Social Media Isn’t Your Business’s Cure-All.
Hold my hand while I break this shocking, horrible, and probably upsetting news… But social media isn’t going to fix your business.
This post is not anti-social media; it is a call to step away from the pedestal social media sits on. If you don’t know who I am, my name is Logan, and I am a modern-day digital marketing professional. I am a professor who teaches social media courses, and my clients have achieved real results from my services. I am also pursuing a Ph.D. in communications, where I conduct research on social media trends, communication theories, and how the internet often works against users while profiting from them. My entire job is online, so maybe I am doxing myself here by telling you this. However, I think I have a responsibility to tell you what many in my position won’t: your social media presence is a mere fraction of the impact your business will have. The numbers online can grow astronomically overnight, but that doesn’t immediately mean an impactful result in sales for you. Your social media account may maintain a consistent 250 followers with 3 likes on a post, but your business can be booming.
Now, don’t read what I am not writing. If social media has felt frustrating, confusing, or disappointing, that doesn’t mean you’re bad at business; it means you were sold an oversimplified story. Being present online is an important way to build awareness of your brand, business, or company. I am simply encouraging you not to fall for the fluffy, BS marketing speak that you will read in newsletters, LinkedIn, etc. Your marketing agency and marketing advice need to come from people who speak your language. My clients know this about me, but when I am giving the details of what we’re seeing, they come with practical, actionable steps my clients can take to boost their presence. To avoid devaluing my work, I want to tell you that social media and digital marketing are powerful tools. But these tools do not immediately make you business savvy. Trends, posting every day, and reading the numbers are tools at your disposal.
You should view your online presence as a way to help people learn about you, understand your representation, and see consistent success from your current practices. So, I am going to give out this free advice from a social media marketing perspective. For some, this may ease your fears; for others, it may hurt to hear. These truths aren’t meant to discourage you. I hope they free you from unrealistic expectations so you can make smarter decisions with your time and money.
Hard Truths:
Social media can often be a losing game. We briefly touched on this, but a sale from social media can truly be a dime a dozen when you consider how much your advertising will cost, your general overhead, and whether or not your posts are being shared. Your posts may be beautiful, perfectly crafted, and exciting. Your posts may even be “popping off” as the kids say. None of this is bad, but it does not automatically guarantee your business's success. Your business depends on you being a professional and delivering what you promise to sustain an upward growth trajectory that pays the bills. Social media should just be a tool to help you define the parameters of your audience and potentially fish for more people to engage with your content, growing the pool of individuals who know your name and want to follow through to a relationship with you that will result in money in your pocket.
The algorithm talk. Social media was originally created as a social networking framework to connect with your peers online. However, due to the intense over-saturation of content, we need to look at “social” media as “preference" media. You have heard of the algorithm; you probably hate it because you have been taught to think it works against you. To a point, you would not be wrong, but usually it’s the opposite of what you think. Most of the time, it is you who doesn’t know how to work with the algorithm. In this day and age, all the social media platforms you can imagine offer creator-specific tools that help you determine your target audience and key demographics to base your branding on. But let’s have a reality check… Do you actually know how to read those numbers and tailor the content to what they say? To be honest, if you’re reading this, you are probably someone who has spent money on paid advertising that didn't turn out as you hoped. I tell my clients that for socials, I like to see about 10% organic engagement (unpaid) on posts. From that 10%, I hope that .5-1% of those individuals will interact with your business and give you their money. It sounds like I am lowballing you, but it is a realistic expectation in the realist game we play, trying to derive sales from an online platform where everyone has an equal competitive stake.
You’re not an influencer, and you probably never will be. You’re a business! Maybe you’re one person running the show - but that doesn’t mean you are ready to commit your life to following TikTok trends for a hope of relevance online. Another tip I tell my clients is, “You’re the professional in what you do. I am a professional at what I do; let’s keep it that way.” It may be hard to hear, but you, as the business, can’t compete in the same way that famous influencers online do. Your place online is not to do the fun dances or to record a tell-all about intricate details of your life in hopes of promoting engagement. HOWEVER - you can still have fun online, and follow trends that make sense for your business, that also maintain the energy you’re trying to derive online. All in all, what keeps me sane in my profession is the fun posts. It’s the silly things that do catch people’s eye when scrolling, and honestly, the fun stuff is going to be what resonates the best. No matter the business, people want to do business with places they feel they know who they’re working with, and that starts with approachability and comfort in interacting with you… So some more free advice here: don’t use social media as the poster board for promotion. Your social media page is already promotional, so be subtle. If your posts all read like incentives to buy or advertising, then you’re throwing away your hard work. This takes me to my next point…
Build relationships that social media can’t. If we are looking at social media through the lens of preference, you need to know that the only way to break through the echo chamber is to be a strong advocate for relationships. Online, this looks like responding to comments, interacting with other accounts, replying to DM’s, sending out emails, and strong calls to action that feel like your audience will just be talking to a friend. Offline, I need you to talk to people! The biggest advocate of marketing efforts has always been, and always will be, word-of-mouth referrals. If you’re not talking up your business and getting people in the door to get to know you, then you’re not growing. Businesses grow when my friend tells me to go here instead of there. When I hear someone in a coffee shop say, “I don’t shop at Target anymore because I found this small business that sells a perfume I like so much better than the [Insert name brand here].” There is no shame in the talking game. When a customer leaves, say, “We hope to see you again! Tell a friend!” There is no shame in attaching a link or QR code to your Google reviews on your invoice. There is definitely no shame in overhearing a complaint point out in public that you know you could easily fix. Just the other day, I was out and about, getting a coffee (per usual), and overheard a woman go, “I just hate the price point of marketing agencies, but I know I need to get online.” That was my moment to say, “Hey! I am so sorry to interrupt, but I overheard you talking about marketing agencies' pricing and would be remiss if I didn’t tell you that I actually own my own business doing marketing for small businesses in the area…” She had a few questions off the top that I could answer, and ultimately, I got her email and sent her a more detailed version of our conversations. Long story short, she’s now a client of mine. Yay!
So… pretty weird that I am basically telling you that what I do for a living is a hopeless pursuit for your business, right? WRONG! While social media will never be the cure-all solution for your business, basic marketing skills can be, and social media has shifted in recent days to play a huge role in that. So we have looked at the hard truths of what social media won’t do for you, but here is what an online presence can do to help you turn things around.
Create awareness of your product and service. The more people who know about you, the more people who now have you as an option in their mind. Once you’re in their mind, how do you get them to bite?
Develop and maintain relationships with potential buyers as well as other businesses in your community that want to support and love you.
Creates a true understanding of who your market is, and where you fit in the whole thing. You can know more about who exactly is likely to interact with you, where they are, what they believe, etc. This works transversely as well - maybe you have a specific client type that you’re trying to reach, luckily, you can tailor your intentions to those groups.
I would love to highlight all of the tips and tricks I know into one post, but it would probably break this page. Social media is not something to be taken for granted, but it is important to understand that it is not a magic fix. Though if you couple it with other marketing tactics that are unique to your business, then you can successfully leverage the pendulum in your favor. Whoever you go with for marketing advice, make sure they are showing you the practical 1, 2, 3 steps they are taking to optimize your online presence into measurable results for your business growth. Fluffy marketing speak benefits no one; you have a right to understand the strategic approach your business is taking online.
TLDR?: Don’t let marketing people sell you on social media; let them sell you on real results.
