“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”  

In the world of social media and inbound marketing, there’s a lot of experimentation when it comes to campaigns, especially with new algorithms pulling a fast one, making engagement and reach more difficult.

I’m not necessarily talking about elaborate content complete with landing pages, CTAs and follow-up emails.  It could be something as simple as themed content leading up to a holiday.  Your great ideas might not always work out, and that’s okay.  Sometimes we have to admit failure and try again.

As social media gurus and inbound marketing experts, we’re definitely up to the challenge!  We’re continually changing, analyzing and measuring our efforts.   

Here are three situations where your strategy might not work as planned and should be revisited.

I’m Not Seeing Social Engagement

Let’s face it, no one wants their engagement to be stagnant.  

But what is engagement?  Simply put, it’s the interaction between people and brands.  This includes likes, retweets, pins, shares, link clicks and anything that includes interaction with your posts, no matter the network.  None to very little engagement means less reach.  You need both.

When people engage with your content, more people see your content. This, in turn, drives more interest in your business, ultimately earning you more customers and continuing to build a loyal fan base.  So, what needs to change when you’re not succeeding?

Check Content Quality

If Facebook is concerned about quality, you should be too.  With the latest algorithm change earlier this year, engagement matters more than ever.  Social media is all about sharing great content and information with your audience.  

Is your fan base going to be interested in what you’re sharing with them?  There should be a good mix of information when it comes to your posting calendar.  Make sure it’s all relevant to your business, and do talk about your services.

But, let’s be honest, no one wants to hear someone talking about themselves all the time. Take an interest in your fan base and consider changing it up with the following:

  • Pictures or quotes relevant to your industry
  • Videos published natively to your social platform
  • Industry-related articles
  • Your own blog posts on relevant topics
  • Facebook Live videos

Check Post Timing

Maybe interesting, quality content isn’t the problem. Fans are online at various times of the day; so, do a little experimenting to see if there are times that work better than others.  If the fans aren’t seeing the content, they’re going to continue not seeing the content!  

Reach them when they’re online. The more people interact with your content, the more of your content they’ll see in their news feeds, which will lead to more engagement and higher reach.

Advertising

As a business, you should have some money set aside (even if it’s only $25 a month!) for ad spend.  If you’re not seeing results with the above methods, try combining those efforts with some money.  

There are so many different options when it comes to running ads: drive people to your website, retarget those visitors, boost posts for your fans, and much more.  With a little creativity and research, ads will have a huge impact on your social media efforts.

This brings me to my next point: what if my ads aren’t working?

I’m Not Making a Big Impact With My Ad Spend

If you only have a budget of $25 and cost per engagement, click, or like is $3, then the money is going to run out fast and your campaign won’t be nearly as effective. No wonder people don’t think it’s worth the time (or money).  With results like that, I might be discouraged too.

Again, let’s look at a few areas that could significantly impact your performance.

Potential Reach

The number of potential people to reach should match what you have to spend.  For a $25 budget, a reach of 1,000,000 people will not do well.  

On the flip side, neither would a reach of 1,000.  Keep it realistic based on what you can afford.  A good goal is to make sure the “audience definition” needle is in the green: not too specific and not too broad.  Even then, it still might need some tweaking, but it’s a good place to start.

Location

Even if a business delivers services to the whole United States, that doesn’t mean you should target the entire country! Narrow it down and consider tracking how different locations perform and boost overall social performance.

Ad Placement

According to VentureBeat, over half of Facebook users access the network via mobile only.  If an ad isn’t performing great, try changing the ad placement and see if results improve.

I’ve Launched an Inbound Campaign, So Where are My Conversions?

Social media plays a vital role with inbound marketing. Revisiting the first point, these platforms are a place to share quality content.  This includes offering helpful information (consultations, ebooks, video series, white-papers etc.) to potential customers through calls-to-action, which further establishes you as an expert in your industry.

But, what should you do when the offer is ready, your CTA’s are in place, yet the conversion rate for your landing page is less than optimal?

Try changing one thing at a time, such as:

  • Rewording the offer text
  • Changing CTA design
  • Changing CTA wording
  • Using different colors

Keep track of any performance changes as you experiment!  Digital marketing, whether it’s social media or a full-on inbound campaign, takes time.

Success is not immediate, but comes by trial and error.  When you run into trouble, revisit content quality and posting times.  Make sure your ad budget and reach match a reasonable goal and experiment with your calls-to-action.  By implementing these strategies, you’ll start seeing success in your online efforts soon!