What is the secret to gaining more fans and followers on social media, and turning those fans and followers into paying customers? Is it really possible for you to grow a successful business or personal brand, and increase your revenue or income through social media?
These are two questions on everyone’s mind!
Many of you have been active on social media for so long, but you fall into one of two categories:
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You’ve tried to grow and promote your brand using social media, but haven’t gotten the level of results that you really want.
Or,
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You’ve only used social media for your personal profiles, not for the purpose of promoting or growing an actual business, or personal brand.
As a result, you’ve probably made some of the mistakes below, simply because you didn’t know any better. But it’s okay. Knowledge is power! Today you’re going to find out why what you’ve been doing may not be yielding the types of results that you desire. Or, you will learn in advance what NOT to do, once you start using social media with professional or business goals in mind.
Let’s get started!
The Top 25 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Results On Social Media (And How To Fix Them) – Part 1
1. You’re not posting often enough.
Posting once or twice a day on social media, is the equivalent of eating healthy once or twice a week, and expecting great results for your physical health. It ain’t happening! Just like with anything in life, real results require hard work and much effort. So if you want to experience significant results on social media, you have to be committed to posting anywhere from 4-10 times a day (depending on the social network), in order to get anything out of it.
2. You’re not consistent.
This is one of the most important aspects of getting real results on social media: Consistency. If you only update your accounts regularly when you have something to promote (your events, a crowd funding campaign, a special sale, a contest that you’re participating in, where you need people’s votes to win, etc.), people will take notice. If you’re only posting on social media when you need something from people, this is a NO-GO! Consistency is key. Don’t be active one week, then drop off the face of the earth (so to speak) for two weeks. Post regularly every day, so people get accustomed to seeing your updates, and so that your brand stays at the front of people’s minds. You can’t build a successful brand on social media if you’re not consistent with your updates. Make sure that you’re consistent in the types of updates you share as well. Don’t veer off in another direction from what resonates the most with your fan base online.
3. You’re too promotional.
No one wants to read posts from you every day that are strictly about your events, products, classes, or services. That gets old really fast! Share updates that enlighten, inspire, educate, entertain, motivate, encourage, and empower your fans and followers consistently, throughout the day and evening. Then it’s okay to throw in some promotional posts here and there. That’s balance. Be consistent with your posting, and post regularly, even when you have nothing to promote or sell.
4. You’re not engaging in conversations with your audience online.
How often are you actually having conversations with your social media audience? How often are you replying to other people’s tweets on Twitter, commenting on photos on Instagram, and starting conversations with your fan base on Facebook? If you’re only posting updates, and never actually engaging in conversations with your followers on social media, then you are truly missing the mark. Conversations and engagement drive people to your website, to join your e-mail list, and build trust with your brand online. Online conversations are what help your brand to grow on social media. So my question for you is, who are you talking to online? Are you only talking to your friends and family, or are you engaging with your target audience in meaningful ways? This makes all the difference.
5. You never share anything personal.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being active on social media over the past 6 or 7 years it’s this: people connect more with your personal stories/experiences than they do with anything else. If you really want to build trust with your audience online, and make genuine connections, you have to get personal. It’s up to you to choose just how personal you get, but in the least, share your personal photos on social media, from time to time. People love to be reminded that you are a regular person, just like them, going through the daily craziness of life. Anytime I share a personal photo, video, or experience, I ALWAYS receive a ton of engagement, from my community on social media. See example below.
6. You only share updates related to your products, services, or events.
We get it. Your products, services, classes, and events are stellar. They are top of the line. They are the BEST in the biz! They’re exactly what we need, and what we’ve been looking for! But listen, have you ever had someone who’s interested in dating you, constantly tell you why you should date them? They’re charming, they’re ambitious, they’re fun to be around, yada, yada, yada. Who cares?!!! The truth is, no one wants to be sold to all day, every day. Eventually, we will either unlike your page, unfollow you, block you, or simply start ignoring your posts. Don’t be one of “those” brands. Promote, promote, promote, and sell, sell, sell, DO NOT work well on social media. A word to the wise.
