Social media is one of the most effective tools for generating awareness and growing a business. These free channels of communication are available for anyone to use, but not every business uses them correctly to generate social media traffic. Many times, a campaign starts out great but then engagement and social media traffic reaches a plateau. Below are some reasons a company may not be getting a lot of social media traffic and some helpful hints to make a strong comeback.
Posting at the Wrong Times
One factor that can hinder interaction with social media posts is the time at which they are published. The person in charge of publishing social content may have time set aside in the morning to get some posts sent out, but your followers may not have time to check their social accounts until they get a break for lunch. With that said, not all social media platforms are created equal when it comes to their high-traffic waves. This means posting to LinkedIn at the same time as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, will most likely get different rates of engagement because different platforms have different users and different behavioral patterns. Do some tests on each platform to see which posts get the most social media traffic, and if there are any patterns in the times they were posted.
Forgetting Visual Content
Today it’s about all the visuals including photos, videos and GIFs. GIFs have gotten really big because, when used at the right times, they’re quite funny and entertaining. There’s a lot of data and research out there on the power visual media has in encouraging engagement online. Content with relevant visual content gets 94 percent more views than content without. A business can really do itself a disservice by not taking advantage of these visual aspects.
Not Posting Often Enough
An easy way to get more attention and social media traffic is to increase the number of times you post each day. It’s important to keep social profiles alive and give followers something to consume. If there’s only posts being published once every few days, it’s probably not going to be enough to build the desired following.
This may seem like a lot of work, but there are some great social media management tools such as Spredfast that can help keep posts consistent during busy days. The bottom line is the more posts there are, the more opportunities there will be to engage with followers and potential clients. Being active is key to success, but it’s also important to remember not to inundate people’s feed to the point of annoyance.
Too Much Automation
Marketing automation and social media management sites are helpful tools designed to keep feeds from going bare, but they should never be completely relied on. Social media is called “social” for a reason – it’s all about humanity and connection. Losing out on engagement can seriously hinder social media traffic and interaction.
Scheduling posts is fine, but it’s important to remember to check each site for retweets, comments and likes. Don’t miss out on opportunities to answer questions, or thank a follower that shared a post. Likewise, if you like something another company or client posted, tell them! Ask questions, answer questions, and get involved in conversations online to put the “social” back in social media.
Focusing on Yourself/No Interaction
Social media is not just for outbound content. It’s all about actually being social, which means there’s community, engagement, relationships, shout outs and more to keep in mind for potential posts. To build a solid community, or be active in one, you have to be a part of it. Therefore, it’s important to post more than just content about your products and services.
Nobody wants to engage with a page full of spam, or advertisements. Instead of focusing solely on what your business wants: more sales or a larger audience, focus on what your audience wants: to be educated, engaged and entertained. Don’t limit interaction to only followers. Start conversations with related industry members, as well.
Lacking Entertainment or Emotion
Businesses use social media as a way of informing and interacting with potential customers. When posting something to the public, don’t forget to throw in some entertainment to jazz up a post, generate social media traffic, and get more attention. Posts don’t always have to be funny, but it’s a great way to get an audience to comment and share. It comes down to humanizing and showing emotion occasionally, as well. Showing real emotion, which could be excited, happy, or sad, will get people to easily connect with what you’re saying.
Profile is Not Optimized for Social Media Traffic
Most people know how important it is to optimize a website, but don’t always think about the importance of optimizing social profiles. Make sure all social profiles are completely filled out in the about/bio, website, location and description areas. Having key words in the description and bio will help bring up social pages on search engines.
No Mention of Current Events
Current events are huge drivers of social media traffic. It’s really about all the big things on people’s minds right in the moment. To be relevant, make sure to be on top of all the local and national events and latest trends that matter to your customer.
Investing time and effort into social media can feel pointless when things fall flat. The goal of social media is to build an audience, so they can become part of a business’s customer base. It’s not easy, but hopefully these tips can get your social game back on track.
Is there something missing that your business uses to gain interaction and followers? Let us know in the comments section below!
