Social media has been such a successful tool for many organisations and even nations.

When the youth of Egypt decided that the 30-year reign of Hosni Mubarak was enough, nobody foresaw their weapon of choice – social media. It has been said that the revolution started with one Facebook post sent late in the evening of January 14, 2011. Roughly translated, it simply read: Message to the people of Egypt: let January 25 be the torch of change in Egypt.

In March 11, Japan was rocked by an 8.9 magnitude quake, followed by one of the most devastating tsunamis in history – and then a meltdown at a nuclear power plant. With telecommunications immediately after the tsunami down, most people relied on the Internet through their mobile phones to connect with worried relatives, as well as to spread the word about the state of hard-hit areas.

There are so many amazing stories where social media played an important role in the unravelling of social change, connecting loved ones and conveying truth to the world. Social media is a powerful tool no doubt. People and organisations can really connect with their community, influence their minds, share their message, build donations and create impact.

However it looks like many talented entrepreneurs get social media backwards.

Many are demanding sales from their social media efforts before doing the work.

Social media marketing is a great tool helping millions of impactful projects, concepts, organisations, individuals and nations. However, it’s the work that fuels social media, which, in return, really powers their mission.

Today, I’d love to talk to you about your social media efforts and how to really power your impactful work with the help of this technology.

Social media is a very precise tool with multiple functions and it can often be extremely beneficial. However, it isn’t a solution for everything in your work. You must first identify what role social media is playing in your work to be able to measure the effect.

This is why I always perform a social media audit for all my clients first before applying any solutions – we need to know where we are at, what gems and bottlenecks are present and what is realistic to achieve and when. From here, we can see where social media fits in to their work and how it can really power results.

When you understand where you are in your work and what role social media is playing for you, it’s a lot easier to design and execute an effective social media campaign.

However, I feel there a numerous bottlenecks that are preventing many gifted entrepreneurs from really benefiting from social media technology. See if this resonates with you.

There are a few myths I’d like to spotlight to help you better navigate social media.

Social media creates sales

While this certainly happens for many, the mere fact that you employed social media in your work doesn’t guarantee sales. Social media isn’t a sure thing but a tool that can help you create more money and more impact. Marketers often predict fast or over night sales results as well, which is almost always a lie.

I think it’s very important to do your due diligence, double check or ask more questions when something sounds too good and test to see what works for you. Don’t rely on someone else’s experience – yours will never be the same.

It’s easy to use social media yourself

I believe that working in your lane and doing what you love must be the core of your work. Leave the rest to experts. Spreading thin is often exhausting and ineffective. This is why I delegate some important parts of my business to people I trust to streamline and scale. If I had to worry about each moving part in my work I don’t think I’d ever get anything done.

While I personally find most social media technology straight forward I don’t have any control over it – things change and move rapidly. I adjust as I receive data. If social media marketing isn’t your lane I would talk to mutliple experts to see if this type of marketing is suitable for your work right now.

It’s free and always a solution

It’s been a really potent belief for many years now that social media is free and is a must in anyone’s marketing mix. Even if you aren’t employing paid advertising, social media requires expertise, time and resources many entrepreneurs could be utilise in their business elsewhere (where they are experts and what they enjoy doing, for example). It’s also damaging to assume that social media technology is suitable for every business never mind the type, niche, goal, stage and many other important variables. I think it’s irresponsible to suggest that employing social media in your business is a necessity.

It’s about knowing the right tactic

I find it also irresponsible to claim that if social media isn’t working for you just need to study it more, learn a specific tactic or a secret formula. I think this believe is especially damaging because it has a strong rooting in the modern society. Many entrepreneurs are seeking quick fixes which many bad marketers are eager to supply. I observe way too many victims in this vicious cycle.

None of these are true!

The truth is it’s about your work in the world and then suitable tools to help you power your work. Not other way round.

These often bring me to couple of common challenges I hear a lot:

• But everyone is doing social media and collecting awesome results;
• But how will I make any sales or be seen without social media?

Earlier I talked about the danger of trying to fit someone else’s solution into your work. You don’t diagnose your flu based on someone else’s description of their broken leg. And although your work maybe in the similar industry, your never have identical circumstances. Taking someone’s tactic and try squeezing it into your business can damage the good work you’ve been doing so far.

Moreover, comparing doesn’t serve us very well. In marketing and business, it’s especially counterproductive. Way too many businesses are spending more than they are making claiming to collect amazing results from their Facebook ads or Instagram posts – you never get to see the complete picture. Don’t compare your work with anyone – keep focused on your goals.

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here how I can help you leverage social media technology to really power your mission:

I design simple and effective social media and Facebook ads strategies helping gifted not for profits and businesses for purpose leverage their social media technology and loyal community to really power their mission, building more donations and creating impact. My work is custom solution aiming at the specific needs of your work.

There are many ways you can reach out to see if I am a good fit for your goals. Check out the Facebook Messanger bubble on the bottom right, contact page on the top and/or a form and a calendar, if this type of communication suits you better.

I look forward to supporting your vision of the future!