Break These Rules of Social Media

I've been working with social media since 2013. Needless to say this industry has tremendously grown and evolved. Over the years I, along with others have tried to master the art of using social media to get the results you want for your business and brand.

But what I also found over the years is that the more "rules" or "formulas" people have tried to put in place to make social media "work" for their business and brand, the more I realize no strategy is perfect or fail proof. Also, the more we try to make social marketing "formulaic" we start to loose the actual "social" in social media.

So, if you are like me and are willing to venture outside the box and get off the hamster wheel, then I would consider "breaking" the following "rules":

1. Post EVERYDAY to be consistent - Don't post unless you have something valuable to say to your audience. Social media isn't just about creating content to be seen. When you appear in people's feed, make sure your content gives them value. How many times have you come across a selfie or a "stock photo" and all the person does is give you some witty quote without true substance?

Also there are other ways to build consistency besides posting everyday. One of these is to pick specific days that you post. Maybe every Monday you post a new blog, or every Thursday your content is focused on a tutorial. There is some content that you can choose to post ONCE a month because it's valuable and your audience will look forward to that. You can also have content that you roll out seasonally and that builds consistency as well. Through picking certain days and being strategic about the content you share that helps build consistency.

And as a side note, don't forget you can use scheduling tools like Sprout Social, Buffer and Hootsuite to help post your content for you. I hope in 2020, we aren't still tiredly posting literally everyday, when you can schedule your posts out and then focus on creating future content. Consistency is about working smarter, not harder.

2. You HAVE to be on EVERY social media channel - Do yourself a favor and focus on mastering two social media platforms. Having three could be a stretch, but generally two is pretty solid. You don't have to be everywhere, you just need to be where your audience is. Trying to be on every social media channel will eventually run you ragged and produce less impact. Focus on building up your audience on two platforms and finding ways to build your engagement from there.

Again, most people think social media marketing is about just "getting seen", but beyond being seen, having engagement is what makes impact. By not being everywhere, this also helps you master consistency, along with being able to create more streamlined and valuable content for your audience.

3. The MORE FOLLOWERS I have, the MORE my business or brand will grow - Let me burst this bubble quickly. Carlos Gill taught me something I will NEVER forget. Big known brands like Walmart can have over two million followers, but when you actually scroll through their page, the amount of followers actually engaging with their content is usually about 50% or less. This means, even with a large following, there's still only a small percent of your followers that are truly engaged. I hardly believe that you'll ever see 100% engagement. But I do believe if you focus on engaging with the select few who are engaged, that will help build your audience. All you truly need is a core set of followers you can use to build trust with your brand or business.

It's almost the same principle the church uses when it comes to people paying tithe. While a church could have 1,000 members, probably only about 20% (rough estimate here) are actually paying tithe and carrying the weight of the church's finances.

The thing that actually makes your brand grow is giving valuable content and engaging with your audience. If someone leaves a comment, try to respond. If someone tags you, leave a friendly comment on their post. It's about building customer service and experience. People will usually buy a brand, product or service based on the customer experience they've had. Customer service makes all the difference.

Think about it, people rave over Chick Fil A because they have awesome service. Even with a long line, they have efficiently developed a system to still move things along and get you your food in a timely manner. Think about a brand you dislike, why is it? Most likely you've experienced bad customer service.

4. What I share on one platform should be shared on ALL my platforms - While there is truth to this, there is a fine line. It's about making sure the content fits the platform. If you have a Facebook page and a Twitter page, those two platforms operate differently. Just in the format alone. Facebook is great for images, videos and longer post. Twitter on the other hand; your text is limited, it's very fast paced and all about the most recent updates and information.

So, when you have a piece of content that you want to share on multiple platforms, I suggest you take the same piece of content but post it according to the platform and how it operates. Facebook isn't really big on using hashtags; but Twitter and Instagram are. I wouldn't post a long post on Twitter because of the limited word space. Your post would just get broken up and the tweets separately aren't as impactful or cohesive. Make your content work for you. If you're smart you can use one piece of content like a blog post and then produce at least 3 other smaller pieces of content to be shared on the various platforms. It will be the same message, just written to cater to how that particular platform operates. Ultimately it's about making sure your content is catered to your audience on that platform.

5. Post on PEAK DAYS and PEAK TIMES - With the great invention of platforms like Hootsuite and Sprout Social, there's no need to be racking your brain about peak times and days. If you wish to use the "formulaic" approach, then by all means continue and maybe that does work for you. I'm not knocking using automated tools at all. I love them and they save a lot of time! There are great benefits to scheduling some things automatically. But even in that, think smarter when creating content. You have the potential to create your own peak day and time. If you build an audience and have been posting business blogs every Tuesday at 8pm, that's when your audience will expect you to post if you've built that consistency and content with them over time.

On the other hand, if you're like me: I post whenever I have something of value to share. I don't care if it's Tuesday night at 8:45pm or Thursday morning at 7am. I don't always focus so much on when I post, but what I post. Also, people are ALWAYS on social media. You would be surprised. I've posted late at night before, past midnight and gotten great engagement on a post unexpectedly. I know this one can be a little tricky and subjective.

So what exactly is the point then?

Well, all of these elements work together. While they all have the potential to be subjective, if used strategically your business or brand could see success. Not necessarily million follower success or making thousands of dollars overnight; but having a consistent brand or business to where people develop a trust and start to buy your products or service. That creates a stable foundation to grow.

Think smarter when producing your content and actually make it work in your interest to add value and build engagement. There has never been a fail proof plan for social marketing. It's forever evolving. But in whatever you choose to post and however you choose to post, what matters most is adding value and engaging with your audience. If you can add value and engage with others, the rest will fall into place.