Social Media – You Are Doing It Wrong

I have a friend who claims he has not worked a day in his life. “I love what I do,” he says. We agree with him to a certain extend. If you enjoy what you do for living things come relatively easy. You are more likely to go harder and clock longer hours than others. But doing what you love is not all fun and giggles. It is work!

So many people think that being an “influencer” (Instagram or other) is easy money and only fun. They see the cool pictures and videos, they notice the travel and the adventures, but they miss the fact that behind this hides enormous dedication and countless hours of hard work.

Being an influencer, a real one I mean, nowadays is a legitimate job. A job that did not exist only 5 to 10 years ago. You can make a living utilizing social media, but you have to enjoy the creative process more than the rewards. Why? Because this is not your regular 9 to 5 job.

Though I am not an influencer, I spend a considerable amount of time working with social media. And there are some things I have learned over the past eight years. Though I work at a cooking school and teach classes, about 80% of my time at work goes towards marketing and promotion on social. About 10% is administration, and only then comes the cooking, traveling, and doing what I was expecting to do when I signed up for this shenanigan.

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy what I do (most of the time) – all those little things that I will mention in the next lines. So let me get back to “influencing.”

People think that being an influencer can be a side hustle. And in the beginning, it usually is. You start posting pictures from vacations, trips, and write blog posts or edit videos in your spare time. At some point, however, you have to realize that if you want to do this for a living, you have to dedicate more time and effort.

I have been working for ten years now, and I am nowhere near as successful as I had imagined. Especially after this lockdown! Our business is right on the edge of the cliff. But I have learned early on that there are no shortcuts. To reach the top, you have to climb the stairs step by step. If you miss one, you risk falling. Hard! The stairway to success is long and steep. And from time to time, there are even missing steps.

Of course, there will always be people who are ahead of you. They may have started earlier, have more resources, or maybe are more prepared than you. There is no comparison between you and the rest. Yes, you can be inspired by the best and most successful, as I am, but you should never put yourself in a position where your happiness depends on comparing yourself with the success of others.

In high school, I used to sit next to a guy whose favorite line was: “All things that seem easy are not. All things that seem hard are even harder”. I did not get it then, but I get it now.

So many people assume that influencers live a comfortable life. It is understandable. As Gary Vee says, we only see the curated part of people’s lives on social. I have fallen in this trap, not once. Seeing pictures of close and not so close friends on Instagram from some fantastic place or event and thinking, “Why I work 18 hours a day, seven days a week, and I am not there, but they already are?” But I have not seen the work they have done so they can get there. I don’t have the context. We all need to understand that most of the time, social shows only the cherry on top of the sundae. It rarely shows what goes into making the thing!

Working with social media is a constant struggle to keep up and learn how different platforms and how the audience evolves. Planning, creating content, figuring out when, where, and how to post, so it resonates with the right people. And then, you need to understand and analyze why and how a piece of content has or has not worked out. Adjust, and then go to step one and repeat the whole process.

I want to get to as many people as possible, so I try not to rely on a single platform. I never know which one is the next to bite the dust. Look at the history of social. There are so many platforms we can’t even remember!

That is why I decided to put together my website, where I can create content without limitations. By not having your personal corner on the internet, you are dependent on the grace of Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, Snapchat, or some other social media platform.
I have made this mistake once, and I am not planning on repeating it. Being a Youtuber, for example, does not mean that you don’t need a Facebook page or an Instagram account. All platforms are different, and they allow you to reach different people. So don’t dismiss one for the other. Concentrate on your favorite or the one at which you are the best and give it say 80% of your efforts. Then give 100% of the ten left for the rest.

So whenever I have to make a post in our blog for Amuse Bouche, I also do my best to create distinct content for our YouTube channel, our Facebook page, our Instagram Feed, and Stories (different from each other), and most of the time IGTV. It all takes time and dedication, and a lot of late nights and early mornings.

To be successful, we need to act quickly in the micro but be patient and concentrate on the big goal. Be the tortoise in the macro. Don’t try to reach your goal too fast because “Slow And Steady Wins The Race.” Don’t quit until the end!
In the micro, though, you need to be fast. Creating, posting, assessing, and figuring out what your audience wants. Try not to skip. Be consistent— people who follow you and like your content will expect it.

You have to be as fast as possible in your day-to-day operations. To create regular posts on either platform, you need to execute without hesitation. If something does not work, analyze, adjust, and move on to the next idea. This last bit sounds easy enough, but I still struggle with the speed.

If you try to do it for the wrong reasons, there is a good chance that you will burn out and get depressed. The only way to make it is to love the process. Every aspect of it. The long hours, the late nights, all the micro failures and successes along the way. If you are determined to make it, don’t listen to all those who judge you. They can’t do better.