Standing Out on Social Media
To be top of mind, the way most of the major social media platforms are designed, you need to constantly be active. Think Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Posting, liking, commenting, retweeting, sharing, and tagging. Exhausting.
The other behemoth, Google, rewards pages that other searchers found valuable.
This means there are two camps when it comes to creating content. Either you’re posting all the time to platforms that reward the new and current, or you create evergreen pieces that will be heavily linked to and relevant to people searching for it.
Those evergreen pieces often have merit, but lots of the time are just tweaked to have excellent search engine optimization (SEO). I’ve spoken to lots of freelance writers who tell stories of being given a list of words or phrases to include when writing content for websites and blogs, in order to help with SEO. This means altering the content created for the platform that it’s on. Makes sense. The medium is the message.
Our community is full of many thoughtful independent thinkers who have things to say and insights to share. A focus on the newest and latest (social media), or a focus on the first page (either bought directly through Google’s advertising platforms or indirectly through expert-guided SEO terms) means great ideas get lost in the shuffle.
The thoughtful op-ed on the website of a local business doesn’t have the same chance of gaining visibility as an SEO-rich article paid for by a company who is trying to get you to buy their latest widget by disguising it as editorial content.
The great new product offered by a local business is likely lost in the shuffle of continuous Instagram posts where everyone is trying to stay top of mind.
Social media is an effective tool. It’s free for us to use, and it appears free for businesses. It costs time, attention, and it’s a medium where it’s tough (and expensive) to stand out, but it’s a channel to get customers nonetheless.
But search engines and social media platforms are businesses. They are massive advertising companies. They sell ads in a way that maximizes their revenue. They are systems set up to realize profit. They are not set up to provide visitors with the most important information.
One person we like working with is Brent from Biglow Woodcraft. From the time we launched Local Frequency, we worked with Brent to develop our point-of-sale stands, phone cases, and signs. We’ve talked with Brent about the pains of staying current on social media and other downsides of the platforms on many occasions. Here’s a gem from Brent that echoes this sentiment; a gem that’s now buried in his Instagram feed.
“Some days I just wanna post a photo of my work without having to think of something to say. Too bad Instagram is an anxiety inducing itch in my brain that makes me spend 20 minutes typing out a 6 sentence story to accompany every little thing.”
Running a business is challenging, and most of the local entrepreneurs we deal with are dedicated to offering the best product or service they can. As much as you can, try to seek out information from those that you trust directly. If you like coffee from a specific shop, go back and ask them what’s new – local shopkeeps love talking to their customers about how they can improve their service. If you wait for information to find you on social media you will only find what someone with deep pockets wants you to find.
You can learn directly from Brent at his site – biglowwoodcraft.com
Thumbnail photo of Brent Biglow (Owner Biglow Woodcraft) by Joey Visser
