Marketing to the wrong audience can lead to failure. A successful social media strategy is one that motivates your followers to take action.
It’s about engaging, informing and helping those who need to be knowledgeable about products.
There are two critical components to building a truly effective social media strategy. The first is understanding what message drives people to your page. The second is understanding how to tailor that message to appeal to your audience.
You’re probably aware of the benefits of a good social media strategy, but have you thought about the major pitfalls?
Here are five worrying signs that your strategy could be failing:
#1: Posting randomly and inconsistently
On social media, consistency is key.
Consistency is the middle ground between posting too much and not posting at all.
You don’t have to post multiple times in a day. This is one of the social media marketing myths that may hurt your business.
Similarly, your focus should be on posting consistently regardless of the number of posts per day. Identify a frequency that works for you and stick to it.
Pro tip:
- Create a content calendar.
- Aim for consistency, even if it means posting twice weekly.
- Channel your effort towards creating content your audience loves.
#2: Too much self-promotion
To be clear, you own your social media channels (although technically you don’t) and you may promote your product or service as you please.
However, you can’t play the social media game with this mentality. Shoving your product into your followers face won’t yield the required result.
A good social media strategy should include a healthy mix of promotional and non-promotional content that sufficiently caters for each stage of the buying journey.
To get creative, you can sprinkle a little user-generated content to spice things up.
Can non-promotional content help your brand drive sales? The answer is yes!
Educational content helps your audience learn more about the benefits derived from the use of your product or service, shortening the time it’ll take for them to convert into paying customers.
Pro tip:
- Conduct a thorough content audit.
- Identify content gaps
- Employ a social media content strategy that can help you create a healthy mix of content for your brand.
#3: Marketing to the wrong audience
There’s nothing that signals a lack of social media strategy as saying that “everyone is your target audience”.
Marketing to the wrong audience amounts to noise. To create a winning social media strategy, you need to identify your ideal target audience.
This way, you can develop intuitive content that meets their needs.
Pro tip:
- Create a detailed buyer persona for your brand.
- Choose a content strategy that connects the needs of your audience to your business goal.
#4: Little or no social media engagement
Creating content that triggers likes isn’t enough. Brands need to interact consistently with their audience in order to drive meaningful engagement.
The social media comments section is the only place online where brands can effectively engage with their audience.
Every social media marketer can make posts, however, customer engagement is where the value lies.
If you want people to engage with your post, start a conversation.
Read Also: 4 customer engagement for social media success
Pro tip:
To engage more with customers on social media:
- Welcome first-time commenters
- Note regular commenters
- Notice when the regulars are missing and reach out
- Ask follow-up questions from each post you make
See the comments section as an extension of your brand’s customer service.
#5: Posting on every social media platform
Having a social media account on all the trending social networks doesn’t equate to having a social media strategy.
Trying to maintain an active presence on every social media platform can wear down your budget. You also risk spreading yourself too thin.
Devote your time and resources to the platforms that align with your audience and marketing tactics.
Pro tip:
Ask yourself:
- Who is your target audience?
- What platforms are they hanging out on?
- Which platform will help you get the most exposure for your business?
Read Also: Post purchase marketing: tactics and engagement strategy
Key Takeaway
In order to build a solid social media strategy, consider the following:
- Create a social media content calendar and aim for consistency.
- Conduct a content audit to identify content gaps.
- Employ a social media content strategy that gives you balance between promotional and non-promotional content.
- Create a buyer persona if you don’t know your target audience.
- Your content strategy should tie your audience’s needs to your business goals.
- Welcome first-time commenters and note the regulars.