How Stepping Back from Social Media Improved My Business

A guest post by Erin Shebish

“Social media can make or break your business!”

Seriously. How many times have you heard this? As a business owner, it’s pretty likely that you’ve researched social media and the key role it plays in growing your business. And chances are, you’re reading so much about what to do that it can feel overwhelming.

I hear that, my friend.

But here’s the thing. Social media is important and it can make or break your business but it’s not what it’s often made out to be.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve noticed that social media can feel like a huge undertaking. There are about 400 places you’re supposed to have a presence, you need post a million times a day, keep it relevant, stay engaged, connect with others and be authentic. And there are rules for everything. Everything. Between the right times to post, whether you should schedule or not and how much promotion is too much, it’s a lot to balance.

In fact, it’s so much to balance that I’ve heard people say that it’s taking up all of their time. Ahem. By some people, I mean me. I’ve said this. Multiple times in my past. Because I too wanted to make the right social impression to attract the right type of people to build the right kind of business.

Which meant that a good 97% of my work time was literally social media. Posting on social networks, responding to comments, looking for others to interact with, even starting my own social media group. And then at the end of the day, I’d be scrambling to get actual work done and wondered where all of my time had gone.

It wasn’t until I sat down and looked at my time management that I realized all of my time was going to social media. Can I tell you how frustrated I was with that? How was I supposed to build a business if the only thing I had time for was social media? I was putting so much energy into it and not seeing any real results because I wasn’t able to move forward due to my lack of real work time.

It was tempting to throw in the towel.

But I’m stubborn and said to heck with the rules! I was ready to try something new. I was going to do what others said couldn’t be done.

I was going to step back from social media.

And once I did, my business exploded. Because I finally had time to create the products and services that my audience needed.

I know what you’re thinking. How? How can stepping away make your business grow? And how do you step away from it without losing the followers that you already have?

Decide what platforms work best for you.

You know that rule that says you need to be everywhere and be active and present and engaging and all that nonsense? Forget it.

There are so many social media platforms that it’s truly impossible to be engaged on every single one. And truthfully? Your audience isn’t on all of them. I don’t care what market you’re in, there is absolutely no way that your market is on every single platform.

So find out where your market is the most and make those your places. Learn how those platforms work and be consistent about building a following there.

Schedule Your Content.

Let’s bust another myth, shall we? Everyone says live posting is the best type of posting. And that may be true. Ish. But you know what’s better than live posting? Consistent posting. Which isn’t always possible when you stick to only live posting.

Instead, start scheduling your social media content out. You can do this easily by sitting down for 30 minutes with a scheduling tool like Buffer or Hootsuite. Both of those tools will allow you to schedule across multiple platforms, saving you time and energy. Not to mention the browser extensions available that will let you add content to your social media queue from anywhere on the web.

Schedule time to engage.

Engaging with others can be hugely time consuming. But it’s an important task. Instead of responding to comments as you receive them, schedule a certain amount of time per day to responding. I recommend 15-20 minutes at the end of each work day.

People don’t mind waiting for a response, they’re just happy to get one!

Don’t mindless scroll.

Here’s the real reason why your business will benefit from stepping away from social media. One of things that we’re often guilty of when working within social media is the mindless scroll. You know, that moment when you get online to respond to one comment and then you end up mindlessly browsing Facebook because you got distracted by a conversation in a group you’re in? It happens. But it’s a time killer. And time is precious in the realm of online entrepreneurship.

Give yourself a set amount of time to browse social media and then shut it down. Take the time that you have left to work to devote to actual work.

Product creation, marketing strategies, learning new skills… you name it. Devote your time to the things that your business really revolve around.

You know… your business.

Social media is important, my friends, but in order to achieve real growth, you have to make sure it’s not the focal point of your business. It’s simply a tool to help you, not the axis in which your success turns.

Have you found yourself feeling overwhelmed with social media? Like there aren’t enough hours in the day? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear your story!

 

 

About the Guest Author: Erin Shebish