Written by Jacinda Nembhard

Yes, you read that right!

Finding the right social media strategy can feel like navigating a maze - what works for others might not work for you. It’s frustrating to put in the effort, only to see minimal to no engagement, but success requires more than just showing up - some believe posting daily without further interaction with their audience is fine, “the magic will happen on its own…” No! It’s about connecting meaningfully with your audience. 

In this article, we’ll explore five common mistakes that may be hindering your social media engagement and how to fix them.By recognizing and correcting these missteps, you can start building a more engaged and responsive online community. 

Inconsistent Posting

When you’re not seeing major results after posting a few times it’s easy to get discouraged and post less or not at all. However, you must remember consistency creates results. You have an audience that finds your content valuable, but when you post inconsistently it confuses them and can diminish your business’s credibility - ultimately resulting in a loss of followers.

Inconsistent posting can prevent your business from being seen in people’s feeds. According to Entrepreneur, algorithms determine what shows up in people’s feeds based on the content’s value. It states, “When you post consistently, you will “train” the algorithm to show your content to more people more frequently – assuming, of course, that your audience finds it useful” (2020). Resulting in more people engaging with your content, indicating to the algorithm its value and should be seen by more people.

To correct this, create a social media calendar or invest in a social media management tool such as Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Later, etc. Having your posts on a schedule will keep your content organized and improve your posting habits. Of course, you don’t have to post every day, two to three posts a week should suffice, and you can add in posts if it makes sense.

Ignoring Your Audience

Remember what we said about not interacting with your audience after posting…that’s a problem. Audience and brand relationships are crucial to a brand’s success, especially on social media. When you’re not interacting (i.e. answering their questions or having discussions in the comments) with your audience online or creating engaging content that aligns with their interests, you’ll slowly start to lose them.

To correct this, understand who your audience is, and remember your brand’s purpose. Revisiting these thoughts will help you develop more engaging content and make your brand’s existence clear as well. Now, developing content that resonates or speaks to their interest can be executed by utilizing social media analytics and social listening. Social media analytical tools (i.e., Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Sendible, etc.) including those built into your social platform, gather demographic, geographic, and interest-based information about your potential customers. As well as what content they engage with more.

Social listening involves monitoring your audience’s conversations to learn what interests them and how they communicate. Also, understand how they perceive your brand by reviewing their opinions, preferences, and feedback.

A brand’s purpose and story are what the audience relates to and are part of why they engage with your brand. Keeping this in mind can also guide your content creation process; topics to address and type of content to create. Additionally, it helps reinforce your brand’s goal and what it has to offer your audience.

Quantity Over Quality

Posting consistency is key; not only how often you post, but what you post. Obsessing over content quantity can lead to diluted messaging and decreased engagement. While quality content offers valuable information and is authentic to the brand’s DNA; it’s essence and identity.

Quality content brings your audience back; it offers them useful insight they can utilize and encapsulates all the things they love about your brand. When your content starts becoming redundant and trying to follow trends thoughtlessly, it loses substance.

To correct this, focus on gearing your content to your brand’s essence. A LinkedIn article by Kontact Consulting, a business consulting service, states, “By tapping into the power of creativity and crafting compelling narratives, social media marketers can cut through the noise and stand out from the crowd” (2023). Homing in on what sets your business apart from others and encapsulating it in your content will make it stand out and stick out in people’s minds.

Using Incorrect Hashtags

Hashtags help your content reach audiences interested in your topic by allowing them to find it by searching keywords or a particular hashtag. Using the wrong hashtag can enable your content to get lost in a crowd of unrelated content and confuse your audience, hindering engagement. You could also be using hashtags banned by your social account’s platform. For instance, Instagram bans hashtags that users report for showing inappropriate content. Using banned hashtags could result in your account getting shadowbanned, where Instagram limits your account’s visibility temporarily, and completely lowers your reach and engagement.

To correct this, research the hashtags you want to use to ensure they comply with your social account’s platform safety guidelines and feature content that aligns with yours.

Neglecting SEO

Like hashtags, utilizing Social SEO will also help enhance your content visibility - allowing people to find businesses like yours. Today’s leading generation, Gen Z, are using search engines and social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, etc., to find the answers to their questions.

As reported by the New York Times, Senior Vice President Prabhakar Raghavan, who runs Google’s Knowledge & Information Organization, said “In our studies, something like almost 40% of young people, when they’re looking for a place for lunch, they don’t go to Google Maps or Search. They go to TikTok or Instagram.” Therefore, when they’re researching for a particular product or service, you want your business to be seen.

Here’s how you can introduce Social SEO to your social media marketing strategy:

• Do keyword research to find what format you should use (video, infographic, etc.) and what topics (based on your industry) you should cover.

• Use those keywords in your post’s caption.

• Add alt text to your social media images to improve accessibility for people and search engines.

• Don’t forget to include subtitles to your videos; it improves accessibility and helps you reach a larger audience.

There you have it!

Navigating social media can be overwhelming, but staying informed on trends and adjusting your strategy as needed helps you maintain visibility and relevance in this ever-changing digital landscape.