We all know the feeling...
When you work so hard on a social media post, crafted so perfectly.
You finally post it, and then...
🦗🦗🦗
Crickets.
Ouch.
It can be a real blow to the ego, I know.
But I'm here to tell you that it's likely not your fault!
There are some very common reasons that social media posts don't do well, which you wouldn't know if you're not a social media manager.
Luckily I am, and you're here, so I've got you covered. 😉
After a decade of working in social media marketing, I've found these are the most common reasons why posts don't do well:
The hook might not be strong enough to get people to stop scrolling.
The graphic or visual might be too busy or not captivating enough.
There's no CTA (call-to-action).
There could be some big piece of news or event that's taking up people's feeds at that time.
The message wasn't clear for your target audience.
You didn't use keywords or phases so the algorithm didn't know who to push your content to.
The topic didn't resonate with your followers.
Luckily, all of these can be fixed!
This is a long one but detailed, so buckle up, we're about to get real!
Let's break them down:
The hook isn't strong enough
You are competing against A LOT of content on social media, and our brains are literally wired to keep scrolling, so in order to interrupt that pattern, you need to get really creative about catching people's attention.
A hook is either spoken (in a video) or written and is the ONE thing that gets your audience to stop and pay attention.
Depending on the post type, you have up to four chances to hook your audience (on Instagram). I dive into what each one is in this post here.
So, what hooks your audience? That's something you need to test for your audience, but there are some standard places to start:
Statements that create curiosity like "You wouldn't believe..."
Bold statements like "All the other marketers are lying to you..."
Statements that specifically address your audience's pain point, like "Here are 3 ways to make creating content super easy..."
These are just a few examples, you can find a list of 23 easy hooks from The Two Lauras here.
If you want to do a bit more research, Mark Jung is someone I think has MASTERED the art of the hook and the re-hook. Check out his LinkedIn posts and how powerful the first and second lines of his posts are. Like this one:
Doesn't that just make you want to click and read more?! That's what a great hook does.
I would argue that your hook is the MOST CRUCIAL part of your post, because if you can't grab people's attention, it doesn't matter how good the content is, they'll simply scroll on by!
The graphic in the social media post isn't captivating
This is where I find a lot of people who are new to social media making this mistake, so if that's you, it's okay! I've got you.
Here are some common mistakes and how you can fix it:
Keep your colours simple - use 1-2 colours in your graphics.
Don't use too much text - when text is in small chunks, people are more likely to read it.
Use large font - Don't use text any smaller than 25 pt. If you can't fit everything on one graphic either put it in the caption, or turn your post into a carousel.
Don't put your contact info on the graphic (or in the caption) - people can't copy your phone number or email when they are looking at your post on their phone. Instead, tell people to send you a message direct on the platform to contact you.
Make sure the text you have on the graphic is a hook so it grabs people's attention!
Don't use too many different elements - similar to colours, you want to keep your graphic simple and not busy - don't include a bunch of different shapes, icons, characters, etc.
Careful with stock images - I know it's easy to just grab any photo you find in Canva, but please proceed with caution. Social media users today are very savvy when it comes to stock images and often find it inauthentic or fake when they are used. I'd recommend skipping them all together.
The bottom line here - the simpler your post is, the higher likelihood that it will perform well.
There's no CTA (call-to-action)
This is an essential part of your post where you tell your audience what action to take.
This is SO important because if you don't tell people what to do...
They'll do nothing.
To get you started, I put together this handy list of CTAs that you can start to try out in your content.
Most importantly, don't get discouraged if they don't work right away, it takes time to "train" your audience to take action on your posts, especially if you haven't asked for it in the past.
If people still aren't taking action on your posts, don't stop using a CTA. There's a good chance there's something else about your post that is the culprit of bad performance.
There's a major news event going on
This is a very common reason posts don't perform well that has absolutely nothing to do with you!
It's what I call the noise effect.
There are times when there is a big piece of news, trending topic, or major world event that EVERYONE is talking about.
Which means...
That's ALL people are seeing on their social media feeds, so trying to break through that noise, especially when you're not talking about that particular topic, is extremely difficult.
