Stop doing these 6 things on Social Media!

by | Dec 14, 2020 | Business Building Musts, Everything Social Media, Social Media

Social Media is an ever-changing beast, and there are some things you should NOT do when it comes to these platforms and promoting your business!

Today I am focusing on 6 things to STOP doing on social media. And by this I mean, if you are doing these things – stop immediately.

BUT, because I’m a positive person by nature, I’m also throwing in the 6 things to KEEP DOING (or start doing) when it comes to your small business social media!

So let’s start with the DO NOT’s:

1.Don’t post and ghost!

If you’re going to post on social media, even if you are a scheduler, make sure you are spending time on the platform engaging, responding to comments, establishing connections, engaging and educating, building trust and differentiating yourself as the expert in your field!

If you want algorithm love, give the platform some love!

2. Don’t use canned responses!

Be authentic. And one of the common things I say to people about being authentic, is this:

“Say it like you would at a BBQ!”

And a couple of examples of this:

  • On LinkedIn people can send a personalised message with a connection request – take the time to craft a message to the person you want to connect with to show them you are actually interested in them – and not just a spammy person trying to get more contacts.
  • When responding to comments, respond back with a conversation starter (if appropriate) or just with grace!  We are all getting pretty smart and can smell an unauthentic rat these days!

Be you, it’s your secret weapon for standing out in a crowded marketplace!

3. Don’t expect every one of your connections to come from social media.

And how do you do this – here are a few to get you started:

  • Get off the platform and network.
  • Get off the platform and email market and provide value.
  • Get on podcasts, or even start your own! (Check out my podcast episode 100 where I cover why podcasting was one of the best things I ever did!)

Not all of our leads will come from social media – so stop expecting them to!  Give them some marketing alternatives to let your potential customers/clients get to know you and what you can do for them!

4. Don’t hide behind your brand.

If you are the person who answers the phone or sends the email or writes the social posts etc – then you, my friend, need to introduce yourself to the world!

In my 30 day Social Media and Marketing Challenge that I ran this year, we spent 1 full week challenging people to come out from behind the brand. It works miracles – I promise!  I had SO MUCH positive feedback from participants who were amazed at the increase in engagement and reach when they added some of “themselves” to their business social media.

Again, you are your secret weapon – use it!

5. Don’t go it alone.

Surround yourself with amazing people who will challenge you, push you and celebrate with you.

The best way to do this? Get yourself a mentor, paid or unpaid.  If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.

This is the number one thing that I would credit in propelling me to the business success that I have today – a good mentor and freaking fabulous people around me.

6. Don’t get involved in “follow for a follow” chains.

Sure, it seems tempting as an “easy” wait to gain followers. But let me assure you, generally these “follow for follow” chains are crap. You may get additional followers, but they likely are not in your ideal client avatar, and will be “ghost” followers.

And I’ll break down why having these types of follows is a bad idea:

  • It could ruin all your hard work that you have put in gaining authentic followers who actually want to see what you do
  • It confuses the algorithm, so it has no idea who you are or what content you want to see or worse still, who to serve your content up to!

Lots of people seem to get blinded by simply having “numbers” of followers, when in fact, social media is not just a numbers game.  I’d rather 500 followers who comment, engage and buy from me, than 100,000 who don’t.  Some numbers are just vain, and vanity metrics do not convert to sales/customers/clients!

And – I promised you also six things you should be doing – so here we go, let’s get POSITIVE!

1. Do go back and strengthen your social media profiles.

Look at the bio photos – are they you?  Look at your cover photo – if a picture paints a thousand words, what does yours say?  Fill in all the gaps, re-read and make sure it’s still what you want the world to know?

Some prompts to help you flesh out your bio? Answer these two questions:

  • What do you want to be famous for?
  • And why should I choose you over your competitors?

Also have some trusted friends or s “Business Bestie” give you some honest feedback that is productive. So not just a “it’s fine, I love it” comment to be nice, but honestly what they think when they read your profile info.

2. Do post regular content.

Position yourself as a thought leader in your industry or in your space.

Remember the 3 E’s:

  • Educate
  • Engage with Value
  • Entertain

I even did a whole blog about the 3 E’s – click here to have a read.

And this doesn’t need to be overwhelming or scary – because you can repurpose repurpose repurpose your content (check out my Podcast Episode 53 for more on this!)

3. Do join Facebook groups and be super proactive.

Give, give, give and then ask!

Use Facebook groups to learn more about your ideal client, more about what the market wants or to help you grow your business by finding the right people to hang out with.

Facebook groups are amazing! I have my own Facebook group which is helping make Small Business owner’s lives simpler by having a group of like-minded business owners all in one stop.  You can ask questions, get answers and enjoy the journey of business! If you haven’t joined the Like Minded Business Owners Facebook Group, then hop over and join in! www.facebook.com/groups/LikeMindedBusinessOwners

4. Do nurture your leads.

They say that a client needs at least 16 touch points before they make a decision to buy – that’s debatable for sure in retail, but probably fairly true for business to business.

What touch points do you have in your business and how far apart are they?

For example, if Facebook is your only touch point and you only post once a week – that’s a long, LONG nurture time – if they even see all your content.

5. Do use conversational marketing.

H2H marketing (human to human marketing) is what you need to be doing everywhere and for everyone!

Watch how often you talk about YOU, watch that you are using customer centric language and if in doubt, I’ll go back to what I said in Point 1 of the Don’t List:

“Say it like you would at a BBQ.”

6. Do be YOU!

Show how you can be real, and do get off the “business” topic at times! It seriously doesn’t have to be about business all the time!

So, how did you get on with the DON’T and the DO lists? Where did you stand with both?  Perhaps there’s things to stop doing, perhaps there’s things to start doing – either way, you are exactly where you need to be for today, and the only way is forward.

Got questions?  Head into Like Minded Facebook group and ask away – or send me a DM on Instagram or an email jenn@jenndonovan.com.au

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jenn Donovan is a marketing strategist and social media extraordinaire, coach and mentor to savvy business owners.  Owner and Founder of Social Media & Marketing Australia.

With a passion for making business simple, because it’s isn’t easy but it should be simple or at least simpler, she’s built a reputation for helping other small business owners simplify their marketing and businesses so they can reach their goals, be more profitable and live the dream (finding the freedom they set out to achieve when they started … the illusive small business owner freedom dream …!)

Jenn believes in giving before asking and that’s why she’s the host of the popular Small Business Made Simple Podcast

1 Comment

  1. Robyn

    This has been great for me Jenn.
    Thank you for sharing.
    I was doing a couple of the no’s, and I need to go back in and freshen up some of my yes’s.
    Thank you.
    Robyn.

    Reply

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Brilliant – it’s on its way – thanks!

 

Brilliant – it’s on its way – thanks!

 

Brilliant – it’s on its way – thanks!

 

Brilliant – it’s on its way – thanks!

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