Too many founders obsess about being on social media instead of spending time and energy on the more important aspects of their message --their story.
It's true that having a strong online presence is important for your brand; it helps build customer loyalty, and it can be your primary marketing strategy. But focusing on building a presence online is not as important as people think. It's not the key to growth.
A presence on every single platform, where you pump out content without curation or intent, does not get you anywhere.
You can spend hours and hours every single week laboring over Instagram posts and perfecting your image, but unless that is the core of your business, it's doubtful that your efforts will be rewarded. The cost/benefit equation no longer makes sense in a world full of noise, drowning out your content.
Having a social media account is a ubiquitous part of our culture. It's not just the kids who are hooked on it anymore. With so many people using social media platforms, and the culture that surrounds them, it's easy to get lost in the fast-paced world of likes and shares. But what is it all for?
If you don't have the right products and services, if you don't have the right message and story, there's no point in investing time and resources in your social media presence. A presence doesn't mean much without substance behind it.
First, you need to understand your customers and what motivates them. These things will make your business grow and last over the years. You need to know what they want. Your customers don't just want a product or service. They want an experience. If you don't focus on these basic aspects of your profile, your presence won't get you anywhere.
You need to keep any online presence relevant to your customers. When you don't keep up with your customers' needs, you'll find that your social media is irrelevant. They'll go elsewhere. If your business isn't growing, you need to ask yourself why. Are you spending enough time getting to know your audience as people? Are you doing the work?
Focus on building connections with your customers. Grow those connections into long-term relationships. Without seriously tying the right message to the right people, you run the risk of attracting too many different audiences and confusing your story. There's no way to draw attention to all of your customers at once.
One of the key things a founder can do to ensure that their approach to social and to content is enhancing their customers' online experience is to work on the basics. Doing more with less is a good way to work out what can be done to make your presence accessible and authentic. It's better to do one single platform well than it is to half-heartedly hold onto a presence on every network.
The way that you market your brand on Instagram or TikTok is just one part of growing an audience. It's not the only part, or the most important part. Don't get too focused on it at the expense of everything else. Keep the big picture in mind.