Every conversation I have these days leads to big questions about social media results. How to measure them, and more intriguing to me, can you get results at all? There are those who claim they aren’t and they can’t and they won’t. We have many social media case studies that show otherwise. But we’ve also seen companies fail. Here are 8 main reasons why:

1. You still believe that “posting” is a social media strategy

If you’re still thinking of growing a business solely by posting on Facebook, think again. Much has changed since the early days of Facebook and Twitter.  Actually, everything but the simple act of pressing enter to “post,” has changed.

Stop wasting energy thinking about “posting,” what to “post” and when to “post.” “Posting” means nothing. 100% of companies I talk to say they “post” on social networks, every day. Mostly on Facebook. The same companies report not seeing any results.

Whether it’s everyday or once in a while, it doesn’t matter. “Posting” is like singing in the shower – only you and your annoyed neighbor know it happened.

Towel off and start building relationships with people, before you try singing to them. Social networks are still all about people and conversation. You must chat with people about things THEY care about, if you want to be noticed. And you must chat with people a lot more than you realize. Dozens of tweets and comments every day is what it takes to be heard by enough people to matter.

Creating and distributing content is the lifeblood of your online presence. Spend your time and energy on the message you want to get out and the quality of content. When you start the process by focusing on “posting” instead of what you’re going to post, you’re shooting blanks so you won’t catch any game.

2. Social media is a dead horse yet you’re still beating it

Social networks have changed to systemically reward catchy content, and they each define catchy in their own way. Twitter used to be the king of real-time content. Now, searching Twitter results in a Twitter-curated stream of what their algorithm finds relevant, not necessarily the newest content. Facebook also uses interaction data to determine what content to show. Pinterest has announced they’ll also start curating search results.

As I said earlier, just posting content won’t cut it any more. There’s too much content and the social networks themselves are redesigning the social interactions to push user-vetted content to the top.  You don’t just need compelling content, you need your content to be PROVEN to be entertaining, interesting, or educational.

So if you want to be heard you need to:

• Produce lots of damn good compelling content and then use social networks to spread that content. A study from Curata shows that 90% of blogs that get at least 10,000 page views per month blog once or more times per week. So start writing.
• Learn the rules of curation for each social network and play by those rules
• Network with the key players in the curation process so they can add proof to your content
• Stay busy in the content space. Very, very busy…
• Socialize more than you post, so you can gain proof from your new friends
• Promote others’ content so they may promote yours

3. You’re still thinking social media is Facebook

Stop thinking about isolated social networks, and start thinking digital. The Internet is a social network.

Here’s an example. We were working with a brand that made a product for couples who are trying to conceive. Of all the places on the web we found Reddit to be a busy forum for women trying to conceive. In another instance we were promoting a documentary about a MOMA exhibit. A simple comment on a Flickr album with photos from the exhibit ended up delivering the most traffic to the documentary website, the most of all tactical steps we took.

So, where online are your targets and how do they spend their time?  What is all that needs to happen online for you to meet your goals?

4. You’re still having an intern do it

Whenever I speak or teach a social media workshop I invariably hear, “omg this was so much,” “I have pages and pages of notes.” And typically I speak about very specific topics.

There is a A LOT to know and do in social. And even more in digital. I’ve been at it for 12 years and I’m still learning. And with how fast things are changing, unless you get marketing you won’t get digital marketing. Which is just one of the many issues you’ll have by using interns.

Just because someone is snapchatting their little fingers off doesn’t mean they know how to create meaningful content for someone else (stress “someone else”) or how to promote a brand across multiple channels. And they most certainly won’t know how to make data-driven marketing decisions.

Companies that are successful in the digital space don’t just play at it. They don’t ask for proof that digital works. They don’t overanalyze the cost/benefit. They make digital part of the fabric of their organization. They eat, breathe and sleep online content. They completely retool their organizations to communicate online first, and offline second. And they most certainly don’t outsource their online brand to interns.

5. You’re confusing goals and strategies

Recently I heard someone describe their social media objectives as, “having a more cohesive voice across social networks.” That sounds wonderful, but that’s a strategy, not a goal in itself. If you chase smoke you’ll get smoke… if you don’t chase a goal you won’t make a goal. So of course you won’t see results.

When Lightspan was a young company we made the mistake of going along with clients who said their goal was to get more Facebook followers. A few months in and inevitably the question would pop up – where are our sales?

You need to be honest and clear about what you’re hoping to accomplish and you need to be realistic as to what’s possible. If what you want is more sales, then be honest about it. And be prepared for an honest conversation where you discover that you’ll need a lot more than just “Facebook engagement” in order to get those sales.

6. You still believe overnight results are possible

Let’s say you’ve honestly described your goal as wanting a 10% increase in sales. The question is, by when?

We still get leads who think they should go gangbusters on sales in three months. Who still believe that because the Purina + Buzzfeed cat videos went viral, their “stuff” should go viral too.

There may be companies out there that promise you results right away. If your brand is established, you may be able to see a quick and brief spike in sales by running paid ads. But if you need to build an audience AND convert that audience you’re looking at a year of solid marketing before you should expect results.

7. You want a 2-step sales process

I talk to many companies that have this idea that if you put a post online it should immediately lead to sales. One ad, and sales should flow.

That’s not how people buy things. Unless you’re dying of thirst right now and I show you a bottle of water, you most probably won’t buy anything at first sight, just on impulse. And the higher the ticket price, the longer it takes for someone to decide to buy.

Digital marketing is made up of a series of communication strategies designed to move a potential buyer through a series of decisions.

1. Awareness
   • At this stage you’re starting to build an audience. They are now hearing of you for the first time. To grow sales you must keep building the awareness. But awareness alone won’t get you sales. A number of marketing tactics play a part here, from PR to social media posts. You need a vast audience at this stage, which implies a vast and varied effort to make them aware.
2. Information gathering
   • Those who heard of you will next do their research. They’ll either wait or look for more information. They’re not convinced yet. So you’ll need marketing that does the convincing. Many call this the reputation building stage. Reviews, case studies and education-focused marketing plays a big part in this stage.
3. Decision making
   • A smaller portion of your “information-gathering” folks will be making their final decision at this stage. This is where they’re deciding how badly they need and want product or service and if they can afford it. Education-focused content marketing is key at this stage. This is where you can also be a bit more salesy. Offers, discounts, negotiation plays can move your audience at this stage.
4. Action
   • Even they’ve decided to buy, they may be procrastinating. Or they’re not by you, or they’re busy with other things. It’s important to have repeat reminders and calls to action at this point. Email marketing, ads, outbound calls and marketing automation are musts at this stage.

8. You gave up too soon

When I tell startups that they should invest 25% of their expected yearly revenue in marketing, they choke. But those competitors you admire invest the equivalent of that or more. And they do so early and for the long term.

It’s not all marketing spend. Some organizations make social marketing part of their DNA, where every employee contributes to spreading the word digitally. Some organizations have an outstanding thought-leader in their midsts and although their time may not feel like marketing their proselytizing gets results. Other companies open the digital doors to their audiences and make them their virtual marketing team.

There are many ways to go about it, but the one thing all growth-focused companies have in common is that they always do marketing, and they always make it a priority. They don’t stop, they don’t waver and they don’t ever wonder if it’s worth it.

What have you seen stand in the way of companies seeing social media results?