7 reasons your brand sucks at social media

Do your social media accounts stand dormant for weeks on end? Can’t get any more followers regardless of what you do? Are your competitors seeing positive results from their social media accounts, but you can’t even get a single “like”? It’s a hard pill to swallow, but if you can relate to these situations and want to improve your digital presence, you need to admit that your company sucks at social media and start making amends. There is no reason to throw in the towel just yet.

Here are some of the most likely reasons for your poor social media form:

1. No images attached to your posts

With every brand, company or professional having some form of social media presence these days, it’s vital to distinguish your communication from the rest of the noise. The easiest way to catch your consumer’s attention is to attach high quality and relevant images to your posts. Make it a prerequisite for every post and watch engagement levels rise. Just be mindful of image copyright.

2. You’re asking too many questions

A recent article on Inc revealed that B2C posts that included a question mark received 52% fewer clicks and B2B received 39% fewer clicks.

3. You’re force feeding your audience

Let’s face it, in the end social media is about selling a product or service (regardless what you’ve been told), but this should only be a small part of the bigger picture. The majority of your content should focus on adding value to your users, dealing with complaints, providing entertainment and showcasing what is unique about your brand. Selling should only take up a small amount of the content you publish, no more than 10%.

4. No one cares about your content

To entice action from your users you need to add value to their lives, answer questions they are asking, be current and attend to their wants. Study what type of communication gets the best results and tailor future communication to what is working. What works for one group of users most likely won’t work for another.

5. Your social media manager doesn’t know what is going on

Social media has become vital to the communication of thousands of businesses around the world. Depending on your industry, social media can be essential to your survival or growth. However, this doesn’t mean that the responsibility can be passed onto the nearest staff member regardless of their skill set. Your social media manager must understand communication, but be able to write very well and must understand social media platforms and how users behave. A poorly run account can have the adverse effect of what you’re after.

6. You never respond

Just like in real life, if you ignore something on social media it won’t go away, but will most likely escalate. Don’t ignore consumer complaints, use them as an opportunity to fix the issue and hopefully restore faith in your organisation.

7. You’re afraid of social media

Social media is strong attribute for brands who use it correctly. If you’re afraid or don’t understand how to use social media, speak to someone who has experience running profiles for brands. Most agencies or consultants offer training courses or can take control of your accounts all together.

By addressing your social media insecurities you can create a direct line of contact with existing and current consumers, while growing your brand on platforms that have millions of active users.