More and more businesses and professionals are creating social media accounts for their brands. Some even create a profile on different platforms, only to realize how difficult it is to manage multiple accounts. Worse, people aren’t interacting with or following them. They aren’t getting much traffic either. The easy option now would be to just give up. This can lead to a lack of engagement and ultimately result in a loss of potential customers.
The good news is… Even if you’ve let your once-active social media presence go flat, there are still ways to revive it. It may be difficult to get back into the mix, but it’s possible.
Use these strategies to refresh and revitalize your social media presence.
Do a basic profile audit
The first and most important thing you need to do is to perform a social media audit. Check to see what’s working, what’s failing, and what can be improved upon your social media channels.
To conduct a social media audit, you’ll want to:
- Track down all your social media accounts– Make sure each account is complete and on brand. Your brand should immediately be recognizable across all of your social channels.
- Check your profile – Update your profile, bio, and images
- Follow up on your goals and metrics – How do the numbers compare to where you are a year ago?
- Identify your best posts – Look for 3 posts that had the most engagements
- Identify your most shared content – Determine which posts are getting the most social shares and break it down per platform
- Examine profiles of brands and niche influencers – Learn from those who do it best. Find ways to improve on your own social profile.
- Put all the data to use – Use the data in front of you to make plans for the future.
Developing a plan of action
Once you have a clear understanding of the current state of the account, it is time to develop a plan of action. This includes setting clear and specific goals for the account, identifying the target audience and creating a buyer persona, and developing a content calendar and posting schedule. It may also be necessary to plan for paid advertising to reach a larger audience.
Post regularly and actively engage with your audience
A social media page that lacks content and lies dormant might as well not exist at all. You can’t post consistently for a week and then go silent the next week. That can make people feel distrustful of your brand. If you want to improve your social media presence, then you need to post regularly.
Create a social media calendar and stick to it. Keeping your social media updates fresh can go a long way towards generating meaningful connections and conversations with leads and potential clients. It also creates a sense of familiarity with your brand.
Social media is about engagement and connection, and that’s the only way you can foster relationship and gain the trust of your audience. Ask questions, get their opinions, respond to their comments. This will get the conversation going and potentially grow your audience at the same time.
Don’t forget to listen
Are your social media posts met with crickets? No likes, shares or comments… nothing! If so, it’s probably because you do not understand your audience’s needs, desires, and pain-points.
Social media is a two-way street. One of the easiest ways to turn your audience off is to just broadcast and not listen.
Social listening helps you:
- Determine which platform your audience is most actively using
- Learn what people are saying about you or your brand
- Discover popular, emerging conversations and trends
- Identify influencers to reach new audiences
- Create content that resonates with your audience
- Create meaningful conversations
If you won’t listen to your audience, then you won’t be able to connect with them. You won’t be able to help or influence them. Minimize the time you spend promoting and start listening to your audience.
Return with a vengeance
With a plan in place, it’s time to put it into action and begin executing your strategy.
Once you’re ready to return, hit the ground running and don’t look back! Rather than drawing attention to the fact that you’ve been away for a while, start out with an engaging and exciting announcement. There is no need to acknowledge or explain your absence.
Hire a social media professional
Building and maintaining a social media presence requires a lot of time and effort. We know you have a lot on your plate and you no longer have time to sit and work on your social media content. If this is you, then it might be time to think about outsourcing.
Hiring a professional to manage your social media accounts will do more than just guarantee an active social presence, it will also save you time. They’ll do the work for you so you’ll also have more time to focus on more important tasks.
A social media manager will make sure that your content is meaningful and relevant to your audience, as well as help you create a strategic plan to help you reach your audience and get the most out of your social presence.
