#InspiralizedBoss, Episode 10: How To Grow on Social Media And Not Go Crazy

#InspiralizedBoss, Episode 10: How To Grow on Social Media And Not Go Crazy

Follow Inspiralized on LinkedIn to receive updates on a new #InspiralizedBoss post. Every Friday, we’ll...

#InspiralizedBoss, Episode 10: How To Grow on Social Media And Not Go Crazy
Follow Inspiralized on LinkedIn to receive updates on a new #InspiralizedBoss post.

Every Friday, we’ll be posting short and quick business stories, tips and resources that have helped us grow Inspiralized. The series will be called #InspiralizedBoss and we hope they inspire others!

FROM THE DESK OF ALI MAFFUCCI, FOUNDER, INSPIRALIZED:

Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. Pinterest. Snapchat. Periscope. Tumblr. YouTube.

How does one keep on top of their social media game when it seems like every day, a new platform pops up? It can certainly be exhausting and most importantly, frustrating. If you’re investing your time into a social media channel and you don’t see the growth right away that you’d like, it can be disheartening and as I said, frustrating.

These are some tips on how I grow social media with Inspiralized, and I think it can be helpful to many of you who are startups as well.

1. Pick 2 platforms to invest 75% of your social media time

I’m most active on Instagram and Snapchat. They’re easy, accessible applications that lend themselves well to what I do. I can do step-by-step cooking tutorials on Snapchat. I can show photos of my food and my product on Instagram. It takes seconds to post, and it doesn’t require much forethought. I invest 75% of my time on those platforms. My Instagram is my #1 social media channel right now (with the highest following and largest engagement.)

When you’re picking which channels to invest most of your time in, pick ones that are applicable to what you do. If you run a bakery, you may find it too overwhelming to use Snapchat, especially because of the 15 second limitation. Perhaps you should get on Periscope instead and give bakery tours, cooking lessons, etc. Periscope allows you to stream for as long as you’d like!

Pick your 2 channels and focus on those. Those 2 channels should be unique and offer a different value for your customer/follower/reader. For example, don’t choose Periscope and YouTube. YouTube already offers videos to your users, so switch it up by pairing YouTube with Instagram. Which brings me to my next point….

2. Cross-promote to grow your channels

Yes, I invest most of my time on Instagram and Snapchat. However, I use those channels to help grow my other channels that I’m also active on and offer a different value. This way, I don’t have to run around like a chicken with its head off, trying to post to 92045 channels at all times, in an effort to grow them.

All you need to do is tease something on a social channel and say, “Hey, want to see a video version of this? Check out my Snapchat! Username: [insert username here].” I do this on Instagram all the time after I make a dish and post up the photo. I’ll say, “Just made this on Snapchat. Username Inspiralized.” I always see a huge surge in followers after those Instagram posts.

There’s no shame in that game! People usually respond with, “I didn’t even know you had a Snapchat!” It’s an easy, quick way to grow your following on other channels, without having to invest a lot of time. Cross-promotion!

[bctt tweet=”You have to be in it to win it. So hustle and hustle hard. via @Inspiralized” via=”no”]

3. Work smarter, not harder.

In my second job out of college, my manager told me to “work smarter, not harder!” I was at first turned off by this advice, because I’m a worker bee. However, I started applying the concept to my work and sure enough, it paid off. Now, I’m not saying don’t work hard, but work hard…. smartly.

What do I mean specifically? Do yourself a HUGE favor and sync up all of your social media channels. Whenever I post to Instagram, it gets Tweeted out (on Twitter.) Whenever I post to Facebook, it goes out to Twitter. Therefore, I’m guaranteed at least 8-10 Tweets a day that took ZERO effort (because I synced.)

Also, add your handles to other social channels’ profiles. For example, in my Instagram, I added my Snapchat username. On YouTube, I list every single social media channel on every one of my videos. I also add my social icons to all of my newsletters, so every time someone reads through my newsletter, they’re reminded and it’s easy to click to follow!

And lastly, make sure your social media channels are all the same. I’m @Inspiralized on everything (except YouTube, but I can’t change it!) This makes it so simple for people to find your channels.

