Social media is a multipurpose resource tool. It can make growing your business and customer base so much easier. You have the digital capability to connect with anyone in the world—old friends or classmates, new prospects, extended family or someone in need of a solution to a problem. However, there’s a right way and a wrong way to use social media as a business tool. Below are three common mistakes network marketers make with their social media pages. Make sure you aren’t making any of them!

Social media overload As a LifePharm IBO, you have the luxury to work where you want, when you want. However, this doesn’t mean you have unlimited time to spend updating your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest pages and responding to every single comment throughout your day. You’ll end up spreading yourself too thin and missing out on opportunities to build your business offline. At LifePharm Corporate, we update our social media pages daily—if you aren’t following us you’re missing out on a valuable opportunity to expand your reach quickly. Instead of coming up with your own content, simply share the corporate posts on your social media accounts and add a personal message or comment of your own! That personal touch is all you need without needing to find daily, original content to post. For our new skin care serum Lamiderm Apex, we’ve also created graphics that are tailor made for social media. We even tell you what to say. Download them to simplify your social media efforts.

Valuable content missing The sole goal of your social media pages shouldn’t be to sell. You are looking to brand yourself as someone who provides value by helping to educate others on the LifePharm Products and Opportunity. Always think about how to help your audience and share something they would find interesting, heartwarming, educational, funny or useful. Those types of shares will earn you followers who come back to hear/read what you have to say. You can post LifePharm Product videos, your own personal experiences with the LifePharm Products or Business, before-and-after pictures and endorsements, current promotions and much more!

Lack of engagement “Social media engagement” by the very definition, means engaging with others! Think about attending a networking event. You don’t just walk in and isolate yourself. The same etiquette applies to social media forums. You have to engage with your audience by posting, commenting and providing them something of value (see number two above). Remember, you are building a network of followers. If they “retweet” a post, find something to reciprocate on. Failing to do so not only conveys to your followers the lack of interest you have in sharing or conversing with them, but also could lead to the eventual deactivation of your social media pages. If you don’t update your content regularly, sites such as Facebook can decrease the number of people who see your posts until you become irrelevant. For more tips on how to increase your social media success, check out last week’s episode of What’s Up LifePharm for Vice President of Field Development Steve Brown’s "Three Easy Steps for Social Media Success" here.