Social media can be a real lead magnet, but what really pulls people in is attention grabbing content. Some have it and others don’t. If you find yourself a part of the latter, what’s your plan for creating scroll-stopping content? If your answer is “there is no plan,” then you’ve already made a costly mistake. Here are seven more reasons your social media strategy is failing and how to fix it.
1. You don’t have a content calendar
Social media can become overwhelming very quickly. You’ll need a well-planned calendar to help you successfully execute your social media strategy. By planning your content in advance, you can create a more effective workflow, streamline your process and save time. Content management platforms like Sprout Social, Asana and AgoraPulse are the ultimate planning tools to help you launch your content across multiple platforms.
2. You’re on the wrong social platforms
With everything from TikTok and Twitter to YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn and Bigo Live, it can be tempting to join every new social platform that pops up in hopes that it’s the next “big one.” While being flexible across multiple platforms is important, this may be one major reason why your social strategy is going nowhere, fast. It’s important to analyze where your target audience is and where they prefer you to be. It may be that your audience prefers the fast-paced bite-sized content Twitter is known for, but you’re more active on Instagram. Your content won’t work if you aren’t posting to the proper channels.
3. Your content isn’t relevant
Posting to social media just to post is a big no-no. Your content needs to be important to your audience, attention grabbing and, more importantly, it needs to be good. No matter who your niche audience is, they’re all looking for the same thing: content that adds value, helps them to solve a problem, entertains and educates.
4. You’re not flexible with your content
Social media trends change in the blink of an eye –– what’s trendy today may not be trendy tomorrow. You need to be able to quickly adjust your content to fit what attracts your audience. One way to ensure that you stay in the know when it comes to social media trends is to follow popular hashtags on your favorite social platforms. You can search terms like #socialmedia or #digitalmarketing to track trending social content. Want to expand your search further? Here are the top trending social media hashtags according to Hootsuite.
5. You aren’t engaging with your audience
Users flock to social media to build meaningful connections and the quickest way to lose your following is to make communication a one-way street. Instead, focus on reciprocity and interact with engagement –– follows, clicks and comments. You can also host polls to encourage conversation among your followers and create Q&A sessions to gauge your audience’s demographic.
6. You don’t know your audience
Not only is it important to discover what’s unique about you, but also find out what’s unique about your audience. If you want your content to attract, engage and convert audiences, then you’ll need to get inside their heads. Here are a few things to consider when exploring what makes your audience tick:
- Behaviors: How does your audience interact with your brand?
- Views: What is the sentiment of your audience and how do they feel emotionally?
- Mindset: How does your audience take in the messaging of your content?
- Demographic traits: Demographic factors of your audience include age, gender, religion, ethnic background, occupation, education and several other categories.
Learning your audience better not only helps you to tailor content to their specific needs, but it also allows you to foster strong, long-term relationships with your following.
7. You’re not showing up authentically
There are about 8 billion people in the world and 4.9 billion of them are on social media, according to a recent report from Demand Sage. It can become easy to lose your identity among the very, very large crowd while trying to keep up with the personas of others on social media. The best thing that you can do for your social content is to be yourself. Instead of emulating others, try to embrace your own quirks and idiosyncrasies –– really tap into who you are and don’t be afraid to show yourself to your audience.
Now that you know what social media fails to avoid, check out our guide to maximizing your content for long-term results.
