Social Media, oh the highs and the lows. From algorithm changes, to new layouts (I miss you old Snapchat!) It can be hard to keep up and often it can be downright overwhelming. It’s no wonder that with this constant evolution, many businesses fall behind.
If you are one of these businesses that are stuck treading water in the social game, read on, you might just find a solution. Or, if you can’t find your solution, call us, we would be glad to have a chat.
In the meantime, here are six reasons your socials are stalling along with insights on how to remedy them:
One: Inconsistency
Bingo! I’ve put this at the top of the list because in my line of work, this is either THE reason or a major part of the reason why businesses fall flat socially. If content is king, consistency is queen my friends.
It may sound like a lot but if your business is not posting at least 5-7 times per week on the major social channels you are using, then it’s time to shape up. Keep in mind this advice is just for local businesses. If you are an ecommerce business, I’ve got some news for you – triple that frequency.
Much like an exercise regime, you will only get out what you put in. If you struggle to find the time, I suggest using a planning calendar and batch creating your content on a fortnightly or even monthly basis. Compliment this by using a scheduler like hootsuite to schedule your posts.
Two: Your content kind of…sucks
Sorry (not sorry). If you are constantly trying to sell to your audience or are posting uninspired copy that has been haphazardly slapped together, your engagement will reflect this. Your followers will lose interest and probably stop paying attention to anything you post.
Let’s pretend we have two social business pages – one that has a clear content strategy vs one that lacks direction. Now let’s imagine these business pages are people… and you’re about to go on a date with them (stay with me here). The first person (page) is interesting, funny, passionate, they’re listening to you, they’re telling you cool things you didn’t know and basically, they just ‘get’ you. How lovely, right?
Now, you’re on your second date. This person rarely speaks and when they do, they’re either boring you to death, giving you a bunch of reasons about why they’re so great and why you should be with them or they’re suddenly asking you to marry them! Confusing…and awkward.
The relationship with your audience in in some ways quite similar to a romantic relationship; it needs to be nurtured, cared for and handled with the utmost respect. This is what carefully crafted content is for.
Three: You Don’t know your Audience
Let me ask you a question; Who is your ideal customer? You might say “umm, women between the age of 25-35 in Australia”. To that I would politely reply “Ok great… good luck with your marketing efforts”.
This is not your ideal customer – this is a very broad target market. I personally fall into that category and there is a lot of crap put there that my friends might buy that I would never ever buy. Why? Because I have fantastic taste. Seriously though, there is so much more to your customers than gender, age and location.
When doing customer research ask questions like ‘What are their problems?’ ‘What are they struggling with? ‘What makes them feel good?’… all of this information is important.
You need to deep dive in to who you should be targeting. While you are at it, take a seriously good hard look at your social media analytics – it’s there for a reason guys.
Four: You have bought followers
Yep, I’m going there. Don’t buy followers. This will come back to haunt you. If in the past, you have paid for followers or have engaged a “professional” to grow your following, this is not going to be beneficial to your business in the long run.
Already Facebook has killed of thousands (if not millions) of fake accounts and Instagram are now doing the same. There will come a time when all of those fake followers will disappear.
Not only this, numbers aren’t everything! Instead, create amazing content for your customers that will lead to sales. Would you rather a social profile with 20k followers that is making no money and has no engagement, or would you prefer a profile with 3k followers that love your brand and will actually buy what you are selling? I know what I would prefer.
Five: You’re Spreading Yourself Too Thin
If you are using every social media platform under the sun, please take a moment to stop and really think about whether this is a good use of your time. As a business owner, time is money so be sure you are investing your time wisely.
If you’re getting high engagement across all platforms, congratulations to you, continue on. If not, it’s time to make a plan as to which platforms are going to give you the most bang for your buck. For example, a B2B business would likely start with LinkedIn and Facebook and add in other platforms as needed. A homewares brand would perhaps start with Instagram and Pinterest and add on more platforms as their goals evolve.
This should all be part of your Social Strategy; which leads me to my next point.
Six : You have no clear strategy
Within our agency we are big on strategy. We have a strategy for EVERYTHING! Why? Because we do not believe in wasting our time, or our client’s money. This is exactly what will happen if you do not have a solid strategy in place for your social media efforts.
Yes, there are times when divergence from the strategy is required, or when you want to test and try new things, I totally get that but having a strategy in place will help with getting you back on track and reaching your intended goal.
What is needed in a solid strategy? I believe there are 6 key components to be considered:
- Budget and time allowance
- Which social Media Tools and platforms will be used
- Actionable steps per week
- How this will tie in and compliment your other marketing efforts
- In depth research on intended audience, competitors, trends
- End Goal (i.e conversions/ sales/ phone calls/ enquiries etc.)
Yes, there are many more things that need to be considered when piecing together a robust strategy, but this is just a starting point to put you on the front foot.
Finally, here is our shameless plug – If you need a strategy for your business or brand or would like us for us to audit your marketing strategy and advise you on what needs to be done for your business to ultimately make more money, fill out our enquiry form and let us do the hard part for you.