Inactive Social Media Accounts – we’ve talked a lot about these before
Previously we’ve looked at 7 Assumptions Made From an Inactive Twitter Account and 3 Steps To Successfully Resurrect Your Inactive Social Media Accounts
It’s an important subject because like anything in business: Action is what brings results
Being inactive on Social Media is dangerous – it harms your business
WHAT IS CONSIDERED INACTIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA??
Twitter tool Manageflitter considers Inactive to be “people who have not posted in 30 days”
At Altrincham HQ we’d consider Inactive on Social Media to mean you have not posted at least in the last 48 hours
Inactive on Social Media can mean inactive on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat or your platform of choice
WHY DO SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS BECOME INACTIVE?
We’re going to look at the 6 common reasons here …
1. The Business Is No Longer Active
The obvious of course is the business us no longer active
The owner may have retired, got a salaried position they couldn’t refuse or it simply didn’t work out for them
There are many reasons a business owner would sell or close their business and of course very few businesses close their Social Media accounts down on exit
Suggestion: Social Media is an asset to the new business owner – include this when selling so the new owners can start with a strong marketing platform
2. The Business Didn’t Understand Social Media From Day 1
We see this scenario so often and it’s the reason we don’t offer “Social Media Set Up” packages at Altrincham HQ
Setting up a social media account is very easy to do. Your 5 year old child could do it for you
It’s what happens next that matters and having a strong marketing plan for each individual account is key
There are so many businesses out there that post the “Just setting up my Twitter. #myfirstTweet” message and then never post again
There are so many business owners who ask their friends to like their Facebook page, post 3 or 4 times and then give up
Understanding why you’re using social media; what your marketing message is; what content you have to post every day; how to measure your activity; how to convert fans into customers – all those things play a much bigger part than
simply setting your account up
Suggestion: Success does not come without training – if you don’t understand something upskill yourself on a Social Media training course
3. Disillusioned With Social Media
Social Media requires patience and hard work
We’ve never been shy about saying that Social Media is not an instant fix, it’s something you work on for the long term
We often compare Social Media to face 2 face networking – you build relationships 1st and over time that creates a mass of new work. BUT you have to be patient and not give up
Those that give up, have given up the fight to their competitors
Some of our longest clients have been with us for 5-6 years now – they’re winning huge amounts of business every single week. They wouldn’t be the businesses they are today if they had lost faith in the 1st week or month
Suggestion: Our Social Media Analytics Course can highlight patterns where things worked and didn’t work on Social Media. Click here for a refresher on Social Media
4. Too Busy For Social Media
“Too Busy For Social Media” can either be the truth or an excuse for the fact you simply don’t like Social Media
Let’s give you the benefit of the truth and look at the former
We work with many restaurants and bars for that reason – they are a customer facing business and they simply don’t have the time to pick up their phone in the middle of a busy night and respond to customers or engage with potential customers
Tradesmen are another sector we work with – it’s a hands on job and they don’t have the time in the middle of a messy / dangerous job to keep checking their phones for notifications
There are business owners that are genuinely too busy for Social Media or that would rather outsource it to a professional
But be honest with yourself on this
Suggestion: Do a time audit of your average day. Are there 30 minutes throughout the day you can be on a phone or PC? If so Social Media Training is a viable option. If not – outsource your Social Media to a company like us
5. The Person Running Social Media Has Left The Company
You’d be amazed at how many times Social Media stops for months or years because the person running the social media has left the company
It’s a function that you replace, not one you leave dormant
Customers often consider Social Media to be as an important channel of communication as the phone, email or web chat
With that in mind how much do you worry if your phone lines go down for a morning?
Shouldn’t you be worrying as much if social media is inactive for days, weeks, months and years
Suggestion: Train 2 people in the organisation on the Social Media for the business. This alleviates problems if one person leaves or simply goes on holiday
6. Lurker
“I don’t post on Social Media. I just use it as a news channel to follow the news and my sports team”
This is perfectly ok for an individual using Social Media for fun
For a business it’s death
It’s the equivalent of turning up to a networking meeting and observing whilst hiding in the corner
Suggestion: Success does not come without training – if you don’t understand something upskill yourself on a Social Media training course
NEED HELP WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING – CHAT TO US
Do you have an inactive Social Media Account?
Chat to about Social Media Marketing for YOUR business so we can better understand YOU and what will grow your business
We can only find out what is unique to your business by chatting to you
Look at our Social Media Training and Social Media Management services
Or
Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk
Alex McCann is owner of Altrincham HQ – a social media management and training company based in Altrincham, Cheshire that has worked with 100s of local business developing their social media strategy. Alex has 400+ LinkedIn testimonials and is ranked number 1 for Social Media Marketing in the UK via independent customer reviews on Freeindex.
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