Less is more with social media

When new kaipakihi start out, I always find it interesting watching the process that unfolds, and the actions they perceive to be important in the beginning.

Right up there with getting a bank account, and reserving the company name (sometimes even before both happen!), there is this perception that getting your socials rolling is of high importance.

I’m of the age to have just scrapped through a little experience during the era of business and the workforce prior to social media being a driving force. Fortunate, because some of the tried and tested methods for selling, are still foundational today - often overlooked by shiny objects like social media.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s worthwhile securing the handles you want on social media platforms, the simplicity of @tekaingawahine on all platforms is certainly helpful. But channeling all your energy into all social media platforms all the time, can very quickly move you from sales-minded to content-creator-mode.

When it comes to social media, here’s my piece of advice for new kaipakihi: find out where your buyers are (not just your supporters) and deliver content there.

Here’s what I know for Te Kāinga Wāhine.

We get rubbish engagement on Facebook, good engagement on Instagram and LinkedIn. Majority of our newsletter subscribers come from LinkedIn, followed by Instagram. Majority of our buyers, come from Instagram.

So our social media strategy is:

1. Write 5-6 posts per week for Instagram that is crafted for our buyers, that is cross-posted to Facebook. We don’t tailor our content for Facebook, and we don’t track our Facebook metrics. We cross-post to Facebook purely because it takes no more than the click of a button.
   

2. Write 2-3 posts per week for LinkedIn that deliver on our credibility. It’s important we connect with our supporters, because this tends to be where we find collaborations, speakers and workshop opportunities. These are important, because we deliver workshops and speakers frequently through our membership.

That’s it.

We’ve done TikTok, we’ve done Facebook groups, Twitter (X), we’ve even done Pinterest under our previous brand, and what we know is it all takes time, and time is money, and these don’t bring the strongest results for our audience. Interestingly, when I first started out as a kaipakihi six years ago, Facebook was my strongest platform, and where I built my audience.

Audiences change over time, especially with new platforms always on the horizon (threads anyone?). Keeping the pulse on where your buyers are will ensure that you’re delivering content to the right place at the right time.

Content creators, create content. Building a brand that sells, requires you to sell. If you’re going to create content for your brand, make sure it sells.

Want some non-social-media tips for selling? Jump over and read the article I wrote on reaching low-hanging sales.