Social media is a powerful and an integral component for a succeshttps://www.primotech.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/post-scheduling-300×156.pngsful digital marketing campaign. It’s a great tool to optimize your web presence. Most of the businesses incorporate social media marketing in their campaigns these days; however, they need to learn more about it as the learning curve is steep. It’s really important for a newcomer to make their first impression good on social media as they’ll only get one chance to make it right.

Don’t fall for the social media trap! Be informed; know these 10 common mistakes that marketers make.

1. No Strategy

A company needs a good marketing strategy to achieve successful results. Companies without any marketing strategy can’t deliver an effective message to their audience. Posting blindly will take you nowhere. So set a clear social media strategy to get the best results. Plan your distinct social media voice, measurable goals, and create a social media calendar!

2. Paying for Fake Followers

Millions of likes, followers or fans may increase your brand reputation but fake likes will not get you user engagement, lead generation and ROI. So instead of wasting your money on fake fans, spend some more time on creating your strategy and increasing your fan base organically.  The key to increase your ROI is to build genuine customers rather than increasing your likes on your business page.

3. Irrelevant and Excessive Hashtags

There is no doubt that hashtags can increase your brand’s visibility. However, you need to consider them carefully as you never know when they get viral over the internet and you might end up getting negative publicity causing you to lose your brand’s reputation. Make sure to use hashtags that are relevant to your business and avoid excessive use of them.

4. Inconsistent Participation

One of the biggest mistakes that most of the businesses make is ignoring their clients. Social media marketing involves client interaction on different levels. You need to be proactive, listen and respond to your customers to take your relationship further. So reach out to your audience instead of waiting for them to create a loyal fan base.

5. Forgetting to Proofread

Petty mistakes, spelling mistakes and sloppy grammar can affect your online presence and credibility badly. Make sure to proofread your tweets, posts and comments, etc. to increase your reputation over the web.

6. Not using Visual Content

Today, social media marketing is more about sharing visual content. Sharing textual content will get you nowhere. You must realize that images and videos get more engagement and importance than textual content. So make sure to use visual posts to boost up your brand awareness and customer engagement.

You can’t overstate the power of visual content. For example, on Twitter you get,

• 28% more views on videos.
• 35% more retweets on images.
• 19% more engagement on famous quotes.
• Hashtags 16% more engagement.

7. Post Scheduling

Sharing your content on right time can help you increase user engagement. So find out the best time to share your posts on various social media channels. Make sure to consider your geographic location and the location of your target audience to find the best time for your posts. You can also use tools, such as Hootsuite Autoschedule, SocialBro, and Hootsuite Analytic Reports, etc. to find the best time for sharing.

8. Using too Many Social Networks

According to research, most of the social media marketers mainly focus on three social media channels – Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. However, you should use a social media channel according to your niche. If you’re offering any professional services then you must focus on Twitter and LinkedIn more as compared to Facebook. If your niche is lifestyle, food, etc. then focus on Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook.

9. Ignoring Other Assets

Some marketers while focusing on social media channels forgets other assets of business. For maximum reach, social media marketing must be tied with your business’s official website, blog, pages and other online platforms. Make sure to update all your channels daily as the audience will prefer to visit your website through you social media channels.

10. Overselling Your Product

Most of marketers push their brand too hard. Don’t over promote your business. Make sure to share some valuable content on your business page. Sharing other’s work is perfectly fine if it’s beneficial for your targeted audience. Let your audience know that you’re more willing to communicate with them. This can make them share their ideas which can help you in elevating your brand.

Businesses should always keep in mind that social media marketing is very wide and needs to be focused and executed properly. By avoiding these mistakes, marketers can grow their online presence exponentially.