As family + business operations consultants for parent entrepreneurs, we have conversations almost daily about the overwhelm around social media + meeting marketing expectations.
When you own an online-based business, marketing online simply makes sense because you’re meeting your ideal clients where they’re at. But if you’re not a natural marketer (+ most people aren’t!), then handling this facet of business can feel draining quickly.
More than that, if it’s not the constant content creation hamster wheel that gets the best of you, it’s the time-sucking procrastination + comparison vortex that lures you in every time you step into the app, right?
As parent entrepreneurs, you don’t need anything else distracting you or draining your energy at lightning speed… you have toddlers + teenagers for that!
So, here’s the permission you don’t need to get off of social media for marketing, news + meaningful connections altogether.
Yes, it’s allowed.
You can market elsewhere.
You can get your news from somewhere else.
You can have friendships without Instagram required.
Apart from sharing an occasional post + engaging with stories for at most 20-minutes daily, we’re personally not on Instagram much these days for the 2 core personal reasons we’re sharing about in this post.
Consider how you feel about these 2 reasons for yourself + what shifting your social media relationship could do for you as the CEO + your business marketing overall.
You might find that approaching your marketing strategy differently might offer a more feel-good, productive life operation. And isn’t that really what we’re all after?
Let’s continue… →
No. 1 — We are ruthless editors of the news we consume.
Even when we’re not in a nationwide quarantine situation, on a good day, the news is still full of urgency + alarming headlines.
News channels round out their hours with a single feel-good story so that you leave their time with them on a positive note. You forget briefly enough that the bulk of that prior information you just consumed was anxiety-inducing.
Energy management has been essential to us running our family + business well. We need to curate the feel-good moments + move away from the feel-anything-less-than ones.
This doesn’t mean that we just avoid real-life + live under a rock. Instead, we get intentional about where we’re sourcing our information, then moving on with our lives instead of marinating in lengthy segments that give the power to someone else behind the curtain.
Step in for 5-10 minutes, then be done on your own terms.
The media isn’t bad. They’re simply doing their job of keeping your attention + loyalty by earning your trust so that you ultimately invest in the products they’re promoting. It’s a daily sales funnel (+ you know we love a good sales funnel that runs on autopilot).
If you unsubscribe from email newsletters for selling too much, then you can absolutely “unsubscribe” from a longer intake of social media content. Instead of being in someone else’s funnel, you’d be better off focusing on optimizing your own.
No. 2 — The algorithm censors content.
It’s simply not worth our time to be on a platform that censors the wellness content that we’re personally trying to highlight. Creating an organic reach of organic wellness + how it translates to organic growth in family-centered business-building is like pushing a boulder uphill these days.
So, instead, we built our own platform — The OrganicFamilyCEO Community™ — which acts just like Facebook or Instagram, but with no ads + no censorship + a way to actually curate genuine friendships with parent entrepreneurs who value wellness + wealth together. More on that in a minute…
Our point is this: if the content you really want to be talking about is being censored by the platform you’re on, then that’s saying that part of YOU is unacceptable or inappropriate or unwelcome here.
Yes, the app creators have the right to do that… but so do you!
Consider creating your own little virtual community app that doesn’t have to commune where it’s unwelcome. You shouldn’t have to mute or modify any part of your messaging.
Hosting your own virtual community is inexpensive + significantly more productive because you’re not constantly filtering through content or impersonal messaging. Note: We love Mighty Networks for this. You can read more about our 5 favorite tools for starting or running your online-based business here.
What we love about the virtual community we started is that there are ways to have your followers contribute meaningfully. Instead of lingering in the DMs or being at the mercy of the number of likes or views, you can invite people to build the change, impact, influence, results, or whatever you want to see. And you can talk about what matters most to you freely.
For example, in our Mighty Network – The OrganicFamilyCEO Community™ – we invite our members to create smaller groups within the larger group. You can be a part of our larger community + also your own local parents club, an essential oils interest group, a Peloton enthusiasts group, a homeschooling group, a LIVE launching support group, create your own group, or do all of the above + actually interact with the like-minded members near you without wasting your time (or theirs) by sorting through information.
Just because certain social media platforms are popular doesn’t mean that you’re required to use them in order for your relationships or business to be successful.
We’d love to know: how do you choose which social media platforms to be active on?
If you’re feeling muted or unseen in the digital space, then create the change you want to see. And if you want help doing it alongside a crew of other motivated parent entrepreneurs building family-centered online-based businesses, then consider joining us + we’ll guide you through.
Cheers to your aligned business-building,
Kevin + Courtney