What Online Content Creators Get Wrong About Social Media
Right Goals, Wrong Strategies
Tomorrow: Holiday hangout at 4:00 pm MTN/6:00 pm EST. This is a online creator Holiday Party and Hangout. Very low-key, wear festive gear, ugly sweaters are encouraged. It’s going to be a snowy day in Denver which is a great reason to hang out and celebrate the holiday season.
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Hang out details will be shared tomorrow
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End of Year Coaching hours-I have decreased my coaching hours and now have 7 coaching hours a month. You can book a coaching session here. Once you book that session I will reach out to schedule the time. Cost: $300
Mastermind spots still available-Please note that the Mastermind is capped at 15 participants.
Creators Getting Paid Mastermind-Details in the linked to post
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January
Save the date!
Free Workshop: Creating an Impactful (And Paid) Vision for Your Online Brand in 2024-Tuesday, January 16, 2024 at 6:00 pm MTN/8:00 pm EST
Free Workshop-How to Design Award Winning Podcast Content in 2024-Thursday, January 18, 2024 at 6:00 pm MTN/8:00 pm EST
IN-PERSON Workshop-How to Build and Grow a Newsletter that Pays (in 2024) I break down what works, what doesn’t and mistakes to avoid in 2024. Every person who runs an online brand who is serious about making money within their brand MUST have an email list or newsletter.
Leave the workshop understanding how to monetize your specific newsletter
Learn Michelle’s affiliate strategy
Get a chance to ask Michelle questions specific to your newsletter
Learn how to “sell” within your newsletter
How often to send out your newsletter and more
Cost: $97 (sale price until Friday, December 1, 2023)
When: Saturday, January 20, 2024 at 10:00 am MTN/12:00 pm EST
Zoom details will be shared the week of the workshop
Plan for at least 1.5-2 hours
Do You Really Need to Show Up Everywhere?
If you’re growing an online brand you’ve more than likely been told that you need to show up “everywhere” this advice is confusing, frustrating and often has people trying to figure out how to focus on multiple platforms at the same time. Several years ago I was doing the same thing. I even had a Hootsuite subscription where I repurposed my content and scheduled it to be shared out in the world.
Then Hootsuite decided to increase subscriptions by a ridiculous amount with very short notice. When that happened I decided to say “nope” to that tool and completely lost interest in the idea of being everywhere because I just lost interest.
I Broke Up With Social Media
At that time I began really thinking about content design, purpose and intentionality. I realized several things at that time.
Repurposing content is a great strategy-But there are a few downsides to consider. Each platform has a different audience. If you’re on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, etc. there is a different audience which requires the creator to communicate with different audiences in different ways-splitting your focus.
Split focus got split results-It’s not lost on me that my Twitter profile has my highest number of followers because that’s where I show up regularly. When I was actively showing up everywhere none of the profiles grew as quickly. Even if you’re using a tool to be everywhere-it’s still splits your focus.
I began asking myself how using social media actually benefited my brand-I realized that focusing on social media distracted from focusing on my actual goals.
Focus on Goals vs. Social Media
It is very easy for social media to distract from your actual goals. I’m going to share how this can happen and what it looks like as it relates to your results.
Myth #1-More Followers Equals More Money-This is a myth. Do you remember the story of the creator with hundreds of thousands of followers who decided to sell t-shirts and only 30+ bought one. This person was so focused on growing their followers that they didn’t reflect on strategy and which activities helped them move towards achieving their goals. A creator with a large following should be moving their followers to an email list, newsletter or both. Have you thought about a plan or strategy for those followers?
Myth #2-Your ideal audience is on social media-They may be online but not necessarily on social media. I think that there is an a fatigue that many people are experiencing with social media as new platforms are being created. I know that I’m not as interested or excited about learning a new social media platform. Herea are some examples of where your ideal community member/audience person or customer may be hanging out.
Newsletter subscribers-They are part of a newsletter eco-system that doesn’t require them to connect with anyone other than the newsletter creator if they feel like it.
Other people’s online communities-There is a reason why showing up in these similar affinity spaces is such a great way to market your brand. Ideally you’re showing up in a community that is similar to yours but not the same. These communities you can share helpful content that compliments that online community-Content that the creator might not be interested in sharing or aren’t an expert in.
Affinity spaces-Don’t laugh but I’m a huge Star Trek fan. You may, just may, find me geeking out about it at an occasional live event or space.
Myth #3-Social Media will Move You Towards Your Goals-The only way that social media will do this is if you’re working a focused strategy.
Myth #4-Social Media is Social-It’s actually not very social. These are very low-stakes interactions with people who are new to you for the most part. Why is that?
Avatars-People don’t always show their faaces
Blocking features-Creators can block who they don’t want to deal with (love this feature) Blocking can be a great way to manage uncomfortable, unsafe or annoying interactions.
Lack of emotional buy-in to the connection-Everything is still on the “surface” It takes a long time to grow deep connections with other people.
Myth #5-You never need to meet your online connections-Eventually you’ll need to meet some of your online connections.
How to Transition Online Connections Offline
I share what I do and think about before making this transition.