Social media experts are right. Social media is powerful, and at times, world-changing.
Just look at the recent events in Tunisia and Egypt. Twitter and Facebook have been instrumental in organizing the protests.
But here’s where the so called “experts” steer you wrong:
The Remarkable Power of Social Media
Yes, it’s far easier to spread a message—both political and marketing—around the world. However, that does not mean social media is a miracle cure for every struggling political movement or online business.
Think about it…
Did you receive hundreds of new leads the second you created a Twitter account or Facebook fan page? Did your traffic skyrocket with the addition of those sharing buttons?
Nope. It likely remained the same.
Here’s the secret the experts don’t admit: social media empowers quality content to spread, but if your content sucks, social media won’t do a damn thing other than waste precious time that you can spend on improving your content. Content is king.
How to Use Social Media the Right Way
Unless you’re just starting out, you have already implemented the basic social media enablers, social media accounts and sharing buttons. You’ve also spent time connecting with people and built a modest following.
These are the basics, and if you haven’t already, you should definitely do them.
(Editor’s note: integrating social media buttons is a cinch with Thesis)
So, assuming you’ve done all that, now what?
The real reason you’re failing to attract traffic has nothing to do with misusing the tools. You also likely aren’t missing out on the “real” secret to Twitter marketing success.
What’s the problem then?
Your site isn’t getting traffic because your content isn’t important or useful enough. It’s that simple. You’re not raising the bar, helping people, entertaining them, changing lives, and inspiring your readers to take some form of action. If you were, your audience would grow. Trust me.
Now I’m not saying “if you build it, they will come.” You definitely need to get the word out about your content. However, if you are promoting your content and you’re not building a raving fan-base, it’s probably your content that’s hurting you.
Still not convinced your content might be the problem?
5 Signs Your Content Needs Work
Do any of these signs sound familiar?
- You don’t receive email from raving fans telling you how you’ve changed their lives or how much they love your product and want to tell everyone they know about it.
- You often find yourself copying what successful people have done instead of developing your own original ideas.
- You focus more on the metrics of your business (visitors, subscribers, sales, etc.) than you do on how to create the most mind-blowing products in your field.
- If you’re blogging, every time you sit down to write something, you have a hell of a time coming up with ideas for what to write about.
- Your entire project or business is based on what you see as a market opportunity, not something you truly, passionately believe in with your whole self.
If you said yes to any of these, your content may be the problem.
Unfortunately, like with social media, there isn’t a silver bullet that instantly improves your content. You must work on your writing skills, develop your own voice, and work extremely hard. Platitudes, I know, but it’s the truth.
The Bottom Line
The next time you believe the hype about social media as a magic fame creator, consider the source. It’s more exciting for experts to pitch the latest “shiny object” as a quick fix for your business. Remember, they’re trying to build an audience and sell products just like you.
So, if you’re not getting enough traffic, take a look at your website. In the end, your product, service, and content will always be the most important part of your website and business.
