7 Reasons Your Social Media Posts are Failing

These days, it seems like everyone has a social media account. From Facebook to Twitter to Instagram, people can’t seem to get enough of sharing the news and updates in their lives on the internet, even if they don’t have much to share. But why are so many social media posts failing? Maybe you need to change your approach and do something different! Here are seven reasons your social media posts might be failing, along with suggestions on how you can fix them

Nobody is seeing them

The most common mistake entrepreneurs make on social media is posting stuff that nobody ever sees. A social media post is only effective if it reaches your target audience. You can pay for promotions and ads to increase your reach, but if you don’t know who you’re talking to, or how they’ll respond to what you have to say, these efforts will be in vain. But social media analytics tools like Hootsuite can help with tracking statistics such as click-through rates and engagement on posts. So if you see a low level of engagement on certain posts, adjust accordingly by creating new posts more suited for your audience.

It’s hard to keep up with everything

With all of these social media sites and different posts that we can make, it’s important to keep up with everything. We don’t want our followers to miss out on important info or information. At times, it can be hard to find a solution to let us do so. In some cases, we might not even have time for all of it!

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Everything looks the same

In order to get attention on social media, your content has to be as original as possible. The sad truth is that not only is nothing new under the sun (even Shakespeare’s plots have been rehashed over and over again), but even unique angles and perspectives can become tired pretty quickly. Make sure you don’t inadvertently recycle ideas by looking through popular hashtags on Instagram or hashtags in your industry. If you want to post a photo of your delicious fish tacos, for example, make sure it looks different from every other picture out there with a beautifully arranged presentation of fish tacos. Ideally, use some more elaborate props like flowers or colored plates instead of just adding a sprig of parsley or squeezing some lime on top.

What you thought was funny may not be funny to everyone

These days, it’s easy to get a laugh. A silly cat video or an over-the-top selfie can be all it takes to brighten someone’s day and make them feel connected to you. The problem with these types of posts is that they can easily fall flat—everyone has their own sense of humor and different people will find something funny for different reasons. If you want to have your social media content succeed in getting likes, comments, shares, retweets and clicks, make sure your posts resonate with as many different people as possible. Don’t be shy about consulting friends who aren’t involved in your business; they might have some interesting ideas on how to improve things.

You don’t have a call-to-action

If you’re posting content on your social media channels but not seeing any engagement, there’s a good chance you aren’t giving users anywhere to go with it. If a post is all about awareness and brand building, that’s fine. But if your post is useful or entertaining, include a call-to-action (CTA) so that people know what they should do next. This can mean directing them to subscribe to a newsletter or download an e-book, but it could also mean sending people back to your website where they can interact with more of your branded content. CTAs just tell people what to do next so make sure yours have one.

Your content isn’t unique anymore

If you want your social media posts to stand out and drive engagement, it’s essential that you take a page from those who’ve already succeeded. Fortunately, there are a number of tools available (namely: BuzzSumo) that allow you to identify your competitors’ most popular posts and learn how others in your industry have been so successful at getting their content shared. You might be surprised by what you find. For example, does sharing a photo of your product/service or logo actually result in higher engagement? How about links to long-form content? These questions deserve answers and insights from a tool like BuzzSumo can help provide them.

People think you are fake or copying other people

Make sure that you are being yourself, no one likes a fake person. Don’t get me wrong there is a time and place for dressing up or copying someone but in social media it can hurt your brand. People want to know about you and what makes you unique, what makes them want to follow you. Think about why people would want to connect with you because that is how they will find out about your business. Maybe it is through Twitter or Instagram, either way make sure your social media accounts represent who you really are. Use real pictures of yourself too!

Final thoughts

If you’re struggling to get your social media posts seen, it could be that you’re not keeping your audience in mind. The more relevant your post is to what your followers want and need, the more likely they are to care about it. Consider asking yourself these questions as you create new content: Is there a specific topic trending? Is my audience likely to search for it? Could I make my post more visually appealing?