Why Social Media Isn’t Working for Your Business (And How to Fix It)

Are you putting your all into your social media efforts but not seeing the results you were hoping for? This is a common problem encountered by small business owners, and it can be frustrating given the considerable time investment in social media. However, there’s no need to lose hope. In this post, I’ll explore why social media might not be meeting your expectations and offer actionable tactics to enhance its effectiveness for your business.

So, fret not, as I’ll also present practical advice for refining your social media strategy and drawing in new customers. Let’s get started!

Setting the stage

Social media has become a powerful tool for businesses, but it’s important to understand that success doesn’t come without effort and strategy. Consider these eye-opening statistics:

• 90% of marketers state that social media is crucial to their business.
• However, only 48% of small businesses see positive returns from their social media efforts.

Now, let’s examine some of the prevalent challenges businesses encounter on social media and find ways to address each one.

You may not be reaching your intended audience

To effectively leverage social media, you must first identify your desired demographic. This ensures that your content reaches the right people who are more likely to engage and convert. Here’s how you can do it:

• Define your ideal customer: create buyer personas that outline the characteristics, preferences and pain points of your target audience. Try using Hubspot’s ‘make my persona‘ tool.

• Research their social media habits: determine which platforms your audience frequents and the type of content they engage with the most.

• Conduct surveys and interviews: this hands-on approach allows you to gain a deeper understanding of and directly interact with your target audience and ask them questions about their requirements, desires and challenges. It’s a helpful way to collect valuable qualitative data that can inform your persona development. You can use tools like Google Forms or SurveyMonkey to create and distribute surveys, and platforms like Zoom or Skype for remote interviews.

• Analyse competitor audiences: to refine your audience persona, take a closer look at your competitors. Identify who they are targeting and gather insights into the traits, inclinations and dilemmas experienced by their clientele. This competitor evaluation can help you identify gaps and opportunities in the market, allowing you to tailor your products or services to better meet the needs of your intended viewers. Tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs can assist in examining your competitors’ online presence and audience engagement strategies.

The success of your social media strategy may be hindered by not sharing appropriate or high quality content

To optimise the impact of your approach to social media, sharing posts that truly connect with your audience is imperative. Crafting engaging, relevant content is the key to capturing their attention and building trust. Here are some tips to help you create content that converts:

Provide massive value: provide industry-related tips, advice and informative articles that directly address your audience’s pain points. The primary aim of your content should be to achieve one of the following goals: entertain, inspire, convince, inform, support or educate.

Let’s explore potential content types for each of these functions:

Entertain: share sneak peeks, funny videos, photos, memes, thought-provoking questions and infographics. Host contests or showcase real-life events like parties to keep your audience engaged.

Inspire: share stories about your team or customers, create photo galleries, conduct interviews with inspirational individuals or narrate your own personal story to motivate and uplift your audience.

Convince: utilise content such as product demos, free trials, product reviews, case studies, customer testimonials and special deals or offers. Brochures can also help in having a persuasive effect.

Inform: keep your audience well-informed by sharing price guides, press releases, important news and announcements and behind-the-scenes insights into your operations.

Support: show your willingness to help through how-to guides, live chat for immediate assistance, Q&A sessions, opinion posts, virtual site tours and dedicated customer forums.

Educate: provide educational resources like e-books, tutorials, survey results, how-to articles, lists, worksheets, webinars, quizzes, infographics, reports and charts to empower your audience with knowledge.

By customising your content to these specific functions, you’ll not only lure your audience but also build a prominent online presence that aligns with your business development plan.

Not incorporating visuals could be a contributing factor to your business’s social media underperformance

The absence of compelling visuals in your social media strategy might be a crucial element behind your underwhelming online results. In an increasingly saturated digital market, the strategic utilisation of eye-catching visuals is paramount. Incorporating captivating images, videos and infographics not only enhances the appeal of your content but also significantly boosts its shareability. These visuals serve as powerful tools to capture your audience’s attention and convey information in a more immersing and digestible manner, ensuring your brand stands out amidst the digital noise and leaves a mark in the hard-hitting online landscape.

Failing to elicit audience interaction could be leading to social media challenges

Without engagement, social media is just media. It’s vital to actively promote viewer engagement by posing stirring questions, conducting polls and promptly responding to comments. These approaches cultivate a feeling of connection, guaranteeing that your digital identity becomes livelier and more adaptable to what your audience desires and favours. By actively pursuing these interactions, you can overcome difficulties and boost the influence of your presence on social media.

Inconsistency in your social media efforts can impede their efficiency 

Consistency is key to maintaining a buoyant and participatory social media presence.

