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Is Your Business’ Social Media Suffering from “Seatbelt Syndrome?”

Social media is a powerful marketing channel, but social media platforms are only effective when used correctly – or at all, really. In many cases, local home services businesses will set up social media accounts only to leave them unused for weeks, months, or even years at a time. Or perhaps even worse, they turn to overly automated, low-quality solutions.

This is what’s known as social media “seatbelt syndrome.” Not unlike a seatbelt, your social media presence is only going to work if you actually buckle down and use it. Read on to learn what to do if your business is suffering from this disorder.

Avoiding Overly Automated Social Media Solutions

With more than 30 billion pieces of content shared on Facebook every month and 500 million tweets sent every day on Twitter, it’s increasingly challenging for businesses to stand out from the noise on popular social networks. Yet 63% of consumers are more likely to buy products from brands with visibility on social platforms like Twitter and Facebook, and 59% are more likely to trust brands that integrate social media.

Many business owners adopt social media with the mindset that any exposure and leads generated from social platforms can only help, not harm, their businesses. Any effort, they assume, is better than no social media presence at all.

To keep up with the constant need for fresh, engaging content and the desire to grow follower counts to earn legitimate social proof, many marketers turn to social media automation tools to ease some of the time commitment that social media management requires.

These automated responses and posts, though, often come across as inauthentic and robotic. When this happens, your social media presence has the potential to do more harm than good (just like an improperly used seatbelt.)

Why Your Business Needs a Social Media Management Professional

There’s nothing wrong with using automation to your advantage, but nothing can replace the human element in social media interactions. A social media professional can oversee the automated tools that you have in place as well as add the human element that’s necessary for social media marketing success.

Even the best, most sophisticated social media management tools require monitoring and maintenance for fully optimized marketing performance. As the Content Marketing Institute points out, users can tell when your posts are automated, and automatic direct messages can be a turnoff.

Likewise, if your social media marketing runs entirely on autopilot, you’re missing out on key opportunities to engage in real conversations with consumers – and no one likes to be ignored when they ask a question of a brand. Automation is not the cure-all for social media seatbelt syndrome, but it can enhance your efforts when used correctly.

Keeping a Finger on the Pulse of Social Media Best Practices

A social media professional does much more than simply monitoring automated tools that handle the bulk of the posting work. These professionals are in tune with the emerging trends and best practices in social media marketing, guiding you to the right strategies and up-and-coming platforms that make the most sense for reaching your target audience.

A social media marketing professional can help your brand:

  • Add value to conversations with tips and tricks that help make your customers’ lives easier
  • Glean valuable content marketing and social media topics by monitoring conversations and responding to customer questions
  • Fine-tune the right posting schedule and frequency for the social media platforms you use to reach your audience
  • Discover new channels and new approaches to reaching the right target audience
  • Structure specific social media campaigns around your brand and business objectives, as well as relevant life events
  • Test out content ideas with your target audience on Twitter and Facebook
  • Implement and monitor highly targeted social media advertising campaigns
  • Optimize both your web and social strategies based on results

All of these efforts comprise a substantial workload. For many business owners, the time commitment required to manage social media effectively is simply too much. Hiring a social media professional eases your burden and eliminates the danger of social media seatbelt syndrome, allowing you to take advantage of the best social media tools and get better results without sacrificing the human element that your customers crave on social media.

Don’t let your business fall prey to social media “seatbelt syndrome.” The LeadBuilder® social media team specializes in executing authentic, engagement-driven, results-oriented social media campaigns for HVAC and other home services businesses. Our goal is to grow your social media presence and create meaningful connections with your customers on a daily basis.


JenniferAquilinoJennifer Aquilino is a LeadBuilder® Social Media Specialist. Connecting people and businesses everywhere, one hashtag at a time. Social media marketing OBSESSED. Caffeine-dependent. Dreamer. Online extrovert, real life introvert. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

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