Social media can be a powerful tool for your business. Whether you're just starting up or you've been in business for months, the right tactics will help you grow and expand quickly. However, there are far too many people doing the wrong things with their platforms. Here are the top five mistakes people are making, so they get nowhere with social media.

Telling People to "Buy, Buy, Buy!"

If you just want your customers to buy, you're not going to create the relationship that you need to actually sell. You're not getting to know people on a more personal level, and show no interest in actually helping them. Your posts tell people that you're just serving yourself.

Yes, you want a few "buy now" posts, but you also want to offer something helpful for your customers. You could share a news report from your industry or answer a few questions potential customers have had. Find a way to connect with people on your social media pages.

Content Overload

You can have too much going on with your social media platforms. People need the chance to see your posts and act on them, and by posting too many in a 24 hour period, you don't give them chance to do that. It's the same as giving them far too many "calls to actions" to perform at the same time.

It's important to look at your social media platforms and decide on the best times to post. Think about when your target audience is likely to be online to act on your calls to action. When are they more likely to read anything you post? Schedule your best content for then and spend the rest of your time replying to messages and commendscomments.

Posting Irrelevant Content

As well as posting at the right time, you need to post content that is relevant. The odd post wants to be about buying a product or investing in a service, but you also want to look at questions your potential customers are asking or share news related to your industry.

If something isn't relevant, your audience will thing think you don't "get" them. They'll believe that your products won't really help and will look elsewhere.

Not Replying to Your Customers

You spend all your time posting something about your products and ignore the questions your customers are asking. This is a great way to get nowhere with your social media. All you're telling your customers is that their questions aren't important and you don't care.

Give them the answers they need as soon as possible. This could be in the form of a post on your page or you may just reply to a tweet directly if it isn't a common question. Whatever you do, make it clear that you value the things your customers are saying.

Writing Far Too Much

You've put a huge essay on your page about something you're passionate about. Nobody is going to read it all, unless they're just as passionate. Chances are, your customers aren't passionate about the same things you are.

There's a reason Twitter keeps posts to 140 characters. It's a snippet for people to quickly read. Facebook allows longer, but you don't want posts to be too long. Think about the type of posts that are easily read on phones. If the "continue reading" link comes up, it's too long.

While you want to use social media, you need to use it in the best way to get more sales and attract more customers. The five things above will stop you from getting the sales you're dreaming about seeing.