Top Social Media Mistakes You’re Probably Making

Let’s face it: social media can be tricky, especially for B2B businesses. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, unsure of what’s working, or worse, unknowingly fall into bad habits that do more harm than good. 

Don’t worry—we’ve got your back. Let’s break down the common mistakes and help you steer clear of them.

1. Inconsistent Posting

If your posting schedule looks like a “when I feel like it” situation, we’ve got a problem. Showing up on social media once in a while and expecting engagement is like hitting the gym once a month and wondering why you don’t have abs. Consistency is key, folks.

Consistency builds trust, and trust builds engagement. But don’t confuse “posting regularly” with “spamming people’s feeds”—nobody wants to see your brand six times a day (seriously, don’t be that account). Instead, focus on posting content that’s relevant, valuable, and tailored to your audience.

LinkedIn isn’t TikTok, so leave the dance challenges behind.

Pro tip: Get a content calendar. Tools like Buffer or Hootsuite can save you from those “Oops, I forgot to post this week” moments. Bonus: We’ve got a Guide to Scheduling Tools, right here.

2. Overloading on Hashtags

But if your posts look like a #spilled #scrabble #board, you’re doing it wrong. Did you know Instagram is phasing out the “follow hashtags” feature? Probably because no one actually follows hashtags. Do you? Yeah, we didn’t think so.

Focus on a few targeted hashtags that make sense for your industry. For example, if you’re a SaaS company, stick to #SmallBizTips or #B2BSolutions. Leave the #YOLO and #Blessed for personal accounts. (Or better yet, leave them in 2014 where they belong.)

Quality over quantity, always. No one wants to read a caption that’s half hashtags.

3. Super Long, Tall Infographics

Infographics are meant to make information digestible, not give your audience a scrolling marathon. If your graphic feels longer than a CVS receipt, it’s time to simplify. People have short attention spans—keep your visuals clear, concise, and to the point.

We’ve been there, too. Take this infographic we made a few years ago—it’s a little… ambitious. Let’s just say it could’ve done with fewer words and less scrolling. Lesson learned.

Pro tip: Break giant infographics into a series of carousel posts. Not only is it easier for your audience to follow, but it also gives you multiple pieces of content to post. Win-win!

See the difference? Compare these first few slides to the old version:

Much better, right? It captures attention without making your audience work for it. 

4. Oversharing on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is not Facebook. Say it with me: LinkedIn is not Facebook. Yes, it’s great to show personality, but oversharing about your personal life—like your divorce or your cat’s health scare—is not what people signed up for. (Unless it’s me, because I secretly live for drama. But most people? Hard pass.)

That said, a little personality can go a long way. Share stories that resonate with your audience and tie back to your business values or lessons learned. Keep it professional yet relatable.

Remember: LinkedIn is where people look for value, not drama.

5. Mistaking Spam Followers for Real Engagement

Follower count can be deceiving. If you’re benchmarking your success against accounts with 20K followers, make sure they’re legit. Bots, fake accounts, and spam followers might inflate numbers, but they won’t engage, buy, or share your content.

Having 800 real, engaged followers is worth way more than 20,000 fakes. Real followers comment, share, and actually care about your content. Build relationships, not just numbers.

6. Wasting Time on X (Twitter)

Unless your target audience consists of journalists, politicians, or people who are weirdly into celebrity feuds, Twitter—sorry, X— might not be worth your time. We have to admit: for most B2B businesses, X isn’t the powerhouse platform it used to be. 

So, why bother? There are platforms that are far more conducive to reaching the audience you actually care about, like LinkedIn or Instagram, where professionals are actively engaging, networking, and sharing valuable content.

Instead: Redirect your precious time and energy into creating thought-provoking, share-worthy posts on LinkedIn. Engage with people who actually want to hear from you. It’s a far better investment of your time than trying to stand out in the noise on X. Trust us, your followers will thank you.

OK, Now You Know What Not to Do…

Avoiding these mistakes is a solid first step in leveling up your social media game. But we’re not leaving you hanging. We’ve got the answers to the burning question: “What should I actually be doing on social media to make it work for my B2B business?”

Good news: we’ve got a guide for that too. 

Click here for the Top XX Things You Should Be Doing on Social Media as a B2B Business.

Any Questions?

The goal of an outsourced digital marketing agency is to understand your business and your brand voice to then let the world know how awesome you are.

We start every engagement with a Brand Storytelling Session where we identify your unique brand voice. Then, our team uses bi-weekly client calls, and shared content calendars to make sure you know what’s happening.

We’ll bring you fresh ideas from our kick-a** creative team from a relationship built on trust. Because that’s the beauty of digital marketing.

For those who are interested in learning more about the difference between outsourced marketing and in-house marketing, read on here.