Two recent surveys caught my attention.

Deloitte asked chief marketing officers about their social media spending and discovered that current levels of spending have increased 234 percent since 2009. Even with that huge uptick, it’s less than what CMOs expected to spend in 2016. Despite the extra dollars, the same survey shows that most CMOs also report that the results have not matched their expectations. Forty one percent of the CMOs indicated that they haven’t been able to show the impact of their social media spending.

The second survey, done by Sprout Social, asked consumers about their impressions of how brands behave on social media. It turns out they’re annoying the heck out of their audience. Over 57 percent of the respondents believe that brands post too many promotions on their social channels. But that was just the start of the complaints. No wonder the CMOs are finding the results they’re investing in less than stellar.

Whether you spend any money on social or not, odds are you are investing time on at least a few of the channels. If you’re going to invest the time, you sure don’t want to alienate your audience.

Keep in mind how important these channels have become. Eighty five percent of social media users currently follow brands. Seventy five percent of consumers have purchased something because they saw it on social. Fifty seven percent of people are more likely to buy from a brand they follow. Sixty percent of people follow a brand because they’re interested in promotions, but 46 percent will unfollow if they post too many. It’s a very fine line. You want to promote enough that they are moved to action, but not so much that the action is to unfollow you.

On social, people need to see a promotion or special two to four times on average before they’re ready to purchase. Nearly 20 percent need to see it five to eight times. What are the annoyances that drive consumers from your social media channels? According to the Sprout Social survey, they are:

Posting too many promotions. This is about making sure you do something other than push your products and services. It’s not that they don’t want to know what you have going on. But they also want you to be helpful, conversational and interactive. Find a better balance.

Using slang and jargon. When you’ve worked in an industry or a specific company for a long time, you forget that you use acronyms, code names and industry-speak.

Not having any personality on their accounts. This is what happens when you “create content” as opposed to just reaching out and connecting. First, your brand needs a distinct personality. Second, you need to know how to convey that in all mediums. When you read your company’s social media posts, they should sound like you, personality and all.

Trying to be funny when they’re not. This is a common-sense thing. Some topics are funny or lend themselves to a humorous twist, and others are not. Again, this goes back to your brand. Does it have a sense of humor? How does that manifest itself? What does it look like? That’s how it should show up on social media as well.

Not replying to my message. This is the biggest offense you can commit. If someone actually engages with you in a social channel, in front of all of your fans/followers, you simply cannot afford to ignore them. Besides, it’s rude.

The importance of social media as a channel is undeniable. Be sure you’re leveraging your time and investment.