Is Your Social Media Strategy Failing Your Business?

OK, so you got your Facebook landing page up. That Twitter Account is rolling.  You even posted a few Instagram Videos.  You spent time, maybe even invested in assigning an employee to mange your social media.  So where are all the customers?  Why isn't anyone interacting with my business? Is anyone even out there?  Putting your brand out there and expecting instant results takes more than just creating the platforms.  It does take work.  It also takes interaction and response.  Here are a few reasons why you be failing to attract new customers or clients.

1.  Advertising or interacting? Social Media overall is not the place to advertise your business.  While maybe running a coupon or announcing an upcoming event is OK here and there, your platforms are to engage your client base about relevant events such as new products or services  that may relate or effect what you provide.  Create interaction with your streams on social media but do not make it an advertising wall.  It turns people away.

2.  Updating your content?  How often to you go to your platforms and update your content or answer your followers questions?  You should check in daily or at the very least, several times a week and add or respond to your followers.  To say "We are on Facebook or Twitter" just to say you are on there without doing anything is really a waste of your time and your followers and gives a very poor representation of your brand.


3.  Social Media means being social.    Make your content to where it will create conversation or be forwarded on to others.  This helps with your analytics and branding being spread out there in cyber space.


4.  Autopost or not to autopost.  Using software like Hoot Suite or similar is great and I am guilty of this as much as the next person.  We get busy.  However it is always good to try to individualize or at the very least check in on your individual platforms and make them personal by adding unique posts and respond to your followers.  Your email can be set up to where someone responded to your post so you can at least answer them or say "thanks" for forwarding your post.


5.  Responding?  Are you responding to posts?  Someone asks you something or  says something negative are you responding?  You must.  If they say something negative about your business answer them.  Don't delete and say stick it buddy.  They have a reason and they need addressed. 


6. Tracking and gaining followers.  Use analytics to track your ROI.  Social Media within itself is a part of your business strategy.  We don't  do it for fun or because the younger generation is doing it.  We do to market our brand.  Track your time and investment and see how it is growing your business.  As my title says.  If it is not you are doing something wrong. 9 of 10 times it is because you don't put any effort into it.  If you don't have the time, hire or appoint someone within your staff to manage it or take your platforms down until you do have the time.  Having dead space is worse than having something there just because my competition does.  Use Google analytics or something similar to track your activity.  It is just the same as websites I see of businesses that are nothing more than a place holder.  No fresh content, the staff pictures are outdated, the business has moved or remodeled and their website has content from 5 years ago.  Would you do business there?   Same with your social media.  Be fresh, be responsive, and don't use your platforms as a "big sale" advertising gimmick. Good luck.