154. Hate posting on social media? Let's talk about it

Do you hate social media? But feel like you have to post for your business?

In this episode I offer a different perspective on social media, explain how it can skyrocket your business and share my top three strategies to remain in control of social media use.

Transcript

Hello welcome back to That Voice Podcast.

Welcome if you are here for the first time.

Maybe you were attracted by the title of this episode.

You’re like yep I hate social media.

If I didn’t have a business I wouldn’t be on it.

I feel like I HAVE to be on there to promote my business.

I don’t like the mindless scrolling.

All the crap that’s on there.

All the ads.

The way it’s screwing with the mental health of our kids.

I just compare myself and feel bad when I’m scrolling.

It’s such a time waster.

Such an energy suck.

People are mean on there. They take what you say out of context.

Why do people need to show their whole life on there? Isn’t anything private?

The way governments and big corporations are using social media to brainwash us and mine our data, breach our privacy.

And the whole social media thing, gives me a bad vibe.

Is this you?

Ironically DM me on social media - @sallyprosservoice if I have hit the nail on the head here.

I’ve had people say all these things to me.

And of course, it’s going to be quite challenging to show up as your best self on social media, when you have these thoughts and beliefs going on.

So in this episode I want to open the conversation about this.

I’m not going to say throw your phone out the window and go and live off grid.

If that’s what you want to do, awesome! If you’ve made that decision it’s unlikely you’d be listening to this episode.

What I do want to do is offer you a different perspective on how you see social media.

Explain how social media can help you create the business of your dreams.

I want to share three strategies I use to make sure I remain in control of my relationship with social media and it doesn’t control me.

If you’re a business owner tuning in from the UK, and you want to feel not just great about posting on social media, but you want to post engaging, confident content that brings across your personality, then come to my Speak up for your business workshop – May 10, Soho House – you can join online as well if you can’t make it in-person. I’ll be guiding you through how you can tell your story confidently online and onstage and build a community you love and have the impact you want to have with your business. The link is in the show notes or DM me @sallyprosservoice. It is absolute last call to secure your spot and this is the perfect opportunity to rewrite your relationship with social media and reach your audience in a big way.

Social media has a dark side, absolutely.

However it also has a light side.

There is so much good that comes from social media.

I’ve met some of my best friends online, I found a community online and almost daily I get messages from people who say my content has really helped them.

I was TikToking so much during lockdown in 2020, having fun with it, experimenting.

And one morning I was sifting through my inbox on TikTOk and I saw a message from a young boy who lived in a little village in the UK, and she said, thank you so much for all your videos, I’ve been watching them on repeat and I got a really good mark for my speech at school. I couldn’t have done it without you.

I felt so humbled and floored. That I could have that kind of impact on someone so far away and so far out of my regular demographic.

And this is the big reframe to make about social media.

It is not a big bad thing to dread. It’s a big opportunity to serve.

I’m going to make the assumption that you have a message you want to share.

Something of value to get out into the world.

It might be a product, it might be a service, it might be an idea.

This thing you have is going to make the world a better place.

You’re heart-led, soul-driven coming from the right place.

Of course there are money-hungry people with the values more twisted than a curly-wurly out there being predatory online.

You not being on there, is not going to stop that.

You being on there, however, can help you get your value into the world.

It’s like dirt in a jar of water. Taking the water out is not going to remove the dirt, but adding more water in is going to dilute the dirt. So by posting conscious positive helpful content you are contributing to the health of our social media environment.

It’s that opportunity to serve. So that’s the first reframe. Social media is an opportunity to serve.

Next, it’s a damn good channel to grow your audience, be grateful we live in a time it exists.

We are so lucky to be around at a time when this technology exists.

Wifi was only invented in 1997.

Take a moment to be grateful. You can pick up your phone, hit a few buttons and reach people world wide, largely for free. If you’ve got the actual phone and the wifi connection, you’re set.

Not that long ago, businesses needed to pay for TV, radio and newpaper advertising. It was expensive and out of reach for most small businesses.

If we were living in the 1600’s you might be able to get the town crier to talk about your message. If you weren’t a rich influential man, there’d probably be no chance.

You could attach your message to a homing pigeon.

Now I’m not saying social media is the only channel to reach your audience. That’s not true. And as a business owner you have a choice on what channels you use to reach your audience.

You can do letterbox drops, you can put up a flyer at the local library, you can attend networking events, you can make cold calls, you can run webinars, you can hold your own events, you can start a podcast .. though you’d need to think about how you let people know these events are on or that a new podcast is out.

When you look at all the channels to reach your audience and grow your audience. Social media is a pretty great option. The algorithms help us reach people who care about what we do, we can stay in our own homes to make the content and our audience is in the comfort of their own home to see our content. You can have that far reaching impact, getting your message into the minds of people who need to hear it. In a way that suits them. You’re not shoving yourself in people faces. You’re not like a charity mugger forcing the can in the faces of people walking past going about their day. People get to choose what they watch, when they scroll, what they engage with and when they delete.

