My 2020 Social Media Year in Review:
Have you been able to find some time to reflect on your business plans and how last year went?
Every year, I make sure that I block off several days { or if I’m lucky, I can get a whole weekend! } to work on my plans for my business in the year to come. I review everything that happened in my business – the good, the bad and those ugly challenges.
My review is always full of reminders of the things that I struggled with as well as several brainstorm sessions to figure out how to make sure that I don’t fall back down that path.
So in the spirit of clearing out my old year and bringing in the new, I’d like to share with you how I reviewed 2020 to get ready for 2021.
My 2020 Social Media Story
Last year, I made a decision to stop spending my time creating content like challenges or more email courses.
I’ve created so much of that helpful content strategy challenging stuff that I chose to spend my time updating what I have and deleting the programs that weren’t working to grow my email list.
With a new focus on growing the members for the Create Your Business program, I was able to create a way for people outside of the Continental US { or for those who want to buy their own art supplies! } a way to participate in the total Create Your Business experience. There’s now a Digital Version of the program to take you through the strategic steps to use social media to build your business online.
Read on as I share with you my 2020 Social Media Story:
If you’ve spent any time on any of my interactive workshops, you know that Pinterest has always been my number one site to grow my website traffic. I use this visual site to grow my email list, to find content to share and to do research to learn how to grow my other social sites.
I didn’t do a good job of consistently blogging last year and without any fresh content to share on Pinterest, I worried that my traffic would start to drop.
And while I was making changes to my blogging schedule, Pinterest continued to change its program which had a huge effect on the way we use this visual site.
It was like I was fighting a double battle – the lack of new content from my site { no new content = no new site traffic! } and the Pinterest changes that always seem to affect the numbers on the site.
I decided to go back to the basics of Pinterest.
Pinterest has become so much more than just posting an engaging image. It’s about what you’re pinning, the content you’re repinning to your boards and how often you’re pinning – basically, how you’re using Pinterest.
I became more consistent with my pinning process. It became more about sharing my content using SEO based keywords to make sure that I was still able to get that traffic to my website.
I also started creating a second and third pin for the top content that was already bringing traffic to my site.
Every week I checked my Pinterest Analytics. I discovered which pins where already resonating with people on Pinterest. Then I would find loads of opportunities of pins that I was able to re-work with a new image and pin description.
So began another series of testing the way I pinned, what I pinned and how often.
All of that testing helped me uncover a new way to create content that would get Pinterest users to my website.
I was so excited with my results that I added this new process to The Pinterest Traffic Builder group program to teach other small business owners and bloggers how to use Pinterest to grow their email list and connect with more qualified customers.
Take a look to see the work I’ve been doing with the Create Your Business Pinterest account
I made a big decision about how I was going to use Facebook last year.
Facebook is no longer user-friendly. With all that data mining stuff and the overload of political posts, Facebook has lost its charm to me. Unless, I want to do Facebook Live videos or spend money on ads, I made the decision to NOT set up a Facebook Business page for the Create Your Business program.
After much back and forth, I made the decision to stop using Facebook for my business.
I could pull out that advice about how if a social site is not working for you, don’t spend your valuable time on there. Just find out the best place you can connect with your audience.
But we both know it’s more than just that. Facebook has turned into a “pay to play” site for small businesses.
And for those of us small business owners using Facebook, this is the reality that we live in.
It’s clear that if I asked a room full of bloggers and business owners, everyone would have an opinion about why I should stay on Facebook. What I could have done to create more videos and a VA I could hire, what they would have done.
Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda.
The only reason I haven’t deleted myself completely from Facebook is because of Facebook Groups. I manage a Pinterest Strategy FB group and there are a few groups that I log into every week to learn something new or I can jump into a group for an online course that’s running another session.
So where am I with my Facebook Business thing?
I’ve stopped posting.
