Is Social Media The Best Use of Your Business Building Time

Time is our most valuable resource.

We're either going to get to the end of our life and say, "checkmate" or "I wish I would have.."

2020 shook me up. I knew that I couldn't stay in my nursing career anymore.

Not because of the fear of the pandemic. I was ready and considering going back on the front lines to help my fellow nurses. Not even because there was a piece of guilt that I felt about sitting at home, as a nurse educator, safe in my home. And not even because my co-workers were starting to demand how I spent my time, often delegating to me "secretarial jobs" and doing demeaning work because I had time. Cohorts of nurses couldn't get close to educate, and I really couldn't do my job. 

I had lost my sense of purpose.

Going back on the front lines wasn't it for me. Educating wasn't it for me. Some days, I wish I felt different. Mom mom pushed me into nursing because of the nobility. The white scrubs, white hat (that I only had to wear on picture day, by the way) in her mind made me important.

But it didn't make ME feel important.

I didn't even care about feeling important. I wanted to feel valuable; regardless of what I was doing, and that I was using my brain, body, and talents in a way that only I could.

Welcome to entrepreneurship!

Where you're creative, resourceful, a hustler, and flexible with your time, money, and energy.

I knew that if the world ended (OK, it wasn't, but if you watch the news it may make you think the sky really is falling), being an RN wasn't the be all end all for me.  

So mother hustlers. What did I do? I gave a month's notice, and I quit. 

Time was on my side. Or was it? Entrepreneurship makes you get really ninja about where you're spending your time. Sometimes having too much of it, can be the death of your company or business. 

A business needs clients, customers, sales (preferably recurrently), and if you Google "Lead Generation", you'll find a bazillion ways to do it. 

Social media, everyone shouts from the rooftops, because it's free! Yes, but is it the best use of your time?

• Free (unless it's the right time for paid ads)
• Flexible and Accessible 24/7
• All you need is a phone, lap top or tablet
• Ease of building connection and relationships
• Can track your competition
• Paid partnerships
• There's at least one platform that fits your needs

Cons of social media:

• Time suck
• Can get spammed, or worse you spam others
• Fake profiles
• Lots of followers, no buyers
• Editing skills required to make videos/photos fancy
• Fake filters
• Only seeing the highlight reel
• Can take a long time to build solid relationships
• Those with big budgets will outspend you on visibility
• Little fish in a big sea
• Can go poof tomorrow

Here's how to make sure you're using social media in the right way:

1. Choose the right platform to know where you audience is.

A lot of times we choose the platform WE like, but that isn't always where our ideal clients are. I love the ease and flexibility of Facebook, but my target market is on LinkedIn.  With the new Clubhouse app, it's audio only for established business owner and entrepreneurs. If you work with newbies, it's not the place for you to find clients YET. It's being dominated by influencers, thought leaders, and those with already large audiences. Great to consume content, great to host a room, but it's a HUGE time commitment to try to find your idea client in a room or to wait your turn to speak if you want to impress an influencer. I'm not saying to not get on it, or reserve your name, but evaluate if that's where your idea client is? Evaluate that on all of your platforms.

2. Know your purpose.

On my personal platforms, you'll get a bit of randomness of what I share (or don't share) about my life. On my business platforms I'm very specific with what I post, who I reach out to, who I follow, and what content I'm releasing when. What is your content leading towards? What offer? Why are you connecting with a certain person? What's the win/win for you both?

3. Leave your ego at the door.

Fake is out. "Real" off the cuff ads and pictures is what people want to see. Social media is about the ease and flexibility of connection. If you're always posting perfect. If you stuff is always highly produced, it sets up a barrier to connection. NO ONE is perfect. NO ONE is happy all the time. Be real. Speak the real deal. Make your content valuable in how it helps others. Selfies are cool. But make sure they have a teaching message with them. It's not about YOU (if you see your social media as a business tool, like I do.)

4. Block your time and get help. 

Social media is a service we provide and one that I delegate. I do the live videos, and responding to comments, but the rest is our team. Social media isn't what makes us the most impact and income in our business. Referrals, speaking, connection calls, strategy, and coaching on content and video is my zone of genius. Blogging actually might not even be my zone of genius either, but I enjoy it, so here we are.  If you're going to DIY, set your purpose, set your time limits. You can easily be sucked into cute cat photos and long conversations and lose half the day. You want to take any long conversations off social media. Get them on your email list or a connection call. Much better magic will happen that way!

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Where are you most valuable? Is that value in a course, membership, or freebie opt in? Does it speak to your greatness on your website or funnel? Do you have assets that you are proud of? If not, we can help!  

Written by Lisa Pezik