5 reasons many Businesses fail in social media

Below are five reasons many Businesses fail in social media and how you can turn it around:

1. You have no plan. Social media is one tool in your marketing toolbox. Make sure you create your strategy BEFORE you try to implement one. Schedule time every morning and evening to devote to social media. 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon/evening. If you don’t have a plan – it will take you twice as long!

2. You don’t have great content. This is a biggie. If you’re finding it difficult to engage people through social media, then it may be a sign that you’re not giving them enough to engage with. It doesn’t matter how likable, charismatic or helpful you are, if you’re posting things of little interest, no one is going to care about the content OR your brand. Where to get good content?

3. You put the wrong person in charge. Social media is not something you can delegate 100% as a business owner. You can delegate some of it – but the personal interaction that makes social media work, has to come from you. Owners that tend to do well are the ones that are personable, humble, and that genuinely enjoy talking to people and being social. If that person is not you then you may have a difficult time attracting fans or followers. Consider hiring someone to help you, whether it’s an assistant or intern.

4. You’re not listening. There are two different kinds of businesses in social media. Those that listen, and those that pitch their business. Businesses who engage in the latter typically have a difficult time gaining traction. While you can definitely use social media to target new clients and pitch your products and services, you have to develop a relationship with your fans and followers first. Facebook Pages that succeed are the ones who are able to integrate personal interactions and also offer them something they’re actually interested in (i.e. community events, local school info, market stats, etc.) – and they do so on a consistent, daily basis. They can offer that info that because they’ve listened. That’s the power of social media

5. You’re just ‘dabbling’ with it. If you spent $5 on a newspaper ad and saw no return, you wouldn’t be surprised. However, we all know that most newspaper can run a lot more than this. If you spend nothing on social media, then you’re going to see the same return. And that’s where many businesses are right now – they’re ‘dabbling’ or ‘experimenting’ in social media, but they’re not dedicating any resources to it. They’re not investing their time to learn, to keep up with what’s new, and they’re not paying for tools that will help them monitor and benchmark what they’re doing. Just like with anyone else, the investment you put in is going to dictate the value you get out of it. Businesses who ‘dabble’, should expect to get dabbling results.