Stop Treating Social Media as a Standalone Marketing Activity
Updated: Aug 11
A few weeks ago, I was invited to speak to a networking group about how businesses can get more from social media without it becoming another full-time job.
As I was planning what to deliver, I kept coming back to a phrase I hear from business owners all the time:
"I know I should be