If you’re wanting to get attention on your business.

Make impact with your product, your service, your idea and you’re not using social media or using it very sparingly. It’s like you’re in dark room flicking a tiny lighter. Hello I’m here. And right next to you is an industrial strength torch or flashlight and all you need to do is pick it up and turn it on and like moths to a flame, your ideal audience will see your light.

If you’ve ever had anyone say Oh I’m so glad I found you. That is proof right there that more people are looking and if they can’t see you you can’t help them.

Pick up the torch. Show them where you are.

Is this shifting your perspective on social media?

Remember perception is projection. You create your reality. You get to choose how you see everything, including social media. You get to decide if it’s a friend or a foe. And choosing to see social media as the enemy may not be helping you see the growth you want to see in your business.

You can choose to see social media as

-         An opportunity to serve

-         An amazing channel to be grateful for

-         A way to reach your audience where they are

And especially if you work in the healing space. People who are in dark place. They’re not out at networking events or googling you, they’re in their homes on their phones, hoping they’ll find answers in their scroll and how amazing for them to see your face and hear your voice and get your medicine.

Pick up the torch.

I know this might sound like I’m hashtag sponsored by social media or something.

It’s just that social media has been so great for my business.

Currently I’m on TikTok, with a community of around 340 thousand and I’ve had multiple videos go viral.

Around 11 thousand on LinkedIn.

5 thousand on Instagram.

I’m on Twitter, You Tube, Pinterest and Facebook.

And I pretty much post content every single day on all those platforms. Disclaimer you do not need to post that often. Content creation is something I enjoy.

Sure. I’ve had things go viral for the wrong reasons and received a lot of hate, but to be honest I’m so grateful for all of that. The side effect of using social media is it helps you work through a whole lot of limiting beliefs and blocks you have.

All that hate helped me move part people-pleasing and love myself more.

Posting consistently and making mistakes helped me kick perfectionism to the curb.

So this is another question I have for you.

Be real here.

Do you hate social media?

Or are you directing your negativity at the platform, because it’s a diversion from looking within yourself.

Are you afraid of being seen? Being heard? Being judged? Feel like you don’t deserve to be on social media? Like who are you to take up space, waste someone’s time?

It’s more comfortable to hate on social media than it is to admit to yourself that you’re hiding in the shadows because you’re either afraid of your light, or don’t know how to step into it.

If this is you, I would encourage you to do the work. Rewrite your story. Work with a coach. I’m here if you want to chat. Because doing the work in one area of your life reaps rewards across all areas of your life.

And we love finding reasons to keep our air-quote problems. And I wonder if hating on social media is the way you’re hanging onto your problems. Maybe.

So apart from helping me clear some blocks, social media is the reason I’ve grown my business to multiple six figures spending next to nothing on ads. Every day I get enquiries through social media and often I hear people say they’ve been following me for years. So it is the long game. People are watching. And maybe you’re someone listening to this episode who’s been following me online, never engaged with my content, never messaged me, but one you’ll have a speech to give or decide you’re sick of these fears around speaking holding you back and you’ll message me and sign up on the spot. It happens all the time.

So using social media is great for growing your business and advancing your personal development.

Especially if you can be clear on where your audience hangs out.

So with all this talk of how great social media is.

It is essential it doesn’t overtake your life.

That you hold your boundaries. That you control it, it doesn’t control you.

And this is something I’ve had to work on.

The last thing I look at at night is my phone and the first thing I look at in the morning is my phone.

Not everyday, but more days than I’d like to admit. And this is something I’m working on for myself.

I do have three strategies that I’d like to share with you to help stay in control of your social media use.

The first one is going on silent retreats / digital detox days.

So actually scheduling time when there is no phone.

The world won’t fall in if you’re not answering every alert.

The second one is my create versus consume scale.

And that is where I want to make sure I am creating just as much as I am consuming if not more.

Go online to post, not scroll.

And if I spent 30 minutes making content, I’ll give myself 30 minutes to consume.

Things get out of whack when all you are doing is consuming consuming consuming.

Join the conversation. Turn the torch on. The more you are a player on socials, the more in control you’ll feel. Works for me at least.

And finally, it’s a practical one – turning off all notifications.

The only notifications I have are voxer – my private clients get gold class service and response time.

And whatsapp, because that’s how Patrick contacts me.

Everything else, no notifications.

So I need to physically go into the apps to see messages, comments all of that.

And that of course keeps me from getting distracted and like ‘on the drip’ of that dopamine hit of the alert.

So digital detoxing, creating more than consuming and turning off notifications.

Combine that with a mindset of socials being a great opportunity to serve, a channel to be grateful for and a way to reach your audience where they are… and knowledge that social media can help you reach your business goals – financial and personal… how are you feeling about it now?

Really keen to hear your thoughts. Make a post about it and tag me @sallyprosservoice and @thatvoicepodcast.

And remember to jump on to the London Workshop – Speak Up for Your Business, that’s May 10. We might even make some content live on the day… such a great kick starter to bringing your voice to social media.