Why do you need a Social Media Strategy? - Episode 33

Episode 33. Social Media is still thriving!

Hello, and welcome back to SMM - aka, the greatest newsletter ever to be posted on the internet (according to me)! Recently, I’ve had a lot of positive feedback about the episodes, so for that, I’m extremely grateful.

However, the other day, someone asked me:

Why do I need a Social Media Strategy?

And I stopped and paused.

In my head, this was super obvious, but then I realised that’s only because I already know the answer!

So, why does everyone need a social media strategy if they want to grow consistently over a sustained period of time?

Let me put it in the context of New Year’s resolutions.

Every year, according to Casio Electronics Co. Ltd., around 45% of people create at least one resolution. But dramatically, only around 9% of people actually stick to theirs - with a reported 80% giving up by February.

But why is this?

Well, every year when people set these life-changing resolutions, they don’t really think them through.

We all know that person who says, “This is the year I get fit!” or “This is the year I learn a new language!”, and yet, they rarely do either.

It’s because of two reasons.

Firstly, the goals people set are often far too unrealistic. For someone to say, “I’m going to get fit,” they’re instantly committing to changing their diet, exercise habits, and other factors like improving sleep (which is proven to aid weight loss). The chances of someone changing all of these at once are slim, especially if they’ve never eaten well or exercised regularly before.

The second reason, and the one we’re focussing on today, is that they don’t come up with a clear strategy for how to do it.

So, for the goal “I want to get fit,” I’d personally break it down into subcategories. For today, we’ll use the previously mentioned examples: diet, fitness, and sleep.

Within each of these categories, I’d create long-, medium-, and short-term goals. One that you can track with a number, and one you can track by a feeling or image.

For example, for diet, I’d track my daily calories and journal each day about how I’m finding it.
For the medium-term goal, I’d track my weight every week, along with progress pictures.
And then finally, for the long-term, I’d track overall body composition changes and long-term consistency in maintaining progress.

To make this work, I’d have both statistical goals (quantifiable targets) and emotional or visual goals (how it feels or looks).

If I did all of this, I’d consistently eat well, and would likely get in great shape.

But how does this relate to social media?

Well, in all honesty, it’s the exact same.

I don’t know a single person who’s been successful online who hasn’t done something similar to what I just described about diet.

To put it simply:

What are your goals for social media?
Short, medium, and long-term, both statistical and non-statistical.

And then ask yourself:

• What are you going to do each day to reach those goals?

• What are you going to do each month to reach those goals?

• What are you going to do every six months to a year to reach those goals?
  (Or even beyond that, if you can think on longer time horizons.)

If you would like support with this - Pintsizedhumour & myself are always here!

Make sure to subscribe, and remember - “Every move counts, but only the smart ones win.”

- Jacob

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