7. You never post any videos.
Videos are where it’s at folks. If you didn’t know this, now you know. Videos get more engagement across all of the top social media networks, than any other type of content (including photos). With sites like Facebook giving videos (uploaded directly to Facebook) priority in the news feed, with auto play, it’s so crucial for you to take advantage of the exposure videos provide for your brand on social media. Not to mention, people simply connect more with you when they see you in a video, than they do when they see a photo of you. It’s more personal, more real, and it’s more interesting to watch. Videos MUST be a major component of your social media strategy if you want to expedite the process of growing a large and engaged fan base on social media.
8. You don’t post enough personal photos.
Not everyone is comfortable posting personal photos. But the truth is, people will connect more (and engage more) with a picture of you and your kid, than they will with a picture of your office, studio, event, or your employees at work. Remember, people are generally active on social media to stay connected with and updated on what’s happening with their friends and family members. So personal photos like this help you to fit into that realm of what they already enjoy seeing online. Plus, it makes you more approachable, and more relatable. I don’t know about you, but I’m always inclined to support a business where you can feel a personal connection, and relate to the owner.
9. You never ask questions.
When you see a question posted on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, what are you inclined to do? Answer it of course! It’s human nature. Someone asks a question, we want to answer it. So why don’t you ask more questions on your Facebook page, or other social media profiles, if what you want is to increase the engagement on your page? Try it. Not only will it increase the engagement on your page, but it will show your fans and followers that you are actually interested in their opinion, and what they have to say. People LOVE to offer their opinion and feedback on any given topic. So ask a question today, and be sure to post an interesting photo along with your question, to help catch people’s attention, and really drive the engagement on your page.
10. You post too many links.
I see it all the time, and just shake my head. I visit a company’s Facebook page, and as I scroll down, all I see are links, links, and more links!! Eeeekk!!! This is terrible! Who wants to visit your page, and just see a bunch of links to articles on your page? Can you say, BORING?!! You have to mix up the media. You should be sharing LOTS of photos, videos, motivational quotes, asking questions, and sharing a few links here and there, in between. Your entire Facebook timeline, should NOT be filled with a bunch of links. Particularly on Facebook, links are going to get you the least amount of engagement. So don’t fill your page with links, just because it’s easier to post links to articles, than it is to actually create compelling graphics, videos, quotes, and original content. Get to work, and start sharing things that will actually grab your audience’s attention, and get them liking, sharing, and commenting, on your posts.
11. You don’t offer any free incentives for staying connected with you online.
We discuss the importance of e-mail marketing, and creating the best lead magnet (free incentive for joining your e-mail list) quite often, in my private, social media marketing Facebook group. If there’s one thing you need to do on social media to truly build long-lasting relationships with your target audience, and transform your fans and followers into paying customers, this is it! Build Your List! People love free stuff! So if you’ve already done a good job of connecting with people on social media, and getting them interested in your brand, the next logical step is to get them to join your e-mail subscriber list. That’s where the real magic happens. Offering a free incentive is your way of saying, “thank you for joining my e-mail list”, and also a way of motivating people to sign up, because they want this high-value incentive that you’re offering. This is what it’s all about folks. Thousands of fans and followers on social media is great. But thousands of people on your e-mail list is even BETTER!
Social media is really about connecting with people, and building relationships, so focus on genuinely engaging with your audience every day. Post updates that inspire them and motivate them throughout their day, and encourage them to engage with you on social media. When people enjoy the updates you share on social media, it motivates them to share your posts, like, comment, and engage with you. That’s how you start building relationships, and get people more interested in what your brand has to offer.
This is part one of “The Top 25 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Results On Social Media (And How To Fix Them)”. Read Part 2 here, where I delve even deeper into this topic, and help you finally start getting the results you truly want, on social media.
Have a question, comment, or something to add? Post in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!
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If you’d like to learn even MORE about how to grow your brand and start getting REAL RESULTS on social media, I invite you to join my new Facebook group for entrepreneurs, artists, small business owners, bloggers, writers, dancers, and media professionals.
CLICK HERE to learn more about my secret Facebook group, “How To SHINE On Social Media With Ashani Mfuko”.
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