By now you’ve probably realized that social media isn’t going anywhere any time soon. As Lori Ruff, social influencer, said, “Social media is here. It’s not going away; not a passing fad. Be where your customers are: in social media.”

For businesses too, it’s very important to have a presence and be part of that constant world of virtual communication.

But it’s very possible that you now find yourself at the point where you’ve made a profile, yet it sits dead. You aren’t seeing the action you hoped you’d see. You don’t have a lot of followers or engagement. There are a few common reasons why you aren’t seeing the results you want.

1) You're using the wrong platform.

Not all social media platforms are created equal. They each have their purpose, their advantages, and their drawbacks. Each one attracts a different crowd and is designed for different types of conversations.

The messaging on LinkedIn is professional. Your connections are there for networking, not gossip. Twitter messages need to be brief and succinct. Facebook is generally about more personal messages for individual profiles, but is a popular location for branding as well. If you’re in a visual business, you should explore Pinterest. If you’re local you may want a presence on something like Foursquare.

Take the time to research the varied platforms so that you are in the right environment to speak with your audience. Be where your customers are.

2) You aren't actually communicating.

What does communication mean to you? Hopefully the phrase “two-way street” shows up somewhere in your answer. Communication is speaking and listening. The problem is that a lot of people don’t practice this definition on social platforms. They post a lot, and then wonder why they aren’t seeing engagement.

You need to talk, listen, and converse on social platforms, just like in real life. That means you should write your own posts, read those of your community, talk with them about their messages, and respond when they speak to you about yours.

If all you’re doing is sending a message and closing that window, a conversation will never happen.

3) You don't have a strategy.

To put it bluntly, working on any project before you have a plan in place means you are destined to fail. Without a roadmap to follow, you have no way of knowing if you’re on track.

If you don’t map out a strategy for your social media campaign, it will be obvious to your audience. Chances are you’ll post either too often or not enough. The schedule won’t be consistent. You’ll post whenever a thought occurs to you, as opposed to posting at days and times that you’ve researched enough to know your audience will be online. You won’t have a cohesive message or tone. Bottom line: everything will feel random.

A strategy gives you an overall goal. It helps you create a schedule so that there’s a logical timetable to your posts. It helps you pay attention to analytics and see what types of messages your audience responds to, and what types of posts they ignore.

Have you learned any best practices from your social media habits? Or do you have any other advice about potential mistakes? We love hearing from you!