Things like:
A major election
Countries in conflict
Major natural disaster
Olympics
An assassination attempt... 🤦♀️
I'm talking about events that most of the world is paying attention to.
So, what do you do during these times?
Stop posting?
Well, no.
During these times, there are two things you can do:
Comment on the current trending topic ONLY if it's relevant to your brand, and be careful not to bring too much heat if it's a controversial issue. (I don't usually recommend doing this without some guidance from an experienced marketer.)
A much better thing to do during these times:
Repost content you've posted before!
No need to waste your hard earned time on new content when you can simply repost something you've done before!
That way you're still staying active, but if content doesn't do well, it's not a lot of time wasted.
I've done this for many of my clients in the past and it's a great way to bide your time until the news event calms down.
The message wasn't clear for your target audience
This one might sting a bit...
But I'm here to help you fix it!
Are you ready for it? 👇
If you're not getting the response you wanted on a post, there's a chance that...
You're saying the wrong things. 😬
I see this ALL the time!
The message of a post isn't clear for the target audience.
It's a trap so many of us fall into because you think you should be speaking to everyone in your post.
But that's where you're getting it wrong.
When you try to speak to everyone you end up speaking to...
NO ONE.
But don't stress! Here's how to fix it:
It all comes down to how well you know your target audience.
Do you know what makes them laugh? What frustrates them? What their biggest problem is? What they love to share with their friends?
When you know these things, you'll know what content speaks directly to them, which makes them more likely to engage.
There aren't any keywords or phrases
This is a big one that a lot of people miss in their content, especially if they're not receiving guidance from an experienced marketer.
Other social media marketers might keep their tips close to the belt, but not me!
I'm always happy to share anything and everything I've learned about how to do better on social media.
So, my fellow marketers might get mad at me for this, but I think you need to know.
Social media posts need keywords and key phrases related to your niche.
This is a big part of how the social media algorithms read your content to understand what it's about so that they can deliver it to the right audience.
Think about it...
If Facebook or Instagram can't tell what your content is talking about, they won't know who to show it to!
If you're not sure what keywords to use, you can use the free Google Keyword Planner to find out what people are searching.
The topic didn't resonate with your followers
You might think this is similar to the previous point about your message not being clear for your target audience, but this issue is actually quite different.
So what do I mean when I say your topic didn't resonate with your followers?
The key word here: followers.
Your followers may not be your target audience. 😳
Now, before you freak out, this can be common for people, especially if you're just starting out.
Typically when we start on social media the first people to follow us are our friends and family, which they do because they want to support us... not because they actually want the product or service we're selling.
So, for example, if you're putting out content about building confidence for middle-aged women, your Uncle Rob isn't going to engage with that content (obviously).
So, how do you get out of the friends and family followers?
Ask your friends and family to share your posts with people they think would benefit from your product or service.
Use keywords, hashtags, and reels (on Instagram) - these all help to push your content out to people who aren't following you.
Put a small budget behind boosting posts or running engagement or awareness ads so you can target them to a specific audience.
Every small creator goes through this growing phase when they first start out - it's totally normal!
It does take a bit of strategic work to get out of this phase, and the steps above are just a few things you can do to help.
If you're not sure where to start or how this strategy applies to your specific brand, I invite you to book a Power Hour with me! I'll help get you started with a strategy customized to your brand and marketing goals. Click here to get on my calendar.
Summary
Phew. I know that feels like a lot. Social media can be, but you really don't have to try and figure all of this out on your own.
It's why I created the Simply Social Media Society. A low cost membership to help solopreneurs or small teams by giving them the support of an experienced social media marketer without the expensive price tag.
Social media can feel so overwhelming, and I wanted to create a space where we strip away the overwhelm and focus on the simple strategies that work.
And the growth I've seen from our members to far has me beaming with pride! 💓
Like Harsha, who came in to a meeting ready to give up, feeling completely overwhelmed, then after talking through some simple strategies with her, she left feeling excited and totally confident.
Or Marilyn, who's learning so much about how to use video editing tools, what type of content to post, and how ChatGPT can help her create content that really resonates with her audience.
If you want in on this beautiful community we're building, we'd love to welcome you here.
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