Ever since social media took the creative industry by storm, introducing itself as the new go-to method for marketing to your ideal client, it feels like every time I turn around there’s a new platform or a new update to master. Even my personal favorite, Instagram, is constantly rolling out an algorithm here or a new feature there to make me feel like I have to run at breakneck speed to keep up!

Because that’s what we’re told, isn’t it? That in order to reach our ideal clients, in order to keep up with the Joneses, and in order to “make it,” we need to be using social media to market our work. I, for one, chose to pump the brakes on that mentality a few years ago and that decision has totally transformed the way I market my work, approach social media as a whole, and protect my mindset.

If I’m being honest with you, friend, I think that keeping up with all the updates, all the new platforms, and all the new trends is exhausting. And more times than not, I’ve found that building a presence on Snapchat and Instagram and Pinterest and Twitter all at once pulls you in so many directions that you can easily struggle to have time at the end of your day to invest in your paying clients, or worse, yourself. If social media is always pulling us in a new direction, what would it look like if we were to free ourselves from those pressures and instead chase after a way of marketing our work and managing our relationship with social media that’s simpler and, dare I say it, more effective? I’m sharing a few of my favorite strategies below:

Choose where you want to be

Instead of being everywhere online at once, choose the best platforms for your specific business and stick to them. Personally, I would rather have a robust, intentional presence on one or two platforms than be barely scraping by on all of them. Choosing the right platform for your business boils down to knowing where your ideal clients are spending their time online (Instagram Stories vs. Snapchat, anyone?), which platforms you actually enjoy using, and which ones you realistically have time for. Who says your business has to be on Instagram if your ideal clients are on Facebook? Curating a presence on that platform would be a huge waste of your valuable time, not to mention will take your attention away from those who actually want to hear from you on Facebook, for example.

Define your boundaries

Once you narrow down the 1-3 platforms you want to invest in, it’s time to define what your boundaries with those platforms will be. Determining how often you’ll post, when you’ll post, and what content you’ll share on each specific platform will help you create a more manageable marketing approach that is directly built around your schedule and what you can realistically handle. Don’t have time to post twice a day for every day of the week? Then don’t!

As soon as you have an outline for your posting frequency for each platform, I encourage you to get serious about how much time you’ll devote to each platform for responding to comments, engaging with others, and building connections that way. Personally, I choose to limit my Instagram scrolling to five minute “social media breaks” throughout my workday so I can engage with my audience but not get sucked into wasting hours of my day on one platform. Creating limits for your useage will help you devote your time in reasonable amounts, and will help you invest your time elsewhere for your business.  

Educate yourself intentionally

Social media platforms will always update, always evolve, and not always for the better. With new updates rolling out almost daily, it can be overwhelming to try to absorb and master them immediately! So instead of setting a Google Alert on your phone to notify you whenever Instagram adds new stickers to Instagram Stories, choose to research what’s happening with your favorite platforms once a month for 10-15 minutes. Set a timer, type in your search to Google, and read only the relevant updates that will help you stay current with your social platforms. Instead of getting your updates from Facebook groups and posts from others on social media, seek out articles from the brands themselves or from industry experts who can help you understand how the addition of Instagram Stories can be useful for your business. The key here is to consume information and updates on your own terms and in moderation. Always keeping your finger on the pulse of your favorite platforms might sound smart, but do you really need to spend your time reading about every single bug that gets fixed in each app update?

Don’t take it too seriously

I think we often can become overwhelmed with social media because we’re told that it’s where we need to be, we see others thriving in those spaces, and we feel like somehow we’re missing out. But truthfully, each social platform is a tool that you can use to grow your engagement, your audience, or your sales. But, it doesn’t have to be your top priority in all you do! Remember, these are apps that you can download for free on your phone. They are not the lifeblood of your business, and your work will endure long after they’re gone.

How do you maintain perspective with social media and use it as a tool for your business, not a hinderance? I’d love to hear in the comments below!