You’ve read about all the new social media platforms, ways to connect with audio, and trends from live-streaming on Facebook Live to Instagram stories. And with your FOMO (fear of missing out) radar going crazy, you’re exhausted from social media decision fatigue. What to do? What to do? It’s probably a good idea to do something, but what? Here are some ideas!
Reduce your choices
Remind yourself that you don’t have to be everywhere all at once. In fact, if you are everywhere, you’ll very likely burn yourself out. So choose one or two platforms to start with. You can always add more later once you get those two balls spinning in the air. Pretend that you’re reducing the choices for a friend, and that friend is you. If you have the funds available, you could also hire someone to run your social media for you, or buy a few hours of time with a social media consultant. Entrepreneur has a good article: 9 Ways to Combat Decision Fatigue. (Did you know that by bedtime, the average person has made 35,000 decisions? Yikes!)
Spend less time online
Seriously. Have a timer and stick to your schedule. When the timer goes off, stop what you’re doing. If you time yourself, you can do almost anything faster. For instance, you can write a blog post in an hour, and here’s how: How to Write a Perfectly Good Blog in an Hour. Personally, I like to chunk things into 15-minute segments because I figure I can do nearly anything for 15 minutes. Well, maybe not pushups, but you get the picture. Besides, going out and enjoying a walk will probably give you more enjoyment and therefore let you come up with more ideas than sitting around brooding.
Go to the platform you enjoy the most
Unless you enjoy a really obscure platform with no traffic whatsoever, why not spend time being where you enjoy yourself? You’ll likely spend more time there and it will be more peaceful. If you don’t know which platforms might interest you, Social Media Today has a list: The 8 Best Social Media to Market Your Business in 2021. Pick one and go there. For me, that’s Twitter. But Instagram is also very popular these days.
Ask a trusted friend
That friend would most likely be someone with a background in social media. Listen carefully and also ask yourself where it makes the most sense for you/your business to be online. You might need to abandon ship on the platform you’ve been following in lieu of some place with more traffic and fun. Sometimes you just need a little distance to be able to make a decision. I know, this is four ways to reduce your social media decision fatigue, but maybe one or two of them will work for you.
Carol, another great post! I like how you encourage people. I don’t know if I could manage the chunk approach, but it sounds interesting. But stepping away or prioritizing where you spend time makes a lot of sense.
Once a social channel becomes a chore, it’s time to take a break!
Hi Terri,
Thank you so much! You’re a great encourager, and listener, too! The chunk approach works for a lot of people, but not everyone. And lots of people seem to have social media fatigue lately. Maybe it’s the amount of time we spend online now. I don’t know what it is, but I’ve been hearing this a lot lately.
Chat soon!
Carol