When it comes to social media and websites we only have one rule.
If you can’t do it right, don’t do it at all.
You have to develop a web presence that comfortably fits into your regular work load.
If you try to adjust your work load to accommodate your web presence management, beware these common failures.
Failure #1: Stagnant blogs.
A shiny new blog is updated regularly, even aggressively for about a year. Then it falls by the wayside. Years go by with barely or nary a post.
Why does this happen?
Writing a blog post takes longer than expected, and it’s an excruciating process if you don’t enjoy writing (insider’s tip: it can be excruciating even if you love writing. The muse is fickle). The staffer-turned-blogger gets behind on the rest of their To Do list and the boss decides (wrongly) that blogging doesn’t bring in business so they decide to let it go.
What’s so bad about that?
When your blog hasn’t been updated in a year it looks like you’re not in business anymore. Potential customers will go back to their search engine rather than contact you and find out the truth.
Failure #2: Social media profiles/pages (e.g. Facebook) that merely exist.
Why does this happen?
This is often due to a mixture of underestimating the time needed to generate content, and whoever said “Go!” on the endeavor doesn’t understand how to reap the rewards of social media – they just know that everybody’s doing it.
What’s so bad about that?
Potential customers may interpret your lacking profile as poor customer service skills, may wonder whether you’re still in business, and seek out your competition instead.
Failure #3: Outdated website design.
Why does this happen?
These websites in particular exist solely as a place for customers to get contact information and see work samples. Think manufacturing or manual labour. With no need to offer more content, the company doesn’t see the need to spend money on an updated design.
What’s so bad about that?
The competition is kicking your butt! While you decide to save some money and avoid the hassle of hiring a web designer, your competition has already done it and their beautiful website is taking all of your leads.
What’s the recipe for success?
Consider what you want your web presence to do for you, then equally consider the amount of time you can spare on maintaining your web presence and strategize to your strengths.
Maybe you should have just a website that you update when you release a new service or hold a sale. Be sure to review your website weekly and make sure everything works.
Twitter posts only take a few minutes each day, making this a good fit for someone who wants to test their ability to incorporate social media into their regular routine.
Facebook, Instagram, Google+, and blogs should only be taken on if you can spare at least 4 hours a week to spend on social media. All of these require research on the latest trends, rules, and news in both social media and your industry. Then you have to write and post new content, and then handle any feedback your readers send you. Those four hours should give you one blog post and one unique post per platform. If you want more, you’ll need more time, especially for blogs.
Hiring someone dedicated to social media and website management is the ideal. Assigning an established staffer online management duties often ends in the aforementioned failures, unless you’re prepared to delegate some of their current work elsewhere.
If adding to your staff isn’t feasible there are companies and freelancers that you can hire on a timely or per-project basis.
If you don’t have time to update social media profiles, don’t sign up for any. You won’t lose customers by not having a Facebook page, but you will if you have one and it’s awful.
What else is happening in the digital marketing world?
I'm ready for incredible marketing!
