Jeweller - March 2020

BUSINESS
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Why some people fail in social media marketing
There are many reasons why business owners struggle to manage – and get results –
from their social media marketing, writes MANDY EDWARDS.
Social media – and ‘digital marketers’ –
are a dime a dozen. They’re everywhere
and many people think they can aptly
manage a business’ social media
accounts with no prior marketing
experience whatsoever.
About 75 per cent of the social media
marketers I met when I started my
business nine years ago are no longer
practising social media or digital
marketing. Some were given other
opportunities, and many just couldn’t
cut it.
I hate to see businesses fail and
people give up. I know how much time,
energy, love and money goes into
running a business.
However, there are some who just are
not cut out to be business owners.
Harsh, but true. On that note, let’s return
to social media marketing.
This is an area of marketing that a great
deal of your time; you have to dedicate
time to staying up-to-date with the
latest changes – and there are tonnes
each and every year.
Additionally, you have to constantly review
which platforms people are using, and
ways to integrate marketing activities into
your overall business plan.
Some people excel at these things, and
many are just trying to keep their head
above water.
So, why is that?
Here are four reasons business owners
do not succeed at being social media
marketers – hopefully, we can use them
to show us how to succeed.
• They do not take the time to educate
themselves and fall behind – Social
media is constantly changing and if you
are not dedicated to understanding the
latest trends, terms of service changes
and new features on each app, you can
bet your competitors are – and they will
take advantage of that.
If your social media marketing is ineffective, you may be the problem.
If you follow any ‘big name’ businesses on
social media, you will see how they keep
up with everything.
To simplify the process, I consult
resources such as The Grow Blog, Sprout
Social Insights, and Social Media Today
to stay up to date.
• They have no marketing or sales
experience – I know I’ll take some heat
with that statement, but not everyone is
a born marketer.
Of course there are successful people
in this industry with no marketing
experience, but I’m referring to people
who have no idea what to do in a sales
call, and who don’t know that social
media marketing is more than just
posting to social accounts.
I know people who have decided to start
handling social media for their business
because they love to post on their
personal Facebook or Instagram account.
Their graphics and captions are full of
misspellings and grammatical errors.
Next thing you know, they hit the ground
running with no idea what they are doing,
If you are not
dedicated to
understanding
the latest trends,
terms of service
changes and
new features on
each app, you
can bet your
competitors are
or any sense of what marketing really
is. The goal of social media marketing,
like all forms of marketing, is increasing
sales, so having experience in this area
is valuable.
• They can’t establish who their target
market is – This is something a lot of
business owners struggle with.
Do you want to serve everyone, or one
particular niche?
Many just float along, with no structure
to their social media marketing, until
they get fed up with the lack of success.
That is why you need to have a social
media strategy and define your ‘why’
and ‘how’.
Doing just those two simple things will
set you on the track to success.
• Poor management skills – Many
business owners turn to marketing
companies or consultants to manage
their social media strategy, rather than
doing it themselves.
Unfortunately, I have seen first-hand
how this can still lead to poor results.
Communication skills are very important
in this field, so it is important to choose
a social media marketing expert who
stays in constant contact with you.
They should be asking you what they
could be doing better, and seeking
continual feedback in order to
strengthen the relationship and provide
you with the best service.
In conclusion, there are many reasons
and circumstances that keep someone
from being an effective social media
marketer – and those listed above can
also be applied to more than just the
social media marketing industry.
Mandy Edwards is founder of ME
Marketing Services, a social media
and management consultancy.
memarketingservices.com
March 2020 | 51