Why your social media marketing isn’t working

Do you use all 5Cs of Content Marketing?

Do you keep hearing about the success people are having on Facebook or Instagram with sales and enquiries, but you’re struggling to gain even a like or comment?

This is the number one problem I hear from small business owners – they think Facebook just doesn’t work. But Facebook and other social channels DO WORK – but social media marketing only works if you make it work. Even if you throw hundreds or thousands of dollars at your content, a bad advertisement or post isn’t going to get you anywhere.

Social media marketing success comes down to how well a post or ad engages the reader to want to take action. In a world of thumb scrolling through their feed, your content needs to make someone want to READ.

Just this week, a client was ready to open up bookings again, so we refocused our energy into Facebook. For less than $50 and in under 8 hours, we generated 5 new leads, and this is for a high-value product. So, I respectfully disagree with anyone who says Facebook doesn’t work (assuming your target market is on Facebook), and wanted to highlight the content areas that are within your control to help grow your business with social media.

Next time you create a post or ad for Facebook that you want to see sales or enquiries from, make sure you’ve got the 5 Cs covered.

Copy

You can’t expect your audience to resonate with you if your copy is bland, has poor grammar and spelling and doesn’t give them a compelling reason why they should take further action. Remember, that customer you are targeting probably thinks life is fine without your product or service, so think about WHY they need you. How could you make their life better?

When writing your copy, just remember the platform you are on. You see Facebook or Instagram as an advertising space, but your potential customer sees it as a place to connect with friends and family and maybe have a laugh or keep up with the news. Your post needs to demonstrate something that will enrich lives while they scroll through their feed. It’s a fine balance between persuasion and promotion – don’t overdo it.

Creative

For platforms such as Facebook and especially Instagram, the vision you use should stop the reader in their tracks to prompt them to read further. It could tie nicely in with the copy, or you could break the rules a bit and find something that evokes the same response you want but is not directly spoken about. This might be a picture of a crossroad sign, but your post might be about life coaching, relationships or buying a house – all areas that people can feel confused over.

Download some photo apps that allow you to brighten, crop or filter to give your photos the best chance at grabbing attention and get your head around Word Swag and Canva so you can design your own posts with text and design on them.

Call to Action

Not all my social media marketing content has a call to action, but when I want my client’s audience to send a message, phone or visit a blog, it’s simple – I just ask them to do that. This is called a Call to Action (or CTA) and moves your reader through the sales process from passively reading your content to actively engaging with your brand. Have a think about what it is you want the reader to do next and make sure it’s the last thing they read.

Character

I worry this is where many small businesses fall down. You can have the most informative copy, the biggest sale or an award-winning service but without character or charisma, you will fall short on engaging audiences through social media. As a small business owner, chances are your brand reflects your own personal brand so this should be easy. Think about your values, how you speak with acquaintances and what you love talking about the most – and bring these to the table. Too often I see brands trying to be someone they’re not on social and the authenticity goes out the window. That said, make sure you’re still complying with the other Cs as I also see too often brands writing the way they would speak without the correct grammar or spelling.

Cost

A successful post – that is, one that generates a lead or desired action – usually needs some spend behind it. All advertising generally costs money, and Facebook is no different. If you’re wondering why your posts aren’t getting many likes it’s because only about 2% of your followers are seeing your posts in their feed. When you incorporate social media marketing and advertising costs into your budget combined with executing the rest of the Cs, you should start to see a lift in response.