I recently attended a networking event where I met a social media manager who was confused by her clients’ pure hatred of social media. Her clients felt overwhelmed and wanted to avoid social media like the plague, but the reality is business owners need social media in today’s marketplace. There is no way around this.
I’ve noticed the hatred of social media in many of my own coaching clients as well. While I don’t do social media management (I refer that out), the conversation of social media inevitably comes up when we’re discussing online business and branding.
Why Some People Have a Hatred of Social Media
From my experience, there seem to be a few common factors that contribute to some people’s hated of social media. Here are the most common issues I see:
- Confusion over conflicting information about how to use social media.
- Overwhelm over how quickly social media changes. This includes every time Facebook changes their algorithm or as we saw recently when Instagram launched it’s Stories feature. Social media moves pretty fast, and many feel intimidated by it.
- Fear of being criticized publicly on social media.
- Not understanding how social media adds to their bottom line because they can’t always see a direct impact.
- It’s too time-consuming.
How to Get Over Your Hatred of Social Media
I personally love social media. It not only helps me connect with friends and family, it also helps me market myself. While I always loved social media for the former, I have to admit that using social media for the latter was a bit difficult for me.
While I didn’t have a hatred of social media, it was difficult for me to use it for business. In fact, one of my biggest regrets in business is not paying attention to social media as a marketing tool sooner.
Here’s how I was able to get over it and learn to love social media for business:
- Understand my market. I spent a good two years diving deep into my own market research. In doing so, I was able to figure out what kind of content my audience wanted and how they consumer it. It also helped me figure out which social media channels I should pay attention to. For example, LinkedIn is lukewarm for me where as Instagram is on fire. That’s more than okay because my market spends a lot more time on IG.
- Automate social media. Social media can be extremely time-consuming, which means you’re taking time away from activities that could generate revenue much faster. That’s why it’s important to either outsource it or use tools that can help you automate it.
- See it as a game. I no longer get stressed whenever Facebook changes their algorithm or Instagram launches something new, I simply see it as a new plot twist in a never ending game. By seeing it as a game, I have more fun with it because I happen to like a good challenge.
- Stick to what you like. In addition to determining what your market likes, it’s also important to determine what you like. For example, I love using live video so I’m all over it.
It is possible to get over a hatred of social media so you can properly use it for your business. The key is to listen to your market, automate what you can and stick to what you like. If you’re able to do that you’ll be well on your way to being a social media superstar.
