As someone who is a firm believer in the power of social media for businesses, I get frustrated when I hear businesses saying that social media isn’t working for them or isn’t right for their industry. However, I don’t think social media is to blame. Yes, there some industries where social may not be appropriate, but for the most part, it can work for any industry. Here are five reasons social media may not be working for your business:
- You don’t have a strategy. You’ve created a Facebook page and a Twitter profile but you’re posting infrequently and are posting the same exact thing on each platform. If you don’t know why you’re using social media – why would your customers, or anyone for that matter, want to follow your brand?
- You’re not listening. I’m not the first person who has said this and I won’t be the last. Social media is about listening. This doesn’t mean you only jump in when someone has a comment or question about your brand/product, but this does mean that you should pay attention to what people are talking about and current events taking place. If you’re just sending out messages about your brand without any sort of engagement or conversation, you’re definitely not listening.
- You have no content. You’re in business because you know more about your industry than the average Joe. You have tons of knowledge stored within your company and employees, but you’re not sharing it. Without relevant, compelling content, you have nothing to post on your social channels. It’s time to take down the barriers and let some of that knowledge you’ve been keeping locked within your company out. You’d be surprised at the ROI you’ll get from content marketing.
- You’re not transparent/human. For some brand/companies, this is a tough one. Your brand is so used to running everything you do by the executive/legal/marketing/PR/etc. department, that by the time you get your message back, it’s completely distorted and sounds like something a robot would say. These types of messages are not going to do well in social media. Part of social media is about giving a human voice to your brand and being open with your customers.
- You’re too serious. While social media has transformed significantly from its beginnings, it still boils down to an entertainment platform. Yes, some platforms are more serious than others (think LinkedIn vs. Facebook), but all platforms should so that you have a little sense of humor and that you don’t take yourself too seriously.
There may be other reasons why social media isn’t working for your business, but these are the top five reasons I see when a company says that social media doesn’t work for them. Are there any main points that I missed?