When I see someone or a brand, doing the same thing time and time again, and not getting results, it drives me nuts. Over the years at Social INK, we’ve met successful businesses who are paying to run social media. They have been for years. When we ask what sort of results they’re getting, often the answer is “what do you mean results?” Doing the same thing and expecting a different result is just crazy.
Doing things for the sake of it
“We have to be on social media”
I have lost count of the number of times I’ve heard this over the past 11 years. People know that social media is a necessary component in any marketing strategy, but they don’t necessarily know why.
Social media (and the clue is in the name) is a great way to interact with your audience, followers, customers and stakeholders. It’s meant to be a place where they can communicate with you, and you can communicate back. You’re meant to be SOCIAL!
Trying something different
If you’re just repeating the same actions, without “an eye on the prize”, as it were, chances are you’re not going to succeed. In fact, you definitely won’t because you don’t know what you are trying to achieve in the first place.
I talk a lot about challenges. It’s a great way to “experiment”.
Trying different things is the only sure-fire way to know and understand what works and what doesn’t. It’s not just about you and your business. It’s about your audience, your clients and your stakeholders too.
What’s important to them, and what encourages them to become part of your community.
Experiment
The word “experiment” often gets misunderstood, especially in marketing. I had this conversation with some clients and prospects over the last couple of weeks after we launched a new programme called The Consistent Experimenter.
Turns out the word “experimenter” makes people think that you don’t know how to do it properly the first time. I talk about this in more detail in my post why is experiment a bad word?
Everything in life is about experimenting.
I believe it’s how we learn as children, and it’s how we figure out a lot of things as adults. We just don’t like admitting it.
Try, try, and try again
You might not stumble upon exactly what you want to achieve the first time. But that’s ok. We need to keep trying. Trying different things, be it in business, or for hobbies, or for what you want in life.
It’s the only way to find what you want, what works for you and what ultimately makes you happy.
There is nothing worse than doing the same thing and expecting a different result. It’s the definition of insanity.
So what is one thing that you continue to do, even though you know that the results aren’t in line with what you want at the end of the day?
