I admit it: I have a problem. It’s like that saying goes: when you’re a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. It comes from seeing every social post through the lens of someone who makes a living advising businesses on the best social media marketing practices. I notice when businesses post too often or when they don’t post enough. I notice when images are weird, when text is too click-baity, when a post puts me to sleep, or when I get physically ill because the content is amazing, and I wish I had been the one who thought of it. So here are some of the common reasons I see that a certain social media strategy just isn’t doing it for anyone.

the first (and most crucial) step is missing.

Pop quiz, hot shot: what does “working” even mean? What are you trying to accomplish with your social media strategy to begin with? Many businesses will say something to the effect of finding new customers, making more sales, or driving new leads, but what does that specifically mean? Are you looking to drive website traffic, implement a lead generation campaign, increase brand awareness, or drive actual online sales transactions? Before you can tell me your social media marketing isn’t working, you have to be able to clearly identify measurable success criteria. Because if you can’t do that, of course your social isn’t working. You can’t hit a target that doesn’t exist.

You haven’t identified this key marker.

Who are you trying to reach with your content? If you can’t clearly answer that question, there’s no way your content will genuinely resonate with them. Before you can reach the right consumer, before you gain the trust and attention of the very person who is most likely to be willing to become your very best customer, you have to know who they are.

• Who are you trying to reach?
• What keeps them up at night?
• What captures their attention on social media?
• What are some of the ways you can provide value to their life?

Answer these questions and you’ll have a social media strategy that’s super impactful!

You haven’t found your sound.

What do we hear about all the groundbreaking artists and groups throughout history? If you think back, all of them have one thing in common: they don’t sound like everyone else. You should shoot for that. The good news is that you have the advantage in that you are unique and interesting. The bad news is that it’s very difficult to accomplish in a way that resonates with your customers on a meaningful level (more on that later). It’s very easy to write 280 characters, add a # sign in front of searchable terms, and click “publish.” The challenge is to a) be yourself and not sound like a robot and b) be yourself in a way that people care about.

You’re Leaving the Secret Sauce Out of the Equation

My business is named Elephant Key Marketing because elephants are symbolic for emotion, and that’s what drives everything we do. Just like we’re solving pain points and hitting emotions with our products and services, our social media needs to address emotions that resonate with your customers. Those emotions will be determined by who your customer is, what they want in life, what they’re not getting, and how you can help them achieve or avoid emotions. You can’t achieve that if you:

• Don’t know what you want to accomplish
• Don’t know who your target market is
• Don’t understand their needs and/or wants
• Can’t see how you, your business, and your products/services fit into the mix

Okay, so it’s not remotely easy, and this is going to be extra-strength challenging, right? First of all, you barely had time to read this article let alone look at your entire social presence and match it to your business goals. That’s okay, though, too. We’re all there. I don’t have time to change my own oil or the expertise to highlight my own hair (green streaks are SOOOOO out this year, amirite?!?). That’s why experts exist. Let me help you walk through this process. Shoot me an email: becky@ek.marketing so that I can show you the process I’ve used for my other customers to help them leverage social media for business wins. And then drinks. We win, and then we celebrate. Cheers!