hello!!! welcome back to Small Business Friday! today we are tackling a tough topic because it’s about to get personal. i’m about to share some stuff with you that might make you uneasy. that might challenge you to make some changes in how you interact online. we’ve become a culture obsessed with social media. numbers. followers. retweets. traffic sources. how many people follow us!! ready??
let’s begin.
peruse the next several images and quickly keep track of how many you have an active account on. meet me in a few seconds below the massive overwhelming mess…
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are you feeling overwhelmed? maybe just a smidge?
(yep, i know i am missing some. i got tired of browsing social media icons.)
with each new social media platform announcement, i cringe. i think, “one more thing to consume our already limited time.” new social media platform rarely replace something we already use — it’s something new. something innovative. shiny and attention-grabbing.
we all sign up, download the app, add it to our website’s social media row and then spend more time each week pushing our blog posts, our business products, our ideas, our stuff… to yet another place. building yet another network.
i get tired just thinking about it. don’t you?
if you desire more time in your days, stronger online relationships, a supportive network of followers and are do not want to chase the next platform that will likely unveil itself in the coming weeks…. read on!
quickly consider: what are you 2 favorite networks to be active on? are those networks the same place that you get the most website traffic? do you know the return on investment? do you feel uneasy trying to connect with so many people in so many places? have you found which networks you’re really great at? it certainly can’t be all of them.
here are 5 reasons for you to focus on 2 social media platforms.
be intentional with your time. when you are only supplying information to 2 networks versus 6 or 7 or 8 or 9… just imagine the time you’re going to have leftover. i tweet almost everyday. i share articles, stories, images, new blog posts, instant thoughts. i typically work 5 evenings a week once the kids head to bed and i hop on for about an hour – while in the middle of designing, emailing and writing new posts. i am also a daily pinner & typically less than 10 pins a day total.
grow your networks faster. how many people follow you on twitter? how many facebook fans do you have? what about google+? youtube? instagram? ack! an explosion of #’s that don’t mean anything if there’s not a supportive network. when i divide and conquer my time between just two networks i can focus on 2 sets of numbers and 2 monthly growth goals. i can be committed. i can put in the time and effort to grow those networks, grow them well and enjoy the successes because of it.
be the expert. algorithm changes on facebook caused a flurry of questions when they changed how pages interact with personal accounts. with a link? a link in the comments? with an uploaded image? without an image? how do i get my elected fans to actually see my posts? drilling into 2 networks will allow you to stay up to date with those networks.
build relationships. the more you’re present, the more you’ll connect. it’s true in both our real-life relationships and online connections. by frequenting the same 2 networks, you will begin to build a rapport. connecting with the same people on a daily or weekly basis puts you, your brand and your ideas in front of them. this is just plain smart.
have more fun. if you’re not having fun, why bother? the chore of connecting, tracking #’s and managing the changes on more than 2 platforms does not work for my life. as a stay at home momma to 2, a small business owner, founder here at FancyLittleThings, writer on my personal blog, guest author for other sites, website consultant, DIY author and so much more — i just want to enjoy all of my roles without the pressure to be awesome on so many social networks.
i could care less how many followers i have on Instagram, Google+, Facebook, or LinkedIn… i didn’t even care about the 2-day “Vine craze”. i might have accounts on several networks, but i rarely log in and very unlikely do i chime in or actively pursue connecting there. i find that the two networks i have chosen are enough for me. they send 1,000’s of visitors to my posts, my network trust me with their projects and for advice, i get several referrals each week for new business opportunities and feel confident in my present social media network situation.
are you confident? time to make some small changes or maybe some radical ones?
feel free to leave your questions below and i’ll respond to each one! i would love to help you transition from feeling overwhelmed by all of the networks that you “have” to participate in —- to being comfortable with 2.
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our last Small Business Friday i shared a post called “On Being an Entrepreneur” in which i shared 5 must have’s to find success in starting a business, working for yourself or creating something new! check it out if you have a few minutes!
© 2013, Aimee. All rights reserved. Love it? Please share, pin, tweet or email but do not use my work without permission.
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