers crossed and not revisited to see if it's gaining traffic? 

Then you are guilty of post and ghost.

Post and Ghost on Social Media

Common social media engagement errors:

1. Freezing post interaction as soon as it has gone live
2. Liking comments rather than responding to them
3. Ignoring valuable interaction with your brand from customers including post shares, story mentions, and direct messages
4. Not following/engaging with other brands

How to engage with social media

Social media can seem like a minefield of algorithm changes, competitors and features that you’ve not used before, but remaining responsive is easier than it would seem.

How to avoid post and ghost on social media:

1. Set SMART goals for improving engagement so that you have a target to motivate your efforts.
2. Encourage engagement from your followers so you have something to respond to.
3. Spend 5-10 minutes every day responding to comments, direct messages, and shares.
4. Respond quickly to comments, shares, and mentions. Keep your notifications on in order to keep your response timely.
5. Use a social listening tool to monitor mentions of your brand so that you can stay up to date with relevant conversations.
6. Engage with other brands’ content. Sharing content from other businesses can encourage them to do the same for you.

Post and ghost on Google reviews

Google reviews are a valuable tactic for building brand trust, but it isn’t as simple as allowing reviews to accumulate. 

Responding to every review you receive, including negative ones, shows your customers that you care about improving your business. Review negligence can make your customers feel ghosted.

How to engage with Google reviews

Engaging with Google reviews is straightforward.

How to avoid post and ghost on Google reviews:

1. Respond to every review possible. Even leaving a simple ‘thanks for your kind words’ goes a long way to helping your customers feel seen and valued.
2. Be gracious for negative reviews, and reply offering a solution. If you plan to make the conversation private, responding publicly anyway shows customers that you are keen to resolve their issues.
3. Share positive reviews to other platforms such as your website and social media to show that it meant something to you.

Our Listings experts can manage your online reviews so that you never become guilty of ghost and post.

Post and ghost on websites

Posting and ghosting your website seems unlikely on the surface, but is actually a very easy mistake to make.

Imagine spending months decorating your house then not checking if any of the new pipes you installed had any leaks. Spending weeks optimising your website’s performance and then not checking if hyperlinks continue to work has a similarly detrimental impact.

How to engage with websites

All content and design features on your website should be revisited regularly to check that they are still functioning to their optimum potential.

How to avoid post and ghost on websites:

• Use analytics tools such as SE Ranking to monitor your SEO progress.
• Check the functionality of your website every time you make a change to ensure it is still performing as designed.
• Run regular website audits to identify technical and design errors.
• Manually check your website. This includes making sure all graphics are clear; your website functions successfully on mobiles, tablets and laptops; and that the overall design is visually appealing.

Use our free website and SEO audit tool to ensure your website hasn’t fallen victim to post and ghost. 

To avoid haunting the internet with post and ghost faux pas, contact the team at Infoserve who will take the responsibility of being responsive online off your hands.

Don’t know where to start?

Here at Infoserve, our web design experts are on hand to help you create and build a unique, functional and responsive website, and our PPC and SEO team help your website get found.