I think that I am a bit of a contrarian. Not the kind that argues with everything just because or takes an opposing stand regardless. I tend to do different things and do things differently. I like getting started, learning and being exposed to new ideas.  Just don’t tell me what I am supposed to do, should read or must know.

It shouldn’t be a surprise then that I am taking a position that seems opposed to what “everyone” is saying. Yes, I need to spend more time on social media. Let me be clearer. I need to spend more time on good social media.

Social media easily overwhelms me. I only have a personal profile on Facebook because it was a requirement to set up our business page ten years ago. When I get friend requests I usually decline, although it is nice to sometimes see what my few Facebook friends are posting. That makes me feel good, might give me a laugh and sometimes stuns me. The time I spend on this social media is good but not what I want more of.

What we love and love to hate

When I type in “need more time on social media” Google does not believe me. The top search results are about how to reduce your time or else be smarter or more effective in the time spent. Celebrities, influencers or whomever proclaim or prescribe digital detox. Myriad blog posts specifically advise social media detox, even suggesting apps to help you.

The search “why social media is good” is better, yielding webpages about the benefits and positive impacts of social media. Building connection, promoting social causes, offering ideas. I don’t recognize many of the top ten result websites or can’t evaluate their accuracy or legitimacy. I pay attention to an article from Harvard medical research. It acknowledges the negative while highlighting the benefits of connection. Whether social media is good or harmful apparently depends on who you are, with patterns by demographics. The Pew Foundation asked teens, revealing that they find social media to be primarily beneficial, not harmful. Perhaps good news for parents. Connection most frequently comes up as the greatest positive of social media. I agree, and while I likely could benefit from increased connection, I believe that I need to spend more time on social media for knowledge and ideas.

Social Media for Knowledge and Ideas

We all know that the internet is important for the dissemination of information. Apparently social media can do the same.

Social networks facilitate the diffusion of ideas across individuals and firms, and because of this, they play an important role in productivity growth.

https://ourworldindata.org/social-networks-innovation-and-productivity

Using research on the distribution of patents relative to geography and social connectiveness, the article connects social media to productivity to material well-being.

The research on social connections and innovation suggests that one important way to improve material living standards is to invest in digital communication technologies. This lowers the costs of creating and maintaining personal and professional ties, which facilitates the diffusion of ideas and knowledge, creating positive productivity spillovers.

From a personal perspective, I have gained new knowledge and ideas unexpectedly from social media despite my limited time spent scrolling feeds. I learnt from a Facebook friend about the new book by Ann Handley. She has a blog and social media to follow, but, as a contrarian, I ordered her new book Everybody Writes: Your New and Improved Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content. I also love art and periodically stumble across some sensational paintings, amazing land art or architecture via social media. Like this amazing image of a rowing shell climbing the wall from an entrepreneur museum in Osaka, Japan. It was shared to a Facebook rowing group, originating in another group, Architectural Engineering Discoveries.

While this is cool and quite fun, where I need to spend more time on social media is for my business.

Good Social Media for my Business

Social media has been part of the marketing plan for my rowing travel company from the start. We began with Facebook and LinkedIn, adding Instagram and then Twitter. We have tested boosting posts on Facebook as well as actual ads. It is a challenge, if not impossible, to stay current on fast-changing algorithms and all the advice and information coming at us about how to improve results from our social media, the ultimate metric being increased sales.

Most recently while looking at likes and engagements from our Facebook posts I realized something significant and seemingly contrary to what we are told by many social media experts. The posts which announced or promoted our own rowing tours were the most popular. Not our beloved Friday rowing dog posts, not the ones which shared new ideas from the rowing world. Not the ones trying to start a conversation or engage people in a poll. No, good social media for my business is providing information on what we sell. Not necessarily a hard sell I hope, but knowledge and information offered with an authentic, clear and distinctive voice. Even better when guests comment about a trip which they enjoyed, or a question is asked but now I am satisfied that people are just seeing the post. Trip information is what we will focus more on.

I can’t rest on the laurels of this big revelation for very long. Things are changing too quickly and there is too much uncertainty in the world. Travel has recently been especially impacted and remains vulnerable. To provide information and content to our loyal guests and potential customers and to continue to grow this rowing travel business, I need to keep learning. I need better understanding of my key demographic. I need a sense of where the economy and the world might be headed. I need fresh ideas to apply in my business. I need the reassurance that others are facing the same issues and finding solutions. Searching the internet or reading the newsletters that fill my inbox or reading a book will give me ideas and insights. I also need to spend more time on good social media.

The best social media for my business relates to rowing and to business. Masters Rowers International is a Facebook group of exactly my client demographic. I need to scroll past the endless photos of ergometer scores, pause to admire the beautiful places where members are rowing, and pounce on the nuggets that show up periodically. Like a discussion on the best locations to retire with year-round rowing within walking distance – ideas for potential tours for me. Other Rowing The World team members manage our Instagram and Twitter accounts. Coming in for a peek periodically exposes me to the usual, but also an occasional insight. If I am considering a new destination, I like to see the images that they post or how they present the club via tweets and posts.

LinkedIn is the obvious choice of good social media for business. I belong to nine rowing groups, although none are particularly active. There are innumerable groups related to travel or marketing. I tried using them to research this blog post and did not do well. For example, the group Social Media in Travel does not seem to discuss the ideas of better social media, but rather is dominated by people promoting their services or businesses which they must be working for. Back to checking the feed regularly, perhaps peeking at certain people or pages who say interesting things. I still need to do better.

My 2023 Social Media To Do List

1. Commit to spending the time – plan on 30 minutes per day.
2. Focus on quality, the sources which provide me with relevant knowledge and ideas.
3. Sometimes go down the rabbit hole. Discovery is not a regimented process.
4. Know that I will always be behind, never up to date.
5. Be kind to myself when I get overwhelmed. Because I will.
6. Periodically spend the time to research and learn what works or does not, what other people are recommending.
7. Keep rethinking and re-evaluating. Assess quantitatively as well as qualitatively. Then change if needed.

This may be blindingly obvious for many of you. Let’s see how I do. Contrarians don’t tend to do what they are told to do, even when it is by themselves. You are welcome to check in periodically to see how it is going. Add your insights and suggestions. I like ideas. Just don’t except me to accept them all.