Social media marketing is one of the most effective ways to promote your business on the Internet and build relationships with customers. However, not all businesses achieve the desired results on social media.

I have compiled a list of 10 reasons why you may not be getting the expected results with your social media efforts. Addressing this issues can  help you to improve your performance and achieve the desired results.

1. You Are Not Using Descriptive Profiles

Profiles that are either incomplete or do not convey the right message in profile description can greatly reduce your visibility and overall chances of success. It is important to provide as much details as possible and complete all fields.

For example, take a look at JetBlue’s Twitter profile description below. It gives a clear idea of the service it offers on Twitter.

2. Failure to Communicate The Benefits of Joining Your Network

The importance of communicating the benefits of joining their network is often overlooked by businesses. Failure to do so will take more time to expand your network. Your profile description is a great place to do this.  Similarly, simply including follow buttons on your website or email signature is not sufficient. Try to use a good call to action or description that conveys the benefits to your prospects.

3. Your Social Media Profiles are Not Custom Branded

Most social networks allow businesses to customise the design to reflect their brand. Creating a custom branded Facebook and Google Plus Page is relatively straightforward and can be achieved simply by uploading a relavant cover photo and profile image.  See image of the Google Plus page of  parent company, Noble Infosys, below.

Twitter allows you to upload a custom background image. Custom branded profiles and can be a very powerful tool to promote brand recognition. See image below.

4. You Are Not Using the Right Social Media Features on Your Website

Using the right social media features on website is vital to succeed on social media and get the expected results. The company’s website is where businesses generate most of their shares, likes, or followers. There is more to it than simply using the right social plugins. The design of the buttons, where they are placed, all play an important role in the overall success.

5. You are Neglecting New Sites Like Pinterest and Google Plus

Sites like Google Plus and Pinterest have been around for quite some time now. But in spite of the buzz surrounding them, many small businesses are slow to incorporate them into their marketing strategy. Businesses that are late at adopting popular networks are putting themselves at a disadvantage.

6. You Are Not Updating Your Profile Often Enough

It is recommended to post at least 5 times a week. Most businesses start of well but fail to maintain momentum after a while. There is nothing worse that a profile that has not been updated for a month. Good posting frequency is essential if you want to get noticed and build your following.

Take a look at the example of post frequency on Facebook below.

7. You Are Not Scheduling Your Posts

The timing of your posts is very important on social media. The time of the day or day of the week you post can have huge impact on the attention and engagement it receives. This is different for different social networks and can differ from business to business. You can take advantage of automatic scheduling tools such as Buffer or HootSuite to schedule your posts for optimum results.

8. You Are Are Not Engaging With Customers

Many businesses only use social media for one way communication whether it is sharing links, updates or other information. It is important to engage with users on social media and facilitate two way communications. This includes responding to questions or comments, ReTweeting or sharing other’s content, and many other ways.

9. Your Primary Focus Is On Self Promotion

Social media is all about adding value for users. Focusing primarily on self promotion or selling your products and services is generally frowned upon and will not achieve the desired results. It is generally recommended to limit promotional messages to less than 10% of your total content.

Similarly, it is important to share content from several sources, not just your own website or blog. Sharing only your content may drive traffic to your blog or website, but you are not likely to build a large following.

Take a look at a study by Dan Zarella below that shows that those with the least ratio of sef-referance vs general posts, clearly have more followers.

10. You Are Not Using The Right Tools

There are several great tools that you can take advantage of to improve your productivity and efficiency on social media. In addition to acheduling and posting tools covered earlier, you can take advantage of tools to monitor trends, measure your influence, and more. Using the right tools can help improve the performance of your campaigns.

What About You?

Are You Achieving The Desired Results on Social Media? Perhaps you are suffering as a result of the practice identified in this article. We would like to hear from you. Please share your experience by leaving a comment below.

You can improve your results further by reading 60 Social Media Tips For Business.