How do you attract clients and build your brand? By increasing your visibility, of course. And social media is an undeniably incredible tool for getting your name out there.
Social media allows you to communicate directly with your audience, and most platforms are free to use. That’s a win-win compared to other marketing strategies.
So it makes sense to be as active as possible across all social media, right? Or does it?
In fact, your agency doesn’t have to be on every platform to succeed. It makes strategic sense to be selective about where and how you show up online.
Read on to learn about a more efficient, more effective approach to social media.
Why Shouldn’t I Be On Every Social Media Platform?
Although it sounds counterintuitive, pursuing an active presence across all social media platforms could be harming your brand development. Even if it isn’t, it’s almost definitely wasting your time.
When planning your social media strategy, think quality, not quantity. Your goal should be to minimize effort and maximize impact.
Here are 3 reasons you shouldn’t be on every social media platform:
1. It’s time-consuming.
If you’ve already attempted to keep up an active presence on a range of platforms, you’ve undoubtedly realized this.
After all, a huge element of social media success is consistency. The algorithm rewards accounts that post regularly, but maintaining good habits across multiple platforms feels like a full-time job for a reason—it is one!
Different platforms demand different activities too. Does your schedule have space for creating content across diverse mediums, posting it at peak times, and interacting with followers on each and every page you run?
As a busy agency owner, the answer is probably no.
Trying to squeeze this in alongside your other responsibilities could result in burnout. You might stop posting altogether!
Multiple neglected social media accounts aren’t as useful to your business as an active presence on a single platform.
2. Your audience isn’t everywhere.
Ever heard the expression, “when you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one at all?” The same applies to social media strategy.
Every activity you undertake should target your key audience with pinpoint precision. Otherwise, you’re expending valuable time and energy on a social media presence that could generate no concrete results.
For example, if your client base is older, then it’s way less likely to be scrolling TikTok. You might produce the most incredible TikTok video content imaginable, but it will have zero impact on the people that matter to your business.
3. You risk spreading yourself too thin.
Your audience isn’t everywhere, but where potential clients are hanging out, you need to be showing up in style.
If they prefer LinkedIn, this is where you should be bringing your A-game in terms of content. Designing elaborate graphics for Instagram posts or planning Facebook competitions will only distract you from where the action is.
Remember, every single post you share helps potential clients understand your agency. The least helpful attitude you could adopt is “at least I’m posting something.” Unless your content is of the highest quality, you’d be better off keeping it to yourself.
And one way to guarantee second-rate social media activity is to divide your attention across an excessive amount of platforms.
Questions to Inform Your Social Media Strategy
In your personal life, it’s fine to use social media spontaneously. You can share whatever tickles your fancy since your goal is usually nothing more high-stakes than giving your friends a giggle.
Managing your agency’s social media is totally different, though. Before you start posting, you should have a clear strategy. Ask yourself the following questions to guide your approach.
- Who am I trying to reach?
Be as specific as possible about your target audience. You’re not trying to become a social media influencer; you’re trying to promote your business and convert interest into sales.
That means it doesn’t matter how many likes your posts are getting. What matters is who is liking your posts and how you’re moving them through your sales funnel.
Once you know the exact demographic of your likely clients, you can tailor your content to suit their needs. Provide them with value, whether that’s information or entertainment.
This is how you build your reputation so that when they need your services, they think of your agency first.
- Which platforms do they use?Next, you need to find the most efficient route to your clients. If you work mainly with creative types, you might find that they use Instagram for business. Plugging into commonly-used hashtags could put your agency in front of the right eyes.
Corporate clients are more likely to network on LinkedIn. Do you want to attract local businesses to your agency? Then Facebook could be the most appropriate platform to build a following. A little research at this stage goes a long way.
Remember, your preferred social media outlet isn’t really important. What matters is your clients’ preferences. Meet them where they are, so they don’t have to work too hard to find you.
- What kind of content suits this platform?
Each platform has its own personality, and that dictates what kind of content succeeds there.
Sure, you could post a funny video to LinkedIn, but you might find that it falls flat. Similarly, you might share a long-form article to Instagram—just don’t expect it to generate much traffic.
Once you’ve decided on the right platform to build your brand, get to know how it works. One method is to check out your peers’ profiles. What kind of content are they creating? This should help you plan your posts.
Obviously, it’s not about copying; it’s about learning the rules of the game so that you can compete in your unique way.
Make Social Media More Manageable
These days, social media is an important and unavoidable element in building a brand. It doesn’t have to dominate your day-to-day, though.
There are ways to make it more manageable, so you can enjoy all the advantages of an active social media presence without it infringing on your other priorities.
Try the following tips and see how they ease your social media workload:
- Use a content calendarRather than try to generate new ideas on a daily basis, sit down one day and plan your posts for an entire month.
This will save you time and help you strategize; by creating content in bulk, you can easily identify themes and make connections between posts. It’s also easier to ensure that your brand voice remains consistent.
- Program posts in advanceWe’ve all done it: logged in to social media to post “just one thing” and emerged from our feeds an hour or two later. If that happens every day, it becomes a serious time-management problem.
Avoid becoming sucked in by programming your posts to publish in advance. Many platforms allow you to save content and set a later date for sharing, so they’ll be posted automatically—without your intervention. These 5 social media plugins might also help!
- Outsource the work to an agencySocial media isn’t for everyone, and it might not fit in your crowded schedule. The good news is that if you’d rather someone else write your posts on your behalf, that can be arranged.
By outsourcing this work, you free yourself to focus on other priorities. You also benefit from the expertise of a social media professional, who will provide you with top-class content.
Interested in outsourcing? GoWP offers WordPress development and copywriting services to digital agencies just like yours. Get in touch now to see how we can help you succeed.
Sarah is a Copywriter at GoWP. Originally from Edinburgh, Scotland, she now lives in Bogotá, Colombia with her husband. In her free time, you'll find her on the yoga mat, on her rollerskates, at brunch, in the park, or relaxing with a book and her beloved sausage dog, Rudie.
You’ll be joining a community of highly-vetted digital agencies and web professionals with one common goal — growth! Learn more.
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