It’s the most frustrating thing in the world when the post you workshopped and spent time and energy (and sometimes money) gets zero engagements. I’ve been there. As we previously mentioned, posting content for the sake of posting content no longer carries the power it had ten or even five years ago. The Internet has democratized things and at the same time effortlessly building a social media following and converting that into profit are no longer tried and true.
There is no such thing as guaranteed sales, especially from social media. It’s like every other channel that came before it; it has rules, limitations and is no use if you don’t know your audience and the type the message they want to hear. Any business owner who doesn’t do any research and believes that social media is easy to manage, you will get burned.
I’ve handled social media before for several businesses from startups to more established institutions. Here are some of the following common mistakes that I’ve made and you probably made to get negative returns on social media:
- Wrong strategy. Your digital marketing strategy’s effectiveness would improve if you bother to plan ahead of time. What does that entail? Consider who your customers are and whether the platform you’re using is the right place to reach them, how you’re representing your brand on social media and whether that tone matches the audience you want.
- No content. I beat you over the head with disproving that content is king but that does not mean that the opposite will do you any favors. Make something that will get your viewers’ eyes popping. Don’t spam.
- A lack of time. I get it. You’re spending a good chunk of your day running your business and wearing lots of hats that by the time the day is over, you’re tired and what effort you do bother making on social media offers little to no return. This can be solved by hiring a social media person (not your nephew).
- A lack of personality. It helps to be a little whimsical even if you’re repping a law office.
- Poor timing. If you google search “best time to post,” you’ll see no shortage. It’s all common sense. Take into consideration who your audience is, what they do in terms of profession and see what sort of things “grab” their attention. Remix and post.
- No engagement. The growth of your business will get stunted if you are on your high horse and believe that only your ideas matter. That’s why social media is great as it allows you to connect with people from all over and respond to their queries. Get engaging.
- No updates. If you’re updating once or twice a month, why are you on social media?
And, on top of all of that, there are other factors.
The truth is that social media and content management isn’t as easy as posting a funny gif on Facebook. It takes time, effort and dedication to get it right.
