Social Media: 5 Things that aren’t Working in 2016

Following up on my previous Blog, Hottest Trends in Social Media in 2016, here is part 2, talking about the “What’s Not Hot” in social media in 2016.

Social Media – 5 Things that Don’t Work in 2016

Every business owner, entrepreneur and marketing manager know that things change quickly in social media. What works today may not work tomorrow and it’s almost certain that strategies will change next year. Here are 5 things that our team of experts at Think Big Go Local have identified that will no longer work in your social media marketing.

1.  Quantity over Quality

Remember the days when our claim to fame was how many followers we had on Facebook and Twitter? There was a time that a large following meant that your message was being seen by a nearly equally large audience.  Changes in Facebook’s and Twitter’s algorithms have changed that and a large following is no longer the key to success.  Audience loyalty is!  I’m sure you’ll agree that it is better to have 1000 followers that hang on your every word, search out your content and want to buy from you than to have 10,000 that aren’t paying attention. The goal today is to focus on building the RIGHT audience. Identify the types of individuals that will find the most value in your products and services and then build solid relationships with great content and engagement.

2.  “Like” and “Share”

Go back just a couple of years and your newsfeed was filled with “Like” and “Share” instructions in just about every business promoting post.  My advice to you in 2016 – Don’t do it!   There are two reasons why.  1) If your reader loves your content, they’ll share it without being asked.  If your content sucks, asking people to like and share is simply annoying.  2) Facebook announced in 2014 that if they detect requests in text or images to “like” and “share”, they will reduce the reach of your post.  And who can afford to have any less reach these days?

3.  Auto Responders

I’ll make this clear, auto responders are awesome in the right situation.  For example, when someone opts in to your newsletter list and your auto responder adds them to your CRM, then shoots out a welcome email, that process rocks!  But when you are using auto responders in social media to pretend that you are responding, you’re doing nothing to build a relationship. For example, let’s say you follow someone on Twitter because their profile interests you.  Two milliseconds later you get a message from them giving the impression that they actually noticed your follow, checked out your bio and want to have a conversation.  Oh and by the way, they want you to connect on Facebook and LinkedIn and download their new e-book.  Personally, I go right to the unfollow button.  Can you imagine being that aggressive and phony in a real life situation?  Social media is supposed to be “social”, so try to follow similar etiquette and build real, meaningful relationships.

4.  Excessive Self Promotion

Our staff at Think Big Go Local follows an 80/20 rule.  80 percent of the time we post content that has no other purpose than to provide value to our audience. Our focus on our followers results in the content being consumed and appreciated by our followers. 20% of the time we promote our services or training courses.  By providing value first and foremost, our audience isn’t offended and doesn’t unfollow us when we promote our business. As a matter of fact, they often look forward to it. Additionally, if Facebook finds your content to be excessively promotional, you’re going to get less reach.

5.  Free Advertising

One of the most appealing aspects of social media to businesses, especially small businesses, is that it is free! Businesses that got in early were able to build a strong audience and if they posted great content, they were getting great engagement as well.  Advertising wasn’t all that necessary when there was less competition and less noise in these platforms. Oh how times have changed!  Just having a profile set up isn’t enough if you are really serious about reaching a targeted audience. While those platforms are technically “free”, getting the reach and visibility you need is going to cost you. That said, I truly believe that paid advertising, especially in Facebook, is a fantastic investment. Facebook has access to tons of information about their users and that vast amount of data is at your fingertips when you run Facebook ads.  Just accept that these platforms aren’t really free, figure out your budget and start investing in social media advertising to reach your ideal client. If you have any questions at all about how to create or improve your social media strategy, Contact us via our website, send me an email at bobbi@tbgl.net, hit us up on Twitter, Snapchat  (BobbiB68), Periscope (BobbiB68), Facebook or Instagram and I’ll be happy to help! Save