These days, a conversation about small business marketing almost always includes a discussion on social media. These platforms have become integral to how we do business in the 21st century. So, of course, you should use social media for your soulful business. Or should you? 

While social media can be a great way to market your business, it’s a good idea to give your plan some thought before jumping into a new platform or creating a new account. Just like all things slow marketing, it’s okay to take this one slow and infuse a lot of soul into your decisions.

Why Social Media is Awesome

Never before have small businesses been able to put themselves right in front of their ideal customers in such an accessible way. Social media is (generally) free, the majority of society participates in some way, and the social media networking game is strong (if you know what you’re doing). 

It’s also an amazing way to let your ideal customers/clients see what you’re like in real life. Websites so do much work to help visitors understand what you offer and what you do. But there really isn’t anything as personal as an Instagram story featuring you, your morning cup of coffee, and your cute cat Molly. 

And people love the feeling of getting to know their favorite business owners in a more personal way. 

So what’s not to love about social media?

Why Social Media is Not Awesome

We’ve all gotten sucked into scrolling and scrolling and scrolling, then looking at the time and realizing we were lost in social media land for 30 minutes or more. The worst quality that social media has is that it is a huge time suck! It’s incredibly distracting and habit-forming (ever check how many times you pick up your phone on a daily basis - just to see how many likes your post has received?).

In addition, it takes a while for people to learn how to use social media with a business strategy. While you might have been able to post whatever whenever on your personal accounts, that won’t work well for a business marketing strategy. You’ll now need to learn how to use your favorite platform in a totally new way.

Social media isn’t a quick fix either. The conversion time can be slow. In other words, the moment someone follows you to the moment they book an appointment with you or buy one of your products can take months. It’s not a quick way to get clients or customers. 

Which also leads to a conversation about consistency. Only those accounts with a consistent presence really develop much of a following with devoted fans. And being consistent can be hard for many people. 

How to Determine if Social Media Marketing is For You

There are so many pros and cons to using social media to market your business (many more than the ones mentioned above). Some people take to certain platforms immediately, loving the interactions and connections. Other people find the idea of spending hours on their phones or computers every week tortuous. 

HERE ARE A FEW THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN DECIDING IF SOCIAL MEDIA IS FOR YOU.

• How much time do you want to spend on the computer daily?

• Does the idea of being able to share your philosophy and values online excite you?

• Can you embrace the idea of sharing so much of yourself online?

• Are you willing to commit to being consistent?

• Can you learn new apps and tech tools to help?

• Are you photographically inclined or are you willing to learn?

• Do you have design skills, are willing to learn, or can hire someone to help?

• Are you willing to learn about social media strategy and create a plan?

• Can you stick to a social media marketing plan?

• If you start to waste time online, can you reel yourself in?

• Can you afford to take the time to build up an audience at a slow pace?

• Is there a better way for you to market yourself (maybe in-person)?

• Do you have to use social media to get the word out?

• Where do your ideal clients hang out the most?

• Do you have the time to spend on this kind of strategy?

• Is your business dependent on social media (likely an online business)?

• What other methods can you pair with social media to have more impact?

Honestly, there are so many other angles to think about when it comes to social media. But generally, there are two main things you should consider. 

1. Do you enjoy technology? 

2. Where do your ideal customers hang out and how can you reach them?

If your answer to the first question is “hell no” then maybe social media isn’t a great place for you to market your services. If you don’t love tech but are willing to embrace it, then you can still consider using it for marketing. 

Your answer to the second question is going to require some research. Most likely, you’ll need to ask some people what kinds of social media they use the most. Choose folks that are pretty close to your ideal customers. Ask them where their friends spend most of their time online. If you have a personal account on that platform, do some digging. Find out where people are hanging out and follow them. You’ll figure out pretty quickly which places are attracting your ideal clients the most.

So What Should You Choose?

If you’re pretty tech adverse and really want your life to stay that way, awesome. Keep doing what you’re doing. Maybe you can go the old school route of bringing people together in person and getting the word out about your services that way. Reach out to people in your community directly and create partnerships. 

If you think social media would be a good compliment to your marketing mix, then that’s awesome too. The next step is to figure out exactly which platforms you prefer. Spend a little time reading about the various options (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc.) and get a feel for how marketing works on those platforms. You’ll probably feel drawn to a couple and not so excited about the others. 

Now mesh that with what you know about where your ideal clients hang out. Is there some overlap? Or will you have to adjust your expectations or preferences? The best choice is the one that you enjoy and will get your services/products in front of people who resonate with your business.

How Do You Get Started?

After you’ve narrowed down your options, start with just one platform. Learn everything you can about marketing through that social media platform. Try out strategies, keep what you like, throw out what you don’t like. Create a content calendar and schedule out your posts with an app like Buffer. Or choose to do it all one-by-one, if you love the organic feel. Do whatever works best for you and gives you ample time to also work on your business.

Once you’ve mastered a single platform, you’ll probably have it down like second nature. At that point, you’ll be ready to add another one in. Pick your next favorite and repeat the process. (Or if you love the simplicity of using one platform and are getting enough results from it, you might not need or want to add in others.)

Why do it this way? Because you’re a single human being. Don’t forget that most big businesses running really successful marketing strategies on all the platforms also have large marketing teams. You’re just you and you can only do so much. And really, if you brought in all that business, could you actually fulfill all those orders or hold all those client meetings? Probably not. It’s okay to keep things small and make your life easier as a solo entrepreneur.

Articles on Forbes or other business advice columns rarely apply to the solo business owner. We’re just so different from a corporation and our marketing efforts also have to be different.

Another reason for taking it slow is because you don’t want to end up burnt out and hating your business. It’s okay to really embody the philosophy of slow marketing and growing sustainably. 

Let yourself be a human throughout this process. You’re not a machine!

Let Soul Guide Your Choices

If you ever get lost in the whirlwind of marketing overwhelm, just take a step back and do some breathing. You don’t have to do what some expert says. Bring it back to the soul level. Despite what some six-figure business pusher tells you, social media isn’t a necessity for most businesses. You can be creative and successful in the ways that really resonate with your heart. 

After all, if you really love the way you’re sharing your message, you’re going to do it really well. So find the thing that works well for you and do more of that!

The bottom line is you’ve got something important to share with the world. Don’t let your voice be diminished by overwhelming shoulds and musts. Do you and do it well, whatever that looks like.