Revenue earned by US business owners who use social networking is expected to be in the billions over the next couple of years. If you haven’t taken full advantage of the benefits of social networking, you’re missing out. Now is the time to jump on the social networking bandwagon …But before you start tweeting and sending out countless messages about your new product or service, here are 3 things you will need to avoid:

Avoid being too ‘salesy’. One of the biggest mistakes a business owner can make is using aggressive marketing tactics. For example, if you send out spammy tweets about your new product or service on Twitter, your followers will eventually get fed up and leave your network. It’s okay to send out a business relevant message once in a while, but don’t over do it. Remember, when people join your network, they want to be inspired and learn something new about you and the industry your business involves. Most of your followers will care less about your up coming 20% off sale. Earning revenue with social networking takes time. You must focus on establishing credibility first.

Be choosy about your “friends”. It is better to have only 20 Facebook friends who value your friendship and who are more likely to become potential customers than 2000 friends that you have nothing in common with. If you’re promoting your business on Facebook and you have hundreds of friends who are not interested in your business, your marketing efforts will fall by the weigh-side.

Make sure you are in the right location. In other words, spend time up front doing analysis, research and goal setting. This will make your social media plan easier to execute and will avoid the ‘spammed’ messages from the get-go. Find out where your customers are located (LinkedIn could be the way to go for many small businesses), and check out what other companies are doing that you like/dislike. It may take some time to gain the audience you are hoping for, but if you chose the right location people will eventually come for the insider information you provide.

Lastly, make sure you proofread your content before you post it online. Everyone makes mistakes once in a while; however, it is unprofessional to have too many obvious spelling errors in your text. There is nothing more embarrassing than a marketing message that reads: (Hello to my FB Frends: Get 20% off you nex purchase!)