How much time should I spend on social media? I hate social media! Do I need to do social media? 

If all this sounds familiar to you, rest assured, you are not alone. It is the nemesis of many, and I think a lot more of us want to throw in the towel than we realize. But today, I want to talk about why I choose simplicity when it comes to social media for my handmade business. This is an overview of my YouTube video on the topic. If you would prefer to watch that, you can find it here.

Social media is a bit of a double-edged sword, isn't it? Some love it, some hate it, and for me, it's been a bit of a time drain. But despite its challenges, having a presence on social media is essential these days. It's where potential customers may first discover you, and it is an opportunity for you to be yourself and show what happens inside the business day to day.

However, navigating social media as a solo business owner can be overwhelming, with endless advice from so-called experts bombarding us. They all seem to contradict each other, and they cannot all be right. I have found it crucial to strike a balance between taking inspiration from others and staying true to myself and my businesses.

For me, simplicity is key, and these are my 5 reasons why.

Reach. At the time of writing this in 2024, the reach on social media is absolutely terrible. My thoughts on this are that there is so much more content out there now it stands to reason we will be shown to fewer people. There are not enough hours in the day to be viewing everything that is on a platform - even if it is relevant, and we might want to see it. That is not going to get any better in the future. Additionally, social media posts generally last for 24 hours or so and are never seen again. Is this really worth a lot of your precious time?

Authenticity. Not a word I am keen on, but it is relevant. If you are hopping on doing all different things, then your brand or you are not being true to yourself, you're just copying other people. It can be confusing, insincere, not genuine, and not unique.

Consistency. Trends come and go on social media as we know. If we are trying to focus on trends rather than posting something, then we will become inconsistent. Thinking about transitions or music is time-consuming. I also think the messaging and branding might be lost along the way somewhere, and you are less likely to do it as you don't want to spend an hour creating a reel! So consistency is more important than following trends.

Quantity. Instagram have recently said that putting more content out will lead to your account growing, which initially slightly horrified me. But it doesn't anymore, and there's a good reason for that. I had a lightbulb moment - I can keep a post simple but relevant. Eg putting out a photograph or a short video of you doing something in the business rather than trying to follow a fancy trend or spending hours finding a piece of music that will match exactly what you're doing is going to allow you to put out more posts in a shorter space of time. I feel that keeping your posts simple but relevant is the way forward.

Target audience. Not all of your followers or target audience will appreciate some of the trends that are going around at the moment. So again, stick to being you and doing things that you do well, and look at what you think your customers will like and what feels comfortable. This will be far more engaging in the long run than jumping around pointing to letters. And don't get me wrong, I've been there, I've done it, I've tried to do all this in the past, and I've now come full circle and thought, not doing that anymore, it's just stressful, a waste of time and for me, didn't make any difference.

At the end of the day, it's about finding a balance that works for you and your business. Social media should complement your overall marketing strategy, not consume your entire day. So don't overthink it. Keep it simple, stay true to yourself, and remember that your time is valuable.