Let me be honest – sometimes social media sucks. The constant changes, the need to be “on” all the time, it’s a lot to deal with. One day a cute cat photo made you a superstar, now everybody is doing it and nobody cares. At some point you’ll have to ask yourself if posting cat photos, is really an effective marketing platform…
Social media is its own universe – with a culture, language and unwritten rules of its own. So how does someone that didn’t grow up with a smartphone in their hands get used to this?
I know you’re probably frustrated with social media, and I’ve got some tips to help. I understand why you’d want to quit, but I don’t want getting comfortable in your confusion.
Keep reading.
]Tip #1 – Before you publish your next post you should ask yourself what you want to achieve from social media, how do you want it to help your business? Are you looking to increase sales, build a bigger following or get newsletter subscribers? Knowing the results you want BEFORE you publish makes it easier to figure out what you should publish, but not before you identify who you’re speaking to.
Tip #2 – Figuring out who your market is online should guide your conversations, you wouldn’t speak to dog lovers about catnip, would you? Exactly. Knowing about the personas that make up your audience allows you to allocate resources to attract leads and understand what drives customers to buy.
Tip #3 – Using social media for business marketing involves some experimentation, if you’re not willing to try a new platform or a new post type, and be willing to fail, you’ll be frustrated…and stuck.
Look at the mix of social media platforms like you would the children in a family – they all have unique characteristics, quirks and things that make them tick. Your job is to figure that out and tailor your approach for each platform.
Keep in mind that social media is social first, so don’t be afraid to share content from other pages and publishers that your audience will find valuable. If you’re not sure whether your fans will appreciate your posts or not, ask yourself if they would thank you for the information.
Keep in mind ALSO that social media is a long game, and the frustrated business owners haven’t realized that yet. Your goal is building trust and establishing authority, when you have those foundations in place the sales will come.