Do we need social media to grow our business?

Hey Remote Creatives!

Welcome back to another edition of The Remote Creatives newsletter! In this month's newsletter, I want to talk a little bit more about the use of social media platforms in 2024 and to generally check in about how to use them as remote creatives.

This newsletter topic came about for me...

...because I've recently been doing audits on my own brands and checking in for myself on how I'm feeling about social media in relation to those businesses. (I believe as a business owner it's important to do these mini audits every so often anyway.) Questions like:

• Am I still effectively able to communicate my message with my target community through these platforms? And do they produce strong leads for my business?
• Am I still seeing the results I want to see on these platforms? And do I actually enjoy posting on these platforms anymore?

I've been posting intentional and professional content on social media platforms since 2013, and I can tell you now that that last question, about enjoying what you post, is huge! Your community and audience can tell when you're not enjoying what you're creating, it's like a sixth sense.

And after a few experiments on Instagram plus some self-reflections in May and June, I had to admit to myself that I was no longer enjoying posting on this platform anymore. I love to create content, but I wasn't enjoying my personal experience with the platform.

So now what?

As I've mentioned in previous newsletters, I took some time to go back to my business goals and mission. Which for my three brands ( Han Meets World , The Remote Life and The Remote Creatives ) was always about meaningful conversation and connection and to overall empower people to live their (remote life) dreams. And for me, I don't feel like I can effectively do that on certain platforms anymore.

But as I know some of my target audience are still on some of these platforms, I won't be quitting them altogether. I'll be taking a step back from prioritising Instagram for my businesses and putting LinkedIn and YouTube above them (more details on this soon).

The websites are getting more attention from me at the moment because, despite Google updates, websites have and will be around for a long time. And I will continue to have remote lifestyle and business conversations on The Remote Life Podcast, so I can produce the highest quality content for the community.

This could look different for you though.

The key in 2024...

...is to take time to understand the audience you want to reach with your brand and business, which platforms will take you to them and where you actually enjoy posting content. For example, if you're more of a wordsmith then maybe Threads, Twitter and/or LinkedIn could be a better fit for you and your business.

But what if I don't like social media?

Trust me, I get it (yes, I said it, and me a few years ago would be shook-eth)!

While I do believe that content ought to be valuable and well thought through from the team side, I do also believe that platforms are trying to change things to keep us on the platforms. And so that can lead to frustration when content doesn't appear to be performing. And as I've mentioned before, unless you want to actively build an audience on a specific platform, we're building brands not chasing code.

And after a little bit of research myself, I'm actually curious to try a few strategies myself that don't involve social media and focus more on website search. Comment with a lightbulb, if you'd like me to share more about this!

There are of course some more 'traditional' options to market your business, and this will again depend on who you want to target - and to an extent whether you have a remote base or not. Things like ads in newspapers and magazines, on bus stops and billboards. These will of course need budget, but can still be effective for your business in 2024.

Final thoughts...

Ultimately, we've seen the creation and dissolution of platforms like MySpace and Vine, a couple of outages of Meta and TikTok being and becoming banned in certain countries. (Some platforms haven't actually been available in countries for a while). So I will always advise to have a space for your business that doesn't rely on social media, because it will always be 'rented' space and never completely ours.

Social media, in my opinion, was always meant to serve as a part of a funnel and/or add-on to our businesses where we could share some extra content or behind the scenes. And so as long as there is a quality product or service behind the social media accounts, I have never placed too much emphasis on 'building a following'.

And when it comes to marketing your brand and business, it's always important to do an audit (or just a general check in of things) every 3-6 months to make sure that you are seeing the ROI (Return On Investment) that you need. (If you'd like a consultation on this exact topic, and/or to work with me on this, send over a message here!)

What do you think?

Han

Ps. I am building a community for remote creatives to connect across the world! If you have WhatsApp, you can find it here!

Where else can I find Han, The Remote Life and The Remote Creatives:

• Han's LinkedIn & Instagram
• The Remote Life Podcast
• The Remote Creatives Instagram
• Shop Han's Content Creation On The Road list on Amazon

[Disclaimer: some links in this newsletter do contain affiliate links which means the author could earn some income from purchases made through them (this doesn't have an impact on the reader]