Ruby Rusine — June 16, 2017 
Before you join the throng of companies and use your valuable and limited resources in your wish to make your social media efforts succeed, do THIS quick audit first.
That way you do not waste your social media efforts, and you have realistic expectations in having a winning social media strategy for your company and make waves online.
Past the infographic below is my few thoughts on objections that I often hear from CEOs and business owners whose social media efforts, for some, reason have not driven traffic to their site, grow social media engagement and gather more leads.
Note: Social media marketing has several components that company of any size should factor in. You may have all the components already in place without your knowing it; hence this quick social media audit would be beneficial to you.
Social Media Efforts Audit Questions
These are what the infographic has as questions:
- Are you patient?
- Do you have someone with several hours per week to dedicate to it?
- Are you willing to share other people’s content on your social channels?
- Do you create any original content that not product-related? Is it available on your website?
- Are you able to handle and respond to public criticism?
- Do you have a way to convert visitors who come to your website?
- Can you find people talking about your industry on social media sites?
How many ” Yes” did you answer?
How many “No” did you answer?
Discuss your answers with your team to craft your best plan of action and options if you find any gap to make waves online.
The section below may not be for your company.
“Dear Social Media Cynics & Laggers”
I am looking at the cynics and laggers. These are common social media objections that I hear from business owners and CEOs that I interviewed.
Objection 1:
We have been posting, but it looks like nobody is there.
Here’s what I know, you cannot control the mysterious algorithm in social media, but you can control engagement.
Objection 2:
No need for us to be there. That’s for business to consumer type of companies (B2C), not us. We are a business-to-business company (B2B).
Not according to this study by CMI for B2B’s in 2016:
B2B marketers who have a documented content marketing strategy get better results from their content marketing tactics, social media platforms, and paid methods of content distribution (i.e., they rate them as more effective when compared with their peers who don’t have a documented strategy).
Objection 3:
We tried it! It never worked.
What did you try exactly? How did you do it? Where did you try it? Moreover, what were your benchmarks? How often do you track those? How long did you try it?
Document what you do, and use that information to determine your next course of action. Share it with your team.
Unsure about what you are doing? Contact someone experienced to take a look at your strategy.
Objection 4:
What???!!! That much for social media management? I do not even know if that will work.
This should make one realize that time is NOT cheap – yours, nor your social media specialist’s. Tools that your social media marketers use aren’t cheap, either.
Also, there is a premium tag to your social media specialist’s knowledge and experience. You do not go to an optometrist when you know that something is medically wrong with your eyes, do you? You want an expert. That “eye analogy” came from my recent experience.
Of course, there is no shortage of the amount of information out there that you can plod through, and in time you will finally figure it out….until something changes again in Facebook, Instagram, etc. However, isn’t that pricey-er? You are supposed to devote your time more on developing your business and specialty, not in learning social media.
Objection 5:
I already have a website. That should be enough.
Peter Roesler said it well, “A website establishes that a brand exists, but a social media page establishes that the brand is active.”
I will just leave that there without adding anything.
Did I miss anything?
Do you think your social media efforts will succeed – at all? Why?
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