With their ever growing popularity, social media platforms have undoubtedly become the most effective way for small business owners to grow their client base. But, as simple as it is to post an ad on these sites, there are several pitfalls that you will need to avoid in order to make the most of these new mediums. In episode #134, Gene Marks and Elizabeth Larkin along with special guest, Hannah Stacy discuss four common advertising mistakes that can negatively impact your social media presence.

2:44—Today's Topic: What Mistakes Should I Avoid When Advertising on Social Media?

3:18—One common mistake that business owners make is targeting the wrong audience. As a business owner, there are three types of audience settings available to you on Facebook: core audience, custom audience, and lookalike audience. Be sure to test out which particular audience responds the most to your posts before you invest in an expensive campaign.

6:27—Avoid using bad photos. While you don't need to hire a professional photographer for your ads, make sure that you have a strong grasp of how to take your own quality pictures.

9:34—Don't abandon on your business page once you set it up. In order to keep your audience members engaged, you need to be posting on your page at least once a day.

13:15—Keep your “Events Page" updated; this enables your followers to spread the word to their friends and followers.

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Elizabeth: Welcome back to the Small Biz Ahead podcast. I'm Elizabeth Larkin from The Hartford. I'm here with Hannah Stacy, our special guest, also from The Hartford. And Gene Marks, our small business expert and owner.

Gene: Yes.

Elizabeth: You used to get upset when I called you our small business expert and now you're just like ...

Gene: Yeah. I'm like, I hear it enough-

Elizabeth: You've given it up.

Gene: You know, it's funny, because people refer to me as a small business expert. I mean, I've been running a business for a long time. I don't wanna say I'm an expert or anything 'cause I meet so many people that are so much smarter than me and do things better. But, all I can do is share what I've learned.

Elizabeth: The other thing is, you work with like 500 clients who are all small business owners.

Gene: Yeah. But, I don't know. Again, that doesn't make me an expert. It just makes me experienced with a lot of small businesses.

Elizabeth: Do you think you learn more from watching the m...