3 Key Mistakes You’re Currently Making with Your Business’s Social Media
It can’t be that hard, can it? I mean, you set up your personal Facebook, so why can’t you take five minutes to set up an account for your business? While it may be something that you can do, it’s not necessarily something every business should do.
Social Media is for business is not a toy, and it’s not a “set it and forget it” kind of thing. It can sure be fun to connect with your consumers in incredibly personable ways, and sure, it can give your brand a more “human” voice. But social media is a tool that is key to keeping your business relevant, gaining new customers, and connecting with your current customers.
Social media for business is not “set-it-and-forget-it”. It takes planning, careful monitoring, and intentional engagement for your social media to truly pay off for your business.
So, what mistakes are we making?
So, what mistakes are we making and what are easy steps that we can take in order to start using social media more effectively? Here 3 mistakes your business is making with it’s social media presence and what you can do about it.
1. You don’t post regularly, and when you do, it’s all about you.
So much of the time, small businesses create accounts and post irregularly, or they fail to post at all. Then when you do get around to posting, it’s all about you.
Platforms such as Facebook and Instagram favor quality engagement, which takes relevant and quality posts in order to garner a genuine response from your followers. The quick answer to this one is to simply post! Yes, be strategic and thoughtful about what you post, but post nonetheless! The likelihood of being seen is much higher if you put quality content out there to be seen. Additionally, encourage engagement by promoting the use of a brand hashtag.
And remember, your posts to Facebook shouldn’t only be about how great you are and how I need to use you for my pest control issue (or whatever problem you solve). Mix it up! The rule of thumb for posts is 80/20 — 80% of what you post should be about your customer. If you are in the business of pest control, tell me about 3 ways I can prepare for mosquito season. If you’re an interior designer, tell me how to organize my books and work in cute decorations. Push content that doesn’t promote your services, but keeps your content in their feed so that you stay relevant. The other 20% can be about you, the problems you solve, and any promotional items that you push.
This morning, I came across a flower truck outside of a coffee shop that I frequent. The branding was clean and was poised up to be the most “instagrammable” thing I had seen all day, so I searched for them on that platform. While they weren’t the first account to appear, I did eventually find them. Let me tell you, their account truly represented their aesthetics and reflected their brand well. Not to mention, the account was updated almost to the day with great content.
While you may not be in the market for bouquets or boutonnieres, this type of content marketing should be #goals for most businesses in their marketing on social media. Keep your posts regular, your content relevant, and customer-centric!
2. You don’t know when to use the “boost” function.
As Facebook started to grow and our newsfeeds became more and more flooded with content, Facebook began to figure out the answer to a problem that we, Facebook users, were begging them to fix: seeing more of what matters to me in my feed. Thus, the new algorithm was born, and along with it, the Boost function.
Basically, the more likes, comments, and shares a post gets, the more Facebook will favor that post and show it to even more of your audience. If this happens without a boost or an ad, then it’s called organic reach. The more organic reach a post has, the more Facebook will promote it to your audience, which is great news for your business.
The Boost function is used so often for businesses because it’s easier to use and understand than the traditional Facebook ads. You don’t have to think, and yes, it can certainly seem like an ad. If a post is performing well and has good traction with my audience organically, then boosting the post is a good idea.
Generally, you want to use boosts to extend the success of an already successful post. For everything else, utilize the Facebook ads function in order to reach an even more targeted audience that would be more likely to respond positively to your content.
3. Don’t waste your time sharing content that isn’t relevant to your brand.
It can be so easy to share viral content that’s already out there. Not to mention it’s an easy way to get more likes! Unfortunately, this can be a quick and easy way to grow a rather disinterested audience.
If you’re a plumber, don’t post or share videos of puppies. Maybe you could pull it off if you’re always called out because the dog hair is clogging the drain, but in any other context, it does not work. As stated earlier, be both intentional and relevant when writing your posts.
Take time to ask yourself a few questions to vet your content, such as:
Who is my audience on this platform?
When do they respond well to my posts?
What problems will I solve for them with this content?
Does this post contain something that will hurt my engagement?
These are easy changes to make.
Your business has a huge opportunity to utilize social media as a tool to find new customers and serve your existing ones. And here’s the thing: these are easy and inexpensive changes to make that have the potential to increase your overall revenue.
In today’s world, content is king. Your business has to stay relevant and intentional in its presence on social media in order to keep your business at front-of-mind for your ideal customer. The possibilities are endless, here.
Social media is a long-game. If you don’t see results right away, don’t panic. Be diligent in posting and keep consistent with your online presence.
And remember: keep your posts regular and your content relevant and customer-centric! Now go forth and conquer with your social media marketing!
Here are some action items to help grow your business’s social media:
Build a content calendar that follows the 80/20 rule and represents your brand well. Remember: be consistent and relevant!
Evaluate your social media strategy. Are you just boosting posts? Ask yourself what you can do to improve your reach on social media.
Find, create & share content that solves your audience’s problems.