Social media marketing is now more important than ever. With everyone online, you need to be there too and you need to be doing it right. With that in mind, here are a few common mistakes that many freelancers and small business owners end up making.

Lacking virtual courtesy

When someone shares your post or mentions you, it’s always great practise to just thank them. If someone has taken the time to share something that you’ve done out of all the things on the internet at their disposal, that’s a huge compliment and it’s also doing your marketing a favour. So just thank them, and they’ll be more likely to do it again in future.

That being said, if you do have an incredibly popular social media account and you’re getting this a 100 times a day, you’re not expected to speak to every single one. Throwing a thank you here and there is just a great way to show appreciation and also gives you a spike in engagement and therefore reach.

Also, if whoever has shared your post has something that your audience could also find useful, don’t be afraid to show a little reciprocation and share their content too.

Not making connections

The clue is in the name social media, so actually be sociable. Sometimes people forget this and simply post without engaging with people. You’ll find that most people are quite happy to talk about stuff all over social media platforms. You’re all there for the same reason, so get involved.

You don’t have to bombard people with overly formal business and marketing proposals. This is more about connecting casually and making yourself visible. Then should you want to approach someone from a business point of view, the conversation can go a lot smoother if they are already aware of you.

Some people, freelancers and larger businesses seem to think that by following someone, unfollowing them and then following them again is a good way to get attention and therefore sales. Well, it’s just not. You’re more likely to just irritate people and put them off from ever giving you their business.

Bombarding everyone with ads

While the main reason you might be on social media is to advertise your services, the key thing to remember is that people don’t like being sold to. Do you? Don’t your eyes just glaze over when you see someone selling something on Twitter? Do you ever follow accounts that spout out tweet after tweet about how amazing their services are? No of course not.

Nowadays especially, with all the other businesses flooding social media, you have to stand out. The way to do this is to provide an incentive for people. Give them something and they might just give you something, their time.

Posting too much or too little

Don’t bombard your audience but also don’t lose their attention. If you’re tweeting every five minutes, expect to lose a few followers. On the other hand, if you’re only doing it once a week, you simply won’t be getting the engagement you need to make conversions.

There is no simple answer to how much you should post. You will probably have to experiment a bit and pay attention to the results. You will also be able to work out what days and times of day are best for engagement and then you can create a more streamlined approach to your social media marketing.

Sticking to the same things over and over again

Social media is not a static thing. Something that has worked in the past might not work in the future. Things change and you need to keep on top of this. You need to see what other people are doing on social media, including your competitors.

Keeping on top of current affairs and trending topics is always important so you can be as relevant as possible. Keep your accounts fresh, try new things and see where they get you. Check out new hashtags or Twitter chats and connect with likeminded people to always be on the lookout for that new audience.

Not standing out

People tend to prefer visual information so pictures, graphics and videos are all popular ways of standing out in the social media market. Think about creating infographics, which tend to have high engagement rates and people are more likely to share them with others.

Self-promotion doesn’t come naturally to many people so it can be difficult to market yourself effectively over social media if you’re a freelancer working alone. You might not want to make waves, when that’s exactly what you should be doing.

Have you got anything to add or have you ever made any of these mistakes? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!