The Top 25 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Results On Social Media (And How To Fix Them) – PART 2

Social media is so time consuming! I just don’t have the time to manage all of this stuff!

 

No matter how many updates I post, people are just not engaging with me.

 

Do people really make make money from being active on social media? It certainly hasn’t worked for me.

 

Just when I think I’ve got one thing down, another social media platform gets thrown into the mix.

 

I’m so over Facebook, and all of their constant changes. How am I ever supposed to get more fans and engagement, if they keep changing the rules?

 

 

Sound familiar? These are the frustrations of many people every day, when you talk to them about social media, and it’s completely understandable. Social media is a beast, especially once you start using it for the purpose of growing your business, or personal brand. It can get overwhelming in about 2.5 seconds!

 

 

But there’s hope!

 

 

In my last post, which was Part 1 of this series, I shared 11 reasons why you’re not getting the results you want on social media, and offered some solutions to help you fix them. Today in Part 2, we’re delving even deeper into what may be preventing you from getting real results on social media.

 

 

I’m actually creating a Part 3 to this series, because I didn’t want to overwhelm you with too much information in this post. So read below, and then look out for Part 3, coming your way shortly.

 

 

The Top 25 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Results On Social Media (And How To Fix Them) – Part 2

 

12. You don’t have a blog.

 

In today’s market, one of the best ways to build your brand’s recognition, and highlight your expertise in your niche or industry, is through blogging. Blogs allow you to contribute to the conversations going on in your industry online, and share your unique perspective. You’re able to offer useful tips, advice, interviews, personal stories, industry trends, and more, which help you stand out from your competitors online. Blogs provide a unique opportunity for you to connect with your target audience locally, and worldwide. If you’re not blogging, you’re missing out on many great opportunities to showcase your competitive edge, collaborate with industry leaders, get press and media coverage, and increase the online reach and revenue for your brand.

13. You have a blog, but you don’t update it regularly.

 

I know, blogging ain’t easy. Coming up with compelling, creative, useful, and valuable content, on a regular basis is no easy task! Then optimizing it for search engines and social media, and developing a marketing strategy to promote it, and get it in front of your target audience, can seem daunting. Things happen, life gets busy, work gets crazy, family stuff takes over,  you get burned out, and before you know it, you haven’t updated your blog in a month, or more! But here’s the thing, consistency is the ONLY way to get the kind of results that you want from blogging. You can’t build an audience of loyal readers, if they don’t know when to expect a new post from you, or if you only update your blog when you feel like it. That won’t work. If you want to build a successful blog, one that significantly helps to propel your brand to the top spot in your industry, you have to update it on a regular basis. Period.

 

 

14. You don’t like, share, or comment on other people’s posts.

 

If you want to get results on social media, YOU have to be social! You can’t just sit around, pumping out posts and updates, hoping and expecting people to interact with your brand, when you never actually interact with anyone. On Facebook, like, comment, and share other people’s posts as your page (not your personal profile), for added exposure. Be genuine. Be friendly, and show your love to other people’s content on social media. If you want people to engage with your posts, YOU have to engage with other people’s posts as well.

15. You’re all work and no play.

 

Your social media updates consist of your blog posts, other industry-related articles, industry news, and blah, blah, blah. Fuggetaboutit! It’s time to get personal! No one wants to read updates from any brand that are all work, and no play. Share photos and videos from your recent vacation. Share a funny photo, that you know your fans and followers will enjoy. Share a personal story that touched you in an emotional way. You’ll be surprised at the response you get from people online. People love to connect with other people who are real, vulnerable, open, honest, and show that, yes, they are professional, and business-focused, but also an emotional human being, just like everyone else.

 

 

16. You’re not doing anything innovative, fresh, or creative.

 

The same old, same old gets old really quickly! I see it all the time in the dance industry. So many dance studios doing the same exact thing in their social media marketing. So many dance companies doing the same exact thing on social media. It’s as if everyone went to the same conference, and learned the same techniques, and no one stepped out of the box to to put their own creative spin on it. BORING! With so many things online to distract us, you truly have to be doing something that is exceptional, innovative, eye-catching, and cutting-edge, in order to grab people’s attention. That’s why it’s always great to hire a professional when it comes to your social media marketing strategy. They will see opportunities that you don’t see, and come up with fresh ideas that may have never even crossed your mind. If you want to stand out online, you have to get away from the norm, and what everyone else is doing, and try something new.

