Social media and golf might not have a lot in common at first glance, but these 5 social media lessons might surprise you about the similarities between them.
If you’re a business person, you should know the importance of social media. In today’s digital age, a business can flourish just by doing social media the right way. In the same vein, if a company has a drab or irrelevant social media presence, they may wonder why the business has dried up or they’re just getting by.
If you’re a golfer, you also know that the game can teach great lessons, whether that’s in sport, life, and business. Here are the five social media lessons I’ve learned from playing golf.
1. It Usually Takes More Than One Shot
Hole-in-ones are not common occurrences. In most cases, you’re going to have to gear up and hit the ball twice, three times, or four times to get it in the hole.
For a golfer to expect to get it in the hole on the first shot is unrealistic 98% of the time. If you hit a nice drive off the tee and it doesn’t go quite as far as you’d like, you wouldn’t just give up and move on to the next hole!
The same is true for social media. One campaign is usually not enough to see great results or get enough leads. If you don’t get it right on the first try, it’s perfectly normal and even expected.
Social media is not a quick fix for a business. Campaigns bring in leads, and you need to take those leads forward. Many of them aren’t going to pan out.
It’s essential not to give up if you don’t see extreme results overnight. Just as you wouldn’t walk away from the golf course if your first shot doesn’t land where you want it to, you shouldn’t walk away from social media if it takes a little while to get going.
Key Takeaway: Be prepared to work for your results.
2. Choose The Right Team
If you’ve ever had a game with someone arrogant, extremely competitive, or even someone who’s just negative, you’ll know it can ruin a good day of golf.
Business is no different. The people you work with can make or break your digital success. If your social media manager is sullen and negative, it’s a pretty sure bet that success won’t be high.
On the other hand, working with someone who’s enthusiastic and optimistic can be a huge motivation. It’s not all about fun and positivity, though. The social media process is a learning curve, so it’s important to be teachable and work with people you can learn from.
If you can, find a mentor who can guide you. Above all, work with others who have the same goals as you do, and make the process easier.
Remember – you need to not only choose the right team but make sure to be the right team member too!
Key Takeaway: Work with people you can learn from. Change your team of people if necessary.
3. Choose The Right Tool
You wouldn’t tee off using a putter. You wouldn’t step onto the golf course in high heels. Whatever you’re doing at the time, you need the right tools to get the job done.
There’s no need to go all-out on every social media platform. Choose the one that works best for your type of business.
• Facebook is always a winner, has a huge audience reach, and makes it easy to communicate with customers
• Instagram is great for brands or retailers who wish to showcase their products via photos or video
• LinkedIn is super for B2B marketing, as it’s specifically a business platform
• YouTube is helpful for companies who could use tutorials or reviews to get customers
• Pinterest is a useful platform for small businesses
You’ll need to put a bit of thought into which platform suits your business best. That doesn’t mean you can’t do more than one, though!
But it’s advisable to choose one as your main platform and use others more sparingly. Look at where your customers and clients hang out!
Takeaway: Choose your platform carefully based on your needs.
4. If You Don’t Do It Regularly, You Won’t See Results
If you only golf every other month, your handicap won’t improve. In the same way, if you only post on social media every other week, you’re certainly not going to get the results you want.
Post regularly. You’ll want to get into a habit – for example, once a day, every second day, or three times a week. That means your customers or viewers will start to see you on their newsfeed regularly.
At the same time, you don’t want to post too often. Six posts a day may sound like it has a 100% chance of success, but could you imagine if the same person called you on the phone six times a day? You’d soon get annoyed and perhaps block their phone number.
That’s exactly what we don’t want on a business social media! You shouldn’t be a nuisance, and everything you post should bring value to the reader. Don’t post rubbish just so you can say you’ve posted it.
Two high-quality posts a week are better than 7 low-quality ones! Make sure what you post is relevant. Don’t worry if it takes a while to get going. Persevere, and you’ll see change.
Takeaway: Be consistent and bring value.
5. Not Everything Is A Competition
Sometimes, a fun, chilled game of golf between friends is the perfect weekend activity. You don’t need to always be serious about it, and the same is true for social media.
Not every post has to be selling your business. Have some fun with it! As long as your post has some value to your readers, you can get creative. Customers appreciate a bit of humour and value coming at them, rather than always being sold to.
Takeaway: Post some fun stuff!
Conclusion
Whether you’re a golfer or not, these social media lessons are true. Making just a few changes to your social media can supercharge your business. Why not give it a try and see how it goes? There’s nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
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