When I first start working with clients, they’re often convinced that they need to do a TON of social media posting. In this post, we’ll look at one scary idea they’ve been sold on that’s not true: that implementing the perfect social media schedule will get them the success they crave.
They’ve heard from “experts” that social media is the silver bullet to creating a business that works and that they need to:
- Post multiple times per day per channel
- Create long diatribes of copy to flood each of their Instagram posts
- Go live on video many times per week
- Pump fresh content in every single post
- Connect random daily photos or daily happenings directly to the service/services they offer
It’s simply not true. Even worse, it can hurt small businesses resulting in owners or employees burning out.
Beneath the surface of those “experts” is a business selling them on the busyness of social media. They’re being sold – some buying premade products or systems that fuel – the idea that they need to be running a machine of social media postings on a shoestring budget, often to match the social media of this “expert” selling them on social media!
It’s an ‘Inception’-Esque minefield of marketing that’s closer to snake oil than proven strategies to improve their businesses.
When we meet, we have a frank discussion along with some reflection on their specific goals. We often realize that they’re setting the bar far too high for their unique business and their ideal clients. And typically, that idea planted by the “experts” leaves them feeling that creating social media posts is an impossible task with a to-do list that never stops churning.
What You Can Do Instead
You can break free of this idea by taking an honest appraisal of:
- Where your ideal clients expect to see you online
- How often you’ll need to show up there to be helpful to them rather than to regularly stay in front of them (think of the annoying commercials that you see every time you watch a new video on YouTube)
- How much time you or your team have to dedicate to this one spoke of the marketing wheel that drives your business
Before you think of hiring out this step to a consultant or outside social media manager: don’t. You’ll know your ideal clients better than a new hire or a consultant, so use what you’ve learned about them in this exercise.
Once you’ve taken that honest appraisal, look at how everything lines up for your business, your ideal clients, and the time you have in your business. Then ask yourself: how do my previously set goals align with my answers? Are they off at all?
Take the time to honestly look at what you’ve found to see this spoke fits into the marketing wheel that drives your business.