 

 

17. You’re not relatable.

 

Well, maybe it’s not that you’re not relatable. But you come across that way, because you never share anything about yourself. Your online audience doesn’t know who you really are, how you got into your business or industry, what drives you, what challenges you’ve faced, etc. What is your story? What are your passions? What do you do for fun? What types of food and music do you like? Who inspires you? These are all of the things that make you relatable to other people? Just think about some of the most famous, and successful people in the world (Oprah, Tony Robbins, President Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela, Steve Jobs, Steve Harvey, Ellen, Tyler Perry, and many others). One thing they have in common is, you know their story. You know about their struggles and challenges, and what it took for them to reach such an incredible level of success. You can relate to them because they’re not just brands, they’re human. If you want to grow a successful brand online, no matter what type of business you’re in, you have to be relatable.

 

18. You don’t have an actual social media strategy.

 

Strategy. That’s a four letter word to some people. Do you need to have an actual social media strategy? You know, one that’s written out on paper, and outlines your goals, your daily plan of action to reach those goals, and a specific method for how you’ll track and measure your success? YES, you do! Social media is simple, but it’s complicated. Does that make any sense?

 

What works is simple: Create great content that people like to see or read, lead and participate in conversations with your target audience and key influencers in your niche, and offer something of great value. Then connect with people online to build relationships, so that they will get to know, like, and trust you. Once you’ve done that successfully, people will try what you have to offer, buy it, become loyal, repeat customers, and refer all of their friends. Simple right? Not so much. Here’s where the complicated part comes in.

 

HOW exactly do you accomplish all of these things? How do you get people to like, share, and comment on your updates? How do you get people on your blog? How do you get people to see the content that you’re creating, and get them to your website? How do you even come up with all of this content in the first place? That’s where your social media strategy comes in. See how important it is to create an actual strategy? You need to answer the following questions within your strategy:

 

 

• What are my goals?

 

• How will I accomplish these goals?

 

• What are my tactics, and daily actions to help me reach these goals?

 

• Why do I want people connect with my brand on social media?

 

• Where will I connect with my target audience online (On Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Google+, etc.?)

 

• What type of content will I post every day on social media?

 

• What do I want people to do once they connect with me on social media?

 

• How will I build relationships with my target market online, and transform my fans and followers into paying customers?

 

• When will I post my social media updates, and how often will I update my accounts, and my blog?

 

• Where will I go to find great content, and create my own, original content to share on social media?

 

• How will I track and measure my success?

 

• Who will help me create, implement, manage, and monitor my social media strategy?

 

 

 

 

19. You have a social media strategy, but you haven’t updated your social media strategy in the last 6 months to 1 year.

 

Social media marketing is an ever-changing landscape. Each social media platform has different rules and best practices, and even those continue to change and evolve every day. For example, there was a time when YouTube video links performed really well on Facebook. Well, if you’re someone who actively shares videos, and stays up-to-date with what’s happening on social media, you know that that is no longer the case.

 

For some time now, outside video links on Facebook have gotten very low reach and engagement in the news feed. On the other hand, Facebook favors native videos, uploaded directly to Facebook, which they also play automatically in the news feed. So if your strategy from 6 months ago involved posting videos from YouTube or Vimeo to your Facebook fan page regularly, and you’re still doing that, then you’re in trouble. This is just one example.

 

Your strategy needs to be fluid. You need to stay on top of the trends, and all of the latest changes on each social media platform, and then adjust accordingly. There are also always new tools, apps, and plugins becoming available every day, to help make your social media strategy more effective, and easier to manage. Take advantage of these tools. Some of my favorites are Buffer, Canva, Postplanner, Simply Measured, and WordPress SEO (to name a few).

 

 

 

I’m going to stop here and save my last 6 points for Part 3 of this series, because I don’t want to overwhelm you. Take some time today to contemplate all of these points, and determine whether or not one of these things may be what’s holding you back from getting the results that you want on social media.

 

Once you know what the problem is, you can come up with an action plan to fix it. Bada bing, bada boom.

 

Have a question, comment, or something to add? Post in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!

 

If you found this post helpful, be sure to pin it, like it, and share it on your favorite social media sites! Sharing is caring!

 

 

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”.