Keep Your Online Expectations Real.
The Internet is filled with advice about how, what and when you should post on your social media feeds.
Pundits and the Internet Famous offer us a constant barrage of best practices notionally guaranteed to create engagement, raise profile, and sell products and services.
For example: post five to 10 times a week on your Facebook page (engaging, thought-provoking, interesting posts), five times a day to Twitter (clear, concise, pithy posts that include links, tags and hashtags), five to 10 times a week on Instagram (visually beautiful, branded, consistent and well-curated images along with eleven or so carefully chosen hashtags) and once a day on LinkedIn (professional, well-researched, and relevant to your industry) – and, oh yes, do use high-quality photography and short, creative video and don’t forget to blog and livestream.
I’m going to quibble with this advice.
While it is based on data and metrics that prove increased reach and engagement on various platforms, these recommendations create an avalanche of content (which should be carefully thought out, thematic, and create high value for your followers).
For a solopreneur or a small business, this kind of content creation and posting schedule is nearly impossible to achieve.
So what’s up with social media experts telling us to do the impossible?
While free advice abounds, it is generally the first step in a sales funnel.
The end of the funnel is you, purchasing an online course or webinar that reveals the secrets of making Internet magic. Many of these courses will give you valuable insight into creating perfect memes, making compelling video, or creating a killer content schedule. But most don’t let you in on their biggest secret.
Their big secret is that they are not doing it alone. They have teams. From writers, to graphic designers, to social media managers.
The most successful online gurus have a team of people working behind the scenes to build the digital brand.
The challenge for many small businesses is that we simply can’t afford to hire two or three additional staff to design and manage online profiles. These courses are useful and enlightening, but there is a risk that they are setting us up for failure.
If you are considering an online course by an expert offering you the shiny promise of teaching the secrets to their success, the best question you can ask them is: How many people does it take to generate that success?
Recently, a client of mine said that he wanted to be the next Gary Vaynerchuk.
Excellent, I said. Do you have a video crew to follow you around and document your every move?
Not to say he can’t get there, but first things first. Gary Vee is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO and co-founder of VaynerMedia, a full-service digital agency serving Fortune 500 companies. My guy has a welding business.
Your online footprint has to make sense.
Be selective. Get the information that is relevant to the size and scope of your business. Keep it real.
Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This article first appeared in the Maple Ridge News.
Pundits and the Internet Famous offer us a constant barrage of best practices notionally guaranteed to create engagement, raise profile, and sell products and services.
For example: post five to 10 times a week on your Facebook page (engaging, thought-provoking, interesting posts), five times a day to Twitter (clear, concise, pithy posts that include links, tags and hashtags), five to 10 times a week on Instagram (visually beautiful, branded, consistent and well-curated images along with eleven or so carefully chosen hashtags) and once a day on LinkedIn (professional, well-researched, and relevant to your industry) – and, oh yes, do use high-quality photography and short, creative video and don’t forget to blog and livestream.
I’m going to quibble with this advice.
While it is based on data and metrics that prove increased reach and engagement on various platforms, these recommendations create an avalanche of content (which should be carefully thought out, thematic, and create high value for your followers).
For a solopreneur or a small business, this kind of content creation and posting schedule is nearly impossible to achieve.
So what’s up with social media experts telling us to do the impossible?
While free advice abounds, it is generally the first step in a sales funnel.
The end of the funnel is you, purchasing an online course or webinar that reveals the secrets of making Internet magic. Many of these courses will give you valuable insight into creating perfect memes, making compelling video, or creating a killer content schedule. But most don’t let you in on their biggest secret.
Their big secret is that they are not doing it alone. They have teams. From writers, to graphic designers, to social media managers.
The most successful online gurus have a team of people working behind the scenes to build the digital brand.
The challenge for many small businesses is that we simply can’t afford to hire two or three additional staff to design and manage online profiles. These courses are useful and enlightening, but there is a risk that they are setting us up for failure.
If you are considering an online course by an expert offering you the shiny promise of teaching the secrets to their success, the best question you can ask them is: How many people does it take to generate that success?
Recently, a client of mine said that he wanted to be the next Gary Vaynerchuk.
Excellent, I said. Do you have a video crew to follow you around and document your every move?
Not to say he can’t get there, but first things first. Gary Vee is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO and co-founder of VaynerMedia, a full-service digital agency serving Fortune 500 companies. My guy has a welding business.
Your online footprint has to make sense.
Be selective. Get the information that is relevant to the size and scope of your business. Keep it real.
Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This article first appeared in the Maple Ridge News.
