Why Most Social Media Strategies Fail
by John Rampton Contributor
You do know that social media is important for your success online, right? Of course you do. It’s the 21st Century and pretty much everyone has some sort of social media account. Well, at least 73% of adults do. But just because you’re on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Pinterest doesn’t guarantee success. Even if you have a decent amount of fans, likes, or followers, it doesn’t mean that your social media strategy is working. If you’re not generating conversations or new subscribers, or making any money, then whatever you’re doing has failed. Establishing a social media strategy is more than just posting an update informing people that a new product or service is on sale. It’s more than just sharing a piece of relevant information. A social media strategy is a success when you are able to engage and interact with your target audience.
If that’s simple, then why do so many social strategies fail? Chances are that they’ve committed one of the following mistakes. But, don’t worry. These are mistakes that should be easy to correct.
Values Don’t Match
You’ve obviously created a list of core values for your business. If not, how else can you explain to others the purpose of your business? Because you have already established a mission statement, goals, deadlines, and a brand image, setting up a social media strategy should fall into place. At least in this area.
Everything that you do, or want to accomplish, on social media should be based on the values of your business. This not only guides your content and business objectives on social media outlets, but it can also generate some buzz about your brand, since you’ve also already identified your target audience and are aware of their wants and needs.
So, if you open a restaurant that serves only organic items, explain your reasons for opening up that business to potential customers. You’re not doing this because it’s a trendy business right now. You’re doing this because people aren’t eating healthy and you want to change that, at least in your neck of the woods. Share content that explains why organic food is healthy for locals and what your menu has to offer your neighbors.
Not Consistent
What’s the point in creating something awesome if no one is going to check it out?
A social media campaign demands consistency. We’re not just talking about quality and useful information for your audience, either. We’re talking about frequently sharing that valuable content. But, how much and when do you update statuses?
Unfortunately, there’s no correct answer here. It depends on your business and customers. This is where a little bit of research can come in handy, like searching for important people in a social network’s search tool. You could also use a tool like SocialBro or hashtags.org to find out some more information on your audience, like what topics are trending
You also want to know when do they go on social media outlets. For example, you could send out about 14 tweets per day, from midnight to 10pm. They just have to be spread out during the day so that your followers’ accounts aren’t flooded. The reason why you want to post throughout the day is in case if you have a global audience, which is why you could schedule posts at 2 a.m.
To make sure that you remain consistent, try using a tool that schedules and hosts all of your accounts in one place, like HootSuite, Buffer, or SproutSocial. I personally like Buffer. And it wouldn’t hurt to create an editorial calendar, which you can do on a program like Excel. An editorial calendar keeps you organized and directed since it contains a deadline, target keywords, the format of the content, call to action, and status. And it has the ability to double your ROI.
