When You Should Break Up with a Social Platform
By Anne Leonard
Forcing a relationship with a social platform is never fun. If the engagement is down and your follower list isn’t growing, it’s probably time to break up with this particular platform and move on to a better suited channel for your business.
Here’s how you can tell it’s time to call it quits with a social platform:
You have zero engagement.
When your posts aren’t performing well or gaining engagement among your followers, this can be a tell-tale sign. Zero engagement often occurs if you’re not posting the right content for the specifics platform and its audience. Your audience may not even exist on this platform altogether. First, you must know your target audience and their preferred platform. If they’re not on this particular platform, it’s OK. It’s better to invest your resources and time into another social channel that will get better results. If your target audience is spending their time on your current platform, find out what you’re doing wrong and begin applying best practices.
Your follower list has plateaued.
While a large follower list shows that your account is popular, this doesn’t always indicate you are growing. If your follower list has plateaued or you’re reaching an audience that isn’t your target, it’s likely that your audience isn’t using this social channel. Take a good look at your analytics to see how your posts are performing and the demographic group you are reaching. Use these metrics to improve your follower list or break up with the platform altogether.
You’re receiving off-beat engagements.
Receiving outlandish comments that are unrelated to your posts? You could be approaching your target audience in the wrong way or posting controversial content altogether. However, before you initiate the breakup, try experimenting with your posts and targeting methods. You might find that there are actually issues with your messaging and not your content.
The traffic to your website is suffering.
One of the main goals of your social account is for it to drive traffic to your website. When this is not the case, it’s a warning sign that you should move on to another platform. If your website traffic is down, you might be noticing these results:
- Your content is irrelevant for your audience.
- Your audience is on another platform.
- You’re not sharing content that can link back to your site.
- Your calls to action aren’t encouraging engagement via comments, sharing, etc.
Of course there are several other factors that could determine whether or not you should pull the plug on a social channel. Set aside the time to take a good look at your social media channels and website analytics to make your decision.