I’ve stopped thinking about what I want to Facebook Live about. It has now become something on my marketing to-do list that’s just not where I want to spend my valuable time.
The whole process was such a struggle that didn’t give me a big enough return on my time.
I will admit that if you search for my Facebook Business page, you’ll still find a Penney Fox Facebook page up on the site. I know that Facebook is always making changes to the site and maybe … just maybe, something will change in the future.
Maybe the algorithm will shift again and we’ll go back to seeing organic reach with our Facebook Business pages. But right now, my FB page is more like an online business card just waiting for someone to stop by and find out where else they can connect with me.
This was the first year that I really spent the time and effort using the site to promote my business.
My biggest challenge was being consistent. My numbers crept up when I was active and then dropped back down again when I would disappear.
I really wanted to figure out how to get my Instagram account to help me share the idea of how the Create Your Business boxes can help you build your business. Plus, as I’ve continued to shift my attention away from Facebook, I was really missing that engagement of sharing my updates, my art projects { I try out all the creative exercises that come with the monthly workbooks! } and the behind the scenes stuff from my business.
So I finally stopped talking about wanting to use Instagram and I just did it.
I planned out my posts, wrote my copy { which I saved in Evernote for a quick and easy cut and paste situation! }, found great images and saved them into Dropbox. Once I got everything loaded up, there was no good excuse as to why I wasn’t posting.
And it’s starting to work! I’m posting consistently. I’m spending time in the site, engaging with others and they’re responding back.
I don’t have a huge traffic push from IG like I do with Pinterest but I’ve got a process in place … and that’s a start. I see the potential from using Instagram and what I can do to let more small business owners learn how to think differently to build their business.
Take a look to see the work I’ve been doing to build the Create Your Business Instagram account
LinkedIn – my favorite business social media site!
My relationship with LinkedIn is growing every week. After that breakup with Facebook, I took a deep breath and just jumped right in to join the business connecting party.
Seriously, LinkedIn is everything that I wish my Facebook Business page could have been. It feels good to be on a site where it’s 100% acceptable to talk about my business without feeling like some pushy salesperson.
I share my online workshops and the classes that I teach locally. I share my coaching programs and why you should work with me. I talk about being a small business owner, the ups, the downs, the lessons I’ve learned in over 21 years of being in business.
I schedule my weekly posts in Hootsuite but I also log into the site a couple of times a week to meet new people and to comment on their posts. I’ve made more sales from my LinkedIn connections in one year that I’ve made from all the years that I’ve been using Facebook.
I’m already making plans how to up my presence with adding more personal content to my LinkedIn messages. It is truly one of the best networking sites for small business owners and I can see myself going in even deeper next year.
If you’d like to connect with me on LinkedIn, click here to send me a connection request
Your Social Media Story
As you get ready to start the new year with a fresh outlook for 2021, take some time to think about how you’re using social media to build your business.
What does your relationship with your social sites look like?
Are you like me with triumphs on some sites and struggles on others? Is there something holding you back from using a social media program you know you need to be on because you just don’t know how to fit it into your weekly to-do list?
I think the first place to start is to admit to where you are right now.
Share it with friends, post your struggles in the comments section or write your own blog post. Just find a way to get it out of your head with something as simple as braindump so you can stop making excuses.
The first place to start is to create a list of action items you can do to make changes. And these changes can be either to your schedule or finding a way to do some mindshift work to get rid of those blocks.
So here we go into a new year my friends. Time to learn from our struggles and celebrate our successes.
This is my social media story. This is my truth. What’s yours?
If you’re ready to do your marketing stuff differently in 2021, then subscribe to get your own Create Your Business box!
If you’re tired aimlessly posting wherever and everywhere and getting nowhere. If you’re done with the weekly struggle of what to post or what site to use, it’s time to do something different to develop your custom marketing messages.
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AND if you live outside of the Continental US or just want to purchase your own art supplies, you now have the option to get the Digital Version of the Create Your Business program.
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