My word for 2024 is Intention.
Living with intention actually started before this year, I just wasn’t paying attention to the changes I was making. It started in 2021, when things really started coming back in live music. They came back with a vengeance, and it wasn’t the same. There were a few evenings when there were 9-10 events in one night, with bands that normally play together competing for attention. Trying to cover everything for KWSS radio was next to impossible, there was just no way I could hop to so many shows, much less give them the attention they deserved. This “comeback” put a kink in a couple of station fundraisers too.
I completely understand the swing. No matter your meter about the pandemic, live music and venues were affected. Everyone wanted to do EVERYTHING. For myself, I had to err on the side of safety, and choose wisely. I started by choosing one show a month. As we moved further into 2021, and vaccinations, I felt better attending a few more shows each month. However, the change in myself was noticeable. It wasn’t about the pandemic, I just didn’t want to be everything, everywhere, all at once.
I discovered that I didn’t have to be.
Backing off from trying to do everything, made me more intentional about the shows I did choose to see. Why was I attending? Who do I support? The band that just played six times in the past four weeks? Or the band that has a new EP coming out and is planning a bigger release show, and doing a mini tour?
When you answer the “why,” the decision is easy.
Let’s apply this to promoting on social media. We have Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, X, Threads as our main places to be to promote and gain brand awareness. They are all used in a different way, and have a different type of audience. Or at least they should.
Do you have to be everything, everywhere, all at once on social media?
As always, if you know your business, it becomes easier. Look at your metrics. For instance, I was taking the time to schedule several posts a day on X. Then I would go through the feed and interact, share items, do the thing. When I actually looked at my stats over 30-60 days, it was disappointing, hardly any interaction. So I stopped.
What do you know? My business is still here! So now I put my focus in the places where I have the most interaction, where I have a specific goal, and am intentional in how I post. This means:
* Not auto-sharing from one account to another.
* Making sure to post the same content on different days or at different times. Unless there is a specific reason for posting at the same time on all platforms, mix up your content in different places.
* Having a reason for what you are sharing. Answer the “why.”
* Not getting caught up in what the trend is. Everyone says “post more video,” but I rarely do so (and I don’t use TikTok specifically for promotion.)
What do you know? My business is still here!
All I can share is my own experience, and also what I observe. We live in an online world of sharing and resharing with little interaction. We communicate in double-taps, and if something REALLY moves us we will comment. But that’s pretty rare, unless you’re being controversial. Post what feels good to you. I promise you social media isn’t going to make or break your business. If you post with intent, people will respond.
Thanks for reading! If you would like to dive deeper into marketing and promoting your business, you can get in touch and schedule a meeting here!