Question: Our company has been blogging and sharing on social media for almost a month now and haven’t seen much growth. What should we be expecting? Are we doing something wrong?
Ok, I want you to think back in your mind to when you first hung your sign out that you were in business. Even if you aren’t the business owner, just stick with me and try and picture this. So you hung out your sign and you started selling widgets (whatever you sell). How long did it take to grab traction?
Did it take a few months, a few years or maybe even longer? Chances are however, in the first month you were still figuring out what your Tax ID was and whether or not you could take credit cards.
Why am I telling stories about the initial launch of your business?
The reason I am putting the first month of your social media efforts into this context is because much like your first month of business you really need to keep your expectations in check. Social media and digital marketing as a whole are not something that you can just start and expect a “BAM” kind of moment. For the most part it is a 24x7x365 in the fox hole fire fight where you need to be curating, sharing, engaging and analyzing your efforts. Actually it is much like your sales efforts.
So What Can You Expect In A Month
I pause at even trying to answer the question of what a business should expect from doing just one month of social media. If you are active everyday finding and sharing the best on the webs and you are listening and finding opportunities to connect to people you can certainly make an impact. I liken it to going to a networking event. If you stand in the corner and drink grape juice you will be in the presence of a lot of potential clients but you may not make any meaningful connections. However, if you are outgoing and you shake a lot of hands, do a lot listening and ask great questions you may find there are some immediate opportunities.
Having said that, here is what I recommend for your first month.
- Find your tools: Being social everyday takes time and effort. By choosing the right tools you can lessen the time you spend seeking out content, sharing content and listening for the right people to connect with.
- Be Consistent: Share frequently (within reason). Don’t just show up periodically but make sure that you are using the tools to help you put out thoughtful content regularly. Also, when someone tries to engage with you, try to respond quickly as people have short attention spans online.
- Reach Out: follow, like and invite people to connect early on. Just like the networking party, people won’t often come to you if you are just standing in the corner. Also, by proactively reaching out it tends to bring more followers that will listen to what you have to say later.
- Be Realistic: A month is nothing in the world of business. It is great to measure progress but don’t obsess over short term gains. Things like followers can be bought, but even one or two of the right connections can lead toward meaningful business growth.
Ask yourself this: What kind of difference can you make in a month? Are you prepared to build your social presence over the long run?
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Daniel Newman is the co-founder of V3*Broadsuite and is an experienced C-level executive, serving as a strategy consultant for small and mid-sized businesses. He’s also an insight/analyst partner to four Fortune 50 enterprises and previously served as the co-founder and CEO of EC3, a hosted IT and communications services provider. Prior to that, he served as the CEO of United Visual, Inc. in Chicago Illinois.
He is a widely published writer who contributes weekly to Forbes, Entrepreneur, Huffington Post and industry publications such as Commercial Integrator, Sound & Communication and Corporate Tech Decisions. He’s also author of three best-selling business books including The New Rules of Customer Engagement, The Millennial CEO, and just recently Evolve: Marketing (^as we know it) is Doomed.
Daniel has established a reputation as a leading thinker in topics such as Social, Big Data, Cloud and Mobile. He has been named to many top influencer lists in all of these areas, including recognition by the Huffington Post as one of the 100 business and leadership accounts to follow on Twitter. He is also an adjunct professor of management at North Central College.