Follow these guidelines:

– Create a content calendar: plan and schedule your posts in advance to ensure a steady stream of relevant content.

– Post regularly: aim for a continual posting frequency that aligns with your audience’s expectations without overwhelming them.

– Optimise timing: experiment with different posting times to pinpoint when your audience is most active and likely to see your content. Hootsuite has a comprehensive guide to the best times to post on social media, check it out here.

Maintaining your social media momentum during absences

Adhering to a regular social media timetable is crucial for sustaining the hard-earned momentum you’ve built. When you’re away, pre-scheduled content ensures that your followers remain actively involved, avoiding any disturbance to the valuable connections you’ve nurtured. If being present every day isn’t feasible, delegating to someone who can manage your accounts during your leave is a wise plan of action to uphold your online presence.

Leverage influencer marketing

Influencer marketing has the capacity to make a substantial difference in your business by harnessing the trust and credibility influencers have built within their respective niches. When influencers endorse your products or services, it not only expands your reach to their vast and loyal audience but also provides a genuine and authentic recommendation, which can be far more persuasive than traditional advertising. This method makes your brand more relatable, boosts brand recognition, fuels customer confidence and generates greater attention and sales, making it an effective resource to help businesses succeed in their marketing activity.

Consider these steps:

– Find influencers in your industry who have a genuine connection with your target audience.

– Team up with influencers by commenting on their posts, sharing their content and establishing profound associations.

– Explore opportunities for collaborations such as guest blog posts, joint webinars or product endorsements.

Utilise paid advertising

While organic reach is helpful, paid advertising can significantly amplify your social media performance. In the past, it was relatively easier to connect with audiences through organic means, but with the recent algorithm changes, achieving organic reach has become increasingly challenging. Therefore, if you are serious about broadening your reach, it has become obligatory to experiment with paid advertising. As the saying goes, ‘you have to spend money to make money!‘. This strategic shift can provide the boost your business needs in today’s relentless digital arena.

Tips for leveraging paid ads:

– Targeted campaigns: use social media advertising platforms to narrow down your target audience based on demographics, interests and behaviours.

– Retargeting: retarget people who have previously interacted with your brand to increase conversion rates.

– A/B testing: experiment with different ad formats, headlines and calls-to-action to optimise your campaigns.

Overemphasis on self and neglecting audience engagement

One common misconception that can obstruct your social media success is making your content primarily about your business or yourself. While you are advised to showcase your brand, services and accomplishments, overindulging in self-promotion can lead to disengagement from your audience.

The shift to audience-centric content

The foundation for effectual social media planning lies in creating content that helps to establish a strong bond with your readers. Instead of incessantly talking about your business or highlighting your successes, it’s compulsory to flip the script and concentrate on THEIR needs and interests.

Problem solving, entertainment and education

Your social media content should focus on solving your audience’s problems, entertaining them and educating them on suitable topics. By grasping what they are going through and what they want, you can personalise your content to address these concerns. Share how-to guides, tips and tricks and interesting stories that hook and inform.

The risk of self-centric posts

Excessive self-promotion can alienate your audience and lead to disinterest in your content. If your supporters perceive that your posts are mainly self-serving, they may choose to disengage or unfollow your profiles. It’s vital to sustain an equilibrium between self-marketing and audience-centric content to keep your social media presence relevant and appealing.

Many business owners grapple with the fear of vulnerability when posting on social media, worried about potential criticism or judgment. The key to self-preservation is to remember that it’s impossible to please everyone, and there will always be mixed reactions to your content. Staying true to your brand and message is more important than trying to satisfy every individual. Furthermore, don’t shy away from sharing personal and emotional posts, as these often drive higher engagement and humanise your business. In times of pandemic and economic uncertainty, acknowledging shared challenges can create a sense of community and empathy, triggering a higher volume of responses to your content.

Seven years ago, when I first launched my business, I encountered a setback when a Twitter troll criticised one of my promotional posts, leaving me shocked, distressed and fearful of sharing anything else online. This experience taught me the importance of resilience and not allowing apprehension of criticism to hold me back. As a business owner, you really do have to develop the habit of remaining faithful to your message and not letting the opinions of others get in your way.

The dilemma of DIY: balancing social media and business operations

Social media management and marketing are monumental tasks for any business owner, often bordering on a full-time job in themselves. It’s not uncommon for business owners to feel frustrated by the time it consumes to create and disseminate quality content, especially when it competes with other critical tasks, such as direct client interactions. The truth is, for plausible business growth and a thriving online presence, enlisting the services of a social media specialist is the ideal solution. This decision not only frees up your precious time but also reduces stress, ensuring that your business continues to grow and flourish, even when you’re not available. Pumping out a steady stream of great content across various platforms can be utterly exhausting, making outsourcing to a professional a fundamental step if you want to make the most out of social media.

