If you only publish on social media, read this!

Quick note before I launch into today’s post: I’ve got a brand new podcast episode for you. This week’s episode features Enrika Greathouse, a marketing expert who puts both storytelling and heart into everything she does. Scroll to the end of this newsletter for more details, or jump to the podcast episode on my Website, Apple, Spotify, or Google.

Now, onto the post…

I have a confession to make.

There’s a ton of stuff that marketing people will tell you “should” do, which I completely ignore.

One of these things is social media.

A while back, I deprioritized using social media. Like, REALLY deprioritized it:

I deleted my Facebook and Twitter accounts.
I publish on Instagram and LinkedIn roughly once a week, depending on what is going on in my life and business. (Even then, I have an assistant who helps me with that, and I’ve gone months without posting a single thing.)

This might sound counter to everything you know about marketing yourself. It can feel like all the independent professionals and freelancers are hustling their butts off to produce social media content around the clock.

If social media works for you and/or it’s considered essential for your line of business, then go for it! Use it to your heart’s content.

Today, I simply want to present an alternative — or at least, adjacent — viewpoint. It’s this:

If you are a thought leader (or you want to be), social media should not be your #1 form of communication.

That doesn’t mean it can’t be an important tool. Just that it should not be your primary platform to express your ideas and build your audience.

In my opinion (based on my 20+ years in communications, including digital marketing and content marketing), your primary communications should come from a platform that you own. Namely, your website and email.

Social media can be an incredibly useful tool.

The problem is when your social media is your sole outlet for communicating with your audience.

There are tons of problems with *just* communicating on social media. Let me count the ways…

1. You don’t own it. It’s not a platform you own. If the platform goes away, changes how it works, or experiences a major glitch, you could lose everything — all your posts, all your followers — in an instant.

2. You don’t have the ability to communicate with your followers off-platform. Any social platform works hard to keep people on the platform. So if you want folks to come to your website, or stay in communication with you anywhere else, it’s challenging to do. And if they leave that channel or account, they’ve also left you.

3. You don’t own it. (Part 2.) You are subject to the format and limitations of that platform, and are subject to any changes they make. The community you’ve worked so hard to build could be made obsolete with a single policy change or crack-down from the platform. Similarly, should an evil overlord take over said platform (*cough* Twitter *cough*) you could find yourself choosing to leave it…and thus be forced to leave all your connections and communications behind.

4. It’s increasingly hard to get seen. With platform algorithms the way they are and an impossible amount of content out there, it’s increasingly hard to get your work noticed and appreciated.

5. No real buy-in from your audience. Liking, following, or “Internet stalking” someone is so easily done. While you absolutely can have meaningful digital relationships, a “like” or a follow is not a relationship. It’s just a click. On the other hand, giving someone your email and giving them permission to contact you is far more intimate. It is more personal, which immediately deepens the relationship and gives you stronger leads.

6. No real accountability. Unless you have a large fan base that is used to seeing you at the same time on the regular, it’s easy to drop in and out, on and off of social media. And if you don’t show up… do people miss you? Maybe not. This is a problem since writing consistently is one of the most important things a thought leader can do.

(For more on this, check out my podcast episode with John Berardi, where he likens social media to junk food... okay once in a while, but not exactly the ideal diet. Find that episode here: camilledeputter.com/podcast)

7. It’s all about communicating in the moment. Social media is designed for short term interactions, knee jerk responses, and immediate reactions. And hey, that’s OK sometimes. But it’s not the place for thoughtful reflection, more nuanced writing, and deeper, more complex communicating. If you want to develop your reputation and authority, you’re going to need some space to take your time with your thoughts — and a suitable place to express them.

8. You won’t reach people who aren’t on the channel you’re on. Unless you’re prepared to be an absolute rockstar on every single social channel, you’re going to miss everyone who isn’t on the exact platform you’re on. (On the other hand, most people have email… just sayin’.)

9. The platform is designed to make the platform money. Not you. Clearly, you can use social tools to sell. But unless you’re experienced, savvy, and have some coin to throw down on advertising, it can be tough to get people to buy things from you from social channels alone. On the other hand, if you cultivate a trusted list of people who specifically want to hear from you, who know you and like what you do, you are much more likely to actually sell that product or service when you launch.

