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If you’ve ever met with a financial person, they will always tell you two things. 1. You should start investing young and 2. Diversify your risk. Maybe it’s my background in financial management that prodded me into thinking about this, but these two principles can be applied to social media. There is going to be risk with any type of business that you do, but the risk with social media seems to be higher. Why? Well, the environment online is constantly changing! Imagine that you were still using the platforms from 5, 10, or 15 years ago. AIM, MSN, and MySpace no longer hold any sort of relevance when it comes to the digital atmosphere anymore. If you had stuck all of your eggs into those three baskets and weren’t flexible about trying new channels, where do you think your business would be? You would probably be in the same realm as each of those platforms. Since the online environment is always evolving, you need to as flexible as a yogi. Therefore, you need to diversify your social media risk.
Why should you diversify your social media risk?
Have you ever heard the phrase “Don’t stick all your eggs in one basket”? This also applies to your business on social media. I can probably bet that you’re currently using Facebook for free to run your business. And damn! It’s working great! Sales are booming, you’ve got a great base of shoppers, and things seem to be going amazingly. But, what would happen if Facebook decided that they were going to change what people see, and now you have to pay for people to see your content. Does this sound familiar? It should! With the changes that Facebook recently implemented, it’s very possible that less people are seeing what you’re putting out there. Did I just hit the nail on the head for you? Well, then it’s time for you to diversify your social media risk.
You don’t own your Facebook group, your follower list, etc.
You might take a lot of time growing your group, creating a culture, and doing all the things. But do you own that group? That’s a big fat nope. If Facebook were to shut you down, what would be your next step? What would happen if Instagram shut down your account? And Pinterest? You don’t own any of your following on any of the platforms. We spend so much time focusing on this that it’s a hard pill to swallow. So, what now?
How do you diversify your social media risk?
Now, this one is easy! Get on as many platforms as you can. But, there is a caveat. You should become proficient in a platform before moving onto the next. It’s best to be great at 3 platforms instead of terrible at 8. Even if one of your three closes up shop, you still have 2 others you’ve mastered that you can operate from. You can keep pushing to tackle new platforms at any point in the journey with your business.
Want to become a master at Pinterest? It’s a vastly underutilized platform. Because of Nicole Saunders, Pinterest has become a major funnel to my business. (Click HERE to learn more about Nicole.) And what about Instagram? So many people are using it! Click HERE to read an article talking about using Instagram in your business.
Set up a mailing list.
The only form of communication to your end consumer that you truly own is your e-mail and text lists. So, set up a system for reaching out to your customer’s consistently. Pull your CSV every so often so you have a copy on your end, as well.
If you have any other tips you think I should know, please feel free to send me a message HERE.
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