Social media has become an intricate part of so many business strategies today. 

People are making social media a top priority in their marketing campaigns and strategies, but that doesn't mean they're getting it right. 

Let's go over the 7 biggest mistakes a small business can make on social media.

Mistake #1: Using Too Many Social Media Networks

There are many different social networks you can utilize for your businesses like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.  You should definitely consider implementing all of them into your social media strategies if needed. 

Make sure to do some research on who your ideal buyers are and cater all of your content to them.  

Depending on the business, you may find that your ideal audience is only located on Facebook and Instagram, while other business may have people located on different networks. 

To figure out where your audience is located, test each social media network to see if the content you are posting gets any engagement or results.

If you aren't receiving any results that social network probably isn't for your business.

What you don't want to do is blast and waste money on social media networks if your target audience isn't even there.  That is one of the biggest mistakes that we see so many businesses doing.

Mistake #2: Never Identifying Your Target Audience

Understanding who your target audience is critical to having success throughout any social media campaign.  

A business has to break down each one of their buyer personas and understand what type of content that want at the right time.

Once you identify your target audience and understand your buyers persona, you can send them through the buyers journey to meet each one of their needs.

If you would like to learn more about the buyers journey read this blog: Understanding the buyers journey. 

Mistake #3: Posting Content Without Any Strategy Behind It

Don't waste your time posting content when you don't have a strategy behind what you post to social media.  To ensure the most success, create a strategy for the content you post on social media to help you have a clear vision of what you want to accomplish. 

Here are a few reasons to post content on social media: 

• To generate more engagement for your business or content.

• To make people aware that your business exists.

• To become an authoritative figure in your niche.

• To help someone make a purchase.

• To generate more leads and sales.

Mistake #4: Having Too Much Or Not Enough Content

Knowing the exact amount of content to give out may take some time. But, posting too little or too much can hurt your business and annoy your buyers. 

There is so much research out there to help you find the magic number of content you should put out for your business. 

You definitely don't want to overload your target audience with tons of content, but you don't want to underwhelm them either.  

Do some testing and figure out how much content your people would like.

Mistake #5: Not Paying Attention To Other Accounts Or Followers

Social media gives businesses the opportunity to connect with almost anyone. 

If you don't utilize the opportunity to connect with people and other business owners you are really missing out. 

Using these platforms to push your content out and not engage in communication with others can really hurt your business. 

One cool trick we found on Facebook is that you can see what types of ads your competitors are posting on Facebook. It could give your business that extra push if you do research and see what type of content other businesses are posting. 

This can also show you how well their audience engages in their content and can help you come up with more ideas of what you should be posting on your social media pages. 

Mistake #6: Ignoring Analytics & Results

One huge mistake small businesses make with their social media campaigns is not knowing how well their social media campaign is performing. 

They never check metrics to ensure they are having success or they don't think it is important to do so. 

Mistake #7: Not Being Consistent

Consistency is key to everything you do in business, especially on social media. 

So many businesses only post on social media when they feel like it.  That definitely will not guarantee success with any social media campaign. 

When thinking about how much to post on social media, you have to remember which network you are on. 

Each social media network is different and people respond to specific networks differently.

For our business, we post on our Facebook business page at least three times a day. That is where we found our sweet spot to be.  We have found that we can post more frequently on Twitter.  

One thing you don't want to do is become overwhelming and annoying with how much you post on social media.  That can make your business seem desperate.