The marketing consistency conundrum
"Be consistent" is probably the most overused and most wrongly interpreted bit of marketing advice given to small businesses.
This idea that in order to be successful, we need daily posts on all the platforms, or that we need to use all the Instagram functionality, is simply wrong.
It misses the point that if you are going to just focus on volume of content, you’re inevitably going to put crap out there in the world. AND it is going to suck the joy of marketing from you (yes, I genuinely believe marketing can and should be joyful).
Summer of silence
Here in my corner of the world, the school summer holidays are upon us. If you’re taking time off over the next few weeks, what do you plan to do about social media?
Have you got lots of content ready made and scheduled? Are you worried about where you will find the time to create content? Are you burying your head in the sand about it all?
Why spend your time worrying about content when you can drink coffee and read a book on a beautiful beach?
Personally, I’m taking my foot completely off the gas and will only post when I feel like it. I have lined up some posts ready to publish, but I may not even deploy all of them. And you know what? Even if I end up posting a mere fraction of what I usually post, I will feel not an ounce of stress about this.
No apologies
Guess what, if you want to take a break from social media, you really don’t have to:
feel guilty about it,
announce it (unless you want to) or
apologise for it.
I get it, you love your followers and appreciate them, but what are you worried about if you don’t post? Ultimately, they are not subscribers. They haven’t paid you in money or an email address to hear from you. There will not be serious repercussions if you stop posting for a bit. They’ll still be here when you’re ready to get back on it.
Please know that you can take a break on your own terms and without explaining yourself to anybody. You don’t have to do things that drain your energy. Remember who's in charge on social media (it's you).
Consistency in quality rather than quantity
If you want to keep posting on social media even if you are away on holiday or working on other things in your business, you can of course schedule content.
But regularly posting does not have to involve sitting down every single day to plan content, create it and post it.
What if there’s a new way to think about being consistent?
I like the idea of rooting your consistency in QUALITY rather than QUANTITY. (Keri Jarvis articulated this idea brilliantly in her newsletter, saying "When I do say something, it'll be good for my audience or community.")
Keri’s audience love her because everything she shares is perfect for them - not because she is there every day! Why would you be a daily-shower-upper if you can be an always-wows-the-audiencer?
A batch of bread and butter
A few weeks ago during my Batch for the Beach course, I helped businesses who wanted to schedule their summer content come up with ideas for content that they could schedule for August.
We started by looking at what each person’s reasons were for posting content in the first place, and in particular why they wanted to post content throughout August.
We considered who they were speaking to and what they most wanted them to know.
Only then did we look at what to actually say - after stopping to think strategically.
Participants created enormous amounts of content in just a couple of hours - one managed 30 posts created and scheduled! And the best part of it was that the content was not fluff, it was stuff that genuinely both reflected the business authentically and connected on a deep level with their audience.
Within this framework, there remains space to pop up in the gaps with spontaneous content that doesn’t require too much planning or any overthinking.
Go with what feels good
Feel-good marketing for me is also about what feels easy. Find your flow and go with it.
So look at the easy wins. What's done well for you before? Look at your insights and find a great post. Can you reuse a photo with a different caption (or the other way around)? Or even repost something from a year or longer ago that's still relevant?
Or share someone else stuff (not steal it!), and add our own thoughts to it?
Marketing doesn’t have to be hard to be successful!
I hope you have a relaxing summer, with lots of downtime to recharge or plan ahead for the rest of the year!