Navigating Social Media

Margarithe
Jun 3
4 min read

Social Media: My Love-Hate relationship

Can you remember when…

There was no social media? No Instagram, no Facebook, no TikTok, No Linkedin, no Whatsapp and, and, and... the list is endless? Life seemed to be simpler and easier and we had more time on our hands. Remember MySpace? Now that dates you (not age you as I really don’t want to ‘age’). I didn’t have a MySpace account as I thought it was pointless. No need. No relevance. I spoke to people on the phone, face-to-face, sent photos via email and life was good. And then… from the garage of a student, the world was catapulted into the Facebook arena. You could ‘like’ something; ‘poke’ a friend (not sure why); comment; post photos. Across the world, you were connected. Simple. But now adverts for unwanted items bombard the screen; friends' photos may appear; favourite groups have to be searched for; liked pages never appear and at the same time I’m reminded that life is ‘perfect’ for everyone else.

But, We Need Social Media (shock, horror and gasped flabber I hear)...

As professional business people, we live in the middle of a digital paradox: we need social media to build visibility, expand our networks, and grow our businesses—but some days, if you are like me, we’d rather do just about anything else. I was reluctantly pushed to use Instagram and my niece kindly asked, ‘Do you use hashtags?’ Panic! Whaaaaat? Suddenly I was given a lesson in hashtagging. It's complex as the wrong hashtag can cause untold worry. What I did know is that a (brave) new world was now open to me. Social media has become one of the most powerful tools in my business arsenal but it's also one of the most exhausting. It does, however, need to work for me, not against me. And that is equally true for you!

And the reason we love we love social media is because of its power!

When our social media is aligned with our business goals, it becomes an incredible asset regardless of the platform that we use - we all favour some platforms over others because they lend themselves to different purposes. Your brand visibility is increased as there is a direct engagement with your audience. We showcase our expertise, leadership and more importantly, who we are. Social media helps to drive potential clients to our websites and conversations then start. By looking at what others post, we can stay on top of new innovations, ideas and experiences in our respective industries.

Social media isn’t just a digital megaphone—it’s a credibility builder.

I have struggled with keeping up with my business social media. I’m pretty good (even if I say so myself) at creating content but the hours that I spend take beavering at it, takes me away from designing and ultimately delivering new workshops and, dare I say it, new clients. I always have to be creative; keep in mind that those blasted algorithms change and the reality that not everyone will appreciate what I have so beautifully created. So I took a bold step and enlisted Beth from The Cornish Content Co! The relief is palpable. I tell her what I want and/ or need and she creates. Beth is patient. Beth is kind. Beth puts up with my last minute decisions, changes and, ‘I can’t remember ifs….’ Everything is produced a month in advance so I can schedule posts. If I need a filler post, I can easily and quickly do that but more importantly, the stress and worry has gone. My month is planned. Even better, she knows how to put something together that is truly amazing.

My biggest fear and stumbling block is videoing myself but it is one that I am slowly overcoming, thanks to Beth. She told me in no uncertain terms that people need to see ME. They want to relate to ME. To get to know ME. So I listened and even though some of my self-portraits are not magnificent, I do them and she fixes them!

So why did I decide to get help? Help is not failure. For me it frees up my time to focus on the core of my business. - its values, objectives and do what I was born to do, work with people. My anxiety levels have decreased. It's a win for me and a win for Beth as I can support her in her business.

Some tips

Post consistently and that may mean start with one a week but stick to it!
Work on your content and soon you will have a feel for what works. That what I do and I don’t always get it right but it makes me aware of what needs to change.
As much as Beth wants me to get onto TikTok, I won't. I focus on three platforms i.e., Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Outsource if you can. At the beginning I felt as if I was giving away a part of myself but I got over it. Quickly!

But I am being sucked in, I hear you cry...

Don't be! That's your choice. Time is wasted because we look at other things rather than focus on the job at hand. Guilty as charged! How did I change that? I use a planner and I schedule! I block time in my day to sit and schedule my posts for the month in the two hour window set aside. Once done, I can forget about it and I’m always surprised when I see a post pop up on my phone that I had scheduled three weeks prior. Be intentional in your time and stick to it. I also repurpose my content i.e., I use the same content in different formats depending on the social media platform. It’s easy and ensures that everything is linked creating a joined up strategy.