Whether you like it or not, social media is here - and it has been for a while. It's one of the most powerful tools for businesses in the agriculture and construction industries, yet so many businesses are fighting it or have given up on it because "it doesn’t work." The reality? It does work - your content just may need tweaked to work for you.
Every day we see pages where engagement is low, and reach is minimal because the content isn’t engaging, authentic, or valuable. If your business is on social media but isn’t seeing results, you might be falling into one (or more) of these traps.
Not Using Video to Showcase Your Brand
One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is avoiding video content. The truth is, people want to see the faces, the process, and the work behind your brand. Video content is king in 2025, and platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok prioritize it over static posts. Above and beyond that, if you want to reach new customers that aren't currently following you, Reels are typically being shown to 50%+ people who don't follow you, meaning fresh eyeballs on your business that weren't there yesterday. If you want to grow your brand, you need video!
Plus, the one thing video has over photo's is the ability to transfer trust through the screen. Take two social media posts: one being a photo of a product and another being a quick 30-second video showcasing the product. Which post do you think is going to gain more trust from the audience? The answer is pretty obvious.
Relying on Stock Photos Instead of Real Content
This one drives me straight up the wall! Nothing screams "I want to sell you something" than a stock photo from the internet, a logo on top and some graphic text. This type of content is one of the fastest ways to kill engagement on social media. Why? Because social media is not a sales platform. It's social platform where people go to laugh, to learn, and to get away. People can smell inauthenticity from a million miles away and stock photos aren't helping your brand at all. Now that isn't to say you can't sell things on social media- you absolutely can, but when it comes to your organic social media content, you want to create your own content with your own people, your own equipment, and your projects. Authenticity is everything!
Making Every Post About Selling
Going down the "selling" rabbit hole a little more, if every post on your page is a hard sell you’re going to lose your audience. I fully understand the desire to make it that, trust me. I get it - you own a business and your business needs to make money. And if you're spending time on social media content, you want to see added dollars in the bank. I'll break your heart right now. If you expect to make a post today and see dollars tomorrow, you're going to be disappointed. Social media is about connection first, sales second.
The power in social media is the long term play where you build strong loyalty - that's the ace in the hole. The fact that you can build great content that customers attach themselves to so you have long time loyalty - that's where the power comes from. So instead of making every post a sales pitch, balance your content with education, entertainment, and engagement. Share helpful tips, industry insights, and a little humor. Feature your employees, customers, or community involvement to help build that sense of community in your local area.
So start making social media work for you.
Avoid these mistakes and start building content your audience relates to. Start incorporating video, use authentic photos of your work, and focus on storytelling rather than just selling. Social media is a long game, but with the right approach, it can become one of the most powerful tools in your marketing strategy.
