Springtime is upon us. It’s time to dust out the cobwebs from winter, assess what’s holding us back and make space for growth. Spring cleaning isn’t exclusive to your garage or closet, however. It’s very useful to Spring clean your social media!
Nothing feels better than purging old stuff. But, it’s not always easy because we like our stuff and it’s tough to let it go.
Our stuff makes us feel better, even when it’s not serving us anymore. We know purging is good for us but the removal process isn’t comfortable.
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What do you have lurking in your social media closet that needs to find its way to the trash?
10 years ago, social media was a fertile field of wildflowers, full of kittens and unicorns. The marketing landscape was wide open for people who wanted to capture attention and engage like-minded customers.
A lot of us get nostalgic about those days and it’s easy to see why. Simple, thoughtful tactics were all it took to succeed. We were creating interesting new ways to communicate.
Those who adopted the movement away from blasting sales offers to disinterested parties were rewarded with long-lasting relationships.
Today, social media is a dense, crowded, noisy, smoggy urban jungle.
Simple tactics alone are no longer effective. Without a clear process of setting goals, creating strategies and analyzing the data, your message gets lost and is never heard from again.
The one thing that’s remained constant is that customers still look for ways to align themselves with brands that matter to them.
Evidence of the social media urban jungle and its continued growth
Facebook:
- There are over 2.13 billion monthly active Facebook users, which is a 14% increase year over year.
- 1.40 billion Facebook users log in daily. (Zephoria)
- 79% of internet users (68% of all U.S. adults) use Facebook. (Pew Research)
- 62% of online adults ages 65 and older now use Facebook, a 14-point increase from the 48% who reported doing so in 2016.
- People access Facebook an average of 8 times per day. (Comscore)
- 5 new Facebook profiles are created every second.
- Time spent per Facebook visit is 20 minutes.
- Facebook is estimated to generate $21.57 billion in US ad revenues in 2018, which would account for 83% of the total social media ad spend throughout the United States.
Signs of a crowded, noisy urban jungle:
- Organic reach of a Facebook Page post is 2%.
- Average Facebook post reach of total audience is 10.71%.
Instagram:
- 800 million monthly active users, up from 600 million in December 2016. (Statista)
- 35% of Instagram users check Instagram multiple times a day and 51% open the app daily.
- 90% of Instagram users are under age 35, and about a third of all U.S. teens consider Instagram to be their favorite social network. (DMR)
- There are 3.5 billion “likes” on Instagram daily. (Infini Datum)
Signs of a crowded, noisy urban jungle:
- On average, Instagram users miss 70% of their feeds.
- The average engagement rate of all Instagram posts is 1.1% (compared with 4.2% in 2014; 2.2% in 2015).
It’s a tough to argue with those numbers, right?
It’s clear that sifting through the crowded urban jungle is getting more difficult. Companies should be aware of the overgrowth that inevitably comes and Spring clean their social media.
Springtime means it’s time to assess what you’re currently doing on social media and decide what’s working, what’s not working, and clear away anything that’s not getting you to your goals.
5 Fresh Ways to Spring Clean Your Social Media
The following five actions will help you succeed with social media marketing and hopefully, motivate you to find new ways to improve.
1. Clear Away The Junk
Stop posting meaningless content. What is “meaningless content”? It’s content that’s generic, run-of-the-mill, or uninspired.
Think about it this way: if a TV station played the same show over and over, even with different actors, how long would it take for you to stop tuning in?
Don’t invite your fans, followers and prospects to “change the channel.” Refrain from posting these types of meaningless content:
- Articles from larger media outlets that everyone else can post too.
- Content created for you by your “social media marketing company” that they’re posting on every other one of their other clients’ social media profiles.
- Boring content that no one wants to engage with.
- Spammy, ‘salesy’ messages that turn people off because it’s too much, too soon.
2. Avoid Shortcuts That Cost You
Strategy before tactics.
As a social media strategist, I hear from businesses who think, “Social Media isn’t a place for us. It doesn’t work for our business.” Most of the time, these companies have not defined their goals for social media. They have no real strategy and resort to the latest tips, tricks or hacks. When that fails, they blame the medium.
Businesses that craft a foundational strategy to reach their goals never need to blame. They simply execute, monitor, analyze and adapt as they go.
There are no shortcuts to social media success.
There ARE smart strategies that save time, money and human resources. Social media strategy is the shortcut to exceeding your goals.
3. Engage Your Most Valuable Asset
Have you ever cleaned out your closet and found something stuck in the back, pulled it out and realized, “Oh hey, I remember this! It’s awesome!”
Let’s face it: creating content for your website and social media can be super hard. But, it doesn’t have to be if you “crowdsource” your ideas.
Your most valuable asset for social media is your employees.
Many of them are probably already using social media to network and engage with prospects. These folks are the most valuable of your most valuable.
Engage employees by inviting them to share their expertise. Tap their enthusiasm to encourage other employees to participate.
When employees’ ideas are published online, they become more visible to prospects. You get great content, they get to be recognized experts. The company looks smarter because its employees are smart.
Pro Tip: Always implement a social media policy to protect the company and guide employees on best practices.
4. Reassess What Matters Most to Your Customers
Successful marketing solves customer’s problems. Social media is a communication tool to answer their questions, solve their problems and stay in touch.
Customer preferences and social channels (along with their algorithms) shift over time.
Having a communication line open 24/7 requires regular reassessment of what’s most important. Reassess your social channels and content assets now.
Meaningful content is the driver. Create content that illustrates one or more of the following:
- Connectivity (how the company has made itself available to its customers).
- One of a kind experience.
- Value for time and money.
- Acknowledgement and understanding.
- Social responsibility (how the company gives back and supports the community).
5. Create New Habits
Once you’ve cleared away the old stuff, there’s room to replace it with new habits to reach your goals.
- Develop a strong social media strategy that moves with you and your customer’s needs. Remember: without goals and strategies, you will not establish ROI.
- Audit your current marketing expenses to make sure everything you’re doing is getting the results you desire.
- Designate at least one savvy team member to oversee your digital reputation.
- Set yourself up for success by using a Content Calendar to plan the topics you want to discuss and publish.
- Discover new tools and update your publishing process to save time and resources.
Social media marketing is not easy. Anyone who tells you otherwise is being disingenuous.
However, it’s not difficult to obtain the right answers. If you’re not getting the answers you need, give me a shout >>here<< and I’ll help you.
Take this Spring to examine your social media. Focus your attention on strategy and be deliberate about getting rid of the dead weight. You’ve got enough obstacles in your life, so clear your path and invite new opportunities for growth.