I’m going to be honest… and I may regret this one, but… I hate social media.
I like to keep my life, my life. To keep my stories for myself and my family and friends, my weekend escapades to those who know me, and who will enjoy the laugh because they have the context. I like my space… not myspace.
On a personal level, I truly hate socials.
Despite that, on a business level, I see the incredible value of socials; in fact, I’d go so far as to say I genuinely believe they are 100% essential for most brands and businesses.
The reason I share this very honest admission with you, is we have a lot of clients who feel the same way. Who aren’t active in their personal social media and have no interest in building a profile or sharing their lives, and because of that, they have also shied away from doing it for their brands.
In business — the vast majority of them at least — the option to steer clear of socials entirely is just not a luxury you have.
If you want to build awareness, without paying an arm or a leg or waiting a lifetime for it, there are critical channels you just have to invest in — website, SEO, content, email, and of course, socials, being some of the most important.
People find businesses in different ways and relate to them in different ways, so in order to reach and engage the most people, to become connected and memorable, you need to send your brand out there through various channels at the same time — consistently, regularly and compellingly.
Don’t worry, I get it.
I get wanting to be private, but facing the daily challenge of sharing enough of yourself, your team, your culture, so consumers and potential customers get what you’re all about.
I get the constant pressure to plaster your face on everything and the natural response to run a mile from that.
I get that socials demand more than just ‘sales stuff’ and even though you love having relationships with your clients, the idea of communicating with enmasse can be intimidating.
But, I promise, it doesn’t have to be that bad!
Here are some of our tips on making socials work, for the reluctant poster.
Have a purpose
You might have noticed that even though our social profiles and handles were ‘reserved’ several years ago, we didn’t really post regularly until this year. If you didn't notice... pretend we didn't say anything! ;)
Why did we do that? Because purpose is everything in any brand communication, and with limited time to focus on socials, I didn’t want us to fall into the habit of just posting about our services or selling in what we do, with no real purpose.
We work with amazing clients from businesses of all sizes — seriously, small, one-person shows right up to multi-nationals — and we learn so much from them, from their practices and what works for them, just as much as their challenges.
I wanted our purpose to be to share that. To try and make things easier for other people who are building and running businesses, by sharing experiences, lessons and tips that actually matter; that can make a difference.
Until we had time to sit down and do that properly, I didn’t want to waste anyone’s time.
Have a purpose beyond ‘selling stuff’ — socials are about building communities, and platforms generally don’t reward pages that just hawk their wares.
Think about what you know, what you have to offer, and lean into it. You might be sharing advice or guidance, you might be making followers’ days brighter with funny, quirky content, or your channel might be just an opportunity for your customers to talk to each other.
We can’t stress it enough. Have a genuine purpose, it makes everything easier.
Do it your way
While I won’t lie, content with people in it generally gets higher engagement, if, like me, having your face front and centre isn’t for you, don’t do it. And don’t make anyone else do it.
One of the first things I ask my clients is how they feel about building their own profile connected with their brand — putting themselves and their interests and achievements on display on their channels. If they say they aren’t comfortable, I don’t push it. I get it. We work around it and we find another way.
Chances are, there will be a few people in your business who don’t mind, or actually love being in the spotlight. Make them a star (especially if they’re with you for the long haul). If there’s no one, don’t fret, just get creative.
Do it properly
Socials is a big commitment, you need to post regularly, which means creating content regularly.
Don’t bite off more than you can chew. You don’t need to do every social platform, regardless of what others are doing or what they tell you. Work out your capacity — the time you have to give — and select the channels that match your audience needs that you have enough time to manage.
If you find you have spare time, sure, expand, but if time is limited, starting with one channel — the right channel — is fine.
Make a plan and a calendar
Making socials quick and easy means not forcing yourself to slave away trying to come up with content every single day.
Instead, start by making a content plan.
On paper, jot down your measurable content objectives, define your audiences, who they are, what channels they use and how often, what they are already reading and where, what their interests are. Look at content from your competitors and other watering holes to write down ideas. Determine your posting frequency and the purpose and tone of each channel. Get it all down.
Now every time you go to post, you have a rich source of inspo to draw from.
Next, each month, brainstorm with your team and create a calendar — literally draft the copy for a post for each channel, each day you plan to publish, design up the creative and get it all signed off.
Use your CRM if it has social media management (eg Hubspot) or the platforms themselves and schedule every post for next month in advance.
Next step… relax. Next month’s social media work is complete.
Make a commitment
This is a quick point, but an important one. Don’t start, unless you’ll keep going. Starting and stopping can look like a business that failed or doesn’t have time to focus on itself (we all know we don’t, but we have to pretend otherwise!).
Commit to planning and posting frequently!
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Here’s the thing, now you’re here, maybe you don’t like our socials. Maybe the posts aren’t particularly interesting to you — not advanced enough or too advanced.
But it is what it is; no pretence, no BS, just thoughts and information we share from experiences we’ve had — that’s what we have to give; and sharing insights that can hopefully help other businesses is our purpose.
What’s your social media purpose?
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