It’s Never Too Late To Join Social Media

We hear from so many people who feel as if they’ve missed the boat with social media. As they haven’t used social media effectively in their marketing yet, they feel like they can’t.  But I’m here to tell you that your brand (individual or organisation) can always find its place on social media and be successful.

They can. You can.

The popularity of platforms shifts over time, but social media is, and will remain, a constant. It’s literally just word of mouth but online. It’s chatting with friends and strangers. So, there’s no point in assuming that it’s not for you, you’re too late, or it’s too difficult.

It’s Never Too Late To Join Social Media

We’re going to use four-time Formula 1 World Champion, Sebastian Vettel, as an example. I know, F1 is well niche. You probably won’t have heard of him. You’re probably thinking that you’ll need to understand or like F1 to get this blog. You won’t. I promise. I’m talking about Seb because he’s a timely example that will back up what I’m saying!

Seb joined F1 in 2007. Despite appearing in his racing team’s marketing when he had to, he never joined social media as an individual. He was adamant that no one cared about his life off-track, which probably isn’t accurate given that every driver has millions of followers. In fact, Lewis Hamilton has 29.6 million followers on Instagram and is a global sport icon, having partnered with many of the biggest brands in existence today. But Seb liked his privacy and didn’t want too many people getting into his world. This is understandable, given the craziness of the online world…seen Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist yet?!

Anyway, Seb finally joined Instagram. He announced his retirement.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sebastian Vettel (@sebastianvettel)

Across the two versions of this reel, he’s racked up over 3 million likes – which proves my point that people did want to hear from him. Anyway, moving on from emphasising that I’m right, it took him 15 years to join social media, but he still did it.

Why did Sebastian Vettel join Instagram just to retire?

It wasn’t because he wanted to cause emotional trauma to the F1 community, even though it did.

i’ve never known 2 images do so much emotional damage pic.twitter.com/T1eE6jgPIq

— katie!? (@ricnorrisf1) July 28, 2022

He also didn’t do it because he had FOMO over a lack of memes about him. (I guess! But I reckon it’s a fair guess.)

pic.twitter.com/E3SArl0KFP

— Battery Voltas (@BatteryVoltas) July 28, 2022

Seb joined because he finally had something to say. Something that he wanted to say in his own way directly to the viewers, which is what social is perfect for. You control what you say, how you say it, and when you say it.

From the hashtag Seb created for his retirement, #ThereIsStillARaceToWin, it looks like there will be more to come on his account. Maybe he felt he didn’t need his own Instagram before? But now his priorities have changed, maybe he wants a platform for his activism?

It’s even better that what he wants to say is interesting to hear.

Today is a great day to join social media

There’s no bad time to join so you could do it whenever. However, the sooner you get started, the better. Let’s just do it now! Here are some reasons that shouldn’t stop you from signing up.

I’m too old

You’re not: meet Baddie Winkle. She’s living her best Instagram life and she only found her niche later in life. When people say this to us, it’s not just about their age though. It’s unspoken but what’s being said is ‘This is something I don’t know how to use that I’ll have to learn’.  (While we’re on this point, please don’t hand your social media over to the youngest member of your family or office. They may understand how to press the buttons, but they need the maturity of mind/training not to do something stupid.)

I don’t know what I’m doing

I’ll share a secret with you. Even though it’s our business, we’re still learning it. Everyone is: there are new features, things you didn’t know existed, hacks you see other people using etc. Unless you’re under 25, we’ve all had to adapt to smartphones, apps, and social media. There’s plenty of help available online. Also, here’s another secret that I really shouldn’t be sharing. All success on social depends on some trial and error. You try, you see how it goes, try something else and, before you know it, it’ll be working. Consistency works.

There are too many platforms to choose between

Pick one. Yes, different demographics favour different platforms and it’s best to choose the right one for your demographic. However, if the thought of joining TikTok is enough to make you feel queasy, don’t join TikTok! Feel like Facebook’s more your speed? Start with Facebook.

Here’s the other thing – it’s OK to only use one social media platform. It’s far far better to do one really well than join everything and be hit and miss. Create a plan to keep yourself on track!

I don’t know what to say

Are you sure? I reckon most of us can speak knowledgeably and engagingly about something. There’s a community for everyone online so there will be people interested in what you have to say. Again, start. Try. See how it goes. There are some gentle ways to get started in conversation with others. Social media days are a great example of this.

Remember – don’t try too hard to be someone you’re not. It doesn’t work!

My brand has done fine without it so far

I bet it has and that’s great news! However, there’s a different question to ask yourself: am I sure I’m reaching as many potential clients as I could be? You can’t create more people or time out of nowhere, as helpful as that would be! Social media gets your brand in front of more people. How long would it take for you to meet 43,000 people in person? Effective Facebook ads can do that, without you, in just a few weeks.

So, over to you now! Create an account anywhere you fancy, give us a follow, and say howdy. We’d love to hear from you.

Ready to give it a bit more of a shot? Check out our blogs on social media.

Convinced you want to use social media more effectively, but don’t want to do it yourself? Give us a shout!

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