Not all brands are successful in using social media networks. However, brands that are succeeding in planning and building promotional campaigns on social media aren’t just playing the numbers game. They are allowing social media to do what it was designed for, and that is converting consumers and building communities.
Accentuate Web Design and Marketing has built websites and provided digital marketing services to businesses all over Australia and its territories for more than 16 years. Our business is not only about building great websites that are visually appealing to your audience but also search engine optimised. This also means we post on various social media to achieve our goals and those of our digital marketing clients… A LOT!
So why then would we dissuade you from posting on social media, when we as digital marketing experts have been actively using it with success for years? Well, just as armies don’t go into battle without preparation, planning, and strategies, we don’t recommend you do either!
This is a reason why many brands fail with their social media efforts, the lack of preparation, planning, and strategy. For any business entity to be successful online, you need to be able to communicate the value of your organisation. Give them a solid and meaningful reason why they should interact with you and be converted.
When it comes to social media posts, talking to an audience is an entirely different ballgame from simply talking to friends and family. But, as a business, you’d want your audience to see you everywhere.
Interaction is the key to social media. Generally speaking, social media is based on the idea that people react to your creations. That’s why, it is advisable not to post on social media just for the sake of having something to post. Preparation is the key to making it work for you.
5 Reasons Small Business Owners Shouldn’t Be Posting on Social Media
You need to be active on social media to reach people, increase interest and brand awareness, and ultimately have them convert. A healthy social media presence allows you to bring your message to where your audience is.
But, we can’t have you going at it gung ho and yet, half-cocked. So allow us to help you before you delve in deep. Step back, take a deep breath, and take in the following:
1. Your website is not ready to convert consumers.
You might have the best-looking and responsive website or online store with bells and whistles for landing pages. You have the most attractive images for your products and/or write-ups for your services. But if you’re not getting visitors to complete the goal/s you want them to, then all that design effort and expense just goes to waste.
To understand and increase website conversions, you need to start by understanding your target audience.
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- What drove them to your site?
- What are their pain points?
- What would persuade them to take action?
Instead of focusing on the end goal, the conversion itself, set your focus on what happens before, during, and after. This is what we call ‘the user experience or journey.’
To put it simply, the user experience is important because it aims to fulfil the user’s needs. In addition, a meaningful user experience allows you to define consumer’s journeys on your website by making it more conducive to garnering conversions and success.
2. You don’t have a clear marketing message.
Your goal is to establish an obvious and immediately recognisable link between what your customer needs and what they need to know about how your product or service can cater to that need.
Your marketing message are words you use to communicate with your audience in convincing them why it would be advantageous for them to do business with you. The words you use in your marketing message can make a big difference between a new acquisition or sending that potential customer to abandon you in favour of your competitor.
You might have a superior product or service, but if you can’t relay a clear message that they can fully understand, relate to, or resonate with, your effort to communicate with the client falls by the wayside. Without a right and clear message to connect your audience with your brand, you risk the chance of losing a possible lifelong customer.
3. You don’t know who your Ideal Consumer is.
To find out what your consumers want and need from your business, you must understand who they are, and what they like (or don’t like) about your site, product, or service. Low conversions suggest that you need to clarify or explain your offerings further.
The real trick in finding your ideal customer/consumer is to outline what, why, how, and who you consider when on the lookout for those who are more than likely to become happy with your product or service.
The “What”
This is identifying your ideal customer demographics. It will include everything from their gender, age, geographic location, occupation, income, etc. This helps you in narrowing down your scope, so you can focus your efforts on targets with the highest probability of conversion success.
The “Why”
Consider your target’s social and psychological aspects to target them more efficiently. Take this a step further by considering their preferences, fears, aspirations, values, or even their worldview if need be.
The “How”
To garner the most positive impact, reach your ideal target audience through the best communication channels. This can be through email, your website, ad placement, or social media. Consider which channels they best respond to and how they receive information and interact socially.
The “Who”
This does take some legwork, but when all these factors come together, you’ll have a clearer picture of who your ideal customers are. Once you get to know them, your business will start thriving out of having relationships with the right people.
4. You don’t have a Clear Sales Pitch.
Customer satisfaction is the most important factor for a business. These people will come back for more and are likely to spread positive stories about your business.
But how do you get them if you don’t know how, or don’t have a clear method of selling to them? You need to craft a compelling narrative for your client. Don’t make the mistake of using facts, figures and results, expecting they can make a compelling argument based on the data.
An old sales is saying that goes: facts tell, but stories sell. Keep this in mind when putting together your sales pitch. It may be counterintuitive, but your pitch shouldn’t start with your product, it should begin with your client’s biggest pain points.
Creating a customer-centric solution means your pitch shouldn’t just be focused on your product’s features or service capabilities, but more about the critical challenges you get to solve for your customers. Your pitch must begin with a story big enough to highlight the pain you help your customers alleviate.
By figuring out their problems and pain points, you can then tailor your pitch that will resonate with your prospect. You must:
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- Provide a compelling reason for the prospect not to ignore the opportunity.
- Incite urgency by presenting the consequences if they do not take action.
Rather than focusing on your product, focus on how the product can help the end user. Pitching is all about the relationship. Building trust and being honest. Inspire them, grab their attention to take the direction you want to take and encourage them to take action.
5. You don’t have a Marketing Strategy.
Creating a strategy ensures that you are targeting the right people with engaging and relevant content that appeals to them. The more time you spend creating a clear strategy, the more opportunities you can create to sell.
To put it simply, a marketing strategy sets out your business goals. This includes identifying who your ideal customers are and how you intend to reach them. It’s a blueprint of the marketing activities you intend to do to grow your business.
Content marketing including any activity you do on social media is a waste of time unless you have a strategy. This helps in determining your target personas, where and how you present the information they might require, and what words and phrases resonate with them well enough to make them convert.
You might see some results even if your company doesn’t have a defined digital marketing strategy. However, positive results could be sporadic and could eventually dry up if the industry changes or if a well-prepared competitor comes along. If you are proactively bringing new leads into the business as part of your regular marketing strategy, you can build your brand and protect it from ever-changing external factors.
PRO TIP: If you happen to have a marketing strategy for quite a while, your business or the market may have already undergone significant changes. Revisit your marketing strategy every couple of years to ensure your business is keeping up with the times, and that you’re still headed in the right direction. A clear strategy will result in sales.
Use Social Media to Your Best Advantage
The use of social media has revolutionised the way we communicate. And it only works when you have something to say. Posting anything for the sake of just posting is a colossal waste of time and counterproductive.
In this day and age, social media has blurred the line between professional and personal, and we usually refer to our online presence as our “Personal Brand.”
A marketing expert or digital agency, however, can help make the process more productive. In addition to asking the difficult questions, we take an objective look at your business as we help guide you through the process.
By combining market research and our experience with other businesses similar to yours, our social media marketing experts supplement the information you provide. It’s much easier to rely on a team behind your back for the details rather than dealing with them on your own. For expert social media marketing services, learn how by contacting our Gold Coast social media agency.
