I've been questioning a lot about my relationship with social media the last few weeks.

On one hand...

I've literally grown my business since starting in 2008 right alongside the growth of social media. There are a LOT of entrepreneurs and small business owners who have been able to ride that first wave.

Being an early adopter of a new platform can often give you a huge unfair advantage for one reason - there are ALWAYS more people consuming content than creating it.

And as entrepreneurs - we all need visibility for our businesses. The early days of social media allowed us to have huge visibility for FREE (because remember - you used to actually see content from people you followed in the newsfeed).

On the other hand...

Social media has changed dramatically over the last few years.

We all know that it has become pay to play on Facebook & Instagram - if you aren't constantly feeding the algorithm with content, you've gotta pay to run ads.

And that algorithm keeps changing on us.

Meta keeps changing the types of content that it amplifies - it went from mostly text and photo posts to now stories and reels (that don't always get the reach or engagement we are looking for).

Which is one reason why I loved jumping on TikTok - their algorithm is based on recommending curated content based on how you interact on the platform. I was seeing upwards of 90% brand new users watching each and every video!

But this last week on social has me questioning everything.

🚩 The values and leadership of Meta is literally OPPOSITE of my own. It's become more and more clear that Mark Zuckerburg is not only in his tech bro era - he's in his toxic masculinity leadership era (just find a clip of his recent Joe Rogan podcast interview).

🚩 I'm extremely concerned about the repeal of fact checking, allowing of hate speech, and what appears to be censorship already happening on the platforms. Especially as these platforms are known to lead to the alt-right pipeline.

🚩 The 12 hour shut down of TikTok over the weekend highlighted how easily you can lose access to not just the content you've created, but access to a massive community.

All of this has me weighing the pros and cons of every single social media platform as I figure out my next steps.

And I don't have a next steps figured out quite yet.

But to answer my initial question - do you really NEED social media to grow your business?

No.

If I decide to get 100% off all social media, I'm already doing interviews, public speaking, SEO, podcasting, and writing you via my email newsletter.

So I'm pretty sure I'd be A-OK.

But what I'd miss?

Honestly - the community.

I love connecting with people on social media. I love seeing little peeks into everyone's life. Social media has been the easiest way for me to stay connected to so many clients and colleagues. We might not have talked for awhile but thanks to social, I know they just bought a new house or started working on a new book.

As I'm rumbling with my relationship to social, I realized that so many small business owners don't have the same options here. They don't have other marketing channels or systems in place to replace social.

If that's you - let me know in this little poll if you'd be interested in diversifying your marketing:

Let me know your thoughts - if we have the interest, then I'll get it on the calendar asap.

To your success!
Racheal

PS - I joined BlueSky! I like the idea of a decentralized social network that gives users a lot of control over their experience.

🎙 Promote Yourself to CEO 🎙

We are working behind the scenes on some big changes for Promote Yourself to CEO launching on February 6th - but I've dropped all 4 parts of this series so you can kick off 2025 with some upgraded CEO Habits!

​Episode 1: Run Your Quarter Like a CEO​

Learn our 90 Day CEO approach to creating a plan for more consistency (that you can actually stick to) that builds real momentum in your business.

​Episode 2: Run Your Month Like a CEO​

Have you every gotten off track with your goals? Me too. That's why I build in this monthly process to check in, adapt, and adjust my plan.

​Episode 3: Run Your Week Like a CEO​

As the CEO - your time is the most valuable asset in your business! Learn how to enforce stronger boundaries around your time and energy, structure your week, and stay focused on your highest priority work.

​Episode 4: Run Your Day Like a CEO​

In my experience, it's nearly impossible to show up 100% for my business if I'm feeling stretched too thin and rushing around! This episode is all about how to simplify your day to day.

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