Social schmedia, is it really important?

I have a love-hate relationship with social media.

I don’t know about you, but not a day goes past when I don’t wish that it never existed.

Of course, I pretend that I have to be on social media because it’s part of my job.

But would I be on it if it wasn’t?

Of course I would. I’d only be lying to myself if I said I wasn’t.

There are some things I absolutely hate about social media. The biggest, is that it’s yet another way for people to contact you, which drives this perpetual myth that you must be in communication with people 100% of the time, and you must answer them the second you see their message.

Well… I say…. f**k that.

It’s important to have some time that’s just for you, and then follow it up with some time that’s just for your family. Nobody else, and certainly not technology.

We’ve begun to forget how to just be in one room, with the people in that room, and not be thinking (or focusing) on something else at the same time.

And honestly, that’s sad.

But on the flip-side, the modern world demands we need to use social media as a marketing platform if we’re going to sell any of our products.

The question is… is that true?

The truth is, from a marketing perspective, you…

Must use social media platforms that are right for your business.

It’s all about audiences.

You need to begin with your audience research, find out where they hang out, what they chat about, and what they buy.

If you’re not sure how to do it, then there’s a whole chapter in Business Ignition devoted to it.

https://michaelwilding.com/business-ignition

Once you know where your audience hangs out, you’ll know what social media platforms you should be using as part of your marketing efforts.

If you sell products to the younger generations, then Facebook probably isn’t the place to be anymore.

If you sell digital products, then Instagram probably isn’t for you. After all, it’s kinda difficult to keep making interesting photographs about digital products.

Here’s how I look at it…

If I’m spending a lot of time trying to work out how to create content for a social media platform, then I should be asking myself if I should be using the platform for that business at all.

Creating social media content isn’t easy, but don’t make your life harder by trying to make it for a platform that doesn’t align with your products or audience!

Michael