Social media has become an important part of our lives. However, with 200+ active social media platforms, over-saturation is fast approaching. So, what’s an aspiring Influencer or Brand Manager supposed to do to get a little attention around here…?

It’s unrealistic to assume that every media post will become a viral sensation. The reality is, using social media as an effective marketing tool is hard, for a number of reasons! Among other difficulties, finding time to commit to social media strategies and posting daily is a huge challenge. Some might go so far as to say that it’s a huge imposition or a waste of time because they haven’t seen results. Also, entertainment has become an expectation, and writing crafty posts takes a skillset that, unfortunately, not everyone possesses. Finally, social media requires one-on-one interactions with customers and potential customers, then puts those interactions on a public stage, which leaves brands and companies extremely open and vulnerable. However, the most pressing social media challenge is still creating desired social engagement.

Social media success begins with building a valuable social network by targeting and attracting quality followers, subscribers, friends, and professional links. However, the quality of a social media network is often overlooked as a primary goal or integral part of a social media strategy. Sure, you have 500+ links on LinkedIn or 5K followers on Insta because you copy popular post tactics (“Follow us and tag three friends to enter the contest” or “Like us on Facebook to win”) aimed solely at bumping up exposure, but consider the following questions: Is your network comprised mainly of supportive followers? Will these leads convert into sales or opportunities? And are you getting more likes than dislikes from your social media network? Ultimately, the followers you gain might not be the followers you need!

Of course, how to schedule posts, when to post, how to evaluate the success of a post, and how to use posts to lead prospects down the sale funnel are all important considerations that every blogger and vlogger should bear in mind when plotting out their social media strategy. However, if an account’s followers and subscribers are not truly interested in the content, products, or services, the use of social media as a marketing tool to grow your brand or business will be a big failure.

One of the many goals of having a social media platform is to start a discussion and encourage your followers or subscribers to join in on conversations. When interest is low, your followers or subscribers will likely not engage. Don’t count on the back and forth or the give and take to occur, and if that doesn’t, in fact, happen, your post probably won’t go anywhere, fast. It most certainly won’t be going viral anytime soon!

Please don’t hyperventilate or throw in the towel just yet! All of the challenges aligned with social media marketing are actually what make it very powerful. When you thoughtfully compile a social media community for your products, services, brand, or business, you can use the platforms as an effective communication tool to tell your own unique stories.

So, how do you attract an audience that won’t mute, unfollow, block, or report your account? Unfortunately, there is no quick fix when it comes to building a strong social media presence. It takes not only time and effort to build the right target audience online but also the right strategies to avoid missed opportunities.

To leverage social media as an effective marketing tactic for your professional brand, personal brand, products, or services, one simple strategy is to use a social business card to drive desired traffic to your social media account. What is a social business card? It merges your social media and the concept of a business card and combines them into a tangible product highlighting your social media presence. You can easily distribute social business cards to help build your online presence and relationships. While several options are available, a value-added social business card often contains your social media handles, social media profile photo, social media bio, and title, as well as the number of followers you have and your tagline or slogan. It will let your desired audience know what channels they can follow you on or subscribe to, so that they can interact with your business or personal brand online.

If you are one of my beloved Boomers and still a bit unsure about the relevance of a social business card, think about it this way. How many tradeshows, conferences, seminars, events, and CLE courses have you attended throughout your professional career? And how many business cards have you collected and distributed within that timeframe? I believe it would be safe to assume that you have collected hundreds, if not thousands, of cards. Out of those many, many encounters with clients, potential clients, potential lateral hire opportunities, professional opportunities, and colleagues who could refer work to you, how many were you able to consistently and effectively follow up with on a regular basis? See where I’m going with this? A social business card is a great way to let people know that you are online and to develop your contacts into clients or customers by giving them access to your regular posts. Social business cards can build your social media following, establish solid relationships with a designed audience that you meticulously target, and improve the level of your online conversions.