Have you heard the experts saying that if you’re not using to social media to help your business, the very existence of your business is at risk?

Well, here’s a twist. If you’re making sacrifices in any of the core areas of your business to experiment blindly with Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram — social media may actually be more of a problem than a solution.

The truth is that most businesses have explored one or more social media platforms, but most have not achieved results that they were promised. In fact, one has to sift through scores of business Facebook pages and Twitter accounts to find even a few that are delivering the results being talked about by many of today’s most well-known social media marketers.

And many business owners are actually being distracted from the things that are most important to the success of a business in order to establish and manage their business’s social media presence.

There are many reasons for the high level of frustration being experienced by individuals, businesses and organizations trying to amplify their message and generate a positive return on their investment in social media. I will touch on a few, but then, more importantly, I’ll explain some simple strategies you can employ to make the most of your social media efforts.

Why Social Media Isn’t Working for You:

• Your business isn’t working the way it should. Social media is NOT the cure-all for a broken business model. If your customer service is lacking, your quality control is deficient, or your product fails to excite, social media is likely to do more damage than good. Social media is designed to amplify. Be aware that that also applies to problems, complaints and negative feelings — not just success stories and compliments.
• There is more content being created today than ever before, and people have a limited amount of time and interest. It’s simply very difficult to get your message heard.
• Your content is composed of copy, images and videos that have been created with your own interests (or the interests of your business or organization) in mind, but with little consideration of what your audience is interested in, or what your audience may value.
• Your message focuses primarily on making the sale, rather than providing value, creating engagement, and building loyalty.
• You’re focusing on often meaningless statistics, such as the number of Facebook page likes and Twitter followers — rather than on making meaningful connections, and creating content that will actually attract interest from your target audiences.
• You’ve failed to take the time to identify the people who comprise your target audience.

What You Can Do Today to Make Social Media Work Better For Your Business:

• Fix what’s wrong with your business. You’re never going to benefit from the viral aspects of social media if your business model is broken. Fix it.
• Make sure you know which people make up your target audience. In the world of social media, most people become so hungry for yet another follower or ‘like’ that they can’t even remember who it is that are looking for.
• Figure out what excites your audience. Then deliver exactly that, or understand that you are wasting your time and money.
• Study your social media results. Learn which actions drive which results. Figure out what you need to do in order to achieve the results you’re looking for, and proceed.

Chris S. Cornell is an award-winning writer, editor and photographer who specializes in social media, blogging and digital marketing. He serves as Director of Social Media at WOW Production Services.