A decade ago, to have a comprehensive online presence you needed a website and a Facebook page. Maybe, if you were REALLY savvy, you had a Twitter profile.
Today, there are SEVEN major social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, (with Instagram technically being part of the Facebook Metaverse.) And then each platform has their own media, mediums, key demographics, hashtags policies, methods of messaging followers and those followed, and ad schedules and pricing. You can’t even use the same cover photos for any of your profiles because they’re each a different dimension.
No matter where you are in your social media marketing journey, there is no doubt about it, the world of social media is OVERWHELMING. That is before you even dive into the world of trying to understand “the algorithm”. This is the catch all term used to describe the code each platform has to assess the reach each post will achieve. They each have different rules about engagements, sharing, and reposting content. For example, did you know that in partnership with Google, if you post the same content to multiple streams on different social media platforms, you’re post will be punished and your reach diminished.
If, when you open your laptop or tap on an app, you feel a monstrous swell of dread, you are not alone. Client after client has told me stories about the writer’s block they feel when staring at a blank screen. So many have used the phrase, “I hate this”, in conversations about social media outreach. This typically happens because every time they create a post, they are starting from the Ground Up.
Ground Up Social Media is tiring. Every post is created independently, with no reference to other content, a theme, a target audience, a call to action, or a way to gauge effectiveness.
There’s been no key word research, hashtag research, no consideration of the time or day. Don’t get me wrong, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, including myself, has made a Ground Up post. You have a brilliant idea, you want to say thank you, you snap a great shot at an event and you piece something together and hope for the best. But if you want social media to be a part of your business marketing, and you want that marketing to help grow your business, Ground Up is not sustainable. Anything that isn’t sustainable will exhaust you, and that’s why someone like you might hate it.
The title of this post might have hinted that even if you hate social media, you can’t ignore it. The way I believe you can combat Ground Up fatigue is by having not one, but three different strategies.
First, you need a brand strategy. Who is your business’ target audience? That will determine which platform you need to focus energy on. What are your visual guidelines and your brand voice? This will craft and focus your style and themes. What are your sales goals for the year? Those can translate into your calls to action.
Second, you need a personal strategy. Please let me relieve you of the misconception that you HAVE to have content on EVERY social media platform. You don’t. Take stock of what time you have to commit to creating quality content. Then give yourself an honest review of what your strengths are. Are you a clever writer? Maybe Twitter is right for you. Are you an excellent photographer? Instagram and Pinterest are on deck. Are you comfortable on camera and ready to talk directly to your audience? TikTok and YouTube are ready and waiting.
With these first two strategies in place, you already have so much laid out for you. They are like bowling with bumpers – your ball will ALWAYS be in the lane on the way to a strike. This is why it’s only after you’ve evaluated your brand, and yourself, for strengths and opportunities will it be time to you move on to strategy three: your official social media strategy.
I believe that marketing doesn’t have to be complicated. If you can answer ONE question about your content, you’ll be able to move forward with a system of just tweaking their content instead of building it from the ground up. That ONE single, most important question is WHY? Why are you on social media? Why are you posting? Why should someone listen to you? Popular whys include:
- To provide customer service and answer questions
- To inform about our products and make sales
- To outreach to communities and build relationships with our stakeholders
- To make our company/office transparent and approachable to help hire new staff
- To research our competition
- or even staff morale.
The answer to YOUR why can be anything as long as it’s true.
With these three strategies in place, planning your next week, month, YEAR of content becomes easier. And that planning can dramatically increase the effectiveness of your social media efforts. Before long, you’ll be able to start tracking that effectiveness too. It doesn’t matter if you love it or hate it, you can simply and successfully leverage it to grow and do good in your business. Goal after goal, summit after summit, all achieved.
I’m so excited for your future success. I hope you’re excited too. This may be the point when you’re yelling at your screen that you still hate social media, because you run out of things to say. I know that the expectation that social media puts on all of us to be creative and unique constantly and consistently can be daunting. In those moments, I turn to Maya Angelou, “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use the more you have.”
Content will come to you but let me share some tips that might stretch content a little farther.
- Anytime you take a picture – take more. Save them for later.
- When a client gives you a testimonial, ask them if you can break it into three parts. One part of the quote is for your website, the second is for future print materials or advertising copy, and the third part you can use on social media.
- Use a holiday calendar. Groundhog Day, Donut Day, the Anniversary of the Invention of Ketchup, and Arbor Day can be great inspirations along side more traditional holidays and birthdays.
- Accept help. Open up a google doc or a drop box where your teammates and coworkers can submit quotes, pictures, anecdotes, and ideas for use down the road.
- Sometimes help can come from your customers and followers. When you see a really great comment on a post, once you respond to it in real time, make note of it as a starter for later.
- Don’t forget to strategically share. Make a list of your vendors, customers, neighbors, and community partners and plan on events and topics to share their content to your feed. ALWAYS share with a comment though.
If there comes a time when those tips aren’t enough, and that overwhelming feeling of dread and HATRED starts sneaking up on you again, remember that there is comfort in community. W2SMarketing will always welcome you to the Social Media Savvy Club. These are weekly live events where professionals from a plethora of business fields meet and discuss strategy and solutions and work on creating posts in real time. Topics can include:
- Creative Content
- SEO
- Hashtags
- Photo Editing
- Boosting Posts
- Promoting Events
The Social Media Savvy Club is a whole vibe for your success. For a mere $50 a month, you can take up residence in a community and fall in love (or like) again with social media. Read my testimonials and signup today at https://w2smarketing.com/savvyclub/.
