If we’re not careful, we can spend up to 3 hours a day on social media. And that’s just for the average person – imagine being a solo entrepreneur that relies on a social media presence, strategy, and engagement for client prospecting, marketing, and sales.
Phew. That’s a lot of scrolling.
Since social media lives in our pockets (ladies, where do you keep your phones?) a few minutes here or there while waiting in line or making lunch for the kids seems benign. But clearly, when it adds up, it adds up. And not only in time spent, but also in distractions, frustrations, and headaches. How often have we hopped on our phones to quick reply to a message from a client or post a sale only to find ourselves reading an article about polar bears 20 minutes later?
Yeah, me too. Like did you know that polar bears’ skin is black and their fur is transparent, not white?! <mind blown>
Social media is a waste of our business time.
Social media is essential to business, no doubt about it, but you are likely wasting an insane amount of time on it and thus, losing money by not doing other income producing activities instead. We may think that the amount of time we spend on social media “building relationships” equates to more clients, but in my experience the opposite is true. The less time I spend on social media, the more successful my business is.
Social media is distracting us from achieving goals.
Spending too much time on social media is distracting. How often have we played the comparison game with other people in your field instead of prospecting new clients? Or fixed what wasn’t broken because we took a free training on something from a Facebook ad? If you are using social media as a tool for brand awareness and client prospecting, then do that and avoid looking for fancy solutions and quick fixes.
Social media is making us anxious and depressed.
The evidence is mounting. Social media and depression and anxiety are inextricably linked. (Here’s just one of many, many studies on the subject.) Adding fuel to anxiety and depression is not helping business outcomes. The stress is not helping you problem solve, innovate, or find new clients. The next big breakthrough or creative idea might be waiting around the corner from a social media detox.
Spend time on your business, not social media.
I have definitely been guilty of blaming my excessive use of social media on my business. Taking a break from social media this year and watching my business flourish made me realize that I’ve been doing it wrong.
I want to show other entrepreneurs that social media can be an awesome tool, but we don’t have to be so tied to it to find success. In fact, the act of letting go might be just what our business needs to grow.
