Mandy EdwardsYou can make social media marketing work. I’m not going to lie – it’s hard and does take time, but it can work.
I come across business owners everyday who struggle with using social media in their business’ marketing plan. I eat, live and breathe it so it’s like second-nature to me, however most business owners are focused on what their business does, whether it be food or clothes or B2B services.
If social media isn’t working for your business, you need to figure out why. There’s always a reason something isn’t working or lining up. Figuring out what it is will help you know what to fix in order for it to work because when it does work, it’s a beautiful thing.
So let’s take a look at why social media marketing may not be working for you right now.
You’re trying to do every platform.
I understand wanting your business to be everywhere, but realistically, it can’t (not unless you hire a person for each social media platform). If you attempt to give every platform 100%, you are going to fail. You’ll spread yourself thin and things will fall through the cracks. What I suggest is to start with the platform that the majority of your market is on. Start with one and give it 110%. Once you have that platform thriving, add a second one. I know everyone is saying you have to be on Instagram or Pinterest or you have to Snapchat because it’s hot right now – don’t listen to them. Listen to your audience. Go to them.
What you need to remember: Focus on the platform that the majority of your audience is on and go to them.
You are broadcasting sales pitches instead of building relationships.
The last thing anyone wants to see in their newsfeed (on any platform) is sales pitch after sales pitch after sales pitch. Social media is about building relationships. Sales will come from that. It’s not all about you, it’s about them. Think of how many Facebook pages you’ve unliked because of what they do (or do not) post. Don’t be like that page. Ask your audience questions – get to know them. Show them that you care.
What you need to remember: People buy from people they have a relationship with.
You are doing too much online.
You could google “how many times should I post in a day?” and get a different opinion from everyone. The one constant piece of advice you’ll get is not to overpost. Ideally, 1-2 times per day on Facebook is fine. Not once an hour for 10-12 hours straight. If I see too many posts in my Facebook newsfeed from a business in a short period of time, I quickly find the unfollow button. You may be posting awesome content, but I don’t want to see only you in my feed. Likewise on Twitter, don’t send out 30 tweets in 60 seconds. You will overload people and turn them away. My recommendations? 1-2 posts/day on Facebook and 5-6/day on Twitter (depending on how active you are).
What you need to remember: Posting too much in a short time span will cause people to unfollow or unlike you.
You’re trying to do it all yourself – and run your business.
I’ve had over a dozen business owners tell me that they could spend all day doing just social media for their business. Rarely can a business owner effectively (and successfully) run the social media for their business and run the business itself without something getting left behind. Don’t get me wrong – it can be done. However for most business owners, it’s in their best interest to pass it off to someone else or to hire someone to handle it. Your primary job is to do what you love, what your business is. If you’re a designer, you need to be designing, not scheduling Facebook posts. If you’re a photographer, you need to be taking pictures, not figuring out what picture will look best on Instagram. Trust me, you’ll spread yourself too thin if you take on too much.
What you need to remember: Sometimes it’s worth it to hire someone to handle your social media.
If any of these seem familiar to you – I encourage you to take a hard look at your marketing plan. Sometimes it’s worth it to outsource the social media portion or hire someone (who knows what they are doing) to handle it for you. As much as it can benefit your business, it’s not your primary focus – running a profitable business is.
What are some other stumbling blocks you may face making social media work for you?
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