I just realized something…the key word in Social Media is…you guessed it…SOCIAL. I mean, I’ve obviously always known that, I just haven’t been acting like I knew it.
Even worse still, I haven’t be telling our clients that. I’ve been talking about how it’s important to post regularly, to have relevant content, to use interesting images and on and on… I’ve been talking about all of the things WE will do as we manage their social media presence but I’ve been missing the most important piece.
The Pareto Principle states that 80% of the results always come from 20% of the work. Your top 20 clients always accounts for 80% of your profits etc etc. In social media 80% of your results come from consistently doing one thing. BEING SOCIAL. Replying to messages, responding to peoples comments, liking other peoples posts. This only makes up 20% of the work but is by far the most important piece.
The other work is essential, you have to have a foundation to your social media work and it all takes effort. Generating content, designing posts, scheduling, working on and improving your profiles. All of this is essential and takes a lot of time but the cherry on top is the human element.
So why do I feel so dumb? We’ve put so much focus on what we (the service provider) will do for the client in their social media endeavors that we’ve lulled them into a false sense of security. We’ve had such a “we’ll take care of it” approach that a lot of our clients have backed off, not even checking their direct messages.
Is it crazy to hire someone to do a job and have them tell you that you need to do at least 20% of the work? Of course not. Especially if that work is essential to the success of the project.
You can hire a landscape company to work in your front yard but you will still need to tend to that prize orchid because only you know how to care for it and develop it.
Only you truly know your audience, only you know how to interact with them and if you’re going to turn social media activity into sales you need to be the person leading the one-to-one interactions…
I always appreciate your comments, please share this article if you feel like it may help someone…!
