It’s easy to make these mistakes while using Facebook, but that doesn’t mean you should make them!

Facebook can be one of the most useful tools in a real estate agent’s marketing apparatus, but there are definite mistakes that one can make while using the platform.

So with that in mind, here are six common Facebook mistakes that you’ll want to avoid:

1. Being Overly Promotional – Recent surveys of Facebook users suggest that people want to see interesting stories and updates from friends and Pages, rather than overly promotional ads for products or services. Furthermore, Facebook has heeded those survey results, and has tweaked the coding for its News Feed to accommodate more interesting, less promotional posts. So by all means, share listings and share information about your business, but avoid the cheap sales lingo.

2. Deleting/Not Responding to Facebook Comments/Posts – The beautiful thing about social media is how it allows effortless communication with a wide range of people, so why on earth would you not take advantage of that? Whether it’s someone inquiring about a listing or a client praising your real estate moxie, take a few seconds to respond and get a conversation going.

3. Posting Too Much – We’ve all experienced the excessive poster on Facebook, the person who seems to do nothing else throughout the day other than share things on their profile. Please, do not become that person! The last thing you want to do is irritate your friends/followers, so keep track of how many things you’re sharing and at what times.

4. Sharing Bad Photos – We all know how important strong listing photographs are, and it’s similarly important that you extend those qualities to your social media feeds. With the preponderance of hi-def cell phone cameras, everyone knows what a good picture looks like, so maintain those high standards on your Facebook feed.

5. Using an Incomplete Profile – This one astounds us, and we see it more times than we care to admit. If you’re going to create a Facebook profile, do not stop at uploading a headshot; additionally, include your contact information (including the address of your office), your likes/dislikes and some interesting character traits. Facebook users look for those things, and it disappoints them immensely when the profile is incomplete.

6. Formatting Posts Incorrectly – Finally, nothing screams “amateur hour” more than a poorly formatted post. When sharing something on Facebook, make sure that you use complete sentences and proper grammar, and avoid obsequious hashtags, the “@” symbol and other details that don’t belong in a post.