Social media marketing is a cost-effective way to reach a target audience. Yet small businesses often tell me they are not getting results on social media.

I help clients work through this type of frustration all the time. Here are some common reasons businesses don’t see the results they want on social media.

No Social Media Strategy

As a default, I like to work off of a strategy. But I am learning that the majority of people see that word as a negative. Jumping right into doing things on social media may seem like a great way to avoid the perceived pain of planning, but doing so sets you up for even more frustration.

Activity without an underlying plan has a slim chance of helping you achieve your goals. You need to take the time to define your goals and research the specific ways to use social media to move toward that goal.

No one has unlimited time. You need to make sure every second you spend on social media is moving you toward the goal you want to achieve.

Squirrel!

Social media platforms crop up and add features all the time. It is easy to get distracted by the latest option and lose focus on what you want to achieve. Yes, Clubhouse is growing in use, but is it a tool that moves you toward your goal?

Your strategy needs to be an evolving document that takes advantage of new tools that are a fit. It also needs to morph as you learn what resonates and what falls flat with your audience. The fast paced nature of social media means that you can waste less time doing things that don’t work.

Be Real About Your Time

I recently showed a client how to post to her new blog. I suggested that she post once a month, based on my knowledge of her goals and her time available to blog. She wanted to do more and committed to posting once a week. It’s been four months now, and there have been no posts.

Be real with yourself about the time and resources that you have to commit to social media. It is better to do what you can than to over commit. That just sets you up for a sense of failure and could really disenfranchise your target audience.

Another client spent his whole marketing budget on social media efforts in the first 3 months of the year. With social media, the effort is over the long-term. Short bursts are not effective. You are better off pacing your resources in a way that will allow you to sustain a level of effort over time.

Putting It Off

If you are like most small business owners, you probably really don’t know where you stand on social. You are afraid to ask about what’s not working or look into a strategy because you just can’t add one more thing to your plate.

I hear you! If you are not getting results on social media, I offer a 60 day online presence boot camp. In a short period of time, we’ll dig into what you are doing and come away with a plan that you can work with moving forward. None of us has time to spend on anything that’s not getting results. Let’s turn that around for your business.