We’ve talked about how to get started on social media before. But now that you’ve chosen your platform and gotten some followers, you need to keep the momentum and continue to grow. Easier said than done.

Not using social media to its full potential could result in missed opportunities and a lot of wasted time and effort. This post highlights 3 things you need to avoid doing on social media if you want to be successful.

Mistake 1 - Posting sporadically

This is probably the most common challenge small businesses face, and it’s by far the most important mistake to avoid making. Your social media page could be the first place a potential customer learns about your company. Social media sites also get favorable treatment on Google search results, so if someone is searching for your business, your social media pages will be front and center. Having an out of date or poorly managed page, with infrequent and sporadic posts, severely damages your credibility.

Compare it to when you meet someone for the first time – you want to make a great first impression. The same principle applies here. And if you had been posting regularly and suddenly drop off, followers may think you’ve stopped doing business. Social media is a big and never ending investment, and posting regularly is the number one priority.

Mistake 2 - Talking too much about yourself

Posting regularly is important, but what you post matters as well. Many companies make the mistake of using social media like TV by constantly broadcasting their ads. But if all you do is talk about yourself, your followers will either ignore you or unfollow you altogether. Think about that person you know who is always talking about themselves and how great they are. They may be a friend of yours, but at some point they are going to get pretty annoying.

Instead, mix in messaging that provides useful information to your audience. Post about interesting statistics, industry news, a cool new technology or trend, or even general pop culture. Always remember that social media is about engaging with your audience. Reply to followers, retweet industry leaders and ask your audience questions. Social media is a conversation, and your followers have taken an important step to opt in to participating in that conversation. Don’t push them away.

Mistake 3 – Counting followers

The number of followers you have on social media is important. The more people who follow you, the more have a chance of seeing your posts. But this is only a small part of the actual story. Instead of counting the number of followers, track the quality of your followers.

For B2B marketers, this means looking at things like industry, job title, decision making ability and other demographic information that could be used to qualify a prospect. Also look for influencers, people who hold clout with a large following of people in your industry. They literally influence people’s opinions and decisions. Getting these individuals on your side can provide a huge boost to your status.

Digging around for this kind of information will take more work than simply seeing the number of followers you have, but it is far more valuable to understand who is following you. For small businesses, the most important thing to remember is that you will likely never reach thousands of followers on any platform. But that’s OK. Having a small group of quality followers will provide you with far more engagement, and eventually sales, than a large group of irrelevant followers.

Don’t waste your time on social media

Avoiding these common mistakes can make the difference between having success on social media and wasting your time. By posting regularly, providing useful information, engaging with your audience and tracking the quality of your followers over the quantity, you will receive much more value from the time, money and effort you put in to your social media.

Bridge the Gap Marketing Solutions offers social media management services to help you stay on top of your posting schedule. Check out our Social Media Services to learn more.