Most of the challenges financial advisors have with social media arise because they don’t know how to use the various networks, says Geoff Evans, founder of the Social Media Coach in London, Ont.

Networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter allow you to share your expertise with a large audience. However, recognizing the proper way to post your message — and having an audience that actually wants to receive this communication — is key.

Evans offers tips for correcting the most common mistakes:

1. Posting on the wrong network
Many advisors are more focused on efficiency than using each social network properly, Evans says. That is why auto-feeding posts to multiple networks using social-media management programs such as Hootsuite and Sprout Social is so popular.

But each social-media platform has its own set of expectations regarding content, style and audience. And not all messages should be posted through all platforms.

So, you must consider each group you are addressing and the most appropriate social-media platform for each message.

For example, using hash tags on Twitter to connect discussions regarding certain themes is extremely popular and effective. However, this technique does not work on LinkedIn; posts meant for Twitter will look out of place on LinkedIn. In fact, they may even annoy your connections.

“Those people who [auto-feed] a tweet into LinkedIn drive everyone else crazy,” Evans says.

2. Letting someone else do all the work
Having an effective social-media presence does not mean signing up for an account and letting your assistant manage it completely. You must have a say on what is posted and provide the context that will tell readers why they should be interested.

After all, you are the professional with the experience and insight to understand why certain topics matter to your followers.

Also, you never know when a client will mention one of those posts attributed to you. Being caught unaware of such a post would be embarrassing.

Take an hour at the beginning of the week to select content and add context to the material you have chosen to post, Evans says. If you feel you are unable to contribute more time, then let a team member or marketing professional manage it the rest of the week. Just make sure you are kept in the loop.

3. Remaining passive
Advisors often join the various networks and believe their following will simply grow with little effort, Evans says. Instead, you must be proactive in building those connections.

Don’t expect the right audience to find you. Find the groups that mirror your client base on LinkedIn and Facebook, which use group pages that can cover any topics ranging from professional affiliations to various hobbies. On Twitter, use hash tags related to topics relevant to you and your target audience.

This is the first part in a two-part series on improving your social-media strategy.

Next: Building relationships.