Are You Making These Common Social Media Mistakes?

For businesses, social media can greatly expand your marketing reach, promote your brand, and spread the word about your product or service. There are, however, correct and strategic ways to use this social media to your business's advantage. 

Social media use can confuse even the most experienced businesswomen. Unfortunately, these seemingly simple mistakes can cost major corporations an average of $4.3 million a year. When using social media to expand your small business, avoid these common mistakes to save time and money!

1. Don't focus on the number of followers you have. 
Instead, focus on the level of engagement of your current followers. An engaged follower is someone who comments on your statuses and likes your posts. Having 75 highly engaged followers is much better than having 200 followers who never interact on any of your social media platforms. Why is this important? Because engaged followers are more likely to buy your products and support your company. So how do you engage people? Ask questions and respond to comments. Post pictures. People enjoy seeing photographs and are likely to share them, making your social media efforts that much more visible. Share content that your users will enjoy, such as industry news or relevant tips, and not just information about your products or services.

2. Don't make all your posts about you.
Yes, interaction on social media does increase awareness of your company and brand. However, doing too much of this will turn off some of your followers. Posts that take an approach of “this is the consumer problem and here’s how our product can fix it” are acceptable from time to time, but don’t let this kind of content become constant, unabashed self-promotion. Post about other topics you think your followers will be interested in, such as current business events, business tips, or interesting infographics. Social media content that has value to your followers will gain and engage more followers than posts that are only about your business, service, and products.

3. Don't automate everything.
Automatic posting apps can be helpful for posting content during non-business hours, but doing this too often can make your business seem impersonal. You need to keep your online persona for your business likable and approachable, so it is recommended that you mix automated posts with human engagement. This will lead to more trust among your followers and potential followers. 

4. You don't keep track of your statistics.
Focusing and tracking your social media analytics will improve your knowledge of your followers and how they are engaging with your social media accounts. If you feel like you are too busy to take time out of your day to keep track of this, hire someone to do it for you. Learn what time of day your customers are most active and what types of posts attract the highest levels of engagement. This will help shape your overall social media strategy and will make your business's social media presence better. 


Avoiding these common social media mistakes will help your business solidify your online presence and strengthen your overall social media strategy. Building a strong social media presence will better market your brand and service.

What do you think is the most important social media mistake to avoid?  Let us know by posting in the comment section below.