Are you feeling overwhelmed by all the social media platforms and the business advice regarding them? Do you feel like you don’t know where to start or how to create an effective social media strategy that is ethical, sustainable and brings you joy? Would you like to feel heiter about showing up on Instagram, Facebook & Co.?

Here are my three top tips on how you can use social media in a joyful and successful way:

1) Focus on your strengths:

You don’t have to do it all. I am a firm believer that you should focus on the platforms that are in line with your strengths. By that I mean, that are easy for you to use. If you are a visual person and you love photography and curating content, Instagram and Pinterest might be better choices for you. If you’re more of an introvert and the thought of having to engage on Instagram to attract more people is tiring, you might prefer Facebook. Did you know that the Facebook algorithm favours your personal page over your business page? Then why not focus on your profile and the people you’re already friends with on there? Share your content with them, rather than trying to show it to strangers. It’s very likely that the people you’re connected with fall under your ideal audience and/or recommend you to others.

Focusing on your strengths also plays a role when it comes to using individual features on a social media platform. I am particularly thinking about Instagram here. If you love talking, live chats might be just your thing. If you prefer showing snippets of how you work or what happens in your daily life, you might prefer stories. And if you enjoy creating video content, make reels and IGTV your priority. Again, you don’t have to do it all. Experiment and have fun.

2) Decide on three topics you’d like to talk about:

This is something I mention to all my clients. For the sake of simple planning, and to enable your ideal audience to follow along easily, focus on three topics that are in line with your brand (and values), and that are easy for you to talk about. It’s always good if they overlap with your audience’s interests too. If you run an ethical fashion brand for instance, you might create your posts around 1) how your products are made/behind the scenes content 2) how to look after the items/how to live a more conscious life in general 3) customer stories/how to wear stories. If you’re a lifestyle photographer you might want to share 1) examples of your photography/snippets of previous photo shoots & behind the scenes stuff 2) smartphone photography tips (assuming that your ideal audience would mainly use a smartphone to take pictures) 3) snippets of your own lifestyle as this can help your audience connect with you on a personal level.

3) See engagement as part of your customer service:

The last point I would like to address today is the following: don’t let the thought of having to engage on social media overwhelm you. I completely understand that commenting for the sake of it feels unethical and irrelevant. However, what happens if you shift your mindset? What if I told you that replying to DMs and comments is part of your customer service and that ignoring questions/remarks is just as strange as ignoring your ideal client in a shop or during an actual face to face encounter? Keeping that in mind has really helped me to enjoy getting back to my followers. It’s also helped me to be more authentic with my own comments. Hope you’ll find it useful too.

If you’d like more tips on how to use social media in a way that makes you feel heiter, book a “Joyful Instagram Audit” session with me: