By Melanie Graham

Developing a social media strategy takes a lot of trial and error. The good news is, you can learn from your mistakes. Or, better yet, learn from other brands’ mistakes.

The experts over at MarketingProfs recently posted an infographic from CJG Digital Marketing that outlined six social media behaviors your brand needs to stop. Some of the pitfalls included tweeting too frequently, using jargon or slang, and posting too many promotional messages.

CJG’s advice is a great jumping off point to share some of our own insight.

Here are 8 more social marketing missteps your brand should avoid:

  1. Sharing the same content on every channel. Different social media channels have different audiences. A post that works well on Facebook may not be a hit on LinkedIn. And a snappy Tweet may not translate well to Facebook. Make sure to adjust your content for each audience, and be careful not to spam your followers with the same message on every channel.
  2. Launching a channel without content. If you’re planning to launch a new social profile for your brand, make sure you have content ready. It’s hard to build a new following when you’re only sharing one post a month. Brainstorm ideas and have an editorial calendar with a couple weeks’ worth of content before you click “sign up.”
  3. Text-only posts. Photos and videos stand out. If your post is just a wall of text, expect your followers to keep scrolling.
  4. Only sharing your own content. Your peers, influencers and followers have interesting content, too. Don’t be afraid to share posts from other people or organizations. This can help build relationships and trust in your brand. Plus, they may return the favor and share one of your posts in the future.
  5. Hashtag hijacking. Before you use a trending hashtag, do some research. Where did the hashtag come from? What does it mean? Using a trending hashtag can boost your content’s visibility, but it can also hurt your brand’s credibility if it is used incorrectly or out of context. (Does anyone remember the #NotGuilty controversy of 2011?)
  6. Ignoring data. It’s important to track how your content performs on each channel. Look at overall engagement with each piece of content you share. How many people shared, retweeted or commented on the post? If the numbers don’t improve, change the content or try something new.
  7. Burying social profiles on your website. Include links to your social profiles in a prominent spot on your website. Don’t bury them on a page that requires someone to click several times to find it.
  8. Not including social sharing buttons on your content. Your brand’s Twitter or Facebook feed cannot be the only profile responsible for spreading your content. Feature social sharing buttons on your blog or website to encourage readers to feature your content on their own social channels.