Given the hype around how a strong social media presence is a must-have for businesses hoping to find success these days, one might imagine that simply setting up a company profile on any social platform would be enough to attract consumers and turn them into customers. But the truth is, generating true engagement with online consumers takes a considerable amount of effort and a thoughtful strategy.
Companies that have established social media channels but aren’t seeing as much engagement as they had hoped for can look at different aspects of the content they post to see what may be limiting its reach and effectiveness. Here, leading industry experts discuss mistakes your company could be making that are leading to low engagement rates on social media. If your social media tactics don’t seem to be having the intended effect, see the advice from Forbes Agency Council members below.
Forbes Agency Council members explore social media mistakes companies make that weaken engagement.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Not Understanding Your Audience’s Expectations
A common social media mistake is not taking the time to understand your audience and their expectations. Take the time to consider both primary and secondary data sources. Analyze what has historically outperformed in terms of engagement, and don’t be afraid to directly ask questions. Then you can start to understand if your audience wants to be informed, educated or entertained by you. – Chris Martin, FlexMR
2. Not Speaking To Specific Pain Points And Needs
You may need to take a step back and consider the specific pain points and needs of your audience. In order to build engagement, your content must be ridiculously helpful, drive conversation and speak to the specific needs that your audience has top of mind every day. – Josh Dougherty, A Brave New
3. Focusing On Your Brand And Not Setting Up A Conversation
Set up your program for a conversation. It is easy to focus on your brand when creating content on social media. Bringing in peer reviews and influencers can help balance your channel and create more engagement. Another important strategy is having community managers who actively engage with people in a real way. If your brand has a human touch, your community will engage with you more. – Gina Michnowicz, The Craftsman Agency
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4. Posting Bland, Self-Serving Or Irrelevant Content
When we see low engagement on social, one of two culprits is typically to blame. The first is bland, self-serving or irrelevant content that does not resonate with followers. The bar is high for social content, so brands must deliver smart, targeted, action-oriented posts. The second issue is likely the “pay-to-play” nature of social media. Boosting and ads are crucial to visibility and engagement. – Trish Thomas, TEEM
5. Not Hiring An Expert Social Media Manager
If your social media channels aren’t growing or aren’t getting the engagement you need, be sure to hire an expert social media manager who can do a deep dive into your brand’s audience, determine which channels are right for you and launch creative programming to target that audience with more than just your sales messages. – Chris Toy, MarketerHire
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6. Applying A One-Size-Fits-All Approach
Applying a one-size-fits-all approach does not help foster social engagement. Before developing content, we need to understand the nature of each platform and whether our target audience exists there. If they do, what kind of content would be contextually relevant to them? It is important to understand each platform and deliver channel-specific content to meaningfully reach a targeted audience. – Omer Riaz, Urtasker
7. Failing To Keep Up With Current Trends
Keep up with current trends and embrace the power of video on platforms such as TikTok. The criteria for high-performing content is ever-changing. If your posts aren’t performing, it means your audience isn’t listening and it’s time for a change. Listen to your audience, your partners and your competitors. Being part of the conversation is part of growing a brand online, so don’t miss your opportunity. – Suzanne Rosnowski, Relevance International
8. Sharing Static Content That Lacks Value
You may need to add more value to your social content. It could be in the form of discounts, deals or giveaways. It could be educational information and “how-tos.” Often, the problem is that the content is just too static. Including too many pictures of just a product will bring no additional value to anyone who sees it. The most important key? Don’t give up. Keep adding value, and in time, you’ll grow. – Danny Star, Website Depot
9. Posting Unrelatable Content That Won’t Resonate
Right now, relatable content is a major factor in social media spaces. If your company is receiving little engagement, then changing up your content so that it resonates more with your audience is a crucial step. Tapping into the thoughts and feelings of your followers and potential audience members is the best way to get them to respond. – Lisa Montenegro, Digital Marketing Experts – DMX
10. Not Reciprocating With Likes And Comments
Social media is very much a game of reciprocation. If you’re not liking and commenting on other users’ accounts, it’s unlikely you’ll get much engagement. Also, stay away from product photography without models or something interesting in the shot. Social media users don’t like being “sold” to—they’d rather see your product in the hands of an influencer or promoting a fun lifestyle. – Sophie Bowman, ConvertYourFollowers.com
11. Focusing On Selling In Every Call To Action
Companies often create content that is too self-serving. They focus on selling their product or service in every call to action. Instead, companies should focus on the relationship between the brand and the audience. Create content that is educational and/or entertaining for your customer. If they trust your brand to bring value to their day, they will be more likely to engage. – Katie Schibler Conn, KSA Marketing
12. Not Designing Posts To Elicit Responses
Often, companies will post statements or educational info or make an effort to be funny and entertaining, but forget to include any call to respond. If you want someone to hear you, say something. If you want someone to respond to you, try asking something. If you believe your message is right, then make sure it gets enough exposure by boosting it. – David Hall, GeniusVets
13. Not Entertaining Or Teaching Anything
As viewers, we live by one rule when scrolling through social media: “Your posts should either entertain or teach me.” In consuming content, users are looking to learn something interesting or for something to entertain them. If your posts don’t achieve either, this could explain your low engagement. Try to view your social media posts from the perspective of a stranger—would you want to engage with them? – Patricia Rioux, Team ODEA
14. Not Utilizing Paid Advertising
The days of organic social media engagement are behind us. Paid advertising not only allows you to reach people outside of your organic following, but it also allows you to target specific audiences by age, behavior, location and interests. This ensures that your content is going to users who are interested and more likely to engage. – Laura Cole, Vivial
15. Not Being Generous To Your Followers
Be generous. Give something of value, and do it often. Recipes, advice, secrets of the trade, DIY tips on how to do it better—share whatever is relevant to your category and following. Give praise and compliments on your followers’ posts. Share your followers’ posts in your stories. Give and you shall receive. – Michael Parise, DENT Agency LLC
16. Sharing Posts With Zero Attitude
B2B brands too often have social media postings with zero attitude. They are simply boring and restate the obvious. To gain traction, your social media postings need to either add value to my day, get me to think differently or, frankly, scare me into action. Bland may be politically safe for internal audiences, but it has no place in your social media posts if you are trying to get prospects and clients to engage. – Elonide Semmes, Right Hat, LLC
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Author: Expert Panel®, Forbes Councils Member
