In order to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to be a social media expert. At least that is what everyone is saying these days.
With 2.8 billion people using social media, marketing your business on social media is essential to your success. You can use social media to create brand awareness, drive traffic to your website and get new leads for your business.
But, what happens when you make social media mistakes that can hurt your brand? If you want to be an entrepreneur, you have to avoid the most common social media mistakes.
1. Not having a plan
Before you even post your business on social media, you need to have a plan in place. Your plan should include your goals, who your target audience is, what platforms you will use, what your content will look like and how often you will post.
It’s also a good idea to have a bank of content ready to go for the first few weeks. If you’re not prepared, you’ll find yourself scrambling to come up with content ideas and that can lead to some of the other mistakes on this list.
2. Not posting the right content at the right time
Social media is a 24/7 job. Even if you’re not a social media manager, you should be posting content to your business profiles at least once a day. But you can’t just post any old thing. You should be posting the right content at the right time.
The right content is content that is relevant to your audience and your business. If you’re an e-commerce business, that might be a new product launch. If you’re a restaurant, that might be a photo of your special of the day.
The right time is when your audience is most likely to see and engage with your content. You can use your social media analytics to find out when that is. If you’re not sure, try posting at different times of day and tracking your results to see when you get the most engagement.
3. Not engaging with your audience
Social media is meant to be social. That means it’s not a one-way street. You can’t just post and expect your audience to come to you. You have to go to them, too.
Engaging with your audience is a great way to build relationships and increase loyalty. It also shows that you’re an active member of the community, not just someone who posts and runs.
Make sure to respond to comments on your posts, answer questions, and thank people for sharing your content. You should also make an effort to seek out and engage with your audience on their own posts.
4. Not using the right social media platforms
There are so many social media platforms out there, it can be hard to know which ones are right for your business. That’s why it’s important to do your research and figure out where your target audience spends the most time.
For example, if you’re trying to reach a younger demographic, you might want to focus your efforts on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. If you’re targeting an older demographic, you might want to focus on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn.
5. Not using the right social media tools
There are so many tools available to help you with your social media marketing. From scheduling tools to analytics tools, it’s important to find the right ones for your business.
If you’re not using the right social media tools, you could be wasting a lot of time and effort. And if you’re not using any tools at all, you’re definitely missing out on some key features that could help you get better results.
6. Not having a consistent brand image
Your brand is your company’s identity, and you need to make sure it’s consistent across all platforms. This includes your logo, color scheme, fonts and even the style of your images and videos.
This is where a social media content calendar can come in handy. You can plan out your posts in advance to make sure your brand is consistent and your content is high-quality. You can also use tools like Canva to create templates for your posts.
For example, if you’re a fashion brand, your Instagram feed should be filled with high-quality images and videos of your products. If you’re a tech company, your LinkedIn page should be filled with thought leadership articles and videos.
For teams creating content at scale, using an Image Generation API helps generate hundreds of on-brand social media visuals from a single template by simply changing text, images, or data automatically.
7. Not using paid advertising to your advantage
Paid advertising on social media is a great way to get your business in front of people who may not already be following you. You can use paid advertising to target specific demographics, locations and interests to make sure your ads are being seen by the right people.
The best part? You can set your own budget and only pay for the ads that are being seen and clicked on. This makes paid advertising a cost-effective way to reach new customers and grow your business.
8. Not measuring your results
If you’re not measuring your results, how do you know if your social media marketing is working? You could be wasting your time and money if you’re not sure what kind of return on investment (ROI) you’re getting.
You should be tracking your results on a regular basis. That means looking at your analytics and seeing how many people are engaging with your posts, how many people are seeing your posts, how many followers you’re gaining and losing, and more. Social media platforms offer a wide range of analytics tools to help you track your results.
9. Ignoring affiliate and referral programs on social media
Many entrepreneurs focus solely on organic posts and paid ads, but overlook affiliate and referral programs as a powerful way to amplify their social media reach.
Affiliate partners, influencers, and loyal customers already have audiences that trust them. When you enable these advocates to share your brand on social media—with clear incentives—you turn social platforms into a scalable acquisition channel rather than just a broadcasting tool.
Tools like ReferralCandy make it easy to run and manage referral and affiliate-style programs by tracking shares, attributing conversions, and rewarding partners automatically. Promoting these programs through social media posts, stories, and bios gives your audience a clear reason to talk about your brand—and helps you grow through authentic, word-of-mouth marketing.
Conclusion
Great content is one of the top three reasons people follow brands on social media, according to a 2017 survey by Sprout Social. But what is great content? It’s not just about creating content that is relevant to your business. It’s about creating content that is valuable to your followers.
