Social media has become one of the most important elements of running a business. A successful Instagram can drive a massive amount of traffic to a website and Facebook can take customer service to the next level. The thing many business may not know is that poorly run social media channels can negatively affect their business and the legitimacy of their brand. Here are my top four social media mistakes to avoid:

1. Do not by followers or likes. Ever! Most companies and the average social media user will be able to tell when your numbers are inflated. Let your social media pages grow organically. The whole point of a social media presence is to give information to those you are trying to sell to. If you purchase followers, spam accounts are not going to translate into sales!

2. Branding. Your social media should be indicative of your brand. Make sure that your social media pages are consistent across each channel and convey the same message. Users should be able to see a photo and immediately recognize that it came from you!

3. Frequency. Try to post at least once a day so your followers are always getting fresh, new content. In the beginning, try experimenting with your frequency of posts and track your results with analytics. Once you find out what your users prefer- do that!

4. Quality. Social media users prefer original, quality content. Do not post photos that are blurry, cropped or pixelated; they will not be received well. Instead, hold off for the next photo. Constant low quality images will only decrease the value of your brand!

Flickr / Photo by Jason Howie.