Releasing Your Expectations of Social Media

Don’t lower your expectations to meet your performance. Raise your level of performance to meet your expectations.

– Ralph Marston

Social media offers the perfect opportunity to reach your audience, enhance your connections, communicate widely.

Whether your intention is to sell products, gain subscribers, entertain followers or sway both hearts and minds of readers to your cause, your ability to encourage any of these actions comes from your brand image performance – that is, the effort and level of involvement that you put into your daily, or weekly, content design.

One of the challenges with social media branding can be how to build initial traction. Getting your first few connections, growing and keeping a number consistently can seem strenuous.  But as time goes by, you will discover that the key to achieving this is maintaining a level of persistence, frequency, and interest.

Stepping into the social media realm with a passive approach will result in a passive awareness.

“Why do you want to be on social media?” I ask people. The most common answer that I usually get is “Because everyone is on Social Media”.

True. And it’s a very good motive as far as following trends go and not missing your chance to claim your space in the spotlight, but even so, it is necessary to add some action to the image represented there.  Or else it will get lost in “oblivion”.

So how to bring about the desired results? Each brand is a small world, and their products, services, visions, and missions differ from one to the other. They’re unique. So generalizing strategies usually don’t work as well. You need to personalize those strategies and make them work as best as possible depending on those expectations while leaving some space for the unexpected.

Surprises. Surprises.

Yes, strategies sometimes take a turn, usually for the better when done properly.

The focus is content. We all know that. But one of the things to keep in mind is that it should be 100% unique to your brand. Aligned with the values, ideas, and of course the products and services that each brand offers.

But social media nowadays is not about the product or service itself, it’s about the experiences that those products or services will represent to the user, looking to make their lives better.

That is why communication from a brand mission or value approach is always much better than from a smaller product or service perspective.

Thinking as a “whole lot of things considered” behind your communication approach is what makes your voice special. Make it sound different from the other voices.

So, before considering your expectations, make an intention to rely on patient planning and a patient ROI. Whether it’s evident or imperceptible in the beginning, all roads lead to Rome – although some take more time than others.

Persistence and purpose will put you in that place where you want to be. And it will keep you there.

Credits: Photo by Amy Shamblen on Unsplash