What’s your relationship with social media? Is it a tool you begrudgingly use to promote your business or is it a space where you enjoy spending time? For many of us, it’s a rollercoaster. The support and encouragement from strangers make it a space we want to be part of. The scammers, fake news, trolls and negativity make it a space we want to avoid.
And that’s why #ReclaimSocial Day was born a few years ago. This is a global movement to use social media for good and to promote positivity. In 2024, it lands on the 6th of February – so today if you’re reading this just after I publish it. That means that a lot of people will be looking at the hashtag today, so remember to include it in your uplifting, supportive and positive posts.
Even if you’re reading this after the 6th of February, please do keep reading because this blog isn’t about how to benefit from the movement. These are my top five tips to ensure your relationship with social media is a positive one!
1- Pick your platforms carefully
Choosing which social media platforms you choose to invest your time (or even your money) is the most important decision you have to make when it comes to your social media marketing. One of the factors you need to take into consideration is the one you enjoy using. Obviously, your target audience needs to be using the platform, but the truth is that you need to make friends with the platform if it’s going to be a powerful tool for your business.
2- Engage with content to talk to the algorithm
Your feed is a mix of posts from people you follow and posts that the algorithm thinks you’ll like. It decides what you like based on how you spend your time. If you watch the same video three times, that’s a good indication that you liked it. If you took the time to leave a comment, that’s also a good indication that you liked it. If you go to the creator’s profile, that shows that you want to see more from them.
But this works both ways! If you engage with the negativity, you’ll see more negativity. If you focus on the positivity, that’s what you’ll see. The algorithm is so sensitive, so it will very quickly change what posts it’s showing you.
3- Don’t be embarrassed to unfollow someone
Maybe you met someone at a networking event and followed each other but now you realise that they aren’t your people. You know that you’ll never work with them and you scroll past all their posts without a second thought. Unfollow them! They’re filling your feed with content you aren’t interested in, and by scrolling post their posts so quickly, you’re actually harming that post’s performance. Having that extra follower isn’t helping their business.
This is also true for groups, if it’s filling your feed with spam, just leave it. There are so many awesome groups out there for you to find instead!
4- Silence your social media apps
This is one that often surprises people when I tell them I’ve done it. The commonly shared advice is to be responsive and reply to comments and messages quickly. And with most consumers expecting a reply from a business within 24 hours, I’d be crazy to go against that advice. And I’m not – but you also don’t have to reply immediately.
Different phones might have different paths to do it, but for me, I go into my phone settings, then to “Apps” and search for the social media platform. Then under “notifications” there’s the option to “Deliver quietly”. This means that my phone can still be on noisy and I’ll still get all my notifications, but my phone doesn’t buzz at me every time.
5- Find your tribe
At first, you’ll be talking to strangers, there’s no avoiding that! But by consistently sharing valuable posts for your target audience, you’ll soon start to see the same people popping up in your notifications again and again. A few months down the line, you’ll start to notice that they start to tag you when they see someone who needs you. Those strangers become supporters, fans and friends. They are the ones that are going to encourage you to keep showing up! And in the meantime, if you need that motivation and support, come and check out my membership group; the Ace Group.
Thanks for reading! I share a blog like this one every other Tuesday, and if you feel like they help your social media presence, and more importantly, your business – then please consider leaving a tip.
Tesni xx