The reciprocity challenge

In the realm of social media, reciprocity is a golden rule often overlooked. It’s a mutual exchange and if you want others to express appreciation for your content, you must reciprocate by demonstrating thankfulness for theirs. The ‘push’ strategy, where you solely distribute content without acknowledging or engaging with what your connections share, can derail your progress. Remember, algorithms take note of the content you interact with, shaping your feed accordingly. To optimise your influence, be strategic about the content you engage with, considering who you want to notice you. Striking a balanced approach to give-and-take will lead to more favourable outcomes.

The pitfall of overextending

Trying to juggle too many platforms and accounts all at once can be a common mistake in social media management. While it may seem advantageous to maintain a basic presence on various platforms, the key to success lies in identifying where your target audience primarily congregates. Narrowing down your choice to a few select platforms enables you to focus your energy and get the best return on your time investment. Managing numerous platforms can be overwhelming and time-intensive, as it’s not just about sharing content but also actively participating in conversations. Remember that content leads to conversations, and conversations lead to conversions. Additionally, with customers’ rising expectations for swift responses to queries and concerns, the more platforms you manage, the harder it becomes to meet these demands. Thoroughly researching where your audience are most likely to be spending their time will ensure you are able to skilfully formulate posts that reach them in their preferred online spaces.

The missing piece: the need for a strategic social media approach

A well-planned strategy is the cornerstone of successful social media activity. To manoeuvre through the constantly changing online terrain, you should define clear goals before diving in. Ask yourself what you intend to achieve by employing social media as a marketing tactic. Are you looking to grow your followers, boost newsletter sign-ups, increase website traffic, generate leads, schedule consultations, create interest in a specific product or service, secure more event sign-ups, or promote offerings like ebooks or courses? Without a clear and structured approach, your social media journey can lead to nowhere. Setting and following purposeful objectives not only keep you on track but also deliver a conclusive roadmap for measuring performance.

Building a better social media presence through ongoing evaluation

Social media is extremely dynamic in nature, and you learn what works through testing and experimentation. You have to explore a varied set of tactics to discern what resonates and what falls flat. Yet, equally crucial is the act of measuring the outcomes of your endeavours to gauge their effectiveness in driving you toward your goals. Monitoring results is the compass that guides you and it’s about making informed decisions based on real data. Utilise the in-house analytics tools within each social media platform to track metrics like impressions, likes, comments, clicks and shares. These findings are of immeasurable value in helping you fine-tune your strategy for a more positive outcome. Remember, in the fast-paced world of social media, adaptability is your ally and ongoing assessment is the best course of action for exceeding your targets.

The patience predicament: nurturing trust and reputation

In the sphere of content marketing and social media, you have to be realistic and acknowledge that credible attainments don’t manifest overnight. Constructing a robust online presence is a gradual, ongoing process. Your principal intention is to cultivate the ‘know, like, trust’ factor, as individuals tend to engage with those they are familiar with, have an affinity for and have confidence in. This trust-building journey unfolds over time through your content. You establish yourself as an authority by consistently delivering masses of value and support. While this isn’t an expedited method, it guarentees that you remain on your audience’s radar. Even if they’re not ready to work with you or make a purchase now, your authority and expertise will linger in their memory, making them more likely to return in the future. Exercising patience is vital for building an enduring reputation and nurturing trust within your online community.

The rewards of long-term collaboration with marketing specialists

When you choose to outsource your marketing to a specialist, it’s useful to recognise the value of giving this partnership time to flourish. Relationships with marketing professionals are most profitable when they are ongoing and long-term. The more these professionals get to know your business, the more effectively they can represent you and your brand online. Familiarising themselves with your business, brand and messaging takes time, and initially, collaboration and input from you are necessary to ensure they accurately convey your voice and image. However, as this partnership solidifies, the specialist will be able to seamlessly manage your social media and online marketing activities, requiring minimal direction from you. This long-term investment ultimately results in a more swayful representation of your business.

In summary

When the results on social media fall short of your expectations, it can be disheartening. However, with the right strategy and by following these steps, you can still achieve your goals. The potential of social media as a powerful growth catalyst for your brand is vast when executed with precision and foresight, and these techniques will enhance your presence and pave the way for a significant and lasting online footprint.

The main predictors of success online are persistence, continuous adjustment and enhancement. So if you’re ready to spruce up your social media game, get in touch for a complimentary consultation. I’d love to help you build and implement a winning social media playbook that produces positive ongoing results for your business.

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