Unfortunately not every social media campaign you try will turn out a huge success. There are a lot of elements involved and it will take time to perfect it. A social media campaign must grab the user’s attention and provoke a sincere, positive reaction. It also needs to cleverly promote your company by reaching the right people at the right time with the right content. It is a lot to manage, and will result in the occasional flop. The key is learning from the flops, so you are better prepared to launch future campaigns.
Here are 8 typical reasons why your social media campaign could be a flop:
1. Overkill
Focusing on quantity instead of quality is a guaranteed way to sink your social media campaign. If there are too many posts, readers will become annoyed and lose interest. Strategically schedule your posts and be careful not to flood your follower’s newsfeed. One or two posts per day per social network should be plenty.
2. Winging It
Many social media campaigns flop because they don’t have a plan of action before the campaign is launched. A company needs to understand their target audience’s needs, research various social media platforms, and create a schedule based on the most popular times for each social media network.
3. Ego Manic Voice
Your followers do not want to hear you boast about yourself or your company. It is critical that you remember that your social media campaign is not all about you. You will be able to build authority and trust by focusing on your follower’s needs and interests. The content you post must provide real value to readers. Prove to be an expert in your field instead of just stating that you are one.
4. Lack of Friendly Interaction
There is more to a social media campaign than just posting content online. Social media is meant to be social and there has to be a real level of engagement. A company needs someone who will monitor the various social media sites and quickly respond to any follower’s questions or comments. It should feel like a natural give-and-take conversation between two friendly acquaintances.
5. Sharing Your Problems
Whining about your financial struggles or personal drama at home is a great way to kill your social media campaign. A professional social media campaign should never involve sharing your own personal struggles, unless it specifically relates to the product or service. The goal is to solve your follower’s problems, not complain about your own.
6. Don’t Use Metrics
Your social media campaign may flop because you didn’t learn anything from your previous failed campaigns. Every social media campaign requires a method for evaluating and fine-tuning its effectiveness. There has to be a system for monitoring the response each campaign generates otherwise it will be impossible to perfect it.
7. Unrealistic Goals
Some business professionals think their campaign flopped because it didn’t generate hundreds of responses. In reality, they have set their expectations too high. Your social media strategy will require substantial time and commitment before people start flocking to it. A Facebook and Twitter account won’t double your business overnight, but it will continuously attract new visitors and increase your exposure online if you keep at it.
8. Lack of Guidance
Social media is a complex marketing tool and in most cases, the best strategy is to seek expert guidance. Unless you have the time to study various social networking platforms, research and create valuable content, and respond to followers comments on a daily basis, you will be better off hiring a social media specialist to guide you in the right direction. They will know how to make sure your next social media campaign is not a flop.