10. It steals more time than you think. I think this is the biggest, most concerning danger for the thought-leader-in-the-making. Social media is designed to steal your time. For one thing, it’s made to suck you in for hours on end. And of course, social media success isn’t just posting, it’s also engaging — being involved in other people’s stuff, liking and commenting, and so on. Most worryingly, it’s designed to function like a mirror: it can be very easy to get hooked on thinking about how you look, how you sound, what other people think of you, etc. This is a BIG danger for a thought leader who needs to put time aside for developing ideas, thinking critically, having deep and challenging conversations, and publishing their work in bigger, more meaningful ways. Like say, writing that book you’ve been talking about.

To be clear, I’m not saying you have to quit social media.

In fact, social media can be a great place to repurpose longer-form content, such as your e-newsletter, blog/web content, podcast, and more.

That said, if you are considering spending LESS time on social media, and more time communicating on other platforms — like say, your email newsletter — here are some things to think about:

➡️ How many hours a day or week do I spend on social media?
➡️ Is social media helping my business? If so, how?
➡️ Where are most of my sales coming from? (e.g. Can I directly trace them to social media posts?)
➡️ If I were to post less on social media, what effects might that have on my business?
➡️ How do I feel after spending time on social media?
➡️ How many of my social media relationships would I classify as “meaningful”?
➡️ Am I satisfied with the content I’m creating on my social feeds? Is there something more I would like to create?
➡️ If my social media channels were to disappear today, what content would still exist in my name — for example, do I have a book, a blog, a podcast, etc?

Okay, #rantover.

Whaddya think? Would love to hear your take on things.

Meanwhile, if you’re interested in what it takes to become a thought leader, I have two new podcasts for you to check out:

→ Episode 2: How to become a thought leader, with John Berardi.

Dr. John Berardi is known within the health and fitness industry as a true thought leader. He’s radically influenced the industry for the better, has a rock solid reputation, and he built a business — which he eventually sold for hundreds of millions of dollars — based on his thoughts, ideas, and natural curiosity.

I’ve worked closely with John for nearly ten years on some of his biggest and best projects including the award-winning, world-class Precision Nutrition Coaching Certification textbook, his book Change-Maker, and more articles than I can count. I’ve learned a lot from John over the years and it’s always a delight to talk to him.

One of the things I really appreciate and respect about John is his willingness to think deeply about subjects, take feedback, evolve said thinking, and express it in meaningful ways.

In this episode, John and I explore (among many things):

the value of long-form publishing vs just social media content
why you should follow your curiosity and the things that interest you
building a body of work you can look back on with pride
why you need to make time to *think* (and how to do it)
how to make your work & writing 10x better

→ Episode 3: How to market yourself with heart, with Enrika Greathouse

Enrika Greathouse is the founder of Small Gorilla, a creative content company that helps entrepreneurs use storytelling to increase their revenue and reach online, while making the change they wish to make. (Enrika also serves as a coach at Akimbo—Seth Godin’s alternative learning platform—which is where we first met.)

Enrika’s marketing approach is different from many you may have encountered before: it’s grounded in storytelling, authenticity, generosity, community, and personal evolution.

Every time I talk to Enrika I feel both lifted up and fired up, and I think you will too.

In our conversation, we cover:

Three key questions you should consider before creating any marketing asset (Enrika calls this your DNA.)
Why you should think of your personal brand as an evolution rather than a single story or marketing “copy”.
Why personal stories can be useful even in a professional context — to build trust, demonstrate your brand, teach concepts, and more.
How to figure out which stories to tell and how to make them effective for your audience.
The two commonalities Enrika sees amongst the successful entrepreneurs she works with and coaches. (Hint: these doesn’t involve “leaping into your destiny” but rather small steps anyone can take.)
How to handle the inner critic (we all have one!) and keep going when you fail.
The danger of making your brand too polished and professional, and the value of living and working authentically — i.e. showing up as you.

Find the episodes on my website, on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, and just about anywhere else you listen to your podcasts. :)

Meanwhile, keep telling those stories — in whatever way works for you.