Don't be crazy - having a strong presence on social media is crucial to your business. It's free marketing and advertising, after all. Not to mention that more and more, people are looking online for help in almost every industry.

However, your social media accounts could also be hurting your chances of securing that next client. Too often, our ambitions can exceed reality. By signing up for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, LinkedIn, and more, you may be hoping for increased visibility. However, with the demands of your schedule, posting regularly may not be a possibility and you can come across as inactive, indifferent, and inconsistent to anyone who comes across your account.

Missing Out On Business

Many businesses and entrepreneurs sign up for every social media platform because they're afraid of missing out on business. If you put all of your energy into Instagram, who are you ignoring on Twitter? The truth is, if you can get a handle on your demographics, you'll see where the real attention is coming from.

Instead: Use the traffic analysis on your website or through Google Analytics, to find out where your traffic is coming from. Look to your existing social media accounts and see where you're getting the most attention. Take the time you're wasting on platforms that get little results to increase your presence where things are already working for you.

Autoposting

Many platforms have a feature that allows you to autopost from one to another. For example, when you write a post on your Facebook page, it automatically generates a link to your Twitter account. While this may seem like a great idea initially, this practice actually leads to a 70% decrease in interaction. Most social media platforms favor native content, which means your autopost are going to get less attention in a newsfeed. Add to that the less-than-ideal formatting that the automated service provides, and your post isn't visually appealing either.

Instead: If you have multiple accounts, craft messages separately and in a style unique to the platforms you use. 

Involvement

If you're low on time, you won't be able to interact well on each platform. Success on social media requires personal connection and conversation. If you've overdone it and can't take part in the conversation, your followers will be able to tell.

Instead: Cut down to one account (or two) that you can manage well, and get involved! "Talk" to other users, comment on posts, and create a real presence.