Does Automating Your Social Media Seem Less Personal? The Truth May Surprise You…
I used to be in a lot of Facebook groups …to many, actually. Every group that had anything to do with entrepreneurship or marketing, I joined. It was completely overwhelming because I was led to believe that the only way to become successful is to post in each of those groups daily and try to reach my ideal client, a common misconception in the online environment.
I see it every day, posting on all theme days, commenting and promoting and hoping that something you say or post will gain you the attention and visibility so important to your business, only to get burned out. Imagine creating posts with (hopefully) attention grabbing images and headlines and posting in 20 groups a day, then going back and checking to see who engaged and answering questions or trying to create a rapport. That takes up so much time that there isn’t any space to do anything else unless you are working in your business 24/7. Exhausting.
Instead of working IN your business, you should be working ON your business but that’s easier said than done when you don’t know the difference.
I spent almost a year in the shadows watching what others were doing and how they were doing it and I noticed everyone automating their efforts with MeetEdgar, Buffer or Hootsuite and thought “Why would I want to work with this person when they can’t even take the time to manually create posts in their group and be there? How impersonal….”
Boy, was I wrong, and let me tell you why:
I had the preconceived notion that they were not invested at all. Involved, yes, but not invested in their audience. That using Buffer or MeetEdgar was the easy way out, killing that personal touch we all crave so much online, so that we feel like we matter and that someone cares. They can take time out of their day to show an intimate touch and make ME feel like they wanted me there, couldn’t they? Was that too much to ask?
Well, yes, it was too much to ask. Entrepreneurs are the hardest working group of people I’ve ever encountered, and honestly, I just recently started to feel like I belonged in this clique because I finally discovered the difference between working IN and ON my own business. That means scheduling posts and automating most of my social media activities as well, because who really wants to work around the clock? Who really looks forward to that inevitable mental and physical breakdown that’s on its way and unavoidable when we try to do everything ourselves?
Once I realized that even if I took one day to schedule all of my social media, it would take a while, because the truth is this: It really makes no difference if you automate your social media, because it all has to be created first anyway.
Those posts that populate my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram still need the images and copy created and those lead magnets? Just try to create that whole set up in 15 minutes, it’s just NOT going to happen. Whether I create all of my social media and list building activities on the fly or once a week, the same amount of work needs to be done and you can’t automate the creative process …no matter how awesome you think you are.
After I sat down and finally created a social media plan it hit me. THIS is why everyone automates and it’s always a personal touch when you create anything. BOOM. Major shift in my thinking pattern and another big one for my marketing plan. My original plan was to start on January 1st and blog weekly, show up daily and create 4 lead magnets a month ….all while working a full time job as a marketing manager. On my job, I have 8 or more hours a day to complete as much social media marketing as I want, but my business isn’t my job, it’s my world where I am the boss and I don’t have to answer to a time clock. That leaves me 16 hours (or less) a day to sleep, attend all of my daughter’s school concerts and athletic activities, make and eat dinner, do the grocery shopping, the laundry, take the fur babies to the vet, visit my mother in the nursing home, work on my business and hopefully catch American Horror Story once a week – and it’s nearly IMPOSSIBLE to accomplish in a 24 hour day.
You NEED to hire a VA.
You NEED to create a team.
You NEED to stop playing small.
You NEED to show up every day.
I’ve heard them all, but the truth of the matter is that I support my family with my 9-5 and when faced with buying new track shoes or all of the necessary things for my kids OR hiring someone to help me, which one do you think is more important? Isn’t the point of being your own boss that you create your own freedom?
Since there aren’t enough hours in the day, I’m automating my social media now with Buffer and IFTTT like a boss …and my creation process is always personal. I’ve seen the light.
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