I was recently explaining to a client that the only way to get impact these days with social media is putting in sufficient time, effort and money. Social media is now a highly competitive, top channel and needs to be treated as such. If you hope to get any impact at all you need to be posting consistently and frequently, and the minute you stop the impact drops. I compare social media to a steam train. The more fuel you shovel in the faster it goes. However the minute you stop adding fuel it slows down, stops and can even start to go backwards.
Posting once a month is pointless. Not only is it unlikely that your target audience will even spot your single post, at that frequency you cannot even get meaningful data and insights from your activity. The danger I then see is that the brand team expect results – after all this is a top channel – but when they do not get those results they make the false assumption that social media does not work. Even posting just once a week will not get brilliant results.
The social media steam train can be exhausting. It demands constant fuel – and that includes from personal accounts. The minute you stop posting you tend to see the negative results in the analytics. So what do individuals and brands need to do to keep the social media steam train going?
Time
- The secret is very regular posting. Depending on the platform we are talking about multiple times a day.
- This needs to continue day in day out (on week days). Taking a month off will see a drop in results, and a longer break can potentially mean having to build the account back up again
Effort
- Obviously posting on a regular daily basis takes effort. You need to put effort into developing quality content. If you are low on budget this often means spending considerable time sourcing free images or developing your own.
- However it is not just about posting. You also need to put effort in around engaging.
- To see more impact you need to engage with other people’s content. You need to share and comment on their posts. Joining discussions can have great results.
Money
- Like so many things if you really want to see maximum results you need to put money behind the activity.
- This includes investing in promoting your content and posts.
- It also includes investing in good quality content. Whilst sharing other people’s images and videos is good, developing and sharing fresh and new content is also important.
Whilst this may seem daunting remember with the right amount of time, effort and money you will potentially see great results. Fueling the social media steam train means it goes … like a steam train full speed ahead! And whilst we all need holidays, including from social media, consider having some pre-prepared content you can schedule to cover your breaks. That way when you return your steam train is still chugging along!
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