5 Tips to Grow Your Business & Avoid Social Media Burnout

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Social media is a powerful tool that can help you grow your business. But you don't have to be glued to it! In this blog post, we'll outline 5 tips that will grow your business without burning out on social media.

1. Stop worrying about how many likes you get on your posts

I know, I know... it can feel really fucking good to see those engagement numbers up. But then comes the crash and burn when you're not getting the response you want.

This yo-yo effect can cause major energy leaks in your self-worth and self-esteem if you let it.

So here's what I suggest you do: fuck the numbers and don't make them mean anything about YOU. 

Instead focus on 3 things:

1. Create what brings you joy and what matters to you. 
2. Create with the intention to make just one person's life better.
3. Create content that your soulmate people are asking for (For example, answering frequently asked questions, or giving advice on specific blocks you see your clients go through).

When we take our attention away from the likes, and refocus on attention back on joy and service, spending time creating for social media can become much more fulfilling. And we can find gratitude for the people who ARE seeing it and engaging.

Not to mention there's plenty of people seeing your posts and not commenting or liking... so there's another reason not to worry, people are still seeing your message. It's all adding up for you.

2. Schedule posts ahead of time

When you schedule your posts, you don't have to worry about it in the moment. That way, you're spending more time focusing on what's important and less time on the app posting.

I personally prefer batch creating my content whenever possible too. I have a Google Doc that I've set up to write content when I have an influx of inspired ideas come through. And while I'm feeling turned on and jazzed about ideas, I let it all come through at once. Then break it down into bite-size pieces that can go out as social media posts.

This way I get to create content in abundance when I feel like it. And when I don't feel like creating, I can just rest and relax, knowing that content is scheduled to go out, and that creative inspiration will strike again later on.

 (I use Later.com to schedule my posts. Use this LINK to get 10 extra free posts)

3. Give yourself permission to take a break from social media when you need it

Some ways to practice social media self-care are to set a time limit on your use of social media and to give yourself permission to take breaks when you need them (without feeling guilty about it).

I love putting my phone on airplane mode most of the day and have most push notifications turned off. And if I'm going on to check messages, then I do so when I have the capacity to, not from a place of reactivity.  Then I do my best to get in and get out quickly without scrolling.

I also find it helpful to hide the app on my phone. I even have some friends that delete it completely off their phones on the weekends.

I've personally been known to take weeks (and even months) off when I feel called to, and do so without apology. During this time I still email my audience regularly, write my blogs, and share on Pinterest, but I don't beat myself up about "not showing up" consistently.

That's just self-created pressure in my experience, and I can create more when I'm not being so hard on myself.

Plus, I think we need more examples of business owners following their own inner guidance system, and making their business work for them, and not the other way around.

Yes sometimes my engagement has gone down after my mini social media retreat, but it takes very little time to build it back up again (a couple of consistent weeks to a month tops). You aren't permanently penalized for taking a break (at least not in my experience).

4. Watch your mindset and avoid comparison

In a world where everyone is posting pictures of their travels, adventures, thriving businesses, and income celebrations, it's hard not to compare yourself. It's also easy to feel like you're constantly missing out when scrolling through your feed, or like your business isn't "there yet".

It can make you feel inadequate or just not enough altogether. But the truth is that what we see online isn't always real life or the whole story. When following people who post about everything they've been up to, it may even make us think that "everyone else has more fun and is more successful than I am."

And we have a tendency to forget that sharing every vulnerable thing that happens isn't in alignment for everyone. So it's best to assume everyone is human going through their unique struggles.

And a good practice to have when you feel triggered by someone's joy or life, is to ask yourself what is it they have that I desire?

Is it more fun? A relationship? Health? Wealth? Success? Etc. Then use that information to focus on your own self-love, and take action steps towards creating a life you love, and working towards meaningful goals for yourself.

It can also be an opportunity to start training your brain to practice celebrating other's success and joy. This is especially important because a big subconscious block people have to their own success is that it will trigger others or they'll be hated on. So when you practice celebrating others, it starts to condition your mind and body that it's safe for you to have success and feel joy too. Because you know there will be people out there who celebrate you too (just like you celebrate others)!

(And if you need to, there's zero shame in "muting" or "unfollowing" people for as long as necessary- just sayin'.)

5. Focus on what makes you happy, not what will make you popular among followers

I find that so many of us start our soul-led businesses because we wanted to make a positive impact in people's lives, while ALSO being able to fully express ourselves and create our art.

So when we give ourselves permission to create the type of content that brings us joy and is meaningful for us, then we actually attract our aligned audience that resonates with who we are. And we don't have to twist ourselves into a knot trying to "people please" the masses so that people "like us" and "follow us".

We can just be ourselves and show up as we are, and attract whoever vibes with our message right now. Which will shift and evolve as we all grow.

So "you do you" is the way to go IMO.

I hope you found these tips helpful!

Remember that your business is not about the number of followers or likes you have, it’s about how much transformation and/or joy you bring to other people's lives through your work. And if social media doesn't feel like a good fit right now, then don't force yourself into doing something that feels bad! You deserve happiness as much as anyone else does.

There are plenty of other ways that you can market your work, in fact, I recently took a workshop with Leonie Dawson called "Marketing Without Social Media" and learned 150 alternative ways to market your biz that doesn't rely on Facebook or Instagram.

I got a lot of out of it! You can learn more about the Marketing Without Social Media Wokshop HERE.

With love + pleasure,

Amy Meraki