5 things you should be doing on social media:

1. Building connections The first step to creating a presence on any social media platform is to build connections...and then build some more and then some more. Just like the name indicates, social media is "social". That is why every social media platform out there allows you to build connections, although they may refer to them differently. Facebook calls them friends, Twitter refers to them as followers, YouTube calls them subscribers, and LinkedIn calls them connections. Regardless of the title, they're all the same — an audience your business can connect with.

1. Talking to people Once you've established some connections, you need to talk to them! Yep, we're back to the word "social" again. Consumers like to use social media as a way to talk to businesses and ask them questions. It is inevitable that you'll get a complaint or two tossed in there as well, but the important thing is that you reply. Leaving your customers hanging never reflects well on your brand.
2. Sharing helpful content Think about why people are interested in following your brand on social media. Are they looking for helpful tips, sale information, tutorials, behind-the-scenes videos, pretty pictures, giveaways? More than likely, it's a combination of all of these things. Keep your followers coming back for more by sharing content they're actually interested in.
3. Posting consistently There's nothing worse than clicking over to a company's Facebook page and discovering that it hasn't been updated since last spring. Make sure you're keeping a consistent posting schedule on all of your social media platforms. If you find that you just can't keep up, consider creating an editorial calendar or hiring a professional to take over!
4. Watching the competition Social media is a great place to keep an eye on what your competitors are doing. You can find a wealth of ideas this way, as well as some warnings as to what not to do. Which brings us to....

5 things you should NOT be doing on social media:

1. #Using #Too #Many #Hashtags #Are #You #Annoyed #Yet #Well #So #Are #Your #Followers #When #You #Use #This #Many #Hashtags. Once you go over five hashtags, you're just cluttering your followers feeds and giving your posts a spammy vibe. Stick to a limited number of relevant hashtags and forget about the rest.
2. Posting irrelevant content Just because you think that cute kitten video is funny doesn't mean it is relevant to your brand's message. Think twice before posting content that doesn't align well with your marketing goals on social media.
3. Posting the same exact message on all social media channels This one can be tough. It's so easy to just copy and paste your Facebook post onto every other platform you're on. But think about it... If you post the same exact thing on Twitter that you posted on Facebook, why would people want to follow you on both? Every social media platform is different and, as such, you should present each message in a way that is specific to that forum.
4. Responding unprofessionally Sure, people can be rude on social media. They can say mean, inappropriate, and angry things. But it is never — I repeat, never — okay for you, as a business, to respond in kind. Kill them with kindness if you have to, but never go off the ledge like Amy's Bakery did a few years ago.
5. Hiding negative comments When you get those angry and rude comments on social media, don't delete them. First, it will only make the situation worse when the commenter notices that you deleted his/her message. Second, by leaving the post up and addressing it head-on, other customers get to see how you dealt with an angry customer and what your company did to make it right. Finally, remember that there are always exceptions to the rule. Always use your better judgement to determine if a crude or inappropriate message needs to come down immediately so you don't offend others.

Is there anything else you would add to this list? Let us know if you think we missed anything!