When Social Media Doesn’t Work

What happens if your social media marketing strategy just isn’t working anymore?

“If you want your small business to succeed, you have to be using social media to market yourself to your audience.”

You have been told this over and over again in various ways. So, you create a presence on Facebook, you open an account on Twitter and you start scrolling through Pinterest. Weeks pass without even the slightest change in business status.

Sure, you have collected a few likes, a few followers and even a couple of shares. However, you were promised that social media would cause you to have a cliental, too large for you to handle, overnight. You ask yourself, “What is wrong?” and quickly become overwhelmed by the lack of interest in what you have to offer. The good news: You can fix it.

What You’re Doing Wrong

In order for you to grasp social media marketing and everything it can do for your business, you first have to understand what you are doing to inhibit your own success. If you find yourself with a lack of followers or you are losing the followers that you have, you should analyze your strategy.

  • Too Many Posts or Updates

We all know that one person on our accounts that gives an update every single time they eat or go to the bathroom. No thanks. It makes me click “unfollow” quicker than I can say it. There is no easier way to turn off your following than through constant updates that bring nothing to the table.

  • Too Few Posts or Updates

I know what you’re thinking. “What do you want from me?!” However, there is a fine line between too many posts and too few. I have followed several small businesses throughout my social media life cycle only to never see another post from them again. If I follow a business, that means I am interested in what they have to offer. If I no longer see what they have to offer, chances are I will forget they exist.

  • Same Old Content

Even if you feel like you are posting an adequate amount, followers and potential clients or customers do not like the same post they’ve seen day in and day out. For example, a typical “try us and like us” post twice a day every single day will get old fast. Plus, there are so many other angles and ideas out there to try! Not only will your audience get bored, you will get bored of trying.

What You Should Be Doing

Are you ready to change your social media marketing game for the better? If so, you will be happy to know that there are ways to get you out of the rut. And fortunately, they are relatively simple.

  • Fresh Content Daily

This is simple: You do not want to fall between the “cracks in the Facebook wall” so to speak. Creating fresh and new content daily should be a top priority to make your business known. Fresh content daily shows your audience that you are interested in your business and interested in sharing it with others. This content can include your own content as well as content that is relevant to your brand written by others such as blogs and the sharing of posts.

  • Just the Right Amount of Posts

Too many or too few is no good. There are standards that have been discussed by social media marketers that have been tested and tried. I have tested them as well only to find them to be adequate without being overwhelming. Here are some examples:

 

Facebook: 2-3 posts daily

Google+: 3-4 posts daily

Twitter: 3-4 posts daily

 

I have found that staying within these parameters at different times of the day is most effective. Of course, each post does not have to be the same. You can share a blog, write a post, share a quote or share a quick blurb about your business. Mix it up and make it interesting.

  • Stay Relevant

No matter what you post, make sure you stay relevant. Your brand is very important to your business and should be followed when marketing on social media. For example, a jewelry maker may not want to post on dog grooming. This has the potential to become confusing to your followers and potential clients or customers. And what happens when they are confused? They walk away.

Social media is an amazing tool for anyone with a business, large or small. If you can find a balance between falling through the cracks and posting so much it becomes redundant, you CAN be successful. It may take some trial and error to find what works for you. Remember to stay relevant and show you care about what you are offering. If you care, your audience will too.

What are your thoughts? Are you doing anything to change your strategy?