Have you ever considered ditching social media, but you’re not sure if you can grow your business without it? Do you ever feel consumed by all the time it takes to show up on social and you’re ready for a change?
If you relate to those feelings in any way, this episode will offer some fresh perspective and clarity as you figure out your own best approach to using social media in your business.
If social media ever feels consuming for you, you might have wondered this question: Is it possible to grow a business without social media? If so, how? And even if it’s possible, should you?
Social media has so many good things about it, but it obviously also comes with some negative aspects as well. We all have our own ways we approach social media and how we use it to scale and grow our business, connect with others, network, and more. This episode will explore some of those aspects and help you consider how to best use social media for your personal business.
Is it Possible to Ditch Social Media?
The short answer: Yes.
I know people who don’t use it in their businesses at all. If you choose this route, there are a few more things to consider implementing in your business.
What Do You Need if You Ditch Social Media?
A solid web presence. You should still have a website in place even if you are not showing up on social media. This website should be clear for people to find out what you do, what you offer, and how to work with you. It should offer clear ways to sign up for your service, purchase your material, etc.
A content platform. If you want to stay off social, I still think it’s vital for you to show up with your content somewhere. For example:
- a blog
- a YouTube channel
- a podcast
My preference, of course, is a podcast, and here are a few reasons why:
- People can consume podcasts from anywhere. They do not have to be sitting down in a place where they can read like they do a blog. BUT your podcast content can easily be turned into a blog post by repurposing the content so that people CAN read it if they want. Unlike video, they don’t have to be watching for it to make sense.
- It’s evergreen, meaning that people can go back and listen to your podcast for months and years to come.
- It shows your expertise so you can demonstrate your knowledge and expertise to your potential clients without even getting on a call with them.
- You can use it to build relationships with collaboration partners. By offering interviews on your show, you can open the doors for potential people who might refer clients to you.
- If you do it well, it can be found by people who are searching for your content.
- Audio can build trust and relationships with listeners. This is one of the things that social media is GOOD for. So, if you don’t use social media, you need to find ways to build trust with your audience outside of that. Audio content can be a great way to build that trust.
A traffic source. You need traffic coming to you from SOMEWHERE. If you are not going to show up on social media and build organic traffic, then you’ll need to figure out where or how those potential clients and customers are going to find you.
Here are a few potential ways you can get traffic to your business without social media:
- Search engine optimization (SEO): This is where you would be optimizing your content on your website, podcast, or youtube channel to be found by those searching for it.
- Referral partners and relationships: You will need to have a solid relationship building effort where you have referrals coming to you from others in your industry or network. This can be organic or paid.
- Paid traffic: Invest in ads! Yes, you can actually bring in traffic through paid ads on Google, Facebook, or other platforms.
Email list. Finally, you really should have an email list if you are not going to be on social media. You should have an email list anyways, but especially if you’re not going to build on social media.
Your email list is one place where you can both build up trust and relationships AND you can sell to your list. It’s a way to communicate 2 ways, not just one way (like a podcast). People can talk back with you via email where they can’t through a podcast.
SHOULD You Ditch Social Media?
There are a few things to consider as you make this decision for yourself:
- Is God calling you to this? If He is, that’s a big reason to step away from social media.
- Do you feel that social media is bogging you down and overwhelming you? If so, perhaps you just need a different strategy for approaching your social media presence.
- Do you feel that social media is causing you harm? Or keeping you from your most important work? Sometimes social media can be a big distraction, and it can even be harmful.
BUT here’s why I won’t be building without social unless God makes it really clear:
Social media is where I find relationship building to be the most natural and most beneficial. I am able to get to know my community better than in many other places. Yes, my podcast is where I can share my knowledge and expertise, but social media is where we can have conversations about it!
As with many other things in life, social media is really about the amount of time, energy, and focus you put into it. If you use social media strategically, I think it can be beneficial and can truly contribute to your business growth. But if you let it take over or you get consumed by it, it can be detrimental.
If you want to focus on a content platform that will have long-lasting benefits for you, I want to encourage you to check out my ‘Podcast in a Weekend’ mini-course. This mini-course will give you the strategy and the shortcuts to create a podcast that will allow you to grow your business.
Quotes to Note:
“Social Media can be a place where relationship building happens the most organically and naturally.” -Esther Littlefield [15:05]
“I see [social media] as a way to get to know YOU better. You who are listening to my podcasts, you who are part of my programs… I can’t serve you if I don’t know what you need and I’m only putting out what I think and I’m not listening to you.” – Esther Littlefield [16:00]
“Social media, when taken with the right attitude, can be a really beneficial thing for your business.” – Esther Littlefield [16:30]
Connect with Esther:
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