There can always be a temptation to seek to actively promote your business rather than interact and engage on social media. When it comes to Facebook or Twitter, it’s important you get the right balance between the two. The majority of people using social media aren’t using it to see waves of adverts; they want to interact with like-minded individuals, discover new and interesting information and how it can help them.

We’ve highlighted five common social media mistakes and why you should avoid making them.

Focus on relationships, not numbers

Are you buying followers and likes in attempts to boost your business? Paying for thousands of followers and likes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram may look good initially and help your product reach a potentially wider audience, but what’s the point if they’re not interested in actually buying the product or service itself?

It is far more profitable to have a smaller number of people who buy from you, than a mass who never will. If you’re using advertising, particularly on Facebook, then make sure it’s focussed on the people most likely to buy from you. It’ll cost you more per like, but ultimately if these people buy from you they’ll actually end up making you money.

Your business, it’s not just about the brand

Your brand is important, but so is everyone else’s. Consider what you find interesting and want to read; does a continuous stream of products on sale excite you? Probably not! Throw some interesting facts and images into the mix and this will probably catch your eye! Don’t be afraid to share other people’s posts either; if you find them interesting, it is likely those following your accounts will too!

Going overboard with #hashtags

Adding hashtags to your posts is a great way of opening up the reach of a post, but they can be used too often. How many hashtags are you using? So ask yourself this; are you going overboard with a hashtag every other word? We recommend using a maximum of two, which research has proven, can boost your post’s level of engagement by 21%.

Sharing so much it becomes spam-like!

There are two ends of the scale when it comes to posting on Facebook or Twitter; businesses that update once in a blue moon and others, every five minutes. If you’re either of those, it is highly likely customers won’t be engaging with your posts. They would have stopped following because you’re taking up too much of their newsfeed or not enough and have lost interest. It’s important to get the right balance so post regularly and at a frequency you find works for your business.

Social media account overload

Getting your brand recognised is hugely important and social media is a great way of promotion, but avoid setting up so many accounts you can’t keep up with them. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn; the list goes on. Time is precious so focus on updating two key accounts that work best for you and your business, rather than wasting time on posting to as many as possible.

For more information on how we can help your social media presence give us a call on 01566 232323 or email hello@mihidigital.co.uk