People are more valuable than numbers
Why social media can sometimes feel like a slog, but don't worry keep going!
Hello!
I’ve been preparing this edition of Digital Wisdom for quite a while… perhaps you’ve been waiting, wondering where I’ve got to? Perhaps not. But still, this is a particularly exciting one.
I decided to explore the question of ‘Why do some people find social media a real slog for their small business or charity?’ From some previous experiences, I can certainly empathise.
A friend and former colleague of mine, Jasmine Warren, works at the charity Tearfund. She’s their Social Media Manager, and is brilliant. She agreed to chat.
In our conversation, we covered:
Not worrying about trying to make every post go viral.
Why you should think ‘people first, metrics second’.
A great analogy about 50 people in a room.
Mental health and why social media managers need a break sometimes.
Looking at the big picture of what you’re doing and why.
I’m planning to release the full audio conversation as a podcast soon… watch this space. But for now, here’s a snapshot that I hope you find encouraging.
Jasmine, why is social media sometimes a real slog?
I think it’s the all consuming nature of it. You can never finish reading your social media feeds. You used to be able to use to get to the end, and you'd feel like I've seen everything. But it just never stops.
So I really resonate with anyone that finds social media all consuming and quite overwhelming at times. Some people advise that ‘you've got to keep posting and to beat the algorithm, you have to post a certain number of times.’
But, however brilliant your content is, it's not going to go viral every post – even if it all has viral potential and all the ingredients for success, because that's just not how social media platforms are built.
And I think there's the need for getting perspective around that. There's a space to take a step back and think about what's actually important – taking a break from the screen and thinking about what will happen if you don't post today? Well, you might not get the reach you were going to get but you can always build it up again.
It’s important for people to prioritise their wellbeing as well. So having shared spaces, where you can talk to people about tips and share best practice and things like this, I think is really helpful.’
But what do you do when on the surface the numbers are disappointing?
‘As the person who owns your social content, you have a lot of knowledge about your channels and your audience,’ says Jasmine. ‘There are a lot of things that the numbers don't tell you, so I always think it's really helpful to add some kind of commentary or explanation when reporting to other people in the organisation.’
Watch Jasmine explaining a great analogy I’m going to call 50 people in a room:
So would you say social media is a long game as well as a short game?
‘Yes, that's the frustrating but great thing of it. Like starting a page from scratch, it's hard. And I know that feeling of building up when you have one follower, and it's yourself! And that's really daunting.
‘So there is that need for consistency, if you're building an audience that's quite small, or if you're trying to reach your niche.
‘But I think there's also the element of jumping on a trend. We find our most engaged with posts are always reacting to something in the news, or something that we've seen that's trending, which can be frustrating, because you can't predict that. But it's also quite exciting, because you don't know what's going to happen.
‘I think there's a balance of consistency and creativity when it comes to building and maintaining your presence. I think you want to be consistent. And yeah, if possible, you can have a regular posting schedule. And that's great. But you also want to be creative, responding to trends, new formats, the ways that different social media platforms are moving.
‘But be careful. You don't want to be so creative, that everything you post is completely different to the last thing you did. And you don't want to be so consistent that it all looks identical.’
For someone who is finding social media a real slog or overwhelming what would you say to encourage them?
‘I love social media, but there are some days where I don't like social media, and it can feel really hard. So be encouraged knowing that you're not alone. And that it’s a shared feeling.
‘I think it's really important to take a break and take a step back. And like I was saying the metrics and the numbers have really helped me but they definitely didn't tell you the whole picture. Sometimes if you just look at the numbers, it can be really disheartening, because they're never going to be consistent, and they're not going to go up every single time – there'll be some ups and downs. And that's how it works.
‘But if you can think about it in terms of people, sometimes if your video has nine views, well, that's nine people sitting and watching it. And that's really great. I think it's time to think about the people who are behind the screens looking at your content. And perhaps that one person of those nine views might be the person that gave £1000 or £10,000. So don’t fixate yourself on the hard metrics but look at the wider story.’
Thank you Jasmine. Check out Tearfund on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and elsewhere…
What do you think? Some good wisdom there, I think. Perhaps you know someone who could do with that encouragement today. Do pass this on. And look out for the full podcast.
Until next time, take care,
Andrew.