Right now, there are two kinds of social media users — the influencers and the wannabes. You and I might fall in the latter category (if not, please feel free to recommend my site to your followers :-P), and that’s okay, as long as you don’t act like a wannabe.
If you’re wondering what’s wrong with that, you’re not alone. Almost everyone would advise you to be “present” in the social networks because that’s how you will build authority. There’s value in that advice. The challenge is that for you to establish ‘street-cred,’ the expectation is to live online all the time or use fancy tools that ‘automate’ all the heavy lifting (posting or curating content) for you.
Here’s the worst part — the algorithms change every single week as the platforms are ever-evolving. And we don’t have enough time to catch up on all the updates, tweak our strategy every damn week, create content that the new algorithm likes, ‘engage’ with our audience, and successfully run and grow a business.
But isn’t that what you’re supposed to do as an entrepreneur or a solopreneur? Yes, you should. But no, you can’t play catch-up with technology firms whose number one plan is to make you dependent on their evolution and eventually start shelling out money for better ‘reach.’
I’m not suggesting anything’s wrong with these tech companies. They’re doing what they know the best — building a sustainable business for their customers—using the customer’s money. That’s why I think over-reliance on any platform at any level isn’t a recommended growth strategy.
There’s a solid reason why marketing gurus emphasise building a list. That’s where the money is. Yet, the same marketing gurus will ask you to spend an excessive amount of time on socials to building a “following.”
I think people are better served when they’re spending less but quality time on these platforms. That means creating content, engaging, and connecting with their audience daily. And you can achieve all of that within 60 or 90 minutes. Anything more gets in the way of you doing the work that pays your bills unless you’re a community manager for a company.
It’s a stupidly simple system — show up and do the work. And then you focus on your trade. We’re sold on the belief that more time equals more clients. That’s not correct and is helping these platforms become rich at the expense of your time and money.
If you’re hoping to increase your audience base or following these platforms, please know that their survival and progress depend on how often they change. The money is in the list and community you build outside of these platforms. How would you do that? By showing up every day, sharing something valuable, engaging with other people’s thoughts that resonate with you, and connecting with the kind of people you want to work with.
These are the fundamentals that will never change irrespective of how the platforms change. Yes, you can go fancy, but if you’re worried about your presence, influence, and paying your bills, now might not be a good time for that. As I’ve said before, this is the long game. Be patient.