We’ve spent a lot of time telling small business owners like you about social media marketing.
We’ve given you the scoop on social media influencers, introduced you to platforms you might not be too familiar with and even shown you what not to do with your social media campaigns. In fact, we’ve told you so much about social media that you might think we have nothing else to say on the subject.
You’d be wrong.
When it comes to social media, there are some cold, hard truths that shouldn’t be ignored — but they often are. In the interest of total transparency, here are some things that no one tells you about taking your small business social.
Numbers Don’t Tell the Whole Story
Many small businesses place a ton of importance on how many fans and followers they have. To them, it’s all about watching the numbers climb — but they tend to forget that each number has a very real potential customer behind it.
Sure, having 25,000 followers on your Facebook page is exciting. But if only a handful of them are truly engaged, can you really call it a win? Are they there because they truly care about your products and services or simply because they had to like your page to enter a contest and then promptly forgot about you? Do you show up in their feed or are you lost in the shuffle?
Social media marketing — any type of marketing, to be honest — requires you to value quality over quantity. If you focus on engaging the fans you have now, others are sure to follow. Padding your numbers with an artificial audience is a waste of your time.
Competition Is Fierce
Eighty million small and midsize businesses advertise on Facebook, but the average user only clicks on eight ads a month. If that stat doesn’t send an icy chill down your spine, it should. It is ridiculously hard for even the best social media marketers to get a piece of the pie, and it is terribly easy to render yourself invisible to the masses.
A laissez-faire approach doesn’t work in social media. For every small business page, there are thousands more just like it. What are you doing to differentiate yourself from your competition?
If your business model is “sit and wait for our audience to engage,” you’re going to be waiting for a very long time. Social media marketing requires creativity and aggressiveness. Engaging content, mixed mediums and a good relationship with your audience are the order of the day if you hope to stand out on any social media platform.
There Is No “Easy Button”
Google “the secret to social media marketing” and you’ll get plenty of results. But while you may find some good tips, no marketing agency can wave a magic wand over your social media pages and instantly provide you with a ready-made, fully engaged audience willing to do your bidding. If someone tells you they can, they’re lying through their pearly whites.
There is no “secret” to social media. What works for one company might not work for you. It might not even work for them the next time they try it. Social media platforms are in a constant state of flux, and trying to keep up with the changes is a full-time job.
It’s hard work. It’s trial and error. It’s a lot of late nights, teeth gnashing and extra-strength Tylenol. Social media marketing isn’t easy — but once you get it right, it’s worth it!
Don’t Be Afraid!
We didn’t tell you all of this to put you off social media forever. We said it because we’ve seen too many small businesses go in blind, throwing one last “How hard can it be?” over their shoulder as they wander into the Facebook Forest or Twitter Triangle, never to be seen again.
It’s always easiest to navigate with a map.
Do you need help creating a social media presence for your small business or growing and maintaining the one you already have? We’re happy to do the hard work so you don’t have to! Contact Mischa Communications today and let’s get started!