If there’s one thing lacking from the social media presence of most businesses, it’s consistency. Most businesses these days have a social media presence, even if it’s just the owner’s LinkedIn profile or a Facebook business page. But what they don’t do is use their social media presence consistently.
The lack of consistency shows up in different ways. One common issue is a lack of regular activity – the business may post several times in one week, but not post at all for the next three weeks. Another issue is the lack of a consistent message. It takes repetition of a consistent message over time in order to create the brand perception you want for your business. That’s why national brands do not run a TV commercial or radio ad just once. They run them repeatedly for months at a time… because it takes consistency and repetition in order to get results.
The same is true with social media. The first time a potential client sees your post on Facebook, he may ignore it. The second time, he may think about it for a second or two. After the tenth or eleventh time, chances are that you’ve begun to establish your brand in his mind. And when he needs the type of services you provide, the name of your business will spring to mind.
Below are four specific areas where it’s important to stay consistent:
1) The benefits you highlight. Remember, it’s not about the details or the specifications of your services. Customers don’t care how the cake is made, they care what it tastes like. They don’t care about the minute details that go into your services, they care about the value and the benefits you provide. And for marketing purposes, you should focus on a small number of key benefits and build your message around them. A few examples… a financial planner may focus his message on “creating a worry-free retirement”, a tax accountant may make his message “pay less taxes to the IRS”, or a real estate agent may make her message “I’ll sell your house quickly and for the best possible price.” What are the key benefits that your business provides?
2) The wants, needs, and fears that you address. You should understand your customers well enough to know what keeps them awake at night. What are they worried about, deep down, and how does that translate to what they’re looking for from you? Returning to the example of a financial planner, many of his or her best prospects are probably worried that they won’t be able to retire comfortably. Your social media presence should consistently address a small number of key fears and needs. Do that right, and you’ll have the attention of your audience… and then you can show them the solution, aka your services!
3) Your tone. The tone you use on social media is an important part of the brand you’re building, and it shapes the way your market perceives you. If you’re deathly serious one day, and glib and playful the next day, your audience doesn’t know what to think. That doesn’t mean you have to be one-dimensional, but you should think through the tone you want to use and then stick with it. And then stay away from posting content that doesn’t mesh with the brand you’re creating.
4) The frequency of your posts. Like we said at the beginning of this post, it takes repetition over time for your message to sink in. And that requires you to post on a consistent basis. Month-long absences from social media completely kill your momentum and can erase your progress. The minds of the individuals in your marketplace areconstantly being bombarded with messages, all day, every day. If your message isn’t reaching your audience, that valuable spot in their mind that you want to occupy is being invaded by someone else. We recommend that you should be posting content on social media several times per week. But it’s better to consistently post only once per week than it is to post five times one week, but then nothing for the next two weeks. Create a consistent rhythm, so that your audience is used to hearing from you, and then your message has a chance to sink in over time.
Consistency is critical to successful social media marketing. Repetition over time allows you to build a powerful brand and position yourself as the go-to expert in your market. Is your social media presence consistent? If it’s not, we can help. Email us today!
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