Should You Quit Social Media Marketing?

I talk with a lot of massage therapists and lately several have said they’re really struggling with social media.
What to post? 
When to post? 
How often to post? 
How to get engagement? 
Where am I going wrong? 
Is this even worth it? 

And that last one is really the thing…should you continue pouring all this time and energy trying to use social media for marketing? Well, I’m here to tell you something that a lot of marketing people probably won’t…it may be time to give it up. 

Now, before anyone jumps to conclusions to think that’s just an easy out for you and you can scrap it because “Savanna said so”, let’s discuss this a bit further so you can really get a sense of whether social media fits your marketing or not. 
 First and foremost, is your audience even on social media? And if so, which platforms? Because the only places you need to be spending your marketing time and money is exactly where your ideal clients are…period. If they’re not on social media, it’s time to hang it up. If this is a big part of where they are, then get comfortable with it.  And if you don’t know who your ideal client is and if they’re on social media, then you need to work up a clear ideal client profile. I’ve got a class that walks you through exactly how to do that.

Secondly, is it paying off? Are you actually getting clients from your efforts? If the answer is yes, then absolutely stick it out, even if it’s not your favorite. It really is one of the most cost-effective ways to market when it’s done right, but that’s the kicker…you have to do it right. If the answer is no, then there’s one of two ways to go; either ditch it completely or start getting far more strategic with your social media marketing and take the time to learn how to fine tune the process to make it pay off for you. 

Thirdly, what other options do you have? If you prefer to speak to people in person and there’s all kinds of local opportunities to get the word out about your business, speak to the public about what you do and how you can help them, then you have to look at whether social media is really doing anything that you couldn’t be doing by hitting the streets and marketing the old school way – a way you may prefer to do your marketing. If you don’t want to do those local events and want to keep your marketing primarily digital, then you probably need to stick it out on social media. 

 And lastly, are you strictly organic or are you paying for ads? In other words, are you spending money to run ads on Facebook and Instagram, or are you just keeping up a business page and trying to get that engagement and build your audience completely organically? That organic reach is being hit hard by Facebook and Instagram’s algorithms, so don’t feel like you’re not “good” at social media because your organic reach is so miniscule…they’ve designed it to be that way. There are ways to get around it, but it takes time and strategy…you’re going to have to bite the bullet and research and learn those things. If you’re willing to invest in ads though, and learn how to do them well, they can be one of the most cost-effective marketing tools at your disposal.  For many, keeping up that organic reach on their business page is simply a way to keep in touch with an already existing audience; to continue to educate and build rapport. The real reach and ability to take that audience into the paying client realm happens when you can put the money behind some great ads. 

 So, I’m not saying to scrap your social media accounts and just trash the whole idea, nor am I saying you have to market on social media because it’s a must do for every business. What I’m saying is that you really need to take a good hard look at your business, your audience, and your marketing strategy to see if, where, and how social media fits into that. Take the time to really dig into this and see what fits. The point of your marketing strategy is to make your marketing as effective and efficient as possible. Social media may or may not fit that for you and your particular business…do the work to find out.