Why Your Social Media May Be Failing You

You own a small business. You have social media channels... at least a Facebook page. But you haven't seen any returns? Let's demystify why that might be with this handy list:

THE FIVE BIGGEST REASON SMALL BIZ SOCIAL MEDIA FAILS

1. You're not posting often enough.
If you're only making posts once every couple of weeks or once every couple of months, it's no wonder that no one is seeing your posts and taking the appropriate actions. Social media marketing is about consistency. Posts here and there and every once in a while will not get you anywhere. With such a powerful tool at your fingertips, why not take full advantage of it by creating a posting schedule? Make posts AT LEAST three times per week and stick to the schedule. CMDS.co can help you create your business' optimal posting schedule to see the most traffic to your sites and content.

2. You've turned your social media over to one of your employees.
While it's certainly convenient to have one of your employees "do" your social marketing for you - you're already paying him/her, so why not? - and you would think that a trusted employee would know enough about your business to be able to make adequate social media posts, the fact is, unless that employee also has an extra 8 hours per day on his/her hands for this task - outside of regular work - your social media is suffering, and your employee likely is, too. Social media is not a "set-it-and-forget-it" proposition. It is more than posting a flurry of posts in one day and then not again for two or three weeks. It is more than uploading a few photographs. What about PPC? Hashtagging? Vlogging? Social media marketing requires tons of information and skills from a wide variety of areas to be able to make a dent out there in the content-rich web. These skills include: graphic design, content creation, marketing skills, computer skills, writing, copy editing, research skills, and analytical skills, just to name a few... not to mention a familiarity with social media posting tools and knowledge of ROI. Hiring a dedicated social media manager in the beginning literally saves you hundreds of man hours and thousands of dollars in profits.

3. Promotional tools aren't being utilized.
There are a LOT of ways that a social marketer can promote various events and sales and store promotions. Most go unused due to one of the two reasons above. This means that hundreds of thousands of small business are literally missing the mark with their target audiences simply because those audiences never see the relevant posts.

4. You've had social media for a while and nothing's happened, so why bother?
It may seem like your forays into social media marketing so far haven't "panned out," so to speak, but it is very likely due to one of the three reason listed above. Sure, newspaper ads have worked for your business so far; why change? Newspaper readership is WAY down from previous decades. The youngest generation of consumers relies far, far more on digital content for information than any other group of people, and that number is only going to increase as technology gets wider availability and less expensive. Everybody has an Internet-enabled smart phone these days; why not use that to your advantage? Posters and signs all you need? Nope. While posters, signs, and flyers can certainly reach some markets that social media won't, the simple fact is this: social media is, without a doubt, the simplest, most efficient, and cheapest way to disseminate your business' information. Those who have adopted social marketing as the viable and important advertising tool that it is will be MILES ahead of those who don't utilize it.

5. You don't have time for it.
You didn't have time for it in the beginning when you started your social media accounts - so you turned it over to an employee - and you still don't have time for it. What now? That's why firms like CMDS.co exist! A dedicated social media and Internet marketing company can take your social media marketing to the next level. Want to see double, even triple or quadruple the sales year over year? Want to easily, quickly, and inexpensively get your message out to your potential customers? Hire an Internet marketing firm. It is the way it is going to be in the very near future. No other marketing channel is going to even come close. If you're thinking that it's a waste of money and effort, the real question you should be asking is: can I afford not to? Can you really afford to leave 75% of your potential customers in the dark about your products and/or services? Can you really afford to not collect on, potentially, 4 TIMES the profit of previous years? Can you really afford to let your competitors pass you by?

Why Social Media is Important to Your Business

These days, it isn’t enough to have a website for your business: Facebook and Twitter have become a staple in marketing, and it’s time to start capitalizing on it. If your company still doesn’t have a Twitter account or a Facebook page - or if you have accounts that aren't updated daily - it’s time to get with the program and bring yourself up to speed. Here are five reasons social media marketing should be a priority.

1. More people will buy from you.
Not surprisingly, when you stay relevant and active, your customer base is more likely to buy from you. Social media marketing keeps your company or business relevant and interesting to potential buyers, and gives you the opportunity to constantly give them incentives to buy. 

2. Learn about your customers and connect with your audience.
All good businesses know their audience, and, with social media, getting to know your audience is incredibly easy. With analytics on sites like Facebook and Pinterest, you can understand your customer behaviors. This lets you market to your audience better and understand what your customer base wants. 

3. Social media marketing is a (fairly) level playing field. 
Unlike most other traditional ad campaigns, all companies start off on pretty equal footing when it comes to social media marketing. The most successful online businesses are the ones with the most clever, attention-grabbing tactics and the most useful content. 

4. Improve customer service
Social media gives you instant access to feedback from your customers; this insight is incredibly important, as it can help everything from new product growth to customer retention. If there’s a problem with any aspect of your business, you need to know about as soon as possible. With the feedback you get in the process of social media marketing, you’ll know about issues almost as soon as they happen – and you can resolve them right away.

5. An affordable way to market your business.
A fantastic aspect about social media is that it requires very little to do; if you have a computer and internet, you can market on social media. Meaning that in terms of monetary investment, you can do a lot with just a little bit of budget. For small businesses getting started in marketing, social media is an easy and affordable option. But what if you don't have the time to make daily posts on your social media channels? That's where social and Internet marketing companies like CMDS.co come in! We work with you and your budget to create a comprehensive social media marketing plan, post across social media channels for you, and report results.

Simply put, social media marketing is part of doing business. People expect businesses to have Facebook and Twitter accounts, and they expect to be able to use them to get in touch with company representatives. If you don't have social networking profiles set up for your company, you look less legitimate. If your business isn’t already active on social networking sites, now is the time to start. Do you need a social media plan for your business? Contact CMDS.co for a free, no-obligation quote, and we can set you up with a great social media plan that works with your brand or business and your budget!