10 Sep Why the “Influencer Method” is Failing Your Business
We get it. With this new digital generation entering the workforce, it may seem tempting to deploy some tips and tricks that make kids and teenagers famous on Instagram or TikTok. But what works for a fifteen-year-old dancer won’t always work for a business.
As a digital marketing company with over 25 years of experience, we have seen our fair share of social media trends come and go. That also means, unfortunately, we have seen some of our clients get some bad advice from “experts.”
Be Cautious of the Influencer Method
Influencers seem to make their living off of posting a large volume of content daily. From one to three feed posts and hours’ worth of Instagram stories per day, it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that an audience needs to be hearing from you that much. Here’s the thing – they don’t. If you don’t already have a steadily growing following, bombarding a feed with only your brand may do more harm than good.
Think of it this way – when you receive several text messages or emails a day from a brand or political campaign, it’s easy to feel like you’re reading the same message over and over and get annoyed. So why would your business do this on social media?
So, What’s the Right Way?
Quality over Quantity
A “top-secret” social media trend that many businesses don’t realize is that the key to a larger following and boosted engagement is consistency. Posting once a day can be enough if it’s what your following expects and you create content that people want to engage with. However, what gets you into trouble is flooding the feed one day only to disappear the next. Regular posts and stories are the easiest ways to keep up with a following, so don’t be shy about making a regular schedule.
Engage with Your Audience
A great way to keep up with and grow your audience is to be consistently engaging with them. If someone comments on your post, reply! Post some polls or questions to your stories. Good news: the Instagram and Facebook algorithm works by placing more engaged content higher in the feed. This means that even if you only have one or two likes on a post, a higher rate of comments and shares make it viewable to more potential customers.
Customers = Content
Something we’ve learned by working with family entertainment centers and restaurants is that people love getting featured. Asking your customers if you can share their posts or having a sign in your business that shows all your handles and relevant hashtags can open up the door to new clientele you wouldn’t have otherwise had. Sharing their post on your story or using their picture in your feed shows that you care about your customers, and they are as much part of the brand as you are. Bonus – they will more than likely share your post to all of their followers, which can lead to more followers on your accounts and customers through your doors.
Know Your Audience
When you know your brand, odds are you can communicate a marketing message clearly to the people who are more likely to resonate with it. This means that you don’t necessarily have to be on every social network to bring in business, so stick with ones that your target demographic would be using. For example, Instagram is primarily dominated by those in the 13-30 range, so if you’re a lawyer or in elder care, that might not be the platform for you. It’s a similar trend for platforms like Pinterest, which has a heavy skew based on gender.
If your business struggles to find the right social media strategy, ditch the advice from influencers and trust the team at Life in Motion. We are a dedicated team of creative strategists who have real results in the world of digital marketing. Get in touch with our team by calling 817.431.9861 or visiting lifeinmotion.com/contact-us