It can be difficult to gain traction on social media when you need to learn new algorithms, optimization techniques, and posting rules. Even when you post consistently and engage with others, you still may not see results. You’re on the right track, but there are a few adjustments you likely need to make to ensure your social media marketing strategy is more effective. If you’re not seeing results on social media, you’re probably falling victim to these common errors.
Ignoring Social Media Trends
Popular social media content relies heavily on trends; platform challenges, relatable memes, trending audio, and more. If you ignore these trends, your posts may not gain the traction you’re looking for. You don’t want to stray from your brand imaging or professional tone, but play into the algorithm and trending post formats to make it more relatable and consumable for your target audience. Create content featuring trending audio in a way that aligns with your brand. Start dubbing videos with AI in a fun and engaging way. Think of popular meme or video formats that can help broadcast your content onto different feeds.
Posting at the Wrong Time
Each social media algorithm is unique, but there are specific times of day when your target audience is less likely to be active on the platform. If you’re targeting locals in your area, but you post at three in the morning, you’re not going to get the engagement you’re looking for. Most platforms recommend posting during weekdays in the mornings (7-10) or evenings (5-7), but you’ll want to do some research for the platforms you’re using for more tailored advice. It’s easy to get buried under thousands of posts, so you’ll want to start on the right foot.
Lack of a Call to Action
You may be posting interesting content, but if you don’t tell audiences what to do with what they’ve consumed, you won’t get any new leads. You want your viewers to engage with your content and visit your website or business location after viewing. Ensure that you direct users to the desired action. If you want them to comment, make it enticing for them to do so. If you want them to visit your website, provide them with compelling reasons. Include a call to action in not just your post captions, but your profile biography as well. Update them regularly to keep your content fresh and engaging.
Not Defining Your Audience
Social media consists of billions of people worldwide. You won’t be able to make everyone happy, and not everyone will need or want to learn about your brand or business. Researching and identifying your target audience will help you create content that resonates more with them, which will drive more revenue. If you create content for multiple audiences, ensure that your business is actually targeting those audiences. You can have different customer profiles, but you should limit your content to appeal to your likeliest demographics.
Inconsistent Brand Tone
Brands use consistent imagery and tone to create a cohesive theme and ideal. Think of Apple and its use of minimalism, similar colors, product names, and imagery. Your brand should be just as consistent. If your posts go from professional to casual in tone or use a wide variety of colors and themes, it’s going to be difficult to get a read on what your brand actually represents. Audiences will have a more difficult time trusting a brand that isn’t consistent in what it is trying to say or look like. Acquire a solid grasp of your brand identity and ensure that your social media content accurately reflects it.
Poor Optimization
Posting content requires more than just creating an engaging video or photo. You need to optimize it according to the social media algorithms. For example, certain platforms use hashtags that allow users to search for specific content. Other platforms rely on caption keywords. Some use post tags to filter content. You need to make sure you’re optimizing each post for each specific platform. Use relevant keywords or hashtags. Ensure the video or photo size is compatible with the platform. Use terminology and posting strategies that work well for the social media in question. When you’re not optimizing your content, it’s less likely to gain traction.
Overlooking the Analytics
Data is a powerful tool, especially on social media, to make sure you’re heading in the right direction with your branding and content. Most social media platforms, especially business profiles, will offer you key data and metrics for you to look at to see if your posts are gaining traction. Use this information to inform your social media strategy moving forward. When you don’t take advantage of this information, you won’t have direction and evidence driving decisions, making it harder for your brand to go “viral.” Don’t ignore the numbers. Use them to fuel your growth.
Conclusion
If your social media strategy isn’t giving you the results that you’re looking for, you’re likely making a few key mistakes. You may be ignoring the data analytics, or you’re not utilizing popular trends on each platform. It’s difficult to adjust to each social media’s algorithm, but you’ll want to learn what works and what doesn’t in terms of optimization in order to go further with your strategy. With research and adaptability, your social media content will give you the marketing results you’re looking for.
