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Even if you’re in love with the idea of your social media, it might not be in love with you. Writer Colin Gibson has a few tips on knowing when to cut your social ties.
In the age of social media, companies and organizations have gained new methods of relating to their customers/clients. And there are so many tools available every day that simply assessing which platform suits your relationships can make you crazy.
But not every platform is right for everybody/business; like any relationship, sometimes insurmountable challenges arise and it’s important to know when it’s time to break up with your platform.
Audience Is Stalled
Let’s say you’ve launched your company page, and you’ve invited everyone in your network and their contacts. Now it’s a year later and your list of followers hasn’t grown.
While it’s true that most communications and marketing strategies take time to be effective, if you aren’t seeing any growth in your audience after that initial bloom, then you should re-strategize.
Stuck In Traffic
The ultimate goal of most social media strategies is to drive the web traffic somewhere: your website, an event page, a fundraising platform, a customer service chat, some virtual place where you want that person to take an action.
Look closely at your website traffic or click-through stats or whichever metric you have available: are people actually following that path? Are they checking out your links or just moving on?
Think about how you want to tell your story, and allow that to shape the tools you choose. If your current platform doesn’t fit the shape of your narrative, then you need to consider ditching it.
Some experts say that if less than 10 per cent of your web traffic comes from social media, then it isn’t really working.
Story Isn’t Clear
Social media is really just the latest incarnation of an age-old marketing technique: storytelling. And good stories need to be well-told, in chapters and episodes, and with a cohesive, coherent point. Many experts feel that social media can be a total wash if you simply can’t get your story straight.
That being said, you need to consider the limitations of the platform you are using: if your organization is rich in detailed human stories, or does work that is highly visual, then Twitter might not be the best way to get that across.
Think about how you want to tell your story, and allow that to shape the tools you choose. If your current platform doesn’t fit the shape of your narrative, then you need to consider ditching it.
One-Sided Conversations
Social is, of course, one big massive ongoing, never-ending, unwieldy, passionate conversation. In its ideal form, it’s a beautiful type of communicative chaos. But, if you notice that your social media conversation feels one-sided or too quiet, i.e. you talk and nobody responds, then it may be that either nobody cares about your story, or worse, nobody is really listening.
Notice the quantity and quality of conversation that happens on your social, and then try to engage your audience in more of a dialogue.
It’s important to understand that social media is really about managing relationships, and your dysfunctional communication tools might be the source of your heartache.
If you aren’t feeling like your message is being served by those tools, then you should break up with them. Don’t worry, the platform of your dreams is still out there.
Colin Gibson is a writer and communications professional from Toronto, ON.