When it comes to the dos and don’ts of social media, this Marketing Tip of the Week is not just advice – it’s a PSA! If you post and run on social media, it’s time to stop. Yes, you! Whether you are from a Fortune 500 company with all the advertising dollars in the world, a microbusiness, or a nonprofit, this is for you. If you don’t have all day to be on social media, this is still for you. Stick with me, and I’ll explain why you aren’t doing yourself any favors when you post and run.
Social media is called “social” media for a reason. It is intended to be a forum for people to connect. To be…social. It sounds obvious, so why do so many of us run away from conversations?
What if you went to a networking event and every time you said hello to someone, you told them something witty and immediately walked away? What if you just left them with the poignant thought you dropped and didn’t even wait for their reaction? How weird would that be?! You’d leave the event with a reputation, but probably not a good one.
All those untended conversations you start and run away from count against your business, not for it. The conversations you leave hanging are missed opportunities. You could have built a stronger relationship. You could have made someone feel loyal to you. You might have been able to convert them on the spot.
Those untended conversations you start and run away from count against your #business. Share on XWhen it comes to marketing on social media, it is more efficient for us to squeeze every last drop out of the conversation and the relationships we are building. Instead of hustling to generate ten posts a day for five different platforms and run away from every promising discussion you could have created, what if you just created a few posts on a couple of platforms and nurtured them? Would you really be spending much more time?
In my own experience, there have been many times that I went over to someone else’s page and engaged with them (read here about why I think that is so important) or replied to a comment they made on my own page with a genuine response and IMMEDIATELY received a notification that they just downloaded my free marketing eBook. The more times I saw this happen, the more I realized how much people value when you listen to them.
How does it feel when you are with someone who constantly talks about themselves and their ideas and never listens to you? Just because you can’t see the people you are talking to on social media doesn’t mean the scenario is any different. Your audience wants to be heard as much as you do.
Unfortunately, I think the big companies out there are just as much a culprit of this as small businesses. Those who are pouring money into their advertising budget might generate a lot of reach for their page, and I think it misleads them into thinking they have maxed out the ROI from their posts. When I see companies that have a ton of comments on their posts and never bothered to respond, it kind of hurts me. All those missed responses are missed opportunities. With one simple, on-brand, on-tone response, you could hook that customer for life and make them value you over your competitors. What if these companies diverted a little of that advertising budget to a human who could give those on-brand responses. The power they would have over their audience! The commitment they would get back!
Missed responses are missed opportunities. #socialmedia #marketing #business #smallbiz #smb Share on XWhen I speak to businesses about social media marketing, I inevitably get someone who asks me my thoughts about my favorite scheduler. I tell them it’s a trick question. There are circumstances when we need to lean on a scheduler to stay consistent if we might have otherwise been unable to post, but 9 times out of 10 the question was asked because that person wants to know how to start conversations and then run away.
So, please remember this PSA. Share it with a friend who needs it. We all want to be heard on social media, not ignored. When you post and run, you make your audience feel ignored, which is probably counterproductive to your brand.
When you post and run, you make your audience feel ignored. #socialmedia #business #smb Share on XAnd if you liked what I said here, go on over to social media and start a conversation with me. I would love to hear from you, and I will get back to you. Because I care what you say, and I want you to know it.