Not getting all you want from Social Media? Take these steps
Growth hacks – Have you seen the articles, received the emails and had the so-called experts popping up in your direct messages (DM’s)?
Are you still looking for some sensational growth hack to beat the algorithms of social media?
Some type of magic wand that will see your business and your posts go viral! A growth hack that will see your business success go through the roof!
SURPRISE – It does not exist.
If you take one piece of information from this blog it is that social media growth takes time.
You must be the tortoise and not try to be the hare in the race on social media.
However, there is still a lot you should be doing as the tortoise to ensure that you are doing enough.
If you are not familiar with the tortoise and hare story:
The hare is very confident of winning, so it stops during the race and falls asleep. The tortoise continues to move very slowly but without stopping and finally, it wins the race. The moral lesson of the story is that you can be more successful by doing things slowly and steadily rather than by acting quickly and carelessly.
Oxford Dictionary
Choose the right platforms
Don’t just choose all the social media platforms because you can. Not only does this create a lot of work it may be unnecessary for your business.
Make sure that the ones you choose are both the top performers and the ones that your ideal clients are using.
In choosing these platforms make sure that you also utilise all the best practices for each of them. This includes using hashtags, posting regularly and posting at times that your followers are likely to be online.
If you are still unsure which platforms will be ideal for your business, take the time to consult with a professional who understands the social media world.
Ignore some statistics
Don’t be obsessed with your follower count. Yes, you want to grow your followers and this can be done in many ways but don’t be obsessed with it.
Regardless of the number of followers, you have you want them to enjoy what you are sharing.
Remember that all these platforms alter their algorithms and this will see your statistics change from time to time. It is important that even when this happens you continue to stay on track and keep posting.
Think about engagement
When people click, watch, swipe, comment, like, share or save your post this is engagement. Some posts will achieve greatness while others do not. Try not to stress about it.
When people are engaged this gives you an organic stretch of your social media reach. It is this reach that can organically grow your followers.
To grow your following make sure you:
- let your database know that you have social accounts
- have social links on your website
- put social links in your email signature
- cross-promote from one social account to another
- invite your contacts to follow you
- invite reviews and testimonials
Social is about people
Remember that social media is people-driven. Your followers are likely to be a combination of friends, family, customers, potential customers and competitors. All these people have a wide variety of reasons for following you.
Think about your posts – are they a good mix?
A good mix of posts means you share:
- Informative posts
- Video posts
- Content posts
- Image posts
- Humorous posts
- Statistical posts
- Survey posts
- Product posts and more…
How well is your community of followers responding to your posts?
Do you struggle to keep up a consistent effort across your social media accounts?
Use tools to make it easier
With your social media you generally have two choices:
One – Do it yourself or in-house
Two – Outsource it to a professional
Either way, it is important that you use the tools available to make your life easier. One of the best things you can do is to schedule your posts in advance for a week or 4 weeks at a time if you can.
Conclusion
Love it or hate it social media can be great for your small business and it remains an essential tool in your marketing toolbox. It can be one of the easiest things to outsource from your business so that you can get on with running your business. Many of my clients leave the bulk of the posts to me and then when they have something special or new, they add that into the mix. This makes it far less stressful to ensure that you are being consistent with your social media exposure.
If you would like to chat about how we can look after your social media get in touch.
