Trying out Threads recently really made me realize how much social media has been uncomfortable for me for awhile now. Like a pair of ill fitting shoes. So I went silent on a lot of my social accounts last week and am leaning into online interactions that have fostered actual connections for me more going forward, Here's why and how I'm going to do some deep diving thinking about what social media means to me so I can make the connections I want. Not just for the podcast or business. Both of these are a direct extension of my passion for connecting and sharing skills and knowledge, so I'd be lying to say this is solely cerebral business move. This is also a human move to make more genuine connections. I hope that sharing this helps you take a look at your social media needs and habits as well. Sometimes other people can put into words what we feel before we can. This is how I felt when I heard this social media summation in a recent Today, Explained episode, Can Threads unravel Twitter? (The below transcript is shrunk and bolded for brevity sake) "NOEL: Could you eulogize the golden era of social media? DAVID: Oh man… I would say that for a brief, beautiful moment, we thought that putting the whole world in a room would make everything better, that if we just connected everybody… we'd all come to some kind of mutual understanding. We – we'd globalize the world. We would see each other's problems. We would see each other's goods and bads and struggles and triumphs. And that that would add up to something beautiful. And for a while it felt like it might. I think there was a long time on Facebook even where it felt like you could just post candid kind of nothing pictures of your life and people would care. And it was a way to keep up with the people that you cared about. And it felt like it was genuinely social and genuinely human and we were wrong and that all fell apart. And I think that was kind of a beautiful lie we told ourselves for a while. But like, wasn't that a nice moment when it felt like we had found a way to be ourselves online and connect to everybody? What a cool world that was for a minute there." Am I leaving social media for good? Don't get me wrong, being a small business owner of a digital medium: podcasting, there's only so much social media pruning I can do. So LinkedIn is staying active. And begrudgingly, so is Facebook. Denmark runs on Facebook groups and it would be social suicide if I left there now. I've only lived here 3 months and need access to all the gazillion events listed only on Facebook. But I'm going quiet on Twitter and Instagram. And I deleted the two day old Threads account. I've never been active on Pinterest so I'm not doing anything with that account. I think that's everywhere. So where will I be social media+ active?
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Why am I doing this? It's not that Threads was that bad. It's more a realization of the following: #1: Twitter: too many of my connections have left, you know who is making it a really inhospitable place, and I've never connected with a potential client there (just 1 of these being different would change my mind) #2: Instagram: I've put a lot of photos and videos on IG over the years but I've rarely met anyone new there. I admit that I've gotten a ton of great recipes from reels. I joke that I learned how to cook that way. I do like IG lives when they're done right. But for too long I've just been scrolling. I want to connect with people on social media and that's just not what I'm good at on IG. #3: Addictive habits: I'll be honest. I found myself mindlessly scrolling both IG and Twitter. Especially IG reels. Anytime I had a moment. This would be fine if I was doing other things that I liked doing and engaging with people on other platforms. But I wasn't listening to audio books OR even answering my DMs quickly on any platform. I felt like I needed the scroll. I don't like this feeling. #4: the algorithm is broken: I've had too many people I want to follow and that follow me say things like: "oh, I didn't know you (fill in the blank with news, event, etc)." This has been very frustrating. Algorithms are not inherently bad but on these platforms they're not working for me anymore. I'm willing to see ads and such if the platform let's me see what I want to see also. This didn't feel like the current landscape on these platforms anymore. #5: Spike resistant. Nearly every time I send out a newsletter, I get a spike at the places linked in the issue (podcast episode, Gumroad store, YouTube, etc). Below is an example of a podcast spike for Geopat. I'll admit that the spike it's always as satisfying as the below one but it's usually substantial. And that feels like people are seeing what I'm doing. Engaging with it. But I do not get that sense from Twitter or IG anymore. So now what? I'm taking a 4 prong approach to my networking for the rest of the year: 1. catch up on emails. YES, email people one on one. This week alone I've found so many conversations where I've dropped the ball. All to possibly connect with new people on the socials. It's awful. But not all is lost. I've already gotten a few emails back and you all are friendly! whew. 2. I'm updating my info in all the places listed above that I already have content. I've consistently met likeminded people through the remaining places so I'm going to make sure the content is accurate and up to date. This morning alone I made new welcome videos for all my YouTube channels. Like a library, content is valuable even if you're not adding to it anymore. And that's how I look at these channels, even the 3 years of language learning videos (that are rather vulnerable embarrassing to be honest), Changing Scripts. 3. Getting back into live recordings and events. It's been really hard to record here in Denmark. The internet is great but office spaces do NOT have rooms to have online meetings without everyone hearing what you're doing. It's awkward. I'm working on building something at home so I can get back to this soon. Hopefully by Fall 2023. 4. I'm going to go to more online and in person small business networking events. Will this work? I'm not even sure what "work" means with this thought I keep having? Should I do a detox or stay off them forever more. No idea. It's only been a few days and I feel a bit digitally naked. But I also feel like I have more free time. And I feel like I've actually connected with humans I like again, instead of just trying to get someone's attention. But maybe all I need is to get super clear on what I want and like from each platform, as Bandrew wisely highlights in this video (along with a fun run down old school social media platforms like My Space, Blogger, etc. Many of which I had a presence on.) I'll post more about it as time goes on. Quick, practical tips for small business owners and thought leaders who use a podcast to share their skills, knowledge and stories in the Coffeelike Media newsletter. Every Monday!
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AuthorFrom one passion led podcaster to another, here are some tips to make the most genuine connections with your podcast and supporting mediums. Archives
July 2024
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