WHAT IS SOCIAL CAPITAL?

The dictionary lists Social Capital as: “The networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively.”

Ok, seems simple enough, must be referring to social media and networking right?

So what’s the big deal?

From the definition given, social capital seems like social networking itself, but the truth is…

SOCIAL CAPITAL IS A CURRENCY.

AND YOU CAN RUN OUT.

Social Capital is the amount of posts you have to fully engage your audience without losing them and it depletes and fills up in a 24 hour period, actually…

If we’re being realistic…

It’s far less than 24 hours.

THE AVERAGE WINDOW TO CAPTURE YOUR AUDIENCE IS AROUND 6 HOURS PER DAY.

7am-9am

1pm-2pm

6pm-8pm

Those are the spike times for audience results when it comes to emails and post engagement.

Every post you make depletes more of your social currency.

So the question is…

ARE YOU SPENDING IT WISELY?

One of the major killers to marketing your service or item is leading your audience astray from the focus of what you want them to do.

Think of it this way:

A friend comes running up to you and says they’ve got the biggest news of the year, they are excited, overjoyed and can’t wait to tell you about every little aspect.

You’re starting to get excited about it too, they take your hand and say they are going to show you what the big news is, but halfway there they stop on the road and start complaining about how the city never fixes the potholes in that neighborhood.

You’re confused, wait, what about the big news?

Then you get distracted, “yeah” you think, “yeah you’re right, where’s our tax money going to anyway?”

Now you’re angry, you’ve completely forgotten about the awesome big news and are googling your local city office to complain about potholes.

Start to get the picture?

If you are in the middle of a product or service launch, but also posting about political views, ranting about your flat tire or showing off your homemade mac and cheese, you are leading your audience further and further away from what you want them to do.

NO MATTER WHAT YOU POST, IT NEEDS TO TIE IN TO WHATEVER IT IS YOU ARE SELLING.

That’s right, EVERY POST needs to propel your audience into A) Trusting your credibility B) Showcasing the product or service C) Information on product or service.

Period.

Every post and share has to have a purpose behind it, or you are just derailing your audience.

They need to know exactly what to expect when they land on your page and consistency is vital.

Consistency with your message AND consistency with posting on a regular basis.

Speaking of posting regularly…

GOOD INTENTIONS AND SOCIAL DEPLETION…

Look, I know you want to support your friends and venues that support you. But doing it during a campaign is not the time to be giving free advertising to other people. Entrepreneurs who are highly publicly engaged with their community can easily fall victim to this.

You can feel so much pressure to share their achievements…

“Melissa just got a certificate for CPR!”

Their events…

“Come see DJ Powerpack tonight at Club Drizzle”

Or their fundraisers…

“Help me raise money to pay for my trip abroad.”

But every single time you share a post for them, you are losing your audience and depleting your currency of social capital.

You are losing momentum and the “buy in” conversion rate of your potential clients. This means your success rate for gaining new clientele rapidly drops.

During marketing it is so important to stay on message.

MOST POTENTIAL BUYERS CONVERT AFTER THE 6TH EMAIL SEQUENCE OR 8TH FACEBOOK POST ABOUT THE PRODUCT.

A sales funnel leads to conversions at the end of a campaign, hardly ever in the first stages.

You need to be consistently showing up in their feed with the product/service so that they can remember it exists.

You would be amazed at how many times a person needs to see your logo before they can start associating your brand with their everyday life.

For example, if we see a red and white truck go by we think “Coke!” the truck triggered the thought of the brand. Because Coke-a-Cola is so huge, we easily associate it in everyday experiences, but that doesn’t mean they can just chill on advertising or marketing campaigns.

If big businesses like Coke-a-Cola still need to stay on target for their marketing push…

Imagine how essential it is for you as an entrepreneur to do the same.

THE LOOP HOLE:

If you still want to support your awesome tribe, a social media group page to share events is a great way to do so. That way you have started a group strictly for advertising everyone instead of posting on your own page.

If you are one of those people who just has to share every moment in your life, or needs social media as an outlet for your frustrations…

Then I highly suggest making a business page strictly for professional use and not posts about how you found a bunny in your yard today, or the next outlandish law that passed in your state.

Remember that if you don’t show that you are putting your business first when it comes to social media,

then you are ultimately sending the message that this is a hobby and not your livelihood.

If you don’t take it seriously...

No one else will either.