So hi, it’s been a while.
Mostly because I’ve been trying to get my shit together and recalibrate. You see, there’ve been some changes around these here parts in that I’ve dropped a lot of my Marketing Strategy offerings for the time being and am focusing more on the freelance writing side of my business which has surprised me by taking off. Freelance writing wasn’t how I saw myself earning a living, but now that I’m typing that out I realize I’ve always had it in my life. Hell, my first college major was Creative Writing. So I guess it just took me turning 38 to finally realize what I wanted to be when I grew up.
Anyhow, let’s talk about the thing you’re here to learn: how to market your business without using social media.
Why would you even try to learn how to market your business without using social media?
Excellent question, Google keyword searcher. I can give you the full story of my experience or the TLDR;
TLDR: Because social media can drain you and have you running your accounts instead of your business.
The full story:
I deleted the majority of my personal or semi-personal social media accounts. To be totally transparent, I still have a few of my professional accounts alive though they’re rarely updated. Still, I know that in today’s world it’s more suspicious to have no social media presence than a dead one, so I keep those up.
To be even more transparent, I’m not giving up every platform; I intend to keep YouTube, Pinterest, and probably Twitter active (though I rarely use that). I know that makes me a little hypocritical to say “DELETE SOCIAL MEDIA!” while still keeping some, but I’ll get to that in a minute.
I deleted them because they were a negative distraction that left me stressed out trying to constantly feed the social media content monster. Also, they took time away from me actually, you know, earning a living. All that time creating content, keeping connections alive on my scheduling apps, paying my social media VA and yearly fees for schedulers…it just got out of hand to the point where I actively had negative feelings when I thought about it. Envy for those who made it look effortless, anger for giving Facebook/Meta more data, and just overall feelings of ickiness. So I decided to just pull the plug and let the chips fall where they may.
Side note: I’m all over the idioms in this post, aren’t I?
The problem, though, is that I am a digital marketer. It feels a little counterproductive to walk away from, you know, marketing. So how could I claim to be a marketing strategist if I won’t actually use digital marketing? And is there a way you can avoid using social media, too? Well, I don’t have all the answers, but here’s what I’m doing:
How to market your business without using social media
- Keep a few accounts that you semi-enjoy – Picking social media platform or any digital marketing option becomes less of an opportunity full of wonder and more like a “The devil you know…” except that you know you hate all of them. Right now the plan is Pinterest and YouTube, possibly with the addition of Twitter but as a more automated platform. My podcast is currently on hiatus while I work my shit out. Maybe it’ll come back, maybe not. Who can say right now.
- Focus more heavily on SEO – Oh blog, I can’t quit you. Creating a digital marketing strategy that revolves more around SEO than social media is a big shift for me because it feels like we’re going back to basics. But SEO is so powerful and is something I nerd out about, though admittedly I’m not the best at it.
- Stop trying to be a people pleaser – I was on Instagram and Facebook because I felt like I had to be, even though I despised both platforms and happily said so. But actively posting on those accounts just made me feel like a hypocrite. So instead of trying to do what I’m “supposed” to, I tanked the accounts and moved on.
- Flex your network – To me, it’s so funny that this is something I had to actively strategize because in the pre-digital world, that’s the only (or one of only a few) way to source new clients. My personal LinkedIn still exists, but that’s mostly because I’m terrible at remembering who I know. Blame the ADHD. But when I’m opening myself up to new clients, marketing or copywriting, I’m tapping into my network of contacts and actually *gasp* directly engaging with them to ask for leads or connections to people I want to meet.
- Spend that previously-wasted time on your business – The time that is now free thanks to quitting Instagram, Facebook, and worrying about whether I need a TikTok or Clubhouse account has given me SO much time to grow my writing business. I’m now able to book more clients and actually turn in work on time! This also has a ripple effect because the more time spent on client work, the more reviews and testimonials I get and the more word-of-mouth marketing I can use, too.
Is it a perfect system? Far from it. But getting away from that shitheel Meta has removed so much stress, you wouldn’t believe it. I’ll be updating you on my progress as I pivot my strategy throughout 2022. But I thought it was about time I actually let you know I’m still alive and have a (hopefully) method behind my madness. If you’re ready to get out but don’t know how to market your business without using social media I hope this helps you find a way to rethink your marketing strategy for 2022.
