Beat The Social Media Scaries

For better or for worse, I've been spending a lot more time on Instagram lately.

The platform is great for sharing my photography work and gathering inspiration from other photographers, musicians, and writers.

But as you know, social media is also a hotbed for comparison, unrealistic standards, and all sorts of icky feelings.

For a lot of people, the reaction is to delete social media. Or "detox" for a few weeks. And that's often a good thing.

But a lot of businesses have the same reaction.

They see other brands in their industry who have a perfect feed and 100K followers and think "why even bother."

There was a time when I even felt the same way myself. As a marketing professional right between millennials and Gen Z, some people expect me to be on top of all the trends, hashtags, platforms, influencers, etc.

The truth is, I've never made a Reel, I haven't tried Threads yet, I don't have Twitter (I refuse to call it X yet) and I don't like TikTok and what it does to my brain.

I'm not an expert in those things, though I know people who are and I can confidently lead a client through those things if needed.

But what I've found is that those skills reflect just one way to show up on social media as a brand.

In reality, there are three:

1. Trend Surfing
This is how the biggest brands use social media - like when you see Wendy's or Netflix suddenly show up in your Twitter thread.

Behind these accounts is often a whole team or agency of extremely dedicated people in tune with as much of the internet as possible.

There's a lot you can learn from this social media style (like two-way engagement). But in general, it best serves brands who need to cast a really wide net, and who have serious $$$ to invest in doing so.

2. Advertising
Advertising on social media is a great middle-ground way to reach a whole lot of people - albeit in a strategic and targeted way. This can be hugely effective if done right.

For example, one of my colleagues helped a client achieve a $4 million Labor Day! But like Trend Surfing, social advertising typically takes a bit more investment in professional guidance and ad spend.

3. Good Ol' Fashioned Posting
For the vast majority of businesses, this is the sweet spot. Before social media was a massive, global ecosystem it had one simple purpose: to connect people.

Creating social content doesn't have to be flashy or even trendy.

If you just show up as yourself, genuinely connect with others, and offer something of value (be it education, entertainment, or something else), the right people will find you.

For example, the LinkedIn strategy for one of my clients was simple and didn't fluctuate much based on outside influences.

It consisted of a few content types that were easy to replicate each month: like an article from the founder, a colleague shoutout, holiday celebrations, and stories related to their offer.

Not only did her followers nearly double, but at conferences she started having people coming up to her saying "I know you! I love your content on LinkedIn!"

...even though she had never met some of them in person before.

She's not a social media guru and neither am I. But you don't have to be a guru to simply write good words that will encourage, educate, inspire, or entertain your audience.


So if you've got the social media scaries, I suggest you just get on there and do your own thing. Post helpful stuff. Genuinely engage with your followers and other businesses for a few minutes a day.

Over time, the right people will find you.

And if you want help? I'm here.