You’re not alone if you feel frustrated by social media marketing or wonder if the effort you put into it is worth the return on investment (ROI). In a recent survey reported by Local Search Association, one in three business owners stated that they consider social media their company’s most important form of marketing. Slightly more than half stated that it is one of the most important outlets they use to market their business. Despite these responses, two-thirds of respondents expressed frustration that they aren’t managing their social media marketing efforts well or that they haven’t received the ROI from it that they expected.
Top Frustrations Marketers Experience with Social Media
The top complaint of marketers in the Local Search Association survey was that social media presents them with too many platforms and they aren’t sure which one would work best for their company. The inability to keep up with changing algorithms, feeling like social media is too complicated, and the disappointment with ROI were some of the other top frustrations of survey participants. If you can relate to these dilemmas, visionPATH can help. Below are three steps we recommend to make social media work for you rather than frustrate you.
Start by Establishing Specific Goals
While everyone wants to get more likes or shares on social media, these goals are too vague to sustain your business for the long term. The more specific you can be in establishing goals, the more likely it is that your company will meet them. Here are some examples:
- Target a specific demographic to build awareness of your brand
- Aim for a specific call to action such as going to your company’s website or calling your business
- Create better relationships with your customers
- Get people to purchase a product or service
- Social media will seem less overwhelming to you once you understand what your company is trying to achieve with it.
Research Your Customer Demographic to Know Which Social Media Channels to Use
Age, gender, race, education level, and household income all play a big role in the social media channels that people choose to use. After determining the most typical demographics of your customers, research where they maintain social media accounts and establish accounts on those sites. It can also be helpful to study how your closest competitors use social media.
Avoid Being Overly Promotional
While the underlying purpose of having a business social media account is to promote your business, being too in-your-face with advertising will turn people away. Instead, think of social media as a way to build relationships that help to develop more indirect forms of advertising when people share your brand with their online followers. Some ways you can build a stronger sense of community include holding regular contests and asking your followers for their opinion often.
Request a Free Review of Your Online Presence
These are only three steps you can take to improve your results with social media. Because we realize that barely scratches the surface, we invite you to request a free social media review from visionPATH. We will also recommend specific services to boost your ROI when we provide you with the results.