Why you should keep going, even when social media feels in turmoil.

There’s a lot happening on social media right now, with Insta changing it’s features and updating things every 5 seconds, it feels very chaotic.

When things feel chaotic, I for one like to take a breath and get a sense of what is happening, trying to steady myself in the imbalance if you like. But that isn’t always the best approach and here’s why. 

I happen to have taken a few weeks off posting on Instagram whilst I was away this summer and it felt amazing, and freeing and rejuvenating. But now I’m back and ready to start again. 

You see, one thing that really works on social media is consistency. Now, I say this time and time again, consistency doesn’t mean frequency. So I don’t mean posting every day. But what I do mean is picking days that work for you and religiously posting on those days. 

Through being away I have gotten out of this habit of consistency and by golly is it hard to get back into it. Why? Because I’ve broken my habit 🤦🏼‍♀️ I’ve already taken a week longer break than I had planned and if I don’t post again this week then that will be two weeks and then, well you can imagine…

Why am I worrying about this, you might think? Well for me, social media and specifically Instagram is my visibility, it’s how my clients and potential clients find me, it’s how those who have heard about me through word of mouth validate their decision to work with me and it’s how I build my community. 

Now with all the changes, updates and the summer hols, you might have taken a break too. And that’s brilliant, I hope you are now feeling refreshed, creative and raring to go again. 

The changes being bought into Insta, specifically the focus on short form videos / Reels can feel particularly scary. It’s a new way of creating content and it requires not only more skill, but more creativity and also, more energy to create. 

Whereby you used to be able to snap a pic on your camera phone, wang it up with a caption and not much thought, creating video content requires more. More thought, more planning and more time. 

It can feel like these changes are being bought in against the wishes of everyone, but, when you think about how you use social media, I bet you’re consuming a bit more video than you used to. Maybe because it’s there in your feeds or maybe it’s because you’re seeking it out, either way, the way you are using social media is changing. And so is the way your audience, customers and potential customers are using social media. 

Embracing a new way of creating content can be scary, it feels like you’re learning something new and maybe you are, but actually, it’s a great way to approach your social media content. Whether you’ve been doing it for years or you’ve just started, testing what works well with your audience and what is resonating is always a good idea. 

Just because it worked last year or even last month, doesn’t mean it’s working now. Just because it’s easy for you, doesn’t mean your audience is enjoying it. And if your audience isn't enjoying and engaging with it, then it will get shown to less people.

I suggest these top three tips to get you back into creating content and perhaps adding a bit more video into your content to see how it works…

1. Pick your consistency. How often are you going to create content? Pick your days and stick to it. 

2. Look at the content you’re creating, what content can you turn into a video instead of a photo or graphic?

3. Don’t be afraid to try something new. If it doesn’t work then you’ve learnt your audience doesn’t like it, and if it does work - bingo - do some more of that!

I’d love to hear your thoughts, comment below or DM me @be_super_social on Instagram.