Social media is now the most powerful medium when it comes to marketing products and services. This is because people use social media as their preferred means of interaction with family, friends and colleagues. For example, Facebook has more than one billion users. This means that Facebook has more users than the total number of people living in North America. This startling statistic is a clear indication of the potential that social media holds for marketers. Unfortunately, many people do not full take advantage of the market size on social media. Instead, they make simple mistakes that only serve to reduce their influence on social media. Here are social media marketing mistakes that you are making. Measuring Success in Social Media Using the Wrong Metrics Measuring success in social media is difficult because different people apply different standards to their campaigns on social media. You need to recognize and apply the right kind of standards before you can conclusively say that your social media campaign is successful. Unfortunately, many people do not recognize the right kind of standards to apply. For example, you may measure your success by looking at the number of followers or fans you have. This is a grave mistake. Instead, you should measure your success by looking at the interactive nature of your social media campaigns. For instance, how many people commented on your status, did people retweet your tweet or was your photo on Instagram an instant hit. Operating Many Accounts on Social Media Too much of something is poisonous. This is especially true when it comes to the world of social media. To put it differently, you should not run many social media accounts at the same time. Running too many social media accounts will overstretch your staff, reduce your efficiency and confuse your followers. Take you time to develop, grow and sustain one social media account before you open another one. In other words, do not just open an account with new websites on social media. Take your time, analyze the potential market provided by that new social media website and then give this website some time to stabilize before you open an account with it.  Focusing On You and Your Product You can only sell your product on social media by focusing on your consumer and not on your product. This may sound a bit strange but it is true. Constantly praising your product and posting updates about it will bore your followers. Remember, your followers come to social media to interact and not to hear about news and products. Therefore, it is important for you to frame updates about your products in a way that resonates with the everyday life of your followers. For example, post a picture of your product with a caption wishing your followers a good day. It is a simple gesture but it is also highly effective. It will lead to many comments, shares, tweets and new followers. Lack of Communication between Various Departments This is a fatal error for many businesses and it often leads to major social media marketing mistakes. For example, the finance department should answer a financial question asked by a follower on social media through the social media expert that you hire. However, many social media experts answer these kinds of technical questions without at first communicating with the relevant departments. These answers by those in charge of social media in your company often lead to reprisals from followers because of their unsatisfactory nature. You, on the other hand, should not suffer from a similar fate. Ensure that your departments communicate with social media experts on standard questions. These social media experts should also direct complex questions of a technical nature to specific departments within your company. Lack of an Effective Social Media Strategy This is the epicentre of all social media marketing mistakes. Many companies jump into the world of social media marketing because everyone is doing it. Unfortunately, they jump into this complex world with a concrete plan of how they will carry out their marketing campaigns. In the end, they end up losing followers and wasting valuable resources. Do not allow this to happen to you. Avoid these social media marketing mistakes by developing a concise but comprehensive strategy on social media marketing. This strategy is your ticket to success in the world of social media.