Does this sound familiar to you? You’re working like a maniac to run your business and have to do all your own social media marketing too? You squeeze in the time to find or create content, you post it and then nothing! No likes, comments, shares or engagement. If you are one of the MANY business owners sharing this experience, I know how frustrating it is!
The good news is, I can help! I’m going to go through the 5 most common mistakes I see small business owners make on their social platforms. Then I’ll share a few tips that will turn your social media profiles into active, engaging places to build relationships with potential clients and continue to build loyalty with existing ones.
#1 Reason: Facebook’s Algorithm
As you know, Facebook is a publicly traded company that needs to generate revenue. And while they give us this free platform to create personal and business profiles, they still have to make money. One of the ways they do that is to throttle back the visibility for business pages to encourage those page owners to use paid advertising campaigns to get more exposure for their messages.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Facebook shows your content to only 4% of your followers. Without paid advertising you will struggle to get attention” quote=”Facebook is only showing your content to 4-5% of your followers. Without paid advertising, you are going to struggle to get any attention.”]
Now don’t go getting all upset. This is actually a good thing because it allows you to target a very specific audience with your ads, based on the massive amount of information Facebook has on its users (aka, your next client.) I recommend that you set a monthly Facebook advertising budget and start running strategic campaigns that build your audience and put your posts in front of your next potential client.
#2 Reason: You haven’t created a targeted audience
In order to attract attention to your content and to encourage engagement, you need a targeted audience that needs the product or services you offer. This goes right back to #1, paid advertising. The size of your audience isn’t what matters. Far more important is making sure that the right people are following. The Facebook ad manager will help you to identify the demographics, interests, behaviors and more of your ideal prospect. Then you can attract them to your page and provide them with content they find relevant, helpful or entertaining.
#3 Reason: You aren’t offering enough value
I’ll warn you now, this is hard to hear… no one is on Facebook is going to buy from you! They are there to be social. For you to successfully intervene in that recreational activity, you have to be worth it! Which means you have to offering value to the audience you want to attract. You have to be so helpful that they want to stop looking at photos of what their friends had for dinner to read or watch your content.
[clickToTweet tweet=”No one is on Facebook is going to buy from you! ” quote=”No one is on Facebook is going to buy from you! “]
One thing I hear frequently from people is that if they give real value, they feel like they are giving away what people should be paying for. I’ve got news for you… get over it! I’m not telling you to share your top-secret recipes or anything crazy, but I am telling you that if you give, give and give some more, people will begin to consider you an expert. Then when they need your product or service, they will come back to you because they trust you.
How else are you going to build this trust and a credible reputation without proving yourself by providing value? If you go out there and just focus on selling, I guarantee people will stop paying attention, maybe even unfollow you. So make it your #1 priority to give value and to think of what your audience needs before you think of yourself.
#4 Reason – You aren’t creating great graphics
Think of your own experience of scrolling through your Facebook news feed. What makes you stop? It’s usually great images or videos! You have to be creating excellent graphics that captures your reader’s eye and makes them STOP while they are scrolling. Lucky you, the blog we wrote previous to this one has 3 of our favorite graphic design programs for creating KILLER graphics. Be sure to check that one out if you think this is an area where you’re falling short.
#5 Reason – You aren’t leveraging the power of video marketing
I’ve heard every excuse there is for not using video in Facebook:
- I don’t like what I look like
- I don’t have the technology needed
- I don’t have a professional camera
- I can’t stand being in front of a camera
- I don’t know what to talk about
Let me bust these all for you…. You look great! You have a smart phone right? You’ve always needed to practice the things you wanted to be good at didn’t you? You consider yourself an expert in your field I assume? If you answered yes to any of those questions, it’s time to get your phone out, maybe invest a few dollars into a tripod or stand and start recording!
Whether you use Facebook live streaming or create a video using your phone and then upload it, the secret to breaking the Facebook algorithm is VIDEO! I definitely recommend having a strategy for the type of content you are going to create, but the ultimate goal is to allow your followers to really get to know you. To hear your voice, to feel the passion you have for your craft and to feel like the 2 of you are literally connected and know each other. It’s incredibly powerful!!
Keep this thought in mind as you debate your video marketing strategy with yourself…. The experts at Social Media Marketing World 2017 made it very clear that by 2020, over 70% of ALL content consumed online will be in video format. That’s an awful lot of video! And if you don’t start building your presence, learning how to do it right and identifying what resonates with your audience, you are going to miss the boat (and who can afford that?)
Every time you go to post a piece of content, stop and think to yourself: “Will this make people stop in their feed and pay attention?” If the answer is yes, awesome!! If it’s not, start over and give yourself the best chance of connecting with your followers.
I’m always happy to answer questions, offer a little support to talk more about helping you develop your online marketing strategy. Leave us a note below or reach out via our contact page, via email, or find us on any social media platform @thinkbiggolocal.
Bobbi Baehne
President, Think Big Go Local, Inc.
My mission at Think Big Go Local is to create a “buzz” around our client’s businesses online and in social media platforms so their message reaches their desired audience. We know that relationships are built and maintained online each and every day and work to make sure our clients are building credibility, authority and attracting new followers and clients . We don’t work in a cookie cutter environment, each of our clients is unique and their accounts are fully managed using their voice, talking to their specific audience and sharing value that keeps them coming back.