By Rachel Frederick
Social media can be an incredible form of marketing—and this is not news. It has the potential to reach a large audience, it’s mostly free, and it’s a great way to enhance your brand. Yet it’s so easy to get caught up in the “posting roller coaster” without any real clarity around whom you’re posting for and why they’re following you in the first place.
If you’re struggling to get the conversions you think you should be getting, a lack of clarity and focus is likely the biggest reason why.
What if we start thinking of social media not as marketing, but instead as “maintenance marketing?” As in, social media is most successful when it supports what you’re already doing outside of the platform. Social media will never stand on its own as a marketing tactic. While an interesting post or two might attract followers and a few likes and comments, focused branding, consistent messaging, and a predictable posting schedule is what retains them. In other words, branding is step one, content is step two, and social media is step three.
Start with a solid foundation, position yourself as an expert, and then promote what makes you amazing. I’m guessing this is not the first time you’ve heard that you need to build a solid foundation, and that if you’re missing that foundation, social media has very little chance of helping with your profit margins. Yet so many brands are posting just to post without a content strategy to back it up.
If you don’t have a story to tell, content to promote, testimonials to share, or a business promise worth shouting about, social media won’t help you much in the long run. Let’s back up for a moment, shall we?
Who are you?
Within moments of landing on your Instagram feed, Facebook page, or LinkedIn profile, your visitors should be able to tell who you are. They should be able to tell what you do and why you do it. If they can’t, they won’t stick around for very long. First, find your story, then use imagery, quotes, fonts, and colors to back it up.
So many small businesses are focused on keeping up with their competition that they fall into the shadows. They become followers instead of leaders. Find your story. Find your voice. Find your brand. There is a reason why authenticity is so overplayed right now—it’s a very real, very usable marketing tactic.
Who are your customers?
If you have a brick-and-mortar business, your core audience is most likely within a five to 15 mile radius of your location. This means that shouting about your amazing cupcakes across all of social media may not be the best use of your time.
Your audience is closer than you think and they’re already paying attention. Don’t get caught stressing about finding thousands of followers when 300 loyal, local ones will serve you just fine. In other words, don’t spend time and money promoting your products and services to Los Angeles when your customers are in Chicago.