Is it time to rethink the role social media plays in your marketing and communications mix?

From 500+ YouTube video views on average to …, errr one. And you think the LinkedIn algorithm is bad (well yeah, it is!)? YouTube can also have 'bad hair days' as well, although to be fair, it's generally more generous in sharing short-form videos than LinkedIn 👊

Let’s face it, social media algorithms don’t do us any favours. We can sit back and rail against the platform owners for shortchanging their users - and don’t worry, I can shake my fist with the best of them 😃 - but then I get back to what’s important to me and my business, and that is adding value with my content and connecting with like-minds, on Twitter and LinkedIn particularly.

Deeper connection with fewer people versus reaching heaps of people who don’t really give a toss about me.

At the same time, I am trying to get people off social media and over to my owned media channels, especially this newsletter (if you think you know someone who might be interested in Reputation OnRamp - please share this link with them https://trevoryoung.beehiiv.com/subscribe - thanks!)

Owned media = control. That. Is. All.

Keep fighting the good fight folks!

While I’m writing this, I’m rocking out to a pretty raw live album - In Real Time by John Waite.

Waite is probably best known for his 1984 hit single "Missing You”. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist for the rock bands The Babys and Bad English, contributing to hits like "Isn't It Time" and "When I See You Smile" during his four-decade long career.

Top singer and songwriter. Give it a whirl!

Rethinking how we use social media for our business

Organic social media is often dismissed in business circles because, it's claimed, you can’t make sales using the medium.

And that's right, sort of. You can’t. Not directly anyway.

It’s not impossible, of course, but it is difficult.

The exception is if you sell shiny, visually-appealing products that lend themselves to impulse buying, then social (Instagram, Pinterest especially) can be very powerful. THINK: fashion apparel, jewellery and accessories, knick-knacks for the home etc.

But when you’re selling personal and professional services, digital products, software-as-a-service, education products etc - where the path to purchase can be a bit longer and more considered - then yes, it can be damn hard work to squeeze a direct sale out of social media.

Some pundits, such as myself, would say that getting the tills ringing is not the best use of social media.

Others, however, are adamant that social needs to pay its way by generating sales.

So this then begs the question: Why bother with social media at all, especially in this day and age of algorithmic angst?

It’s a fair question, and one that needs to be addressed with a few factors in mind: What are your goals, and what’s your overarching philosophy, or your thinking, when it comes to social media?

Depending on your circumstances, perhaps it’s time to reframe the role social media plays in your marketing communications mix?

We’re all on the social treadmill to varying degrees; sometimes it’s worthwhile sitting back and reminding ourselves what are the strengths of social media that we can leverage for the benefit of our business.

If your aim is to use social media merely as a channel through which to sell, I think you’ll be disappointed in its effectiveness in this regard.

Please bear in mind, I’m talking organic here; paid social (advertising via social media) has a critical role to play, both in building awareness and making sales, but it’s not the focus of this article.

If you feel you’ve drifted away from why you started using social media in the first place and are wondering if it’s all worth it, may I suggest it’s time to go back to basics and reacquaint yourself with how social media works today, and why it can (still) be a powerful lever for your business if used well.

Before we get into it, a bit of perspective: the ideas shared in this article are off the back of my philosophy when it comes to PR, content and digital communications more generally:

• I believe entrepreneurs and marketers should put equal time and effort into strategically building a business that’s known, respected and trusted, front of mind with their target audience, and talked about in a positive way in the marketplace. Brand versus demand: credibility before conversion. These often act as forerunners to commercial outcomes.

• The demand generation aspect of marketing is critical, obviously, but works way more effectively off the back of a strong brand and reputation. Too many businesses have got it arse-about: they incessantly lead with the pitch, which can end up costing a lot of time, money and frustration if they’re not known, trusted, front of mind or talked about in the first place. Put another way: you can choose to interrupt people with a pitch they’re not interested in, or you can build - and communicate respectfully with - an audience that knows and trusts your brand, understands what you and your business is all about, and is receptive to your message. Which is preferable, do you think?

• Think two sides of the same coin: build your brand and reputation ongoing - and punctuate with bursts of promotional and lead gen activity (see graphic below).

Okay, with that out of the way, let’s get back to how we can tap into the strengths of social media for the benefit of our business.

When it comes to social media, I like looking at it through the lens of:

PRESENCE + VALUE + CONNECTION = HEAT

Let’s break these down.

PRESENCE —

Social media provides founders and solopreneurs with an amazing opportunity to stay on people’s radar in a respectful way.

Presence is all about fronting up on a consistent basis: not just ‘dialling it in’ i.e. scheduling posts from afar but never getting into the social trenches to engage with your followers and others using the channel.

