As a photographer I create images for clients for their online social media and also for printing purposes. Of that a total of 70% if not all of these images go onto social media.
I run a photography business which means I use Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. For the moment I have just been focussing just on LinkedIn itself. LinkedIn of late has become the go to platform for business since Microsoft has taken over and formed an integral part for further development on the platform with their software.
If you are in business, it is not easy to ignore the endless marketing opportunities that you find on these different platforms. Unless you are a millionaire with many connections then you might not have to go this route. Where are you in this?
Social media fatigue is real and can lead to anxiety and depression when you spends so much time on it. All it comes down to is just to know how to manage it properly and you will find that you can actually enjoy it for what it’s meant to be used for.
When you manage your social media in the right way you will be able to avoid unnecessary stressors and able more productive. The last thing you need is to fall into a trap conversation that has no means to it and onto of that gets you angry and upset for the rest of the day.
Before I go onto the steps on managing your social media here are some interesting facts to take in:
- The internet has 54 billion users
- There are 725 billion active social media users
- On average, people have 6 social media accounts
- The average daily time spent on social is 142 minutes a day
- 91% of retail brands use 2 or more social media channels
- 81% of all small and medium businesses use some kind of social platform
- Social media users grew by 328 million between October 2018 and October 2019.
- That works out at 10 new social media users per second.
- Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp handle 60 billion messages a day
- When asked 81% of teenagers felt social media has a positive effect on their lives
- Another study found the effect of social media on teenagers was ‘trivial’
- A third from the Royal Society for Public Health found there were a range of negative and positive effects:
Know that you are aware of these stats we can see that it is vitally important for business, in fact a must especially when viruses take over and stops people from earning any money.
All that is left for us to do is to learn understand and manage it and it won’t over run you affecting your health.
The tools are available on every platform so that you, the user can be in charge and in control of your pages and life.
Here are the 6 steps to help with your social media mass and make it manageable:
- Know when to stay away.
If you can manage your social media time by yourself then well done, you have done what many cannot achieve. But if you are like me that fall into the deep hole of the “scrolling newsfeed” then there are ways to actively stop this.
This will save you many hours of unnecessary scrolling, it’s called the “Facebook Eradicator” and it is an extension app. Download it via Google Chrome. Go to the Chrome Store and download the extension. Then on your FB page go to manage newsfeeds, you’ll see that’s where you can switch it on and off.
- Be Selective
Select your channel and stick to it, if you can manage 2 then great. Focussing our energies on one or maybe two can ease off the pressure and reduce the feeling of dread and overwhelm.
If you are unsure of which platform to use then do some research first to see where your clients or customers are spending their time.
- Less is more
Focus on the quality rather than quantity of your posts.
Is a 10000 likes going to bring you business and support you or will 20 valued clients?
A small curated group of friends or partners would ensure that the feed is free of things that might cause envy, competitiveness, and depression, and you will only see things in your feed that gives pleasure every day.
- Be Creative
Focus on creating things and products rather than you being the one reading everyones posts. If you are creating something put your phone on a tripod, record and tell your own story. Those that feel they get value from your posts are the ones that will value you in the end.
- Be Authentic
The things we see and read is only but a glimpse of that person so the next time you want to judge just know that it will be a very inaccurate one and only be wasting your time.
Try be yourself more on social media. It doesn’t come naturally but if you have a product or a service that is authentic and you then it will reflect your values. When you are genuine and true it can ease off any pressures that we might be putting on ourselves.
Like YouTube’s co-founder and former CEO Chad Hurley said “Set your own path and block out the other stuff.” And each to their own. Everyone is different and brings different character so we don’t need to feel like we’re in a constant race.
Find a way that works for you.
- Focus on Your Business.
Every time you feel distracted then just say to yourself are you focussing on your business? Well done for taking the step of overcoming your social media fears, already you have set the path to move forward and become a successful business entrepreneur.
