14 Signs

You Should

Invest

More Time

In Social

Media

When it comes to social media, there is no doubt that it’s become quite

popular - more like, taken over the world! So much so, that it’s no longer a

question of whether a business should be on social media, but a question of

how best to do it, and how much time to spend on it.

If any of the following sound like you, it might be time to

invest a little more time, and love, in social media…

You’ve been in business for

several years, but have noticed

startups coming on the scene

using similar terminology:

#1

Grab those social media profiles

and get custom URLs using your

brand name – before your new

competitors take them from you.

www.twitter.com/yourbusinessnamehere

Your last status update was

over a year ago: #2

Social media is a great way to

communicate with your audience and

a way for potential customers to

discover you

Inactivity on your profiles translates to a

sense of inactivity and mistrust around

your business too Ideally, post once per day on all social

platforms

And, all the posts above-the-fold on

your social profiles are from other

people: #3

Brands with extremely engaged

audiences will sometimes find this

happening

But, on many feeds (like Facebook),

posts from others show up in a different

area

It’s obvious if you’re not posting! Above-the-fold: viewable without scrolling

You have no idea what the

previous two items even mean:#4

If you, or anyone on your staff, are

unfamiliar with the basic terminology of

social media, it’s definitely long past

time to start learning

Hiring someone who knows their way

around the social realm could be a

really good investment for future

successHaving a solid social strategy is key

Your customers are actively

engaged on a platform, but you’re

not:#5

You should be where your customers

are

Engaging on the same social media

platforms as your customers is a great

way to participate in and track

conversations already happening

about your products/service/or brand. Listen to your customers – social media is a

great place to start.

Your competitors are actively

engaged on the same platform,

but you’re not:#6

If both your customers and your

competitors are on a social media

platform, you should be as well

Otherwise, your competitors will be the

only brand voices your customers hear

Regular competitor analysis will help you keep

up with industry trends

Your customers are getting

engaged to your competitors on

the same platforms! Wait, wait.

That’s brand loyalty:

#7

On a more serious note, if your

customers are talking and your

competitors are the only ones

answering them, you’re handing

opportunities to build brand evangelists

to your competitors

Social media, when used effectively, is

another avenue to build relationships –

and brand loyalty

Brand evangelist: when a customer believes

in, and recommends, your products freely

Your hear the word “hashtag” and

think it belongs in the D.A.R.E

program: #8

The one goes along well with #4 (not a

hashtag.) If social media terms baffle

you, it’s imperative to do some research

before jumping in

Spending some time listening on social

media before posting can help you

become familiar with various terms and

how they’re normally usedThe word “hashtag” was added to the Oxford

English Dictionary in 2014

You use hashtags like there’s a prize

for fitting the highest amount into

one tweet or post:

Hashtags are meant to aggregate

similar content together for easy

discovery

It’s also a great way to track and

participate in discussions around a

common topic

Multiple hashtags are fine, as long as

they’re relevant – too many is a

distraction

#9

Hashtags are best used naturally in a

sentence, rather than tacked onto the end.

You use trending hashtags without

knowing anything about them:

Jumping into conversations using

trending hashtags can gain you a lot of

exposure, but you need to be careful

Educate yourself first – determine if your

message belongs there

Otherwise, you’ll end up with a serious

hashtag #failTrending hashtags have a time and a place,

and most importantly – an expiration date.

#10

Social media is instant; once you post it,

it becomes content for people to

consume

You can bet they’ll let you know how

they feel about it, which can sometimes

result in backlash for your company

Having a plan in place is the best thing

you can do for your brand’s reputation

Reputation management is a booming

service – a plan means you won’t need it.

You don’t have a strategy in place

for handling negative responses,

errors, or potentially damaging

occurrences:

#11

You don’t update your offered

products and services:

Updating social media listings is extremely

easy – this should only take a few minutes.

#12

Out of date listings are, not only

disappointing to the customers that see

them, but they also decrease trust in

your brand

If you are featuring products you no

longer offer, you are misrepresenting

yourself

A lack of attention-to-detail can often

translate into a lack of customer-care

Your profile lists dates that should

change, but never do:

If your profile lists that you’ve been in

business for 7 years, and that hasn’t

changed in 7 years, you’re doing it

wrong

This demonstrates a lack of detail, and

makes you look bad in front of

important prospectsCreating brand trust should be one of your

biggest, most important goals.

#13

You still think social media has no

value:

When done haphazardly or

ineffectively, social media probably

won’t have much of an ROI for you

But, when done well and with purpose,

it can provide great returns

Each of your profiles can become a

solid web property associated with your

brand

In 2011, the average ROI on social media

marketing was 95%!

#14

We’re not saying you have to be active on social media or

your business will fail.

However, if your business is online, and your competitors are online, and your

customers are online – chances are, you should be too.

See you in the social sphere!