So, You’ve Started Social Media for Your Business…

…And they aren’t taking off immediately. What are you doing wrong?
Listen, it’s natural to want things to happen RIGHT NOW. Social media has a way of feeding into the instant gratification mindset, but sorry to tell you, that’s just not realistic. I don’t just mean for YOU. It’s not realistic for ANYONE. Now that we’ve washed that out of your head, what are you doing “wrong”?

Truth is, you may not be that you’re doing anything “wrong” at all, you just need to be doing more of the RIGHT things.

Does that make sense?
Let’s break it down a little further. Think of social media as a relationship. There are some you might feel like jumping into immediately, but those aren’t usually the ones that last. Most relationships that are worthwhile take time to build trust and a rapport. The same goes for social media. You’re going to have to put in the work and build a rapport with those who see your posts.
One thing we always are here is realistic. We’re also here to cheer you on, but that’s not going to be by candy-coating the path. While we’d ALL love to start an account and find success on day one, the fact is it can take months. Maybe even longer.

There’s no magic formula.

There’s just advice that you can take if you’re ready to put the work in (and yes, it IS work):

1. Be consistent. If you’re appearing in feeds more often, it means your followers are more likely to engage. Take note that more often doesn’t mean posting the same thing until someone responds. Spam might be good fried (Don’t scoff–have you TRIED it?), but it’s not appetizing to the newsfeed.
2. Strategy. You don’t necessarily have to write out a detailed marketing plan, although it never hurts to give yourself an idea of where you’re going and figure out how to get there. Start small. Who are you trying to reach? What audience are you trying to target? Talk TO them, not at them.
3. Engagement. Social media has always been about starting a conversation. People don’t want to talk to robots. They want to talk to you. Yes you.
In case you weren’t aware, you’re pretty cool, even if you might not think so. Likewise, people follow you because they think your perspective is interesting. Ask questions and actually care about the responses enough to respond to them. If people see you have a consistent flow of interactions, they’ll be more likely to follow you and join the conversation.

More importantly, don’t give up. Just keep learning.

  1. Daphne says:

    Love this! Great reminder and quick motivation on making social media “work” for a business! (It’s where I found you and clicked to this blog!)

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