How do you feel about social media in your business?
Free resources to move your business away from social media
Have you noticed too how many small business owners are talking about spending less time on social media? Over the past year I've been really excited about these conversations. Something is changing about how we show up in our businesses, and I’m loving it.
My clients tell me that they are burnt-out, overwhelmed and tired of spending time on social media. Business owners share their confusion about marketing their business on social media, and how it seems to them that growing your business on social media isn't as easy as it used to be.
Changing the role of social media in my business
I've always struggled with the fact that social media such as Instagram rewards us to be 'always on'. And while I met many lovely people on Instagram, the balance of positive versus negative effects became skewed for me.
Other things started to niggle. The increasing emphasis on video on Instagram. The fact that for so long it was hard to link to your own website on Instagram, especially if you have a small account. And I downright hate that addictive feeling of wanting to reach for my phone to see if anything's new.
It's no one's fault that my relationship with social media, in particular Instagram, is the way it is. Instagram is a business that wants to make money, and there's nothing wrong with it (I want to make money with my business too). Thousands of developers work to have us stay on the app which, again, is just part of Instagram being a business. But we have a choice whether or not we want to participate in this.
I know that there's many people out there who love Instagram. If that's you, I'm happy for you! But if you're one of the dozens of people I've spoken to over the past year who want to radically deprioritize social media in their business, this post is for you.
Moving your business away from social media
I've done quite a bit of work on social media over the past year, from doing my own experiments, to the social media guide for small business owners. Now I'm ready to launch a new (free!) thing.
Over the course of four weeks, I'll help you deprioritize social media in your business and cultivate other marketing channels that better fit your life, business, strengths and energy levels.
Who is it for?
Anyone who is unhappy with the amount of time and energy they're spending marketing their business on social media. Whether you want to simply spend less time on it, or radically quit social media, this email series will support you.
A lot of the time, people who talk about quitting social media already have a large newsletter, podcast or other community off social media. I'll show you that it doesn't have to be like that at all. Even if you are just starting out with your business, don't have a huge newsletter following (my number when I launched the email challenge was 136) or audience elsewhere, you can deprioritize social media. The trick is merely to not just take social media out--as many people do--but to intentionally cultivate other channels.
Will I still make money without social media?
Yes, you will. We've become so conditioned to think of social media as the only way to market a business that we forget that there are other ways. And that there are tons of people doing it differently. And importantly, do you really want to create and run a business in which a fundamental part drains you? Do you really want to dread posting on social media every week? Do you really want to spend energy on something that is making you feel burnt-out, not-enough, icky or overwhelmed? It is your business, and you can get to set your rules.
What does the series consist of?
The email series consists of 4 emails over the course of 4 weeks. I've deliberately chosen to spread this out over 4 weeks instead of 4 days to give you time to make changes. Shifting your marketing strategy (which is essentially what you'll be doing) takes time. Every week I'll send you a brief email with tips, strategies and experiments to try out. This will probably take you about 30 minutes to an hour a week.
week 1: current place of social media in your business/marketing strategy
week 2: options to decrease the time and energy you spend on social media
week 3: alternatives to social media
week 4: make a plan
When is it taking place?
This is an evergreen series, so you can sign up whenever you’re ready.
Going for an evergreen option fits in with one of my main marketing channels, Pinterest, which is a great channel to use for evergreen marketing as pins don't age as posts on Instagram and Facebook do.
Why are you doing this?
This email series will not lead to a course, or a special offer in the end. There is no upsell, although I will include ways of developing this work further in my emails, primarily through 1:1 mentoring. There are two main reasons that I've created this email series:
I love this topic. I love thinking and talking about something that so many of us take for granted (in this case, social media) and then think outside the box. I know that there is a need for this, and I've experienced the benefits from deprioritizing social media in my business myself. I love creating materials and content--and, if I might say so, I'm good at it. I know that this email series will be valuable. You are my people, and I'm excited to share this with you.
My main focus in 2022 is to book more 1:1 clients. I honestly believe that the email series is a complete product, that on it's own will help you deprioritize social media in your business. I also hope, however, that some of you will want to go deeper in this topic, either through a 1-hour call + 30-minute follow-up, or over a period of time through a package of calls.
Are you ready to join the revolution?
Take a moment to think or journal about these questions:
What has social media brought you? You might think of making new friends, making sales (be honest about how often!), or anything else.
How do you currently feel about social media in your business? How do you feel about creating content and posting? How does spending time on the app(s) make you feel?
At which moments in the day or week is spending time on social media a habit rather than an intentional or conscious choice? How do you feel about this?
How do you feel about social media in your business? What do you use it for, and are you happy with the results? If not, what would you rather do? Share in the comments, I’d love to know!
