How to Get More Out of Social Media as a Content Creator

Here are some ways that have helped me

I am not active on all the social media platforms. You most likely aren’t either. It can get pretty overwhelming trying to maintain omnipresence online. There is only so much time we can spend on each platform and often, we are better off focusing our efforts on just one.

After spending some time on all the social media outlets, I’ve come to the realisation that they don’t serve me equally. Perhaps the same is true for you.

To me, most of them are pure distraction and noise. And a select few are more targeted and focused on the type of content I want to create. The differences and nuances of each platform make some more appropriate than others.

Understanding what you want to get out of social media will guide you in your choice as a creator.

Find a Platform You Want to Contribute to

Sure, this could seem quite obvious. Maybe you’re a writer, artist, photographer or vlogger. But maybe you’re not quite sure what kind of content you want to make.

The best way is to experiment with different content types and platforms. So you can figure out what you naturally enjoy and what suits your personality.

It can be foolish to stick blindly to one format without trying out the others. You could be the most influential meme lord the world has never known.

At some point you will settle on a platform you’ll want to call home. It’s where you will be the most active and have the greatest impact.

Platforms to Consume, Learn and Inspire

There will be platforms where you will get more as a consumer than a producer and that is absolutely fine.

For me, this is primarily YouTube. I get incredible value from videos in topics such as self improvement, personal finance, photography, and travel. It’s also super entertaining too. I just love the format.

But it’s a platform that I don’t produce any content on (yet).

Instagram, TikTok and Facebook are driven by trending or viral content. But I don’t get much fulfilment from that kind of material.

Some people absolutely love it and the millions of views those videos rack up says it all! It’s their equivalent to binging Netflix but if I’m honest, I would much rather watch Netflix.

The content you consume can be a great source of inspiration for your own.

Maybe there is an opinion you read somewhere else that has given you follow up questions to research. Or there is a way someone presents their story that you can adapt to make your work more compelling.

Whatever you are consuming, it’s worth considering how you can use it to improve your own content.

Platforms to Promote

It isn’t always easy to get noticed so you’ll need to promote your work to help people find it.

Twitter is a great way to get more eyeballs on your writing, art or just about anything you produce. You can tweet quotes or highlights from your writing and share a link to the full article. You can do that on Pinterest as well.

Instagram and TikTok are great for sharing snippets or short clips from your videos. You can even show a little of the behind the scenes action.

Gary Vee’s content strategy is an ingenious method to slice and dice content a single piece of content. It shows you how to repurpose it for different audiences and multiply your reach. I highly recommend going through the slide deck as it will help you think more deeply about your content and how you distribute it.

The goal isn’t to obsess over social media marketing. You want to look for easy and relatively frictionless ways to get attention and direct it to your creations.

Platforms to Connect

You should take the opportunity to network and engage with other creators and communities in your niche. Maybe they create similar content to you or you just enjoy their content.

Leave them some genuinely thoughtful comments and don’t expect them to respond. You would be surprised how many of them do.

I think this is particularly true on twitter. There are influencers with millions of followers that only get a couple of thousand likes on a single tweet. They get even fewer comments. Active engagement is so low that you’re likely to get noticed when you participate. Even if you don’t get noticed by the person you are tweeting at, their followers will notice you.

A great way to connect with creators that are very popular is to engage with them on social networks where they have a much smaller following. You are more likely to be seen.

But to get a more enjoyable and well rounded experience, I would suggest interacting with creators at different levels of popularity.

You should be engaging with some who are a similar size to you and others that are a little further ahead. These people are the most likely to respond to genuine comments and reciprocate. Consume their content, interact and support each other. Share ideas with them and get inspired.

Separate Accounts for Personal Use

This is a personal preference that has helped me greatly. I try my best not to tie my online presence with my personal or professional life. I don’t mind sharing what I do creatively with a few select people but I also know most of them won’t keep up with what I post.

The truth is, I like trying a lot of things and I know most of it will be garbage at the beginning. I don’t want any feedback when I am still experimenting.

I don’t want to restrict what I am willing to share just because I know someone in my social circle might check up on me periodically.

Can you imagine posting something deeply personal only to have your friends, co-workers or acquaintances read it? That would be a bit of a nightmare for me.

So I keep separate social media accounts for my personal use and for my creations.

Control your Feedback

I’m blessed enough not to get many negative comments. But if you are struggling and people are constantly bashing your work or harassing you, just report and block them.

If you can’t deal with negativity or don’t want to, there’s nothing wrong with ignoring any external feedback. Sure, it might be better to allow for discussion but if it affects your mental health, you are better off without it.

Life is too short to deal with haters. If you really can’t laugh it off, just tune it out by disabling comments or restricting comments to people you follow. And make sure to block repeat offenders.

Key Takeaways:

• Avoid social media that only serves to distract you. You don’t need to be active on everything available.
• Experiment with different platforms to figure out your preferred format and content type.
• Use other social networks to promote your creations with as little friction as possible.
• Consume content that inspires you or helps improve your own approach to creating.
• Have a tiered approach in connecting with other creators. Connect with others like you, some that are a little further ahead and others that are much more popular.
• Use separate social accounts for personal use and content creation.
• Don’t hesitate to block out negativity if you need to.