Whether you are building a huge social media empire or have just begun targeting a local clientele, you know that the power of social media is essentially unrivalled when it comes to marketing and brand awareness. Many people start out with the best of intentions but soon fall short when their optimistic visions do not immediately manifest. Social media success takes time and dedication to cultivate, so you definitely want to avoid any mishaps along the way. Believe it or not, even the most seasoned social media managers are liable to make mistakes here and there. In the following article, we’ll discuss some simple slip-ups that can cause great damage or loss of potential, and that are easy to avoid.

Putting All of Your Eggs in One Basket

There are several social media networks out there through which large amounts of success can be derived. Facebook is most obvious; with more than seventy percent of social media users actively engaged on there, it seems like a no-brainer to put a lot of focus on this network. Unfortunately, many users focus solely on pinging URLs on this network and miss out on reaching new customers, clients and readers on networks such as Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus. The difference between one properly cultivated social media profile and three diversified efforts can be as much as double. Can you afford to miss out on half of your potential sales, conversions, and opportunities for virality? Please keep in mind, however, that you can’t spread yourself too thin, so be sure to expand as much as is possible without overextending yourself.

Me, Me, Me, Me, Me

Too many social media managers make the mistake of focusing solely upon their brand or interests. While your social media presence should obviously revolve around the content, services or products that you provide, you must be clever when it comes to incorporating this message with other elements that users will find interesting. Social media fans are not going to share your white papers in mass, and as such, you must find creative elements to tie in with your message. Many social media managers who are successful will use a combination of product placement and rich multimedia that loosely pertains to the topic in order to boost shares, likes and comments.

Avoiding Personality

When pinging URLs to your fan base, you should always strive to be as personable as possible. This means incorporating a small back story or anecdotal element into each post, or relating the content in some way to the heartstrings of your viewers. Without doing this, you run the risk of coming across as clinical rather than creative. People do not respond to emotionless content; you absolutely must embed a feeling or some type of emotion in every post you make! Those who only promote themselves in a way that is straightforward will not see many likes, shares or comments for their content. This is easily avoidable, so don’t fall into the trap. Even if the lead-in isn’t an actual experience you had, you can still convey emotion in a way that will elicit responses from readers.