Why Social Media Isn’t Working For Your Business (And How To Fix It)
You’re a small business owner, looking to stay in the black. Social media is often an afterthought, with other, more “in-front-of-the-face” issues taking precedence. But this is a dangerous, even fatal practice.
Let me explain why. You’re making calls and emails for your company (or updating your website, inventory, retail storefront) every day. Yes, perfecting these efforts are vital. But, potential customers are always looking for your business, potentially 24 hours a day in the background, online.
And if you aren’t there, your competitors are.
But, I already have a social media page for my business.
That’s great. You understand the value of a digital presence! Make sure your business pages check off the following:
- Host a business page on all relevant social media platforms, i.e., Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. Twitter even works for many, too.
- Not all platforms work for all businesses. It’s important not to spend time and effort on a platform that your customers aren’t on. Hint: see which platforms your competitors are on.
- Updated business hours
- This is vital, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Similarly, updated health and safety measures
- This will reassure customers of a safe environment. Make sure you follow through, of course.
- Active pages, i.e., response to all comments, both positive and negative
- Responses to negative feedback must be written in an understanding yet straightforward tone. Apologize for any misunderstandings, and invite the customer to respond via direct message or to a company email address.
- Professional, fresh content is posted regularly.
- This is where you get to be creative and emphasize the uniqueness of your brand. Depending on the type of business, you might post behind-the-scenes processes, product shots, customers, etc. Hint: see what works for your competitors
- Social media is excellent for boosting your business’ promotions. You can also track its return by using phrases such as “mention this ad to receive…” or a promo code.
Yep, my business checks all those bullets, but I’m still not seeing a high engagement.
So, if your business’ social media pages check off all the boxes but still aren’t comparing to your competitors’ in terms of engagement, there’s an easy solution. But first, we use the word engagement a lot, but let’s go over what it means:
- Social media engagement is a measurable figure covering how many times users will “engage” with your page. This includes new follows likes, reactions, shares, comments, and views.
So, back to the solution. If your competing shops are getting triple the number of likes you are, they probably use paid advertising. They aren’t cheating the system; they’ve done their homework. In 2012, Facebook changed its algorithm so that, for business pages, content is only shown to about three percent of fans and followers (compared to around 50% before the change).
There are several paid advertising options on many platforms, including search engines. The most commonly used one is Facebook Ad Manager, for both its user-friendliness and because it works for both Facebook and Instagram.
Well, that’s great. But I don’t have the time.
That’s where a social media marketing agency steps in. These professionals typically come from marketing, journalism, and business backgrounds and are equipped to navigate the world wide web.
Most provide complete social media management, including:
- digital ad management
- post creation
- blog content creation
- social media monitoring and reporting
- responses to comments on Facebook, Instagram, Yelp, Google, etc.
Contact Social Media by Laura today via email at contact@lauratpitts.com and mention this blog entry for a free quote. Click here to learn more about Laura.
