Social media marketing is important to everyone’s business. Great exposure, coupled with engagement means leads will just drop in your lap… or does it? It’s not just a case of setting up your social media profile and the work starts rolling in. It really won’t change your business overnight and needs a lot of love and attention. You have to work hard at it – believe me I have been there and tried it. I am a marketing consultant running my own business after all and it’s not always as easy as people make out. Especially when you work in the B2B space like me!

So I’ve been thinking and when I have been working with my clients on social media marketing I see these issues crop up time and time again and I want to share them with you so you don’t make the same mistakes!

The don’t have a blog!

The whole idea for social media marketing is to drive people back to your website. But if you don’t have a blog where you can post your thoughts and showcase your expertise, how will you ever build up trust with your audience? Sending out Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn posts that purely promote your service is selfish and boring. Your blog is your backbone for your content strategy and will give you a stream of interesting content you can post to your social media channels and drive people back. The aim is to make it educational, entertaining and informative and showcasing your expertise.

If you haven’t got a blog get one now otherwise your social media referrals in google analytics will be virtually non-existent. Read my post on blogging – how to never run out of ideas.

Posting without considering a follower strategy

So once the content is sorted and your start posting regularly, things are starting to look up. But then you realise that you don’t have anyone following you and no one is reading your content. Every social media strategy should include a section on how you are going to grow your following. If you don’t then don’t do social media marketing because it’s going to waste your time.

You will need to put some time and effort into understanding where your target market is and start following accounts. So, for instance what type of publications and magazines would they read? If those magazines have a twitter presence then follow their followers. Who would be good connections for you on LinkedIn – start sending out invitations to connect and why you would like to connect. The more people follow the better. But do remember it is quality not quantity.

Recently I started a follower strategy for my client on Twitter. I have followed over 2,000 people based in Kent, to have around 500 people follow my client back. This should give you an indication of the numbers you need to start thinking about. It’s hard work and takes time to grow your followers but the more followers, the more likely the chance people will engage with your content.

Not posting enough on social media

I’ve read somewhere (and don’t quote me on this) that for any tweet only 6% of your followers will see your post once it is out in there. You need to post regularly to make sure you are being seen and it is ok to post the same content a number of times too. I would recommend if you are a small business you should be posting to 3-5 times a day. I had a client who wanted to post once a day to twitter – and yes, I advised this was not going to give him the success he wanted! And it’s not just Twitter think about the different platforms you want to be known on. With LinkedIn you wouldn’t post this much at all maybe 1-2 times a week. So make sure you posting schedule is appropriate.

Social media marketing won’t be the answer to all your business woes. It takes time and patience to keep your channels up to date and your followers coming back for more. If done properly it can increase your brand awareness and drive people to your website.

If you need help and advice on how to make your social media channels work for you then get in touch, you don’t have to struggle on your own.

Need help?

If you would like help with your marketing then bringing on a marketing consultant with a fresh pair of eyes can make all the difference. I work with B2B businesses and professional service firms in London, Kent, UK and Europe. Please get in touch or book a free 30-minute consultation.