Why Your Social Media Is Failing

How To Incorporate Marketing Into Your Social Media

Why Your Social Media Is FailingMost businesses and marketers are active on at least one form of social media BUT not all of them are marketing on social media.

It’s the core problem behind “We need a Facebook page!” or whatever the social media du jour is. Instead, they claim, “Our social media is failing!”

To illustrate the underlying problem businesses have with social media and marketing, let me tell you a personal story.

When I was a child, my parents moved to a bigger house where my sister and I got our own rooms after having shared one.

Our first day in the new house, my sister ran into her room and slammed the door. Then I ran into my room and slammed the door.

Seeing us do this, my brother ran into his room and slammed the door. It could have been a scene straight out of an old slapstick movie.

But, a few minutes later my brother emerged and asked, “Why did I do that?”

On social media, many businesses are like my brother. They follow everyone else without knowing why.

Even worse, these business don’t have a plan as to what social media will do to help achieve their objectives. As a result, they think that their social media is failing.Why Your Social Media Is Failing

5 Reasons your business needs social media

Many businesses fear that their social media is failing. Before you write off your social media efforts, examine these 5 social media facts (complete with charts to show your boss!!!)

FACT 1:  Consumers spend 1 hour and 7 minutes per day with social media in the US according to eMarketer. Time Spent with Social Media per Day - eMarketer

  • Actionable Marketing Tip: Be on the media where your target audience spends their time. This is good old fashioned, still relevant Mad Men logic. The difference is that you can’t be promotional or shout ME, ME, ME.

 

FACT 2: Customers’ paths to purchase may vary widely. As a channel, social media builds purchase awareness, consideration and intent 66% of the time and is the last contact point pre-purchase 34% of the time based on Google research.The Customer Journey to Online Purchase – Think with Google

  • Actionable Marketing Tip: Be present across a variety of channels. Ensure each one provides the information your potential audience seeks along with ways to contact your organization. Include calls-to-action and tailored landing pages.

 

FACT 3: People checked an average of 10.4 information sources before making a buying decision in 2011 according to Google.Google-ZMOT - Category Breakout

  • Actionable Marketing Tip:  Provide prospects with the information they seek. Also, distribute the information across different platforms.

 

FACT 4: Customers are 58+% of the way through their buying decision before they contact you. Best Lead Generation Tips

  • Actionable Marketing Tip:  Be present on relevant social media platforms based on your prospects’ social media persona.

 

FACT 5: 75% of your Facebook reach occurs in 1 hour 50 minutes. Think that’s bad. A median tweet reaches 75% of its potential engagement in less than 3 hours. (This data is based on Wisemetrics. For the full analysis and chart array, read The Hard Truth About Social Share Lifespan.) Tweet lifespan- Wisemetrics Blog

  • Actionable Marketing Tip: Craft your social media shares to increase reach and additional shares. Also, post your social media shares multiple times where applicable. This includes mining your older content gems.

 

As these 5 facts prove you need to do more than be present on social media to reap measurable results. To put a social media spin on President Kennedy’s famous words: “Don’t ask what social media can do for you, Ask what you can do for social media.”

President  Kennedy Social Media

10 Tactics to incorporate marketing into your social media

Here are 10 actionable marketing tactics to help you to incorporate marketing into your social media activities.

  1. Determine your business goals. If you don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish, it’s difficult to do. Make your objectives measurable. Social shares don’t necessarily convert to sales.
  2. Know your target audience. Take the time to develop a tailored marketing persona include influencers, end-users, buyers and fans.
  3. Get the resouces you need to support your efforts. Though it’s often labeled as free, social media doesn’t happen by itself. It requires people and budget to support your marketing plans.
  4. Give your target customers the 5 basic content types they seek. Provide the information your audience needs to make a decision to buy. Supply detailed product information, answer prospect and customer questions, teach customers to use your products, show customers how to style your products, and supply customer ratings and reviews.
  5. Curate other people’s content on social media. Remember that you can’t keep screaming ME, ME, ME. Your content curation success depends on discovering, selecting and packaging high value, sharable information your prospects seek. (BTW—I’m teaching a pre-conference workshop on Content Curation at Content Marketing World next month!!!)
  6. Make your social media visually attractive. You have to be a peacock on social media to stand out. According to Annalect.com, 83% of learning occurs visually. Use images, color and typefaces.
  7. Incorporate your 360° brand into every social media interaction. The idea is to keep your name top of mind. Be subtle about how you do this. Integrate the human side of your brand on social media. Think voice and people.
  8. Optimize your social media content to attract the maximum audience. Make your social media irresistible with alluring headlines, attractive images, easy-to-scan text and social proof.
  9. Use a variety of social media platforms. Spend at least as much time distributing content and engaging on your topic across social media platforms. Leverage every distribution outlet at your disposal including advertising, where appropriate.
  10. Measure your social media results. Incorporate a contextually relevant call-to-action where appropriate. Focus on getting interested readers into in your purchase funnel rather than going straight for the sale.

 

Many of the challenges your social media efforts face are because these interactions tend to occur early in the potential customer’s consideration process.

Of greater importance to your business is the need to incorporate your marketing plans into your social media activity to ensure that they yield measurable results.

What have you done to incorporate marketing into your social media activity? How have you measured your results?

Happy Marketing,
Heidi Cohen

PS–If you’re seeking more social media marketing help, register for Social Media Examiner’s Social Media Success Summit. Do it now to save over 50%!! 


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