How I use social media without burning out

I know I’m not alone in this, but every time I head to Instagram to share something lately I end up scrolling a bit and then closing it again. I keep thinking of Bo Burnham’s Welcome To The Internet; the bad news sandwiched between memes and holiday snaps.

Tricia Hersey of The Nap Ministry said it best when she described Instagram as an extension of capitalism. There’s a reason it feels uncomfortable, pressured, noisy. Everything is monetised or encouraged to be. Everything is measured in numbers. You spend as much time as you can on there creating, showing up, being consistent, or you’re punished by the almighty algorithm. It moves fast and, since the focus switched to video, it can be even harder to both keep up and tear ourselves away.

It’s September which is of course back-to-school time and a key month for talking about my mentoring offerings to potential clients.

I should be online a lot and making these things obvious to people.

I am not online a lot and making these things obvious to people.

Spending time on social media makes me feel drained, but in this day and age the average person needs to have an online presence to keep their business afloat.

Here are some of the ways I get the word out without spending life online.

How I get the word out without always being online

I ask others to help spread the word. This is obvious advice and yet I don’t think enough people really lean into it. You create a post on IG, for example, and hope that your friends and business buddies will share it for you. You hope, but do you ask?

Better yet, can you create a post, pin, or banner specifically for others to share on their feed or in their newsletter? If you feel like this is an imposition please imagine how you would feel if one of your pals asked you to do it for them. It’s minimal effort on their part and I’m sure they’d be happy to support you!

I show up in other people’s content. Again, obvious advice but so effective. Pitch to podcasts, write a guest post for someone’s blog, or send a freebie to someone. I’m not talking influencers; they don’t need a large audience, but the right audience. Who runs a business that compliments your own? Who frequently talks about topics and values that overlap with your own?

And I was recently honoured to be invited to run a guest workshop for someone else’s group programme. It’s something I hadn’t considered before but I really enjoyed it and it’s brilliant to know there is another way of making myself visible that is comfortable and aligned with my values.

It has reminded me to think outside the box when it comes to reaching new people.

What other ways could you guest, collaborate or otherwise gently show up in front of a new crowd?

How I stay slow on a fast paced app

These are my rules of engagement when on that weird little app. I hope they may be helpful if you want to become more intentional and less doom-scrolly about your usage!

Create for Instagram last. This post is an excellent example. I started writing it on Instagram and quickly realised that I couldn’t possibly fit all I wanted in the caption, that hardly anyone would see it, and I’d have poured a lot of thought into content that disappeared down the feed pretty quickly. Create for your business’s home (your website or mailing list, for example) first, and then share it elsewhere.

Related: no matter what stage your business is at - even if you have nothing for sale yet - it is never too soon to build a mailing list and ensure you have a way of keeping in touch with those who want to hear from you.

Set a time limit for the app, and don’t hit ignore! I see you!

If you’re using IG for business, keep talking about your work and talk about the causes you believe in. You have a lovely community who want to support you and know what you care about.

Be intentional with what you’re sharing. There are emergencies and tragedies happening all over the world right now, and everything needs attention. Share actions, ways to donate, movements to join and who to contact rather than click bait headlines or triggering images that do nothing to help those in crisis.

Support the content you want more of. If you’re always sharing posts by the same creator, buy them a coffee, donate monthly, subscribe to their mailing list, or at the very least send them some kind words to let them know how much they are appreciated.

Normalise not leaping into debates the moment you learn about them. Close the app and do your own research. Fact check before spreading information. If the info you see is shocking or enraging then it’s more likely to spread quickly meaning it’s all the more important to check whether it’s true.

Don’t feel like you should have an educated opinion on everything, or like you have to weigh in on everything. Normalise changing your opinion when presented with new information.

Give people grace when they are working to change and make amends. Normalise forgiveness and understanding. Artist Alok Vaid-Menon is an incredible leader in this area, showing immense love, patience and forgiveness to anyone who attempts to hurt them.

I recently read the brilliant We Will Not Cancel Us by adrienne maree brown, where she writes about the problem with cancel culture and call-out culture in movements and the speed with which it can spread online. I highly recommend this short but powerful book!

Social media will always encourage us to engage quickly and frequently, but please remember that your own usage is always within your control. Rebel! Switch it off. Take a break. Find a more comfortable way of reaching people.

It’s only when enough of us do this that the overall culture may begin to shift.

Want to get offline but not sure how else to market your offerings build your business? Book a free discovery chat with me and let’s see if I can support you personally.