Social Media, Sprint or Marathon?

I’m returning to a regular theme of mine…

Is social media a sprint or a marathon?

In other words, to achieve your goal and its related rewards, can you expect immediate gratification or are you in it for the long haul?

Let’s discuss this!

What’s brought me back to this point is a conversation that I had recently with a client.

He expressed frustration that his work to date on his LinkedIn profile and his content and engagement strategies hadn’t brought him to his goal yet which is improving his career by moving into a global consulting firm.

In particular, his content wasn’t taking off when he posted.

I explained (We’d gone over this at the beginning of the engagement!) that he was building his online base so that when recruiters or potential employers looked at his LinkedIn profile they would see good, value added content that had been consistently posted with strong engagement.

You don’t want to have a profile on LinkedIn that leaves people wondering whether you’re alive or dead!

And, this goes for all your social media too.

The vast majority of us don’t have the name recognition of A-listed celebrities or global brands.

Field of Dreams is a great movie but Kevin Costner did all of us a disservice by implying that we merely have to build it and they will come.

The world doesn’t beat a path to your door, if it ever did, if you build a better mousetrap.

Promotion is necessary!

You have to get out there and sell yourself.

Yes, how you do this will depend on the particular social media channel that you’re using.

Just remember, you can’t just go there saying “Hire me!” or “Buy my widget!”

On social media, you need to develop trust with your online community, add value, and then, if all goes well, you can take the conversation offline and take steps towards achieving your goals.

But, all of this takes time.

Hence, why I always tells my clients and prospects that social media is marathon and not a sprint.

Yes, I know there are folks peddling all sorts of pseudo-get rich quick on social media schemes right now.

But ask yourself, if they’ve figured out how to make a bundle already then why do they need your money?

Like anything in life, success on social media takes time and effort.

There’re no short cuts!

That’s it for now!

Please check out my 8 step approach for developing a social media program for more ideas on how to use social media.

Also, never forget to reach out to either ask questions or to ask for help from someone like myself!

In the meantime, thank you for following and reading my blog.

I look forward to any and all comments that you may have. I will reply to any comments made to this blog post as promptly as I can.

And, remember!

I do this for a living and if I can be of any assistance to either you or your organization, please feel free to call on me. Our initial discussion will be of no charge to you.

I can also be reached at conpsweeney@someddi.com