Why Is Our Social Media Broken?
Whether you run the smallest of companies or the largest of businesses, you undoubtedly do some kind of promoting.
If you are leaving social media out of your promotional efforts, perhaps using it but not correctly, you stand to lose out on a significant portion of potential business.
With that in mind, check three key facets of your company’s social media efforts, looking to determine why you’re not presently clicking with consumers:
1. Infrequent updates – Are you or your team in place for social media constantly updating your Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn pages? If you only have one site, perhaps more than those listed above, how often do you update them? Unfortunately, many companies find themselves in the position of only updating them when they get around to it, leaving them looking out of touch and lost when it comes to SM. Make it a priority to update all your social media pages regularly, showing consumers and even other businesses that you take SM seriously;
2. The wrong message – No matter which social media site you use to promote your brand, don’t use it as simply a forum to try and shove a sale down someone’s throat. In the event you try that, it is sure to backfire nine times out of 10. While a sale is undoubtedly your goal at the end of the day, you should be using social media to assist consumers, engage with them to help answer their questions and solve their issues tied to your industry, and educate them more on your products and/or services. Too many companies turn to SM to simply use it as a sales vehicle, either forgetting or denying that such a tactic will turn off more consumers than it will bring in. Whether you sell insurance, real estate, invoice software, furniture or vehicles, always keep in mind that the sale doesn’t automatically come first. Helping the consumer today can go a long way in making them want to buy from you tomorrow;
3. Spread too thin – Finally, is your social media game plan spread too thin? While you undoubtedly want to put your company out there on as many sites as possible, placing your business on too many fronts is oftentimes a no-win scenario. Unless you have a dedicated full-time person or outsource such endeavors, you will never be able to many things to many different people on social media. If you’re finding that you get little return on your social media investment (mostly time and effort), review how many sites you are actually on. Measure the metrics to see how many followers you have, what types of conversations they seem most interested in, and when it is best to interact with them.
At the end of the day, always remember that you can’t be everything to everyone.
Your social media efforts should be concentrated, up to date, and have a goal in mind.
If you are doing social media for your business, what have you found to be most successful?
Photo credit: learnospirit.com
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