Do your social media efforts need an overhaul?

Have you ever driven past a billboard that would cause an accident if anyone actually read the whole thing? Or wished that a salesperson would stop blabbering about how perfect his or her product or service is? Worse yet, have you ever sat through a presentation that features a bunch of PowerPoint slides being read to you by the speaker?

The advertiser, salesperson and speaker all missed the opportunity to reach and influence their target audiences. Time and money were wasted. Productivity suffered.

The same pitfalls can hamper your social media messaging. It might be time for an extreme messaging makeover.

Here are five ways to achieve your social media extreme messaging makeover:

1. Focus on one big idea

We’re bombarded with messages from the time we wake up until we crash at the end of a long day. We can’t afford to spend more time processing information unless we are sure we need it. We remember creative messages that are memorable and make an emotional impact. We relate to them and they are focused on one main idea.

Think about ads or slogans that you probably couldn’t forget if you wanted to:

2. Tell your story by telling stories