When my bathroom sink clogged, I borrowed channel lock pliers from my dad to fix it.
I needed the pliers to unhook the p-trap so I could drain it and clean it out. I needed a specific tool for a specific reason.
It would be nonsensical if I started showing off the pliers by using them for cooking or yard work or cleaning. Yet that is exactly what happens with social media marketing.
We’re told we “need to be on social” to amplify our voice and influence and to build our businesses. Through a combo of FOMO (fear of missing out), shiny object syndrome, and downright confusion we obey. We open accounts on Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Clubhouse, Facebook, and more.
But WHY? What’s the reason? What result do we hope to get out of maintaining all those social media accounts?
Women Thought Leaders Need a New Social Media Philosophy
The majority of women thought leaders are using too many social media channels. Worse, we’re using them half-assedly, grudgingly, and uncertainly.
Like channel lock pliers wrench, social media is most effective when used as a tool.
The problem I see is when women thought leaders start thinking of social media as the work. We fall prey to its addictive, competitive design. We see other people’s posts and stories and feel like we have to keep up. It gets treated like its own end, rather than a means to an end.
That’s why I evangelize “social media monogamy:” using one network supremely effectively for specific reasons.
My concept of “social media monogamy” isn’t a hard-and-fast rule. Social media monogamy is a philosophy — a set of guiding principles for social media use for women thought leaders.
The principles of Social Media Monogamy (SMM) are:
- To need a tool thou must be creating something. That is thy thought leadership work, and it comes before social media.
- Use the tools thou enjoy, let go of the rest.
- Thou shan’t dance to the tune of these tools. Thou use them for specific reasons.
Let that sink in. Social media is a tool you can choose to use to amplify your voice and influence. You’re an ambitious woman, you don’t have time for energy vampires. Rather than pandering to ever-changing algorithms, you use this tool for a reason and be done.
How Women Thought Leaders Practice Social Media Monogamy
How does this work in practice? How do Real, Live, Women Thought Leaders practice the philosophy of social media monogamy? Let’s look at some examples:
Eva Jannotta, thought leadership strategist and advisor for women
When I started practicing social media monogamy it was clear to me which network would deliver the best results in terms of networking and reaching prospective clients. Thankfully, it’s also the one I most enjoy using: LinkedIn.
But LinkedIn isn’t the only account I have. Here’s how I use each social media network I’m a member of:
- LinkedIn: lead generation, networking, social selling, marketing
- Twitter: occasionally for news and tweeting podcasts/writers
- Instagram: very occasionally for personal reasons, like DMs and resharing weightlifting stuff
- Facebook: deactivated
- YouTube: private client welcome videos and team training videos
- TikTok, Clubhouse, Pinterest, etc: I don’t use these tools.
I only use LinkedIn for public-facing thought leadership work. The rest I use for mostly personal reasons or privately (like YouTube).
Eleanor Beaton, business and leadership coach for women
My coach Eleanor Beaton runs a multi-million dollar business and has a full time team. Though a bigger company often = more tools, Eleanor and her team are equally strategic about why they use each social media network.
Eleanor and her company SAFI Media exemplify the soc-med-monog philosophy via the 80/20 principle:
- LinkedIn: 80% of their marketing efforts focus on LinkedIn, where Eleanor has the largest following and where her right-fit clients are most likely to be. As she put it, “where we believe we have the strong competitive advantage.”
20% of their effort is in the places they “need” to be because their clients are there (Facebook, Insta, etc). You could make the case — and I probably would — that they don’t need to be there, but SAFI Media has made the strategic decision to maintain a presence in those places:
- Twitter: gently share thought leadership content and commentary/perspectives
- Instagram: stay connected with clients, gently share thought leadership content
- Facebook: paid ads strategy, gently share thought leadership content
- YouTube: where podcast recordings and educational videos can be accessed
- TikTok, Clubhouse, Pinterest, etc: don’t use
Psst! If you haven’t listened to my podcast interview on Eleanor’s show, click here to listen. We talk about booty-shaking for Mark Zuckerberg (#never), social media monogamy, and how I run my popular Women Leaders’ Roundtable series.
Ruchika Tulshyan, diversity and inclusion strategist and author
Many of my clients exemplify the SMM philosophy — thanks in part to yours truly’s benevolent influence! — but I want to highlight my client Ruchika of Candour Global because she uses two social media networks for two excellent reasons:
- LinkedIn: Since Ruchika works B2B with organizations, LinkedIn is a powerful platform for sharing her thought leadership and growing her network.
- Twitter: Ruchika likes Twitter! Remember SMM philosophy principle #2? “Use the tools you enjoy.” If you like a tool, even if it’s not directly tied to your thought leadership practice or business, use it. Do what you enjoy. And although Twitter doesn’t have the “professional” reputation of LinkedIn, you can absolutely find clients there (I have!) and make powerful and strategic connections.
Social Media is Not the Work. This IS:
Neither Ruchika, Eleanor or I are “monogamists” in a strict sense. Rather, we use each social media platform for a deliberate purpose.
Because social media is not the work.
Social media is a tool. And to use a tool you must be creating something.
Creating your thought leadership is the work. Supporting your clients is the work. Building your team is the work. Thinking, speaking, writing, learning, podcasting, that is the work.
Speaking of the work, that’s what stepping into your thought leadership practice and building your platform is.
Thought leadership platform-building happens to be my specialty, particularly for thought leaders in the Women Helping Women Economy. If that piques your interest, here’s the next step to take:
My free 5 Pillars of Magnetic Thought Leadership course teaches you how to make your thought leadership incandescent and irresistible.
It’s brimming with exercises, examples, and insights to make your thought leadership as magnetic as ice water after a marathon.
Click here to join the free email course, 5magneticpillars.com
I’ll see you on the inside.
Image by Good Faces via Unsplash. For more on social media monogamy, read How Social Media Monogamy Saves Time, Cuts Distractions, and Makes Women Thought Leaders Stand Out
