With social media marketing climbing in popularity, more and more people are jumping on board. Sometimes their entrance into the strategy is so quick that they fail to learn the do’s and don’ts of the market. These novice social media marketers can quickly find themselves losing fans and ultimately business opportunity. Don’t make that mistake. Learn your social media no-no’s now, so you don’t fall flat. Here are few simple ones that you should avoid.

Don’t fail to offer up fresh and innovative content. Content is what social media is all about, and if you don’t have a plan on how to deliver quality content frequently and consistently, then any social media marketing goals you may have will never be reached. In fact, companies that fail to provide interesting content can lose the trust of current buyers, putting them in jeopardy of being worse off than if they ignored social media altogether. Create a posting schedule, and be sure to publish a quality post at a minimum three times per week.

Steer clear of publshing silly or petty petty posts. If you are overwhelmed with finding topics to post about, don’t fall into the trap of just posting anything. Silly or petty posts that aren’t relevant to your company’s brand can alienate current followers. They are following you for a reason; they respect your brand and what it stands for. If you offer up drivel, they will soon tune out. If your current posting schedule is so large that you find yourself leaning on these types of posts, then rethink your schedule. Curb your posting slightly, so you can make sure your quality stays high.

Don’t approach social media as if you are the only brand in your market doing it. There is a sea of competitors out there, and they are either utilizing social media to its fullest advantage or falling on their face because of bad choices. Learn from them. For your competition that is social media savvy, define their best practices and use similar ones in your efforts. For your competition that appears to be flailing, discover their mistakes so that you don’t make the same ones. With this kind of knowledge, you can see even greater success and save yourself both time and money in the process.

Don’t ignore people’s posts and comments on your profile page. At its essence, social media is simply a large community. It’s your job to build up that community of people that love and trust your brand. You need to build a dialogue to do this. Take every chance you can find to have a conversation with your followers, especially if they open the door for you. This is true even if the comment posted is negative in tone. Respond and find a way to turn that negative around. You’ll win loyalty publicly by doing so.

Remember, these days you need social media marketing to succeed at the highest levels. Take a page from these tips, and steer clear of these known worst practices. You’ll be much better off for it.