It's not what you do in a day. It's what you do every day. Click To Tweet
A mentor told me the above quote once, and I’ve never forgotten it. And I haven’t found an area in which this is better applied than to social media marketing success.
At the beginning of any new social media campaign or new client venture, there is an understandable level of excitement about the project. I know I get excited. The client is pumped that they’re taking a big step towards growing the business. Everyone is ready and willing to carry their load and then some. We start by blogging twice per week, posting a dozen times a day, and engaging with everyone in their space.
Then, they get busy. Life happens. The project takes a back seat. The content engine slows down, causing people to become discouraged about the lack of progress. This malaise can continue until the project eventually loses all steam. That’s why I am a firm believer in doing things you can sustain. Persistence is more important than excitement.
I counsel my clients to start small and do no more than they can comfortably add to their workflow. I don’t want their team to get stretched too thin. Don’t get me wrong: excitement is great. But I’d rather be strategic and add some of that (now) free-flowing content to the “bank” for a rainy day.
Have you ever found yourself losing steam after making a great start, say, with your blog? Ever completely lose focus on social media because other business took your attention for a season.
Start by writing one post per month. It will feel almost unnaturally slow in the beginning. After a time, add in a second. Then, perhaps start layering in some social media activity. Next thing you know, you’ll have added layer upon layer of complexity, but it won’t feel like you’ve made a revolutionary change. You will have simply improved upon what is now an effective social media marketing process.
So, get started. Start small. Don’t get discouraged and most importantly of all, do only what you can consistently do.
I consider myself to be more consistent and disciplined than most. But I still find there are times in life where the unexpected can chip into that consistency and discipline in ways that could not have been predicted. This is where I struggle the most. For instance, just such unexpected circumstances occurred this week, and I had to decide between attending to my post on this site, or my post on my own site. Because others were relying on me here, I chose this (and have not yet written or posted my Friday post on my own site, which usually goes up at midnight of that day). At the same time, my social media efforts have waned, but there is no other way around it, given the current circumstances. My norm is something I can maintain; but I do hate when “life gets in the way” and interrupts my flow!
Thanks for providing consistently useful content, Reade.
Wow, thanks for that, Erik.
I’ve been in those situations before. Sometimes you do have to make hard choices and things have to be missed. The important thing is that you don’t let it derail you. A great weight lifting coach once told me that if you touch the bar, its a +. If you don’t, its a -.
Some days, you get a -. The next day better be a +.
Keep up the good work, Erik!
Great post, Reade. Consistency is the key for anything to work, including social media marketing. “Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.” – Jim Rohn
Love Jim Rohn! I couldn’t agree more. I recently heard my pastor say that “the Christian life is a life of routine”. Well, I think there’s a reason for that.
Thanks again, Adam!