There are mistakes you are making on social media – we all are – but you just don’t know it.

Social media marketing is still relatively new territory for many marketers. In the 2013 Social Media Marketing Industry Report from Social Media Examiner, statistics showed that the majority of marketers have been engaging on the platform for less than three years. Naturally, this means that there are going to be a few kinks to work out for most of us.

There are certain activities that we all take part in when we start social media marketing and these should all be avoided. Below are three mistakes you might be making on social media that need to be corrected. You will work out the bugs over time, but that will be made a lot easier if you can break these bad habits today!

Not Optimizing Content (In General and On Different Networks)

Content needs to be optimized – both generally and on individual networks. Sharing low-res photos, or images that do not fit into allotted spaces (Hint: 400px on Facebook) is bad for business.

All of your images should be crisp, clean and present beautifully on each network. If people are going to work with you they want to know that you are meticulous and provide top quality results; optimizing content so that it appears perfectly on every one of your networks is going to be a big part of that.

Inconsistency

We get it: you don’t always have something exciting to say, or when you do, you might occasionally forget to share it to your networks. It happens. But it doesn’t look great.

Inconsistency in your posting reflects poorly on your brand when people check you out. You might only be sharing to Facebook or Google+ once or twice a week, but if you share once a week this week, thirty times next week, and then we don’t hear from you for a month, it’s going to hurt your exposure and activity on social media.

Consistency is going to be a big part of finding success on social networks, so make sure frequency is a clearly stated point in your strategy.

Ignoring Your Fans

It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture every time there is a post, comment or retweet from a fan, but you should let your fans know you appreciate their engagement whenever and wherever you can.

When someone posts on your Facebook page’s timeline, comment or share the post. If they comment on an update, ‘Like’ or +1 it. If they retweet or answer you on Twitter, thank them for the input. And if you see fans commenting on your blog, reach out and let them know someone was listening. These are small gestures, but they go a very long way in the world of social media, and it is surprising how few people do it.

Did you see any mistakes you are making on social media? These are just a few small ones that pop up more often than not. Keep them in mind and you will see your strategy and success start to shape up very quickly.

What do you think is (or was) your worst habit on social media? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!