If your social media posts are just flopping, with little views and little engagement…
…there is one word in your social media posts that’s probably causing your social media train to wreck and go off the tracks.
When we look at clients who come to us needing help with their social media, we see this word sprinkled all throughout their social media.
On the other hand, when we look at some of our most successful clients to date, we always notice that they do NOT have this word in their social media posts.
That word is…. “I.” Not eye like eyeball, not aye like a pirate.
I as in me. Us, ourselves, our company. I as in NOT you the customer.
So let’s dig into the why behind this pattern, and then at the end we’re going to share one exception to this rule so make sure you read all the way to the end.
The reason the word “I” tends to make a social media post flop is because it means the post is oriented around the wrong thing from the start.
Every piece of marketing content you put out there, social media posts included, needs to be centered around your customer, not around your business.
Customers don’t care about your company as much as they care about the benefits your product or service provides them.
They care even LESS when it comes to a small business brand they’ve never heard of before.
So if your posts are centered around why your company is the best, an award you received…
…or how your product has the latest and greatest technology- you’re going to lose their attention.
A Few Examples Of This Principle In Action
Now that we’ve discussed the reason why businesses fail on social media, let’s show a few examples of how it works.
Let’s say you sell dishwashers. Which social media post do you think is likely to get their social media followers’ attention?
EX 1: “Our dishwasher has the latest cleaning gadget in it that wipes plates with the 360-degree turbo cleaner 3000.”
Or EX 2: “You don’t have to rinse or half-clean your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher anymore.
Our dishwasher will have every dirty dish, no matter how thick and cakey, sparkling clean in one wash.”
The second option right?! Why. It’s because the second option addresses a pain point the audience struggles with.
They can relate to that scenario immediately.
The first option explains how that benefit occurs with jargon the audience doesn’t care about or maybe understand.
Let’s look at LYFE Marketing as another example. Which sounds better to you as a small business owner?
EX 1: “Our company has been listed on the Inc. 5000 list several years in a row, we’ve been featured on CNBC’s The Profit.
And we have top-of-the-line digital marketing experts at the helm of our client’s campaigns. Contact us today.”
Or EX 2: “If you want to see results like this
or like this
or like this…
…these are all results we have generated for business owners who needed help driving sales while growing and running their small businesses.
If scaling your results sounds like something you’d be interested in too, contact us today.”
Which grabbed your attention more? Probably option 2 right?
Why? Because it starts out showing the goals you’re after. You want more sales or you want to generate more leads for your business.
While all the points we mentioned in example 1 are great things, some of you reading may not even know what the Inc 5000 list is…
…or have ever seen the show The Profit to really grasp the success of that?
Or even if you do, you might think, “Okay that’s great but what can you do for ME?”
Example 2 answers that question.
Let’s look at one more example. Let’s say you own a bakery.
EX 1: “We’ve got the best pastry chef in town, he’s from France and makes 5-star desserts with top-of-the-line ingredients.”
Or EX 2: “No matter if you’re gluten-free, have a peanut allergy, or simply want to enjoy fresh, organic ingredients in your treats…
…everyone in the family can enjoy top-of-the-line desserts at our bakery.”
Again, we see that example 1 has great points, but example 2 is all about the customer’s experience. And that’s going to win their attention every time.
The Exception To The Rule
So those are a few examples of how using the word “I” can be the reason why businesses fail on social media. Now’s there’s an exception, of course.
When is the only time you can use the word “I” or a variation of it in your social media posts?
The exception is when you’re sharing a relatable story. A great example of this would be why you started your company.
The owner of a deodorant company named Curie ran an Instagram ad telling her small business story on Instagram actually got me to purchase AND re-purchase!
The reason is because her “why” behind creating this product was something I could relate to.
She shared about how she could never find a clean, non-toxic deodorant that actually worked, and that motivated her to create one that did.
I’ve had the same experience! I don’t want a deodorant that could give me CANCER, but I do want one that works and keeps me smelling fresh.
So when I heard her sharing the same frustrations as the reason for starting her company, I had to try it. Tried it, loved it, and repurchased it.
So in this instance, you can see why the exception to the rule is the exception to the rule.
It’s because it’s ultimately still centered around something relatable to the customer.
Take a moment and look at your existing, and upcoming social media posts for the month.
Then read through them to see how you can re-orient them to be customer-centered.
Now if you need help in creating an engaging content marketing calendar, read this post next.
