Running an effective business in today’s world means you must have a top-notch digital marketing strategy. However, content creation isn’t easy. Brands are constantly trying to fine-tune their brand story, gain new followers, and keep customers engaged.
One of the biggest obstacles digital marketing teams face is follower (or customer) retention. Gaining new followers is often an uphill battle and losing followers can be devastating. Brands need to constantly track their follower analytics and ensure that they are keeping their current followers happy while also bringing in new customers.
1. Your Brand is Posting Too Much or Not Enough
One of the biggest reasons digital marketing teams lose followers is that they cannot dial in the right number of posts they should be making each week. Brands should aim to not only post on a consistent basis, but the number of posts that happen should be appropriate depending on the brand, industry, and target audience.
The best London social media agency knows that it’s important to strike the right balance when posting on any social media platform. Too many posts can come off as spam, while not enough posts can cause followers to disengage from your page altogether. While the perfect formula will look different for each business, digital marketing teams can learn from popular pages and competitors to help figure out the right number of posts that should be made each week.
In general, brands should be posting at least once a day on every social media platform, however, the type of post can look different. For instance, on Instagram, brands don’t need to post a photo each day but can upload a photo or video to their stories or post an Instagram reel instead. Further, brands should plan to post in-feed posts at least 2-4 each week.
2. Your Page Feels Too Sales-y
SEO experts explain that another major factor for content creation teams losing followers is that their page feels too sales-y. The best content creators aim to strike a balance between sharing their brands’ products and services while also creating engaging and entertaining content. While more than 72% of Instagram users make purchase decisions based on posts in their Instagram feed, they don’t use Instagram as a shopping platform, they use it for entertainment.
Therefore, it’s best for brands to focus on creating entertaining content and then tie in the relevant products and services. In the same way that the most memorable commercials are entertaining, you want to engage your audience first before showing off your product or service.
3. You Had Bot Followers in the Past
Many brands trying to gain followers quickly will buy fake Instagram followers. While this seems like the fast path to success at the beginning, it will quickly haunt you.
There are many issues with bot followers. They don’t engage with your content the same way that real people do, they cloud your social media analytics with false data, and the worst part is that they tend to unfollow you all at once. That’s right, bot followers are not permanent.
While it is incredibly tempting, the SEO experts strongly recommend that you focus purely on organic growth. This is the best way to stay in touch with your target audience and see what trends, hashtags, and accounts they like so you can optimize your own digital marketing strategy.
4. Your Brand Lacks a Consistent Aesthetic or Voice
People love consistency. McDonalds and Starbucks are two of the largest brands in the world because people know what they’re getting when they get those products. And really, do people walk into McDonalds thinking it’s the best burger in the world? Probably not. But those golden fries are almost identical from continent to continent, bringing people back into their stores all over the world.
Just like McDonalds, brands should make sure their content creation feels the same from week to week. That’s not to say brands can’t change their messaging or aesthetic over time, but users should know what to expect when viewing your content.
Planning your social media content is a great way to establish consistent messaging throughout your digital marketing strategy. Brands can achieve this by making posts in similar formats, about similar topics, or telling a singular story over multiple posts.
Additionally, making sure your posts have the same aesthetic across all your social media platforms is important. Using tools like Canva, brands can easily ensure that all their content looks and feels the same online.
5. Your Brand is Falling Behind the Trends
Social media is a dynamic, forever-changing beast. What was cool yesterday isn’t even cool by yesterday evening. Keeping track of trends can seem impossible for many digital marketing teams, especially small or locally-focused operations.
Regardless of the size of your business or industry you’re in, understanding social media trends can be a huge factor in gaining and retaining followers. Understanding the types of posts brands and competitors are making in their feed or stories should inform your content creation strategy.
For instance, the Ice-Bucket challenge was a global phenomenon in 2014, and nearly every brand and celebrity jumped on the bandwagon. While this is an old example, keeping up to date with what trends your brand can jump on will help you feel relevant to your current audience and attract new followers. Even if you’re a paper salesman, using trends like these can help your company gain traction.
Stay Agile with your Digital Marketing Strategy
Social media is all about being responsive to digital marketing trends. Content creation is a dynamic activity that will look different from week to week, month to month, and definitely year to year.
Even digital marketing agencies struggle to find a balance between staying agile and responsive while also maintaining a consistent brand image. Just like in personal fashion, you want your wardrobe to feel like your own, but you also want to stay up to date with current trends. Brands should aim to feel authentic and current, trust us, it’s difficult but not impossible.
