We’re all on Facebook, and we all check our Instagrams and Tweet regularly. Surely by now we know the ins and outs of social media posting.

Effective social media marketing for business is a whole different ball game, though. With over 40% of the world’s population on social media, it’s important that you approach this aspect of content marketing strategically. Our social media calendars, for example, aren’t just simple guides to what’s been published and what’s next in the pipeline. They’re the backbone of our entire social media marketing efforts. A social media calendar has to be flexible and up to date, but ready to adapt to evolving audience needs and demands.

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Given the constantly changing nature of social media and its users, there’s a lot of room for error as you try to build your social media calendar. So, to help you sidestep these common mistakes, I’ve broken them down below:

1. You Focus Too Much On Recent and Frequent Content

Most companies believe that content posted on social media should be both recent and frequent. In a lot of cases, that’s true. However, just because something has been previously published doesn’t mean you can’t share it anymore. Previous content that did well can still be rehashed and reused, especially if certain occasions or events call for it. Find a good balance between sharing high performing old content and exploring new topics and material that’s relevant for your audience.

2. Prioritize Your Audience

Yes, we use social media calendars as a way to stay on top of our key messages as a business. We choose our posts and craft our copy carefully so that our messaging is aligned with our company values, vision, and mission. What can easily be overlooked is what our social media followers actually want. Don’t just push your message to your audience—get to know them and pay attention to what they really want to hear from you and prioritize that over your agenda.

3. Oversharing Branded Content

There’s a fine line between frequency and consistency and hard-sell and spammy. You want to post often enough that your presence is felt online, but not so often that you seem to be all about selling and peddling products and services. Always post a good mix of branded content and content from other credible, relevant sources.

4. Getting Too Personal

Social Media is a great way to build connections with your audience. It helps give your brand a more relatable voice that real people can connect with. However, sharing too much personal information online can also be off putting. Always keep in mind that audiences—no matter how much they want to get to know the people behind the brand—will still expect you to be professional. Be wary of adding things to your calendar that could potentially reflect badly on your brand. Tread carefully, especially when adding anything that’s too personal or that could be seen as overly controversial about your business or industry.

Hope my answer helps! If you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email and I will get back to you as soon as I can.