It’s too easy to develop a “set it and forget it” mentality when it comes to social media marketing for your small business. Who has the extra time to continually update their social media marketing plans? I don’t have “time” and I run a social media company! In all honestly, until recently our internal social media strategy had not been updated for several years. Our company has changed direction over that time and it’s been driving me crazy as I know our approach had now been properly adjusted. My team recently revamped our strategy and it’s with much relief as we are back on track and focused on relevant marketing goals. It’s embarrassing to confess to having had a less than perfect plan in place, but I want you to know that it’s ok if you’re behind! Our general rule is to review and revamp social media marketing strategies annually while also making adjustments throughout the year. This is what we advise clients as well as the advise we try to live by. Yet life gets in the way and all too often plans get tucked on the shelf and we forget we even have them.
I’ve put together a list of warning signs of when it’s time to spend some time on social media strategy:
1. You lack focus and direction on Twitter.
Are your Twitter lists growing slowly or not at all? Do you feel like you are missing meaningful connections? With SocialNicole, this has been a sticking point. I run the SocailNicole Twitter account as it is both my personal and professional Twitter. Lately, I have not felt the excitement nor validation that comes from a well-planned and strategically operated Twitter account. About one year ago, I switched my audience focus but did not fix my strategy. I have justified this over time because I share great content and business has remained consistent. Truthfully, the lack of focus has hurt my overall Twitter presence and my excitement to be there.
2. Facebook begins to be a chore and posts don’t connect with your target audience.
I admit it! This was an issue for us. Again, we switched part of our focus but the over-arching strategy did not change and it became a chore to post. Our Facebook page has not grown as much as it could have because our focus has been on other business goals. Facebook drives a significant amount of traffic to our website, so the fact that we have not been investing quality, focused time on our page is a disservice to our audience and our business. With our new plan in place I feel so relieved as the page is now robust and full of great content and I can see the difference as my audience is much more interactive now!
3. Your blog doesn’t drive repeat traffic and the bounce rate is high.
It’s fascinating to see what has happened to our blog in the past year. We strive for great social media how-to posts, but the bounce rate has skyrocketed from our lack of clear direction. We also saw email conversions and repeat site visitors decrease. The content we have been posting is great and while we have been planning it out in advanced it has lacked the overall strategy that comes from a clear concise content and social media plan that is written out and committed to implementation. This was not a major concern because we have plenty of business, but social media marketing requires long-term strategy so it is important to stay focused on the bigger prize. Do not become docile and lose focus on your goals. Remember, worrying about today’s business is as important as investing in tomorrow’s business.
4. You do not have specific social media goals.
If your social media strategy is more than a year old chances are you have lost sight of your goals. The problem with adjusting your strategy as you go and not spending time on a complete review and revamp each year is that you don’t necessarily adjust your goals. Without strong goals in place it’s then easy to lose sight of the prize. A few weeks ago, I finally sat down with my team and addressed what we all known was true: we needed to revamp our own small business social media strategy. Everyone was on board, as we had discussed the idea over several months. It took time for me to pull the trigger, to become personally invested in the process and also to invest resources in getting everyone else on board. But it was worthwhile. The number one thing that I have as a result of getting our social media house in order is relief. Finally I feel the calm that comes when everything is humming along nicely. I also feel the pride of having my channels robust and strong as I like them to be. So what did we do? Stay tuned for our next post: “How to Revamp Your Small Business Social Media Strategy Without Pulling Your Hair Out!”
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