It’s month two of your new social media strategy. After a burst of initial excitement, fanfare for your new initiatives seems to be tapering off. Your engagement is dipping, your reach is not quite the same, and your “likes” have fallen off a cliff. Sound familiar?

Some of this is normal, especially for Facebook and Twitter. There is always a fall-off after you first launch as things slip into a routine, and this is something that social media managers must plan for when launching new pages.

The problem is when that normal “coming down to Earth” turns into two months (or more!) of stagnation or even decline. When your pages don’t stabilize, or when they do, but they don’t rebound, you don’t just have normal decline, you have a much greater problem. In today’s blog, we explore that problem.

What am I referring to? I am referring to two crucial mistakes that organizations make when launching social media: they think a new communications strategy will a) fix all of their problems, and b) will cover for lack of organizational changes.

I have news for all of you out there: social media is a powerful tool, especially when used properly, but it will not correct for institutional issues. You can’t just create a Twitter account and expect your PR and communications problems disappear. A Facebook profile won’t correct for organizational issues, uninteresting products or events, or issues with your organization’s culture.

Remember, in order to change the perception about your organization, you have to change the actual structures causing that perception. Only then can you use social media to change the tone and conversation around your organization, or create a loyal brand community.

A Facebook (or Twitter/Instagram/Snapchat) is only as good as the organization it represents.