And posting randomly every few weeks and expecting some sort of miracle to occur on social media, well, that won’t contribute a heck of a lot to your presence either.

Building a presence on social media - with passion, purpose and strategic intent - requires work and commitment ongoing.

Which leads us to our next point: delivering value.

VALUE —

The concept of value on social media is pretty subjective and can mean different things to different people. Here are some thought-starters:

• Providing useful tips, hints and how-to’s around a particular topic e.g. Michelle J Raymond on LinkedIn, or financial adviser James Wrigley on TikTok

• Being provocative, challenging people with your ideas e.g. Ashley Faus, David Hieatt

• Helping others stay ahead of the curve by delivering useful insights around topics and issues confronting your industry e.g. Steve Vallas

• Inspiring people with human stories (theirs, and other people's), experiments undertaken and lessons learned e.g. Codie Sanchez, Jackie Goddard

• Keeping people up to date with industry news and trends e.g. Josh Rowe

• Publicly shining the light on others in your network e.g. Mark Masters

• Promoting other people’s stories, content, businesses, causes and events e.g. Gordon Fong

• Taking people behind the scenes of your business or organisation (or professional life) e.g. Joyce Ong, Lucy Dickens

• Dropping out nuggets of inspiration (and thought provocations) in real time e.g. Fiona Redding

• Infusing your professional posts with personality and behind-the-scenes stories, ideas and passions e.g. Dr Katherine Hunt

• Sharing cool stuff: links, photos, videos, interesting podcasts etc e.g. Carolyn Hyams/Aquent

• Answering people’s questions and calls for help, providing useful tips based on your area of expertise e.g. John Espirian

• Delivering timely customer service (related directly to your business) - probably more the province of bigger companies with sizeable customer numbers (although any sized company can do this well if they want to, albeit with less resources): to see best practice in action, check out Telstra's Twitter account

• Doing all the things! e.g. Mitch Jackson, who is wonderfully engaged with his community online, and has been since the early days of social media

• And yes, you can also publish content with a commercial edge, even better if you do it in a fun and intriguing way like Janine Coombes

Oh, in case you were wondering, it’s not about doing more stuff, but being intentional with what you do on social media, and doing it in a way that’s genuine and human.

(The above examples are largely sourced from LinkedIn, with a splash of Twitter, TikTok and Instagram - similar examples can be found on all of the social channels: keep an eye out for them!)

CONNECTION —

If creating and sharing content on social media is the ‘media’ part of the equation, then building connection with people through consistent and genuine engagement is the ‘social’ part (remember, social media without the ‘social’ is just media!).

This is the not-so-secret sauce of social media.

It’s how social media ignited the attention of the masses in the early days before brands and marketers took over and made it all about them.

But there’s been a bit of a swing back. Indeed, it’s why people are flocking to Bluesky at the expense of Twitter/X.

Build connection with enough people and bring them all together and you’ll start building community, or what I like to call your ‘digital neighbourhood’.

Mark Masters does this well with You Are The Media, an initiative that effectively straddles the line between online and offline community (pic below).

Individuals are always going to be more effective in this regard than branded channels, so this is an area in which the ‘small guy’ can legitimately compete with bigger businesses. This is why, as a business owner, it’s important to put your face out there on social media.

Hopefully, all this effort will lead to:

HEAT —

Generating ‘social heat’ is my way of saying that your brand is attracting attention for all the right reasons.

People start taking notice of you, and it’s not just ‘surface’ awareness either: it’s a deeper recognition of what it is you do, and what you stand for professionally, or as a business.

The result of this can go in numerous directions: people will be more likely to share your content, tell their friends about you, recommend your business to others, and potentially reach out and engage with you, particularly in the case of solo service providers and thought leaders.

More good stuff can happen too: people visit your website, watch your videos, read your blog, listen to your podcast ... and maybe even sign up to your email newsletter, where you can continue to deepen the level of connection they have with your business (or personal) brand.

Oh, and when it comes time to pitch your wares through advertising or straight call-to-action via promotional posts - hopefully more people take notice and are receptive to your message, whether it’s directly relevant to them, or they’re happy to share with others in their network.

Why? Because they already know, like, trust and respect you: your brand is top of mind and being talked about in a positive way in the marketplace: Remember - these are all forerunners to commercial success.

I’ll leave you with this quote from English comedy legend, John Cleese …

In case we haven’t met yet …

Hi, I’m Trevor. I help purpose-led business owners become clear and confident in how they leverage PR, content and digital communications for profit, impact and legacy.

Would you like to discuss how I can help you in a coaching capacity to build your profile and reputation as a trusted and credible expert or thought leader in your industry? CLICK HERE TO BOOK A NO-OBLIGATION 30-MINUTE ZOOM CALL