Get Off the Social Media Hamster Wheel and Build Momentum for Your Message

It's easy to get stuck in the social media loop: create content, post on social, wait for comments, engage with comments. But what is the point if you aren't truly connecting with your audience? Who cares if your TikTok goes viral if your audience never comes back? And why go to all the effort if there's no connection between that viral video and the product or service you're actually selling?

Sure, you can create more content, and hope lightning strikes twice. But what if there was a better way, one that took into account more than just your follower count and engagement rate?

What if you could build meaningful relationships with those who follow your brand so they become invested in what you're doing and become customers?

Join our Vision to Visibility Mastermind! Get weekly social media updates and content ideas. Plus, monthly group coaching to help you build momentum for your message.

Businesses can't afford to miss out on social, but it has to be done strategically! Social media is about much more than having a grid full of pretty pictures. Figuring out what the post, actually creating the content, writing captions, and scheduling the post is a FANTASTIC start. And if you have a content calendar that serves as a guide to keep you on track for posting about annual sales or events, holidays, and your major content themes... that's also AMAZING.

However, that still isn't a content strategy.

A content strategy goes deeper and includes what you say and how you say it... the messaging, the captions, the calls-to-action. It also involves generating leads, building relationships, connecting with customers and prospects to learn about their goals + interests + needs, and ultimately closing the loop so they become long-term customers. 

If you rely on social media alone, you miss out on creating a deeper, longer-term relationship with your potential customers. To develop strong connections with your audience, we suggest a multi-channel approach: social + podcasting + other digital content like blogs, webinars + events and activities like challenges + email marketing -- all strategies that take the relationship from superficial to become meaningful, lasting relationships.

The real relationship building often takes place off of social. For sure, you can have conversations in your DMs and in the comments. (We recommend that too!)

The more your audience interacts with you, the more they understand that you know your stuff and that you're in their corner. 

What types of real life connection points can you create that will help your customers and potential customers get to know you better? The opportunities are endless when digital marketing is approached from this perspective versus trying to create awareness about your company or share product information in an effort to drive sales without actually interacting with people on their own timetable.

And that is the key: thinking about connection points. How can you encourage your audience to interact with you beyond likes, shares, and comments? How can you take that relationship in a direction that shows you truly care? Of course, all while understanding that the larger your audience, and the bigger your influence, it's not possible to have a one-on-one relationship with every person you encounter. 

Here are some ways to build momentum for your message:

• Think about discoverable content like blog posts, podcasts, YouTube videos, and pins on Pinterest. When people are searching for information on a topic, they are aware they have a problem and are ready to buy.
• Consider ways to shift the conversation from "rented land" (space owned by FB, IG, etc.) to "owned land" (things you have control over: your email list, your website) One way to do this is to incorporate bots like ManyChat to shift that DM message to another platform or to get the contact on your email list.
• Explore things like challenges, private podcasts, or small group Zoom calls as a way of developing the relationship in a personal (yet one-to-many) way that helps your audience understand what you're all about.

Social media isn't going away, but your business shouldn't live and die by platforms owned by other people. You want to do the best job possible staying visible and building momentum--but do it with a content strategy that goes deeper.

Curious how to implement any of these ideas? We're here to help and would love to chat! Email Kim or Abby at first name @irisdigitalmediagroup.com