No Really, Social Media Marketing Isn't For Every Business
Quitting social media is a big decision. Deciding to jump into it at all is an even bigger decision.
How you know you should just quit social media
When done right, social media marketing can do a lot to reposition a business, from boost visibility, changing perceptions, to building and regaining trust and loyalty. With that being said, countless businesses don't have the ability to do social media right, whether it be due to time, money, or other constraints. For other businesses, investing in social media marketing just doesn't make sense to begin with.
Here are a few ways to tell if you should just quit social media:
- you’re still talking to yourself (AKA 0 engagement): you’ve been active on a network for a long time and have seen absolutely no growth.
- you’ve seen no change after trying strategies A-Z on your own: you've tried boosting posts on Facebook, giveaways, engaging heavily with users, but nothing seems to take.
- a legitimate expert's help didn't move the needle either: you got some amazing full-proof advice but even with their recommendations, you don't seem to have an audience.
If the above are true for all your social profiles then that is usually a clear sign that for your industry social media is not the best way to reach your target audience.
Evaluate How You Should Quit Social Media
If social media has become a time suck with no return and you've found that your target audience is not very active on social media, leaving it will definitely free up time to concentrate on improving and focusing on the other marketing tactics that are working for your business. It's really up to you. But, not so fast...Just because social media marketing didn't lead to a million followers or your latest post going viral does not mean it is devoid of value to your business. But, it does require you to think strategically about your social media presence moving forward.
- First find out what social media has been doing for your business. Has social been a good referral channel for traffic to your website? Can any business be attributed to social media like sales, calls, and other lead metrics?
- Determine which accounts to delete and which to keep Maybe there's only one social media network that you need to stop giving your time to. Look at your data and find out which social network has been the weakest link or determine if all of them have been pretty subpar. If you ever ran advertising campaigns, review which social network performed the best when you ran a campaign. What's worse than no social presence? A social presence with few followers and even fewer user engagement. If you have 200 followers on Facebook but only 24 on Instagram, Instagram would be the account to delete. Choose the criteria for what makes a social network worth staying on and follow it.
- Keep a presence where it matters Rather than leave social media for good (meaning you’re lowering your chances of reaching your customers but also being reached by them) another way you could go is make a fresh start with less pressure. Stop judging yourself by your competitor’s profiles and stop setting yourself up for disappointment. Not having a social presence in the places people are searching for businesses is going to cost you in the long run. Staying there is not. So stay where it matters for your industry and figure out how much time you want to devote to those social networks.
- Prune your posts, information, and other content before you go At Geoffresh we love fresh starts. Go through the accounts you're going to keep and delete what's no longer relevant to your brand. Lingering outdated content can be a liability. Keep what jives with your current brand positioning and campaigns, and say goodbye to the past content that didn't serve you anyway. Make sure all of your information is up-to-date and on brand, like your company bio, etc. as well.
- Check-in and set up alerts and ways to be notified of user interaction For the social accounts you won't be posting to but won't be deleting, make sure someone is designated to receive alerts and respond to any users trying to reach out to your business through those networks. Being available and responsive to your customers on social media is the #1 thing about the entire enterprise of being on social media. Even if you're no longer posting or managing an account, if it's up so that you have a presence to be stumbled upon, you need to be present and helpful when someone does choose to engage with you.
Quitting Social Media Doesn't Make Your Business A Failure
Keep in perspective your industry, your market, and your product when comparing your business to others on social media. Just because Coca-Cola or AirBnb post achingly cool, vibrant, fresh nonsense every hour does not mean that that is what your business needs to do. Also, if your direct competitors have more followers or earn more engagement than your business, remember that appearances can be deceiving. Buying followers and engagement is still being done, so keep that in mind when feel a little envy about a competitor.