I stopped using social media as a distraction and started using it for business in 2020. Before then, it had been a massive time-suck. There are studies that link too much social media with a high risk for depression, anxiety, self-harm, loneliness, and suicidal thoughts. It boils down to comparison and feeling inadequate about your life or how your look.
So what do you do when you hate posting to social media, but it’s essential to your business? Authors need people to know about their books, writers need brands to know they can craft copy and content, and authors need to know you can edit their words.
Or whatever service you offer.
It looks like your business, your life, and your success is less than everyone else around you. You’re not making as much money, having as much fun, or looking as good.
Two shifts need to happen.
We can’t do much about how social media is designed to work. We can only control ourselves.
Besides needing the know-how of how to use social media, you need the tools. People complain about how hard social media is, how draining, and how getting people to buy their stuff is hard. They’re looking at it the wrong way.
Fifty years ago, we'd be relying on word-of-mouth, TV, newspaper, and magazine ads -- 3 out of 4 cost money. Now we have global reach with only a few taps on a hand-held screen.
We have limitless opportunities to do what people before us couldn't even imagine. We can build a business online and create a global community to serve.
Part of the drama and stress comes from not having the right perspective or feeling jealous and sick with comparison. You've heard that people only show their highlight reel. But with that, you don't know what's going on in those people's heads or the work they've put in to reach their level. Or if they're even at the level they portray.
You have to stop looking at other people's stuff to compare yourself. Cheer them on and be happy for them. If you have trouble with that, stop following them. Mute, block, and remove them.
A few tools I use are linked here, and I'll add more to them. They make social media easier for me to see it as the asset it is. Every tool on there is one that I've tried, used, and loved. They actually help me to create strategic content faster and easier than before.
Only use the tools you need. Only spend the time you need. And only show gratitude and thanks. If you spent more time in a state of gratitude, then it becomes easier to focus on yourself, your goals, and all the good you already have. It will make it easier to receive more. Grab a new journal* and start writing down three things you’re grateful for everyday. (*Affiliate links are included in this post.) You have to make the shifts you can. Set limits on your social media use personally. Reduce it to an hour of scrolling 'for fun', and let the rest be business. Post what you need to and then let that be it.
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