Why does social media marketing suck?
I am certain that many marketing professionals have pondered whether or not they want to quit social media. How many reading this article have considered removing social media from their list of services offered?
Social media marketing is time-consuming. It’s extremely difficult to constantly come up with new ideas. Social media is frustrating. Despite your expert knowledge and adherence to the rules of blogging and the ever-changing Google algorithms – your well-thought content still goes unnoticed.
Social media is time-consuming.
Yes, social media is time-consuming. But what we are really saying is that MOST businesses DO NOT understand that “time is money”. Too often marketers price the value of developing a comprehensive social media strategy below minimum wage rates! Some do this because they are trying to compete with the auto-generated content that is pushed out on a daily basis. Others do this because they are unable to CLEARLY articulate the true VALUE of social media.
Social media is about engagement and building a brand image.
Social media is NOT about increasing sales! That’s right. If your client is looking to you to increase their sales with social media, then a reality check is in order. Social media is more of a cause and effect. The long-term benefits of social media marketing stretch beyond simple sales numbers.
Long term benefits of being “social”:
- Brand recognition, resulting in being identified as an industry leader.
- Improved customer experience, resulting in customer loyalty (aka repeat business).
- Measurable analytics, resulting in an increased ability to identify your target market.
- Cost effective, resulting in SAVING MONEY! Let’s face it, the cost of traditional marketing through print and radio advertising still surpasses the cost of a comprehensive social media campaign.
Removing some of the frustration of social media.
If constantly coming up with creative ways to promote your clients products or services is a frustration point – it may be time to seek an alternate profession. Should you run into a ‘writer’s block’ – like many content curators – follow the 50-30-20 rule:
- 50% of your posts should be entertaining and/or educational.
- 30% of your posts should be promotional.
- 20% of your posts should be knowledge based showing thought leadership.
Work SMARTER not HARDER.
There are so many useful tools now available for running an effective social media campaign. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEM. Develop your message with an edgy headline courtesy of CoSchedule or PromoRepublic. Use the creativity of Canva.com to craft up some fun content and designs to develop your client’s message. Take advantage of platforms such as HootSuite and Buffer to schedule posts for an entire month on multiple social media platforms. Utilize programs like HubSpot or SproutSocial to generate monthly reports to show your clients their social media activity.
Making social media marketing less “sucky”.
To summarize: set your price point accurately, make your clients understand the value of being social, use the basic rules of social media content as a guide, and take advantage of the plethora of social media marketing tools – and your passion for content marketing should be restored.
. . . or you can always contact Invoke Solutions. We are happy to help!