Be authentic

​There is a huge push to be everywhere and use social schedulers (Automation tools like Hootsuite). I'm going against the grain on this one: You don't have to be everywhere (who has time for that) and you don't necessarily want an automation tool.

​Why? It doesn't matter if you are selling a service, product or writing a blog-social media is about building relationships. ​​​You won't effectively build relationships if you are posting the same type of content everywhere. Remember, each social outlet has different demographics. If you are posting different, targeted content everywhere, how do you find the time to operate the rest of your business?

​That's where automation tools come in, and I'm very leery of these for a couple different reasons:

1-it means you are spending way too much effort in too many places. It's hard to be something awesome for everyone and this historically leads to failure or burn out.

2-it's not authentic. Most of these services will state that your post was shared from an automation tool (unless you're paying to hide that). This has the possible negative side effect of telling your readers that you have content, but not the time to post it and respond to their interactions with it. You want to have meaningful interactions with your readers, customers and community!

There are some automation tools that are awesome-Facebook gives you the ability to schedule your post for a later time and date, without including that tidbit in the post. So whenever possible, use the social outlets automation tools and use a notebook, planner, calendar or word program to prepare your ideas in advance. You'll be much more authentic and able to create lasting relationships with your followers!

So to wrap up: Save yourself some energy by choosing your social platforms carefully, with your target audience in mind. Save yourself money and time by using native automation tools and a little prep brainstorming work. You'll be authentic and build meaningful relationships.

I hope you've found these tips helpful! If you've discovered more ways to help build relationships on social media, I'd love for you to share using the comments below!


Best Wishes
-Da'Nela

#TipTuesday