Social media is an incredible asset. Used right social media can help your business be successful beyond its size, age or resources. The problem is most companies do not use it right. Having worked with many companies the reasons for failure are consistent. Which is good news because you can avoid them.

1. Why Your Social Media Presence is Destined to Fail
Social media is an incredible asset. Used right social media can help your business be successful
beyond its size, age or resources. The problem is most companies do not use it right. Having worked
with many companies the reasons for failure are consistent. Which is good news because you can
avoid them.
The first thing to realise is that social media is not free. It is going to take time and energy, and not
just occasionally. It is an always on, raging river of content and conversation. The people that win
are riding those waves consistently, getting noticed and being appreciated for showing up for others.
Done right this could be you. In my efforts over the coming months I am going to share with you a
process and journey towards content and social media success. I will ensure that you are not lacking
in any area. So in that vein, here are 10 areas that are lacking from most businesses social media
activities.
Lack of knowledge
Quite simply none have us learnt digital marketing or social media. Even the born digital generation
(post 1985) have not been taught properly. This creates a massive void in most people‟s knowledge.
The good news is, that includes your competitors. It makes me laugh as much as it makes me cry
what I see people doing on social media. Imagine you were at a networking event and someone
burst in through the doors shouted a load of promotional nonsense, chucked some flyers in the air
and left never to be seen again. Shocking? Well it happens in LinkedIn Groups every single day!
You have to take the time to learn. You have to spend time in appropriate communities. Read other
people‟s blogs. Attend some online webinars and buy some courses. Get a feel for what works and
what does not. Only then can you competently leverage the internet for your business. BTW £50
whole day courses by someone with 12 months experience are not going to cut it.
Two free courses you have to take is Google‟s Google Analytics and ZMOT training. Having good
foundational training on how the web works is going to stand you way ahead of most other people.

2. Lack of focus
Getting clear about what you do and who it is for is vital. This leads on to the next point about
planning but first and foremost I want you to stay focused. People are creatures of familiarity. It
provides reassurance. In internet language your goal is to get people to “Know, Like and Trust you”.
It is a process that leads from first finding you, to then engaging with you, and finally doing business
with you. If you are talking about all manner of subjects in a random way then this is not going to
give people enough reason to stay focused on you.
Lack of a plan
When I am working with clients the No1 reason why their social media activity is not working is that
they simply do not have a plan. My process is based on three core principals and you can use them
to evaluate any plan you make. They are Contacts – Content – Conversation.
If you think about any professional situation success it hinges on these three factors. You need to
know who you are talking to. Where are they, how could you describe them and what are their
needs. Everything should follow this.
Now you know who you want to talk to you can start to plan content that is going to attract them to
you. Remember not to make it all salesy. Think of clever ways to get your message across – an
interview with a happy client for example. Answer the common problems that you know your clients
face and other prospects will be looking for the same answers. Finally, think of topical ways in which
you can drop yourself into trending conversations. You might not be able to predict which celeb is
getting divorced but you could have something generic in reserve that you just drop their name into.
The weather and other seasonal events e.g. Glastonbury or the Budget, are other good topical
subjects to „newsjack‟.
With these two elements you now have everything you need to get into the conversations that are
going to build relationships and lead to sales. Of course results are not that simple but that is where
landing pages, lead generation, email marketing and other sales tactics play their part in the
Conversation element.
Lack of effort
It sounds trite to say but if you are not going to put the effort in then you are not going to get the
results. Give yourself a set of Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely goals
(S.M.A.R.T) goals and set about achieving them. If this was grow a Twitter audience focused on

3. healthcare by 1,000 followers in three months then that is a goal you can then plan activities to
achieve. As you measure the time you spend and the results you get this will help you focus on the
amount of effort it requires.
What I can say is that results do not come over night. By doing it the right way luck is often had but
focus on results taking three to six months. Put in at least an hour per day and work your plan.
Lack of resource
A challenge in any business is having the time and / or skills to get the job done. Let‟s be clear; I am
not an advocate of outsourcing content and social media activities. However there are certain tasks
that you could outsource and save yourself considerable time. A simple example is blog post
creation. If you are not a good writer it could take you hours to write a blog post. This will improve as
you do it more often but rather than stress about the optimisation and posting of it, you create the
rough content and find someone who can finish it up for you. This might cost between £25 and £100
but if that is less than what you can earn per hour then it is a sound investment.
In simple terms do not try and do what someone else could do for you cheaper and to a better
standard.
Lack of personality
If you have ever tried to have a conversation with a really dull person or maybe a brick wall you will
know how challenging that can be. It baffles me how many companies social media presence though
is so impersonal and written in third person. “We” are not all excitedly sat around the keyboard
getting huge value from this blog post. There may be times when your company is all doing
something or you want to make a group statement such as “Merry Christmas” but outside of that let
your audience get to know you or your social media team.
There is nothing wrong with multiple being on the social media channels if it is managed right. After
all if the MD has the most knowledge then he or she will likely be the best person to participate in a
Twitter chat. That is a bigger subject but my point is, allow people to get to know your business.
I promise you “I” posts get more engagement than “we” posts. If you loved the video or think this is a
“must read” then that is what you should say. And, do not be afraid to reveal who is behind the social
media profiles. Put up a blog post and introduce yourself.

4. Lack of call to action
Have you ever heard the expression “leaving money on the table”? It basically means you did not
close the deal or grab the opportunity. If you are wondering why your social media efforts are not
achieving any results then I often find that it starts with companies not asking or telling people what
to do.
This does not mean that you can start selling in every message but you want to grow your email list,
you want people to retweet you, even something as simple as getting reviews for your business on
Google, then if you do not ask you will not get.
In all your planning get clear about where results will come from and build into your plans calls to
action that are going to get them there.
Do a review of your current social media plan
If you have been active on social media then do a review of your activity based on this „Lack of…‟
checklist. Be honest with yourself. Go and have a look at some other company‟s online activities. I
pretty much guarantee you will notice the ones who are lacking in these areas and the ones who are
nailing it.
If you have any questions or want help with your planning then jump on my bi-weekly Digital
Marketing Success Sessions webinar
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5059583444681963777.