Robyn-Dale SamudaPractically everyone is using social media today, and for many bloggers and businesses, this medium has proven to be one of the most powerful platforms for spreading ideas, raising awareness, discovering new customers and generating sales. Social media is here to stay as it continues to seamlessly provide a doorway to great content while giving everyone a chance for their voice to be heard.
The viral potential and reach of social networks is attractive for any marketer, knowing well that the perfectly placed article can lead to a flood of visitors as content is shared instantly and in real time across millions of people. Going viral is the goal. Unfortunately, virality is rare for most and publishing great content that ends up on popular social media news sites isn’t a certain formula for success without any means of it being discovered.
Therefore this phrase was coined, “content is king but distribution is queen and she wears the pants!”
So why isn’t your loud and active social media marketing strategy not producing serious results? Why isn’t your content going viral or at least, hitting the audience you care about and want to reach?
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You’re Trying Too Hard
Yes, it’s possible to try too hard. If you’re flooding everyone’s timeline with irrelevant, off-topic, overly promotional content, then there’s a strong possibility your links and posts are being ignored.
Your timeline is not about you and how great your content is, regardless of it’s quality. It’s about the genuine value you can add to people’s lives through real conversations. If all you’re doing is posting articles you’ve written then you’re damaging your reputation on social media. You’ve become one of those annoying sales people who constantly try to sell their new thing-a-ma-jig that nobody wants.
Take it easy on the promotion and spend some time getting to know your online “friends” and followers. They’re more likely to pay attention to someone with whom they have some solid relationship.
Check out this interesting tool called the Social Effort Scale. It measures whether your social media activity is effortless, trying too hard or not trying hard enough. Pretty neat.
Your Content is Bland
A large part of getting readers to your site is the title you use to describe what your articles are about. Just think about it. You’re more likely to click on something that says, “10 Secrets Revealed for Getting a 50% Pay Increase” than “How to Earn More Money at Work.” You do not want to exaggerate but you certainly need to seem interesting.
Here are some great tips on how to spice up your article titles to attract more attention.
Targeting the Wrong Audience or Social Network
The basics of marketing everywhere dictate that you need to know who you’re targeting for your products and services. It’s one of the first things you do before launching any venture in commerce. Your blog is no different. For every article you write, you need to determine who you’re targeting and be very specific about it. Targeting small business owners in Toronto who do not have a website, is a much better strategy than everyone who does not have a website. Identifying that small business owner niche will lead you to discover where this audience spend most of their time. That’s where you need to hit.
An important note also, is that each social network tends to cater for a different cross-section of people with varying interests. For example, LinkedIn attracts more business minded professionals while Pinterest’s audience is primarily made up of mature women, mothers, etc. Therefore, promoting your “Call of Duty” fan blog on LinkedIn, will more than likely end up being a frustrating and fruitless experience. Get the idea?
You’re Not Consistent
Here today, gone for the next several months. Honestly, I’ve been guilty of this. There’s no strong relationship that is built that way. If that’s how you’re approaching your offline relationships then you can kiss hubby goodbye! It’s important to be an interactive user online, frequently engaging your community. If you can only dedicate being online twice a week because of certain limitations and circumstances, then stick to that schedule and make the best of it. Dedicate yourself and your community will trust and expect you to be there eventually.
Misguided Expectations
As said before, producing awesome content is no guarantee for virality and success on its own. Converting through content marketing doesn’t mean that as soon as someone reads your article, they’re going to buy from you, subscribe to your newsletter or share your story. Conversion requires long-term vision and consistent production of quality content. Readers won’t necessarily convert on the first visit but are more likely to do so on their third or fourth once they’ve seen you around often enough, can recall some important information they found on your blog and trust your content because they know you’ll always be there with something interesting. Think about it as you would any relationship you’re trying to build.
You’ll be disappointed if you expect your blog to take-off from the first few posts. It takes time to build trust online and your vision and work needs to be for the long haul. Through persistence, being consistent and adopting a patient mindset, you’ll yield greater results.
This article originally appeared on The Blog Herald and has been republished with permission.
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I am very new to social media, particularly when it comes to using social media to help build a strong and growing distribution network.