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The post 10 Reasons Why It’s Time To Update Your Social Media Strategy appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . In the ever-changing world of social media, it’s quite easy to fall off the wagon with your social strategy. The steady stream of new updates, features, and websites are enough to make anyone business owner’s head spin. Still, staying on top of social media trends has its rewards. Is it time for you update your social media strategy ? Read on to find out.   1. You Haven’t Been Paying Attention To New Trends Changes in consumer technology, like the relatively recent explosion in mobile web surfing , have a direct effect on how people use the internet. For instance, Facebook launched a mobile-only ad program last year, something that could be very lucrative for a company who knows how to use it. Since social media tends to adapt to trends in technology, these trends will ultimately affect your social media strategy.   2. You Haven’t Taken Feature Updates Into Account Anyone who has been on Facebook over the course of a year knows that things change all the time. Recently they implemented the social graph, which is a detailed way of searching for people on Facebook with like interests. More recently, Facebook gave their page analytics feature an overhaul to make it more detailed. Changes like these can impact your social marketing efforts, so try to stay on top of them.   3. You Don’t Know Why You Use Social Media Do you know why you’re on social media in the first place? If the answer is “because everyone else is,” then that’s the wrong answer. Why? Because it’s not a solid enough reason to drive your social marketing. Do you want to improve customer service response? Increase brand awareness before the opening of a new location? Social media can help you do this, but you have to define your motives first.   4. You’re Not Branching Out If your company or organization has yet to find a way to utilize social networks beyond Facebook and Twitter, you could be missing out on new opportunities to connect with prospects. Sites and apps like Pinterest, Youtube, and Instagram get tens of millions of hits each day. If your social media activities have been limited to only one or two social sites, it might be time to investigate how to expand your reach. Be creative. Picture, video, and location-based social sites have exploded in popularity, so be sure to go where the trends are leading.   6. You Aren’t Interacting With Followers Do you post content without really paying attention to what people have to say about it? If so, then you’re taking the “social” out of social media. It’s important to interact with fans and customers via your channels. It’s a good way to get feedback, address complaints, and see what you’re doing right.   7. You’re Being Too Spammy The age of sales talk is slowly dying on the internet. Today’s internet is more a conduit for conversation and information than anything else. Go over the last few things that you shared on your social media accounts. If you sound more like a robot or telemarketer than an accessible human being, then it’s time to figure out how to better relate to your audience.   8. You’re Not Managing The Interaction Should any unacceptable behavior or language make its way onto your business page, you should consider laying down some house rules. Create a document that clearly spells out disruptive behavior—such as inflammatory posts and spamming—and make it accessible to everyone who interacts on your social sites or blog. If anyone breaks any of the rules you’ve set down, you can either give them a warning or block them from your pages altogether.   9. You’re Wasting Too Much Time Posting Updates Updating each of your social networks one at a time can be tedious. If you’re still posting updates one at a time, consider simplifying the process with a scheduling tool like HootSuite. This program lets you monitor multiple Twitter and Facebook accounts and pages from the same interface, and even lets you schedule posts and tweets ahead of time.   10. You’re Not Being Original Anyone can share, retweet, and rehash news that they’ve read elsewhere, but do you have anything original to say to your audience? Sure retweeting and sharing valuable information is great, but you should also take time to create and share original content. If you need help in the content creation area, hire outside help. A professional writer, photographer, or social media consultant can help you create orginal, sharable content for your online communities.   If any of the above applies to you, then don’t worry. You’re not alone. As mentioned before, social media moves fast, and it can be hard to keep up. Ever business should look at their strategy every few months to make sure it’s still working for them. No matter what, there is always room for improvement. Continue reading →