It’s not easy to build a social media presence without making some mistakes along the way. You’re bound to make mistakes as you learn how to gain more Followers and encourage higher engagement on your page. Problem is, mistakes can cost you.

On Twitter, there are certain practices that turn people off your brand and stop them from engaging with your content. Although buying Twitter Followers and other forms of engagement can counter those losses, it’s still important to recognize mistakes so you can avoid them and facilitate a steady growth.

So, here are the top 8 mistakes you didn’t know are impeding your engagement rate on Twitter. Take heed and try to remedy them to up your numbers.

You don’t engage your followers

If you want engagement, then you should engage your audience. This seems obvious enough but for some reason, even big and experienced Twitter accounts still forget it’s the first rule of business. Just take a look at how this company tweets like a robot on the platform.

Your goal for every tweet you send out should be to start conversations. Adopt a warm and conversational tone in your tweets that encourages people to join in with their opinions. You can also ask questions, include inspirational quotes, inject humor or just share something newsworthy.

You post to the wrong people

Before you start any campaign, you should identify who your audiences are first. That way, you can strategize on how best to reach your audience with your posts.

Don’t just post when it’s convenient for you – be sure to tweet when your target market is online. Otherwise, no one who is interested (and who matters!) will see your post. It’s unlikely that a lot of people will click your account and scroll through your past tweets, so it’s best to post when they’re likely to be online.

Learn how to make the most of your tweets by looking at your Analytics. Observe the times when your tweets get the most engagement and conduct test tweets to identify the best time to post for your business.

Your posts are too short

There was a time when shorter tweets were believed to be better when it comes to generating engagement. A recent study with a larger sample, however, challenges this long-accepted truth.

The data points out that longer posts actually get more engagement. So, in general, the more you use up that character limit in your post, the more likely it will get Retweeted or Liked.

You talk about your business all the time

When it comes to advertising your products on a platform where people go to be social and not to be advertised to, it’s always wise to follow the 80-20 Rule. That is, 80% of your posts should be non-promotional and only 20% should be allotted to product advertising.

Instead of tweeting “Buy this” or overly-promotional posts, tweet something your audience will find entertaining or informative. Just make sure you stick to topics that reflect your brand values.

You post too much

There are no hard and fast rules on how often you should post on Twitter and other social media channels, in general. Studies have varying data and internet marketers have different opinions. However, sending tweets quickly one after another is considered a bad practice and will not result in more engagement for you.

Don’t flood your Followers with your tweets or you risk annoying them. Spread your tweets evenly through the day. Pick a good tweet frequency – 3-7 tweets per day max, according to some, or 5-20 tweets max according to others – and make sure you check your engagement levels at different times before settling for a frequency to stick to.

To check how well your tweet is performing, go to Twitter Analytics and sign in with your Twitter account.

When you’re picking out a tweet frequency, remember that 20 tweets may work well for a brand with 200,000 Followers but not for a brand with 200 Followers only. Create a strategy that’s appropriate the size and intentions of your business.

You post too little

No tweets equals no engagement. With the incredible volume of tweets constantly flooding Twitter, if you don’t post often you’ll be lost in the ocean. You need to create some buzz around your name because this is linked to an increased engagement rate – we’ll talk more about this in detail in the next item.

So, strike a good balance between not too much and not too little when it comes to the frequency of posting. Remember too, that if you post too little, your viewers are likely going to forget you. This is the information age and your viewers, with their short attention spans, are bombarded with hundreds of pieces of information everyday.

You don’t engage with influencers in your field

Twitter is a social community. You shouldn’t limit your engagement to people who are following you. Go beyond your own posts and engage with influencers in your niche.

A recent study suggests that the higher your social authority is, the higher the chances your tweets will get more engagement.

How do you establish yourself as an authority? Start making your presence known by engaging with influencers in your field. Do something that will get you noticed and will get people talking about you or your tweets. For instance, comment on their posts and contribute something of value to the conversation.

You can also establish your authority by building a solid following. Kickstart this process by buying Twitter Followers and other signals of engagement, such as Retweets and Likes. You can attract a larger organic following with your bought Followers because people tend to Follow those with a massive following. In psychology, it’s called the Bandwagon Effect and it’s pretty strong.

You use too many hashtags

Previous studies have shown that using too many hashtags in your Twitter post can negatively affect engagement. One study indicates that just 1 or 2 hashtags can get you 21% more engagement, compared to using 3 or more.

It’s not clear exactly why people don’t engage more with tweets containing more hashtags, but as you can see below, too many hashtags make your post looks spammy.

Keep your hashtags to a minimum, and avoid distracting your audience with them while looking like an amateur social media user.

Knowledge is Power!

Stop sabotaging your own success and avoid making these 8 mistakes that affect your engagement rate. If you have been making these mistakes in the past, then it’s time for a quick turnaround.

Mistakes are part of the learning process but knowing what kind of tweets people like to ignore, and when, will help you get the most of your marketing campaigns. So keep learning, sidestep these simple roadblocks, and get ready for the Twitter success you’ve been dreaming of.