Social Media Is Not a Race
This page may contain links to Amazon.com or other sites from which I may receive commission on purchases you make after clicking on such links. Read my full Disclosure Policy
Social media has changed a lot since the early days. Some platforms have disappeared, new ones have emerged, and the ways we use them have evolved. But when it comes down to it, it’s still about sharing useful content and getting your name in front of your target audience. For that reason, I’m republishing a guest post by Kerry Rego, whom I met on social media over 14 years ago. A former professional organizer, Kerry runs her own consulting business, through which she offers social media and technology training. She’s got some great social media tips here for all of us!
I taught a session at the NAPO-SFBA Regional conference in the fall of 2010. I spoke to a fellow organizer about a problem she was having with social media. She had recently started her business and had created a website she really liked. Her problem was she’d signed up for every social media tool she’d ever heard of and then placed the link or widget on her main site. Yet, she didn’t have any content when people clicked through because she was so new.
This is what I told her: Keep all those accounts but remove the widgets and their obvious presence from public view. Then pick just one tool. Facebook, LinkedIn, blogging, YouTube, whatever you want to start with. Hang out there. Learn the culture, the lingo, get a feel for it. Observe what others do and how you respond as a viewer/consumer. When you feel like you have a good grasp of the way it functions and the purpose that it serves, evaluate whether or not it’s the right tool for whom you want to reach. Then do it again with a tool that you think serves an audience, or function, that you aren’t already achieving.
When deciding which channels are right for you and your brand, don’t forget to ask “Who is my audience? Who is my client?” Age, sex, profession, income level, secondary interests, geography, climate. There are many ways you can market your services based on these few categories. Each platform is different in demographics and usage. Learn about them before signing up to use them. If you pick a tool just because YOU like it, it might not be the right one to help you achieve your goals.
After awhile you’ve added a few new social media channels to your arsenal. You’ve been writing on your blog, you’ve set up (and are using!) your Facebook page, and have a YouTube channel with some videos uploaded. As you work and learn each avenue, you are adding content over time. Social media is about your brand and message, expressing your professional opinion, building trusting relationships through communication, and is the new source for customer service. I always say it’s like getting a six pack. You can’t expect to have ripped abs in a week or six weeks of going to the gym. In six months you should be nicely toned. This is not a sprint to the finish line. Master walking before you start running.
More reels, fewer tech headaches.
If you’re spending your energy on social media, don’t let website maintenance slow you down. My Website Care Plans keep things running smoothly so you can stay in the spotlight. Check them out.
I’d like to thank Kerry for taking the time to share these tips with us.
If you’d like to be a guest blogger for Your Organizing Business, please drop me a line!
Did you find this post helpful?
Sign up to get new posts by email every week!
Don't keep it to yourself! Share this post with your network.
I recommend...
Thanks, Janet, for posting my blog! I love crossing the two fields of organization and technology.
That’s one of the best parts of running your own business – you don’t have to fit yourself into a pre-written job description. Instead, you can choose the things you most enjoy doing, and find a way to make them work together!
These are great questions to ask before signing up for all these social media platforms. Over the years, my clients have restricted themselves to 2 to 3 platforms that work for them. Thanks for sharing!
Two to three seems like a reasonable number to manage. If you try to do more, you’re going to end up taking shortcuts, like posting the exact same thing everywhere, whether it’s a good fit for the platform or not, and that’s not going to lead to engagement.
The whole social media thing is a giant topic that seems to be getting larger by the day. The algorithms change, the desired medium shifts, the audience exposure gets squished – it is a lot. When I started, I felt like this was a fun way for me to connect with my audience. While I still feel this way, I also realize that managing social media is now a job in itself. Most companies hire someone to do this. I’ve noticed the shift. I guess it is efficient, but you can tell when you are talking to a hired hand.
I completely agree that you shouldn’t feel the pressure to do them all. They do each have a flavor, and it is wise to sort of figure out what you enjoy. It will come through if you aren’t enjoying it.
Changes are challenging to keep up with! What I find especially annoying is Instagram’s shift from square images to 5:4 portrait images. It’s not a big deal to do something new going forward, but countless people have spent countless hours creating square images specifically for Instagram, and now they’re all cropped. Rant over.
This is such solid advice. There are even more platforms than there were in 2010 and even those are constantly evolving.
I’m at a bit of a crossroads. Some of the platforms I used to like, I don’t anymore. In general, the platforms feel flooded with adds. In addition, videos are more common than still images. It’s all a lot of noise.
Yet as a solopreneur, I can’t ignore the platforms either.
I agree, 100%.
Good advice. I have several social media channels. Sometimes, I wonder why I have some of them. I only get business from Facebook, but I agree that you need to have a presence on each of them.
I bit the bullet and deleted some of mine earlier this year, targetting those I didn’t enjoy using and that weren’t serving me in any way.
In addition to keeping track of which social media accounts bring in business, I recommend looking at your website traffic sources. Knowing which channels drive traffic and bring people into your funnel is just as important as knowing which help you land clients. If a social account isn’t making you money or bringing people to your website, it’s low on your priority list and can be eliminated.
This advice is as valid (if not more so) today than it was 14 years ago. The people who use specific social media platforms, and the algorithms of the platforms themselves, are completely different. On Facebook, you’re getting Boomers and the Silent Generation, and they’re looking for quick, pleasant diversions and some good advice. BlueSky (and every other copycat of the former Twitter) spans the age and gender gamut but is looking to make you laugh, make you angry enough to act, or push you to click for more information. LinkedIn is for the “grownups” — nothing tacky, nothing to silly, and 95% professional with just a modicum of personal branding. Everything old is new again over at Tumblr where GenZ is picking up what the Millennials long abandoned, and Insta is where the Millennials went (and are struggling, as GenX does everywhere else) to feel relevant.
No wonder it’s so hard. You need different content and a different “voice” for each of these places, but you still have to stick to some semblance of your brand. This is why Kerry’s advice is so important; rather than being all things to all people, her advice to ask ““Who is my audience? Who is my client?” Age, sex, profession, income level, secondary interests, geography, climate.” means that you can/should/must select the social media that resonates with the people you’re trying to reach. You could have the biggest audience but on the wrong platform, and it would all be for naught!
Now, as it was then, slow and steady really does win the (not-a) race!
I stopped using LinkedIn for a while, but I noticed that some of my clients and other contacts were using it regularly – and well. That motivated me to start using it again, and it seems to be paying off. It really helps to figure out where your audience is and how you can fit into that particular platform. And focusing on one makes it easier to do it right!
Every single time a new channel comes out (or grows in it’s zeitgeist presence like Bluesky) I ask the questions “Who is my client? Where are they on the web?” It helps me when I feel like I’m not measuring up to others on Instagram or a similar channel. It’s not where my clients hang out and it’s definitely not where I get business. Keep grounding yourself in your goals and it helps you stay focused.