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7 Strategies to Stay Ahead of Overwhelming Social Media Change
Filed under: Guest Posts, Social Media
Ok, it’s time for one of those honest conversations among friends, or maybe just with yourself.
Trying to keep up with social media can be overwhelming!
It’s little wonder. We’re right smack dab in the middle of an unprecedented frenzy of change.
Can you recall when the last time was that there was an innovation in television that impacted the way we market our products? In 1975, it was cable TV, and now, debatably, it’s the move toward asynchronous viewing on mobile devices. If you’re one of those that still do a lot of print advertising, the fundamentals haven’t changed much since the advent of the printing press in 1450! Well, ok, maybe some now that printing is done by computer, but I think you get my drift.
But social media? Not only do the social media platforms shift every day, the rules of engagement are changing constantly, too. Can anybody on earth keep up with the real and rumored changes just to Facebook’s EdgeRank formula? I know I can’t! I don’t even bother.
What we considered best practices six months ago are passe’ today. Yes, social media is overwhelming, especially with the assumed pressure to master every new platform that comes along.
But the thing is, as a professional marketer, you have to keep up. How is this possible? Here are seven ideas to help you stay calm and carry on.
Master the marketing fundamentals
The most effective coping mechanism for me has been keeping my focus on the experience in marketing fundamentals. Yes, the platforms keep changing, but the basics of marketing and consumer behavior don’t. So if you can view technological change through the lens of marketing fundamentals, you can more easily weed out the stuff that just isn’t going to make it. If you’re serious about a career in social media marketing, focus on learning the “marketing” part.
Form a support group
You can’t possibly keep up with everything and neither can your friends. But together, you just might make a dent in it. I have a few trusted friends who are more techy or more SEO-y than me. Together we can help each other by discussing the latest trends over lunch once a month. This gives me just enough juice to at least be conversant in a topic.
Consider a focus area
This is a hard thing to think about, but maybe you CAN’T keep up with everything and you need to focus on specialties. I’m starting to see consultants specialize in LinkedIn, Facebook, and video marketing and that’s probably a smart idea because you have a chance to be an expert in at least one thing. I’m struggling with this first, because I teach survey college courses so I have to know something about everything. And frankly, I am having a hard time focusing because I don’t want to miss anything. Everything is interesting to me.
Go where your customers are
Look, maybe it’s time to give up on Path or even (gasp) Google+ and simply stay on top of the platforms important to your customers.
Give yourself a time limit
Are you reading social media blog posts in bed? Maybe it’s time for a self-imposed time limit to force yourself to focus and prioritize. And, to be honest – have a life that isn’t 100%, 24/7 online.
Eliminate engagement guilt
Here is a hard lesson I have had to come to terms with: The more successful you are, the less ability you have to engage with your fans and followers. I hate that. But if I tried to maintain the level of engagement I had even a year ago I would not just be overwhelmed, I would be insane. As your tribe builds, you simply have to adjust and come to grips with the fact that you have a life beyond social media. Some things are going to slip through the cracks. Allow that to be OK.
The curation answer … or not
Now an obvious idea to keep up with social media trends is to go to a highly-respected curated source of content on key social media developments. Here’s the problem (and a business opportunity). This does not exist, at least not any place that meets my needs. Mashable? Too much crap. Social Media Examiner? An excellent site but too much of a focus on “how-to” posts.
Author Bio : Kausik Baisya is a Digital Marketing Professional and an enthusiastic writer, holding an editorial position in Prepgenie, a test prep provider that offers exam preparation courses for GAMSAT, PCAT, HPAT, LNAT, UMAT and UKCAT.
Image Credit: drurydrama (Len Radin), kobiz7
Posted on: December 20, 2012
Great post! I especially like your tone here: It is time to get real about some of these things
I’d rather focus and be proficient in 3-4 platforms than spread myself too thin.
Thanks for the call to action!
Thanks a lot Timothy. It’s encouraging for me to be able to motivate people to put my ideas into action.
I sincerely appreciate your acknowledgement.
And with great focus being subjected to content marketing and relationship building, i think a lot will be seen in the coming days in social media platform. One of the most tiring task, for an author is to be able to deliver on a regular basis and that too with always evolving social media, if one has to expand correspondingly.
Thanks for this post – very savvy advice!
As a Social Media consultant my customers hire me more and more often because of the overwhelming speed of change. The rate of change is typical in any revolution and another indication that that’s exactly what we are dealing with.
You have some very good coping strategies in your post. I especially like your last point! I started a couple of weeks ago to publish a list of my favourite blog posts – in a way to offer curated content that I recommend. I will add your post to this week’s list http://list.ly/2gh
Thanks Frithjof for the acknowledgement.
It’s an honor for me to be ranked 3 in – Top 10 Blog Posts Of Week 51 2012. Really that encourages me a lot. Will keep sharing new ideas regarding Social Media, and also would like to hear from a professional like yourself.
The order on the list is by reader votes so… people’s choice
That’s really cool
“If you’re serious about a career in social media marketing, focus on learning the “marketing” part.”
I certainly agree with this. I have been working in sales/marketing for 32 years and (until recently) internet marketing required ZERO marketing skills – just buy a bunch of text-links from the Asia – and off you go!
The upside of the Panda/Penguin changes is that Internet Marketeers now need to do exactly what you are proposing – utilise the basics of good marketing!
Thanks Ian for agreeing to my point. You see basics of marketing needs to be very clear in whatever platform an internet marketer dwells in. Google is tracking these, as reflected in the Panda/Penguin updates, and sooner or later they will land-up with a fresh update. So, its high time digital marketers realize this, and take the marketing part seriously.
Agreed Kausik.