4. Don’t be afraid to have fun and experiment (NEW PODCAST!)

At the end of the day, social media is supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to be a place where you can voice your opinions, share your content, engage with other people, and build your brand. Don’t let it stress you out.

If you’re on a certain channel and it’s just NOT your thing, don’t worry – don’t be active on that platform and invest your time in another platform you love. However, I think everyone should be on the big three: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, just for tagging purposes (I hate when businesses don’t have all 3, because when I want to tag them in a post and they’re not on one, it stinks for them!) However, that doesn’t mean you have to Tweet 50 times a day, just be present. Maybe 1 Tweet a week. Whatever you can manage.

I like to try out new platforms as they launch and see if they’re a fit for me and Inspiralized. Which brings me to this: I just signed up with the Anchor app, a new social platform that allows you to record 2-minute podcasts, “Radio for the People”! I love this idea, because I always have random thoughts that I want to share but don’t want to invest in on-camera time (ie Periscope) or it’s too lengthy to share via typing on Twitter.

So, here’s my schedule for next week’s Anchor “waves” (that’s what the 2-minute “podcasts” are called), all taking place at 10am live, but can be listened to after they’re recorded as well:

  • Motivation Mondays – let’s get amped for a healthy, productive week!
  • Toned Tuesdays – I’ll be talking about some new fitness gear or exercises I’m into, basically anything related to fitness!
  • Wellness Wednesdays – talking about any health topics, such as how to overcome binge eating (click here to listen to the first part!)
  • Think Tank Thursdays – I’ll be talking about everything related to life as an entrepreneur! Business tips, etc.
  • Fun Fridays – whatever I want to talk about! For example, today I talked about the NY Times article about the questions you should ask before getting married!

If you’d like to listen to some of the topics I’ve discussed/experimented with over the past couple of days, you can listen here and follow me so you can be reminded when I’m live:

Want to hear me ask Lu what his favorite spiralized dish of mine is? You’ll love his answer!

A reader wrote to me about her struggle with binge eating and I offered up my advice. Listen to that two-part Anchor podcast here:

I’m excited to try it out, and I’m going to give it two weeks and if I find that it’s adding value to people, it’s worth the time, and doesn’t overwhelm me, then I’ll keep going!

It’s okay to experiment and decide something doesn’t work for you. It’s okay to fail. There’s no shame in that – I’ve tried things for the blog that haven’t worked and I’ve stopped doing them. It’s okay. It’s all about finding your stride and building your brand in a way that works for you. At the end of the day, if you’re not happy because you’re stressed out over “doing it all,” what’s the fun in being an entrepreneur? Just be open and honest with your followers and they’ll respond to your genuine attitude.

 

Having said ALL of this, at the end of the day, you have to be in it to win it. So hustle and hustle hard, my friends.

What would you like to see me address during these podcasts? Leave a question in the comments!

Thank you for tuning in, and I hope you learned something new from this week’s #InspiralizedBoss post.

#InspiralizedBoss - Business success and failure stories from the founder of Inspiralized

with love, Ali

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comments

  • These tips are SO helpful!! Being a fairly new blogger (less than a year) sometimes it gets overwhelming trying to build a community on all of these different platforms. But I've learned which ones work and where I need to focus. Thanks, Ali!
  • These are great! Will you do one about how you come up with new recipe ideas? And do you ever feel you'll run out or feel like you're not innovating anymore? Sometimes my creativity steam runs out and there's so much pressure to keep up. It would be cool to get your perspective.
  • Hi Ali, I'd lovel to know about your schedule. Do you adhere to a daily or weekly schedule for getting your tasks done? Also, do you work with anyone (like a biz coach) to help you learn how to develop and grow your business? Thank you! best, Ellen Allard, Gluten Free Diva
  • As someone who does freelance social media management and content creation for clients I 110% agree on your advice of picking two platforms to invest your time in, especially as a small business. So many people think you have to be on every single platform and while that's the case for much bigger brands, as a small biz you only have so much time. Give your all to one or two platforms and add the rest later (if you want!) is what I say!