I’ve heard it said that monogamy is an invention of the patriarchy, created to keep the control of women (our bodies, children, property) in the hands of men. And maybe it’s true that monogamous relationships are not inherently feminist.
But monogamy has its upsides: the opportunity to build a deep, lasting relationship that is grounded in trust. The kind of connection that make you feel safe and special. A connection to commit your time, energy, and focus to, where you feel heard, seen, and supported.
Which makes social media monogamy an effective marketing tool and a strategic business decision, and one I urge you to commit to in 2020. Here’s why it’s time to make social media monogamy a priority:
1. You are a rare commodity
Rare commodities are sought after… and command the highest prices. You can’t buy high-quality, artisanal, customized products at Walmart. Neither do you need to be available to everyone, everywhere.
Presence in one or two places piques curiosity. It makes you exclusive and gives you control over where and how your people can connect with you. So be selective about where you are available online. Be a rare social media commodity.
2. You cannot be good at everything
You’re competent at many things. You’re excellent at a few things. But you’re a genius at only one thing.
That’s a concept from The Big Leap, and no, I’m not saying that your genius is a social media network. I am saying that it’s pointless to try to be exceptional at multiple social media networks.
Being active on every social network is an amateur play. At best, it doesn’t help you make your impact. At worst, it lulls you into a false sense of productivity, distracts you from your high-impact work, and overwhelms your audience. Instead, choose one (maybe two) social media networks where you can be irresistible.
3. Social media is distracting
Dedicating your resources (time, money, team’s hours) to filling multiple social channels is a distraction from your work. The impact (dare I say art!?) you’re here to make on women’s lives and our world is not in Instagram posts.
You know this, but sometimes we all forget: social media is not the work. Social media is not the work. Social media is not the work.
The work is cudgeling your brains to write words that help a woman solve a problem. It’s recording a video that helps her get a raise or promotion. It’s designing a course that gives her the tools to build financial freedom, network effectively, and make her impact. It’s pitching to news outlets or speaking gigs.
Writing social copy and curating images are part of the work. But it’s SNEAKY-easy for tweeting to feel like the work itself, and it’s a dupe. The work is what’s in your heart and mind, not on social media.
How to Choose the Best Social Media Network
How do you choose which social media network is The One? I recommend you use my two-step formula:
- Which network do my ideal clients use the most?
- Which network do I enjoy the most?
The second question is critical: choose a network that you like. Even if you outsource some of your social media marketing, you will not get the best results if you don’t use social media yourself.
Why? Because you’re here to make an impact on women, and that will not happen if you don’t put in the time. That means connecting with women using words from your heart. It means commenting, sharing, searching, messaging. And you WILL NOT want to invest that time if you hate the medium.
Ideally, there’s one network that fits both questions in the formula.
Social Media Networks: Pros and Cons
If you’re stuck or curious, below is a list of social media networks and their pros and cons. And if you don’t feel like reading that much, scroll to the end, where I (spoiler alert) give you my three top recommendations for social media networks to invest in for the women helping women economy.
This short, quippy social media network is ideal if you write articles for news outlets and publications, you are quotable and you like quoting others, and you have an activist’s spirit. Twitter is great for conversations around news and issues in the zeitgeist… or if you want to write short updates and insights on the fly.
- Pro: short by design, easy to use on-the-go, and great for connecting with journalists, authors, and more.
- Con: tweets are short-lived, and the user-base is not growing much.
- Example: Money Strategist and host of the #SoMoney Podcast Farnoosh Torabi
The belle of the ball! Peep into the women entrepreneur’s space on Instagram and you’ll see posed-to-look-natural shots of women on Macbooks, drinking lattes, and joyfully laughing. (Can you tell I kind of hate it?) Even with the surge in self-conscious authenticity, it’s contrived. But! That doesn’t mean it’s not effective. A picture is worth a thousand words, and you can use images to show behind-the-scenes, inspiration, quotes, and more.
- Pro: gorgeous imagery, great searchability with hashtags, and growing all the time
- Con: breeds comparison-itis, and Instagram posts don’t have clickable links
- Example: My colleague and Top Millennial Money Expert and Dominique Broadway
Ah, Facebook. The original (and most popular) social network. Listen: a lot of entrepreneurs in the women helping women economy get great results on Facebook, using public pages, personal profiles, and micro-communities in groups.
- Pro: ideal if you want to host free micro-communities, and if you sell products or education.
- Con: you’re competing with personal content, and Facebook is crowded so you will likely need a paid strategy to get results.
- Example: Women’s Leadership Expert (and my mentor and coach) Eleanor Beaton
The social network that is dedicated to professional networking. LinkedIn is great because the content you find there is usually people’s best, and it’s not mixed in with pictures of dogs and vacations (cough Instagram, cough Facebook). Also: video is getting more play on LinkedIn.
- Pro: searchability, great for making professional connections, publishing thought leadership, finding and engaging in conversations in your niche
- Con: there’s annoying spam, and if you’re B2C it’s probably not a good fit
- Example: My client and Leadership Storytelling Expert Lisa Gates (who was named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in 2019 after we started working together!)
Not actually a social media network! It gets lumped with them, but Pinterest is a search engine. It can be super effective to drive traffic to your website, especially if you offer visual services (interior design, branding, vision boards) or education.
- Pro: a lot of women use Pinterest (70% of users), and an individual pin can be evergreen for a long time
- Con: I can’t think of many cons to Pinterest. It’s just a matter of deciding if it’s a good fit.
- Example: My friend and colleague Chantl Martin, a vision board expert who generates nearly 50% of her web traffic from Pinterest alone.
YouTube
Also more of a search engine than a social network. Many people get GREAT results on YouTube by investing in search strategy. Some people are literally YouTube famous.
- Pro: if you love teaching and video, this is an excellent choice, especially if you hire a specialist to help you with search engine optimization.
- Con: none, if you’re willing to do the above!
- Example: Social Media and Video Expert Sunny Lenarduzzi
Snapchat
Lol! Listen, Instagram Stories kinda killed Snapchat’s marketing potential. Some big companies and young influencers use it, but unless your audience skews young (for selling products or recruiting) just don’t even.
TikTok
The new kid on the block. I don’t recommend TikTok (known as musical.ly when I first heard of it) for most entrepreneurs in the women helping women economy because it’s not set up for publishing thought leadership. It’s more art-y.
It actually seems pretty fun. If you’d enjoy creating short music or comedy videos, check it out. For some brands, this will be a fantastic outlet, and I am sure there are myriad ways to impact young women on this platform, but it skews young and doesn’t have the… what word do I want? Gravitas, maybe?
Which Social Media Network(s) Should You Pick?
I recommend you choose your favorite social media network between Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. These three networks will bring you the best return on investment if your audience is women, thanks to their reach, design, and popularity. They’re where you have the best opportunity for impact (and if you’re wondering why YouTube and Pinterest aren’t on this list, read what I wrote in the Pros and Cons section).
Of course that doesn’t mean you CAN’T use any others. But set your sights and expectations on one network where you will be exceptional.
Remember: being exclusive on social media makes you stand out. It’s not just because you’re a rare commodity, and there is power and mystery in scarcity. Nor is it only because being available everywhere is a waste of resources and a distraction.
It’s because social media absence spotlights you because it’s DIFFERENT.
I bet you know, intellectually, that the clichés are true. “Less is more” and “the riches are in the niches.” And, I bet emotionally, FOMO (fear of missing out) and scarcity mindset crop up when you think about social media monogamy. Let those fears run their course—fear always does—and let yourself picture how much more simple, focused, and refined your social media marketing will be with only one network.
You—your message, marketing, business, and impact—will be stronger for it.
Special thanks to Amy Wright for edits. Featured image via CreateHER Stock.
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LinkedIn:
It’s time to make a monogamous commitment on social media. Enough two-, or three-, or four-timing! Here are three imperative reasons why from @Eva Jannotta—plus, how to choose the best social network for your high-impact work: https://www.simplyputstrategies.com/blog/social-media/how-to-save-time-cut-distractions-and-stand-out-on-social-media-its-called-monogamy/ #SocialMedia #SocialMediaMarketing #OnlineMarketing #SocialMediaStrategy
Twitter:
Enough two- (or three-, or four-!) timing on #SocialMedia, everyone. Strengthen your message, marketing, and impact by going MONOGAMOUS on social: https://www.simplyputstrategies.com/blog/social-media/how-to-save-time-cut-distractions-and-stand-out-on-social-media-its-called-monogamy/ (plus, how to choose the best social network for your work) by @evajannotta
