The 9 Steps I’m Taking to Start Enjoying Social Media Again

I want to start enjoying social media again.

I’ve been pretty verbal lately about the level of exhaustion I was feeling about social media.

It was all starting to feel like too much.

• Too much noise
• Too much arguing
• To much posturing
• Too much negativity
• Too much effort for too little return
• Too much politics

I have no doubt that a lot of things were starting to feel like too much for people (too much lockdown). For multiple reasons, this was the first I had started feeling the effects of living through a pandemic and missing people.

I also know I’m fortunate to do what I do because this lifestyle didn’t hit me very hard (i.e, not much changed in my day-to-day). But we all have our breaking point, right?

I think my breaking point showed up through my annoyance and frustration with social media.

Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of things I don’t like about social media.

BUT… there are also plenty of things I LOVE about social media.

When I started online in 2008 I was brand new to social media (it was in its infancy). I’ve connected with some of my dearest friends through social media (and met in person as well… it’s how Jodi and I connected).

I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Which brought me to my personal epiphany about social media.

What if I chose to look at social media from a different perspective? ????

Because I’ve been on these platforms for 12+ years, I have a decent following on most channels (i.e., vanity metrics). While these weren’t called vanity metrics when I began on the different platforms, as organic reach has gone down, that’s pretty much what high follower counts are considered today.

Now, if you’re getting traffic and engagement from these followers?

That’s a completely different story.

There was a time when I was getting engagement and traffic. As much as I will always believe that creating and publishing on a platform you own (your website), I know there is still value in using social media.

This is essentially social media 2.0 for me.

Here are 10 ways I’m going to revamp my social media strategy

1. Pick the platforms I enjoy being on
   Novel idea, right? I spend most of my time on Facebook, enjoy Instagram, and am kind of feeling a pullback to Twitter. I’m going to ease my way in and manage my time, but this is where I’m having fun.
2. Look at analytics and traffic
   I’m going to look at both Google analytics and the individual data on each platform. I’ve never been a data nerd (in other words, I don’t enjoy looking at data), but you can’t improve what you don’t measure. I need to know where I’m restarting from.
3. Post natively to the platforms (in addition to creating social campaigns with tools like CoSchedule & Missingletter)
   Most social platforms now allow you to schedule your posts natively (without a 3rd party tool). I’ve heard that engagement and reach is higher doing this (which makes sense), so I’m going to test that and compare the native posts vs. the 3rd party posts.
4. Dedicate time for engagement
   There’s a difference between scrolling and engaging. Engaging is participating in the conversation, in my group and profiles as well as with other people. I need to be strategic about this so I don’t end up down a rabbit hole so I’m going to limit my time (maybe 30 min. at a time, twice a day).
5. Reboot the Content Creators Facebook Group
   What this means: get back into doing live streams, most posting, more video, more questions. There will also be more direct calls to action to subscribe and buy.
6. Evaluate monthly what’s working
   I look at my business regularly, but as I mentioned above, data isn’t on my top list of favorite things to look at. However, there’s no point in spending time on something that isn’t working and I need to look at the data to determine that.
7. Give it a solid 3 – 6 months to work
   Unless you’re paying for traffic, organic reach and effort take time. Period. I’m going to be patient and allow this a real opportunity to grow.
8. Stay open to different methodologies
   As much as there is a little bit of FOMO for me around Clubhouse, I just can’t wrap my head around it right now. This doesn’t mean I never will, but staying open to different methodologies doesn’t necessarily mean following the shiny object. It’s more like testing posting natively vs. a 3rd party tool.
9. Not take it so seriously
   ‘Nuff said.

It’s vitally important that we remember that social media is a tool. We get to choose how we use it, or we’re going to get used.

The fact that these platforms are free to use means we’re the product (to a certain extent).

I have no doubt we’re entering a new cycle for social media. The novelty of it all has worn off, these are huge companies now with shareholders and massive profits.

It’s become a part of our culture and how we live our lives. No matter what privacy regulations come down, whether it’s a law or Apple telling Facebook they’re limiting their tracking on the iOS, I don’t think we’re going to see the demise of social media any time soon.

It can still be a force of good as well as a positive channel to grow your business and create real relationships.