Keeping up with social media is a huge pain in the ass.
You’re just trying to run your business, which keeps you busy enough as it is, and the next thing you know your customers are barking at you about Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Pinterest.
You can barely pronounce these things, let alone understand their inner workings and how they can help your business. Trust me, you’re not alone.
Truth be told, I neglect social media for my own businesses a lot more than someone in my position should probably admit. Yeah, I’m using all the key players, and I certainly see their value, but keeping up with them every single day is not easy when you’re trying to, ya know, run your business.
I’ve found that business owners do one of three things when it comes to social media:
1. Ignore it.
2. Hire someone to run it for them.
3. Do it themselves, but do it really half-assed.
I’m a firm believer that doing your social media half-assed is better than not doing it at all. You may only update your Facebook page 4 times a year, but that’s 4 opportunities for your audience, or your prospective audience, to find you. To learn something about your business. To see that your business still exists.
There are some truly excellent social media marketing companies out there. But most of the time I find that hiring someone to handle your social media ends up falling flat…
A “social media expert” doesn’t know your business like you do, and why would they? No one knows your business better than you do.
There is no better person to handle your social media than you.
While it may seem complex and overwhelming, most social media platforms are extremely easy to use. They’re not built for people with an IT background – they’re built for everyday people and most platforms can be mastered in a matter of minutes.
There are one billion and one free YouTube tutorials going over how to use Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook for your business. You don’t need a personal social media coach.
The Bottom Line:
Don’t ignore social media.
Look, I get it. It’s time consuming, and it’s frustrating when you take the time to learn a platform only to have it replaced by the next trendy thing.
Social trends will come and go, but at the end of the day, you need to go where your audience goes.
P.s. it’s not lost on me that this blog doesn’t utilize social media. Should that change? Probably. My excuses? This isn’t a business, it’s a personal blog that’s mostly for my own amusement. But in the mean time I’m busy running social media accounts for a few different clients, as well as my own business endeavors: