The Best Social Media Advice: Stop Selling With Every Post
This has been my go-to thought when people ask me for advice about social media: stop making every post a sales post.
“But Ethan, isn’t that the whole point of my business being on social media?”
I get it; as a marketer, I want every single post I make to earn me money- to get the sale. And if people don’t know what I am offering, how are they going to buy from me? Or maybe they’re going to forget and I lose their business. However, as a social media user, it’s the opposite.
What happens?
Let’s walk through that. When every post is about what you sell or the services you offer, you are telling your followers that their existence is simply to buy from you. Your post doesn’t present value to them, it provides value for you.
When you are selling with every post, you’re alienating your followers. If you’re a plumber, everyone knows what you do. When you remind them with every post, they are going to tune you out. Once they start tuning you out, your engagement drops. And when people stop engaging on your content, it tell the algorithm that your content doesn’t matter and doesn’t need to be shown to anyone. Then you’re sitting here saying social media marketing doesn’t work because no one is seeing your posts.
Open your book
Imagine you’re reading a book and every sentence was “Come buy from me” or something similar. You’re going to get bored with that book before you hit page 2. That book will wind up in the trash pretty fast. Our timeline has the exact same issue. Think about it this way: You’re writing a book. Every post you make is a sentence in the book about your business. Go ahead, take a look at all of your posts in the last couple months. Does your business read like a good book or are you bored after one page?
Now I’m not saying never try to sell your services. It’s still helpful to periodically remind your followers about the things that you do. A good rule of thumb is 1 out of every 10 posts per month is that sales post. I like to start each month by doing that sales-type post then the rest of the month focus on other content.
So how can you stop selling with every post?
Instead of constantly telling people about the ways they can do business with you, give them the why. Bring value to your followers- what will they gain from following you? We buy from people we know, like, and trust and your content should reflect that – it should give your audience the reason they should know, like, and trust you. Content ideas could be:
- Team Spotlights
- Industry knowledge/advice
- Behind the scenes glimpses into your days
- Customer testimonials
DOWNLOAD A FULL MONTH OF CONTENT IDEAS
Remember, social media is a long game. You cannot expect to magically solve all of your sales problems through social media with one post. It may take months to see anything start to come in. By providing value to your followers, they will be come more interested in what you do and what you offer, leading to sales down the road. Remember, stop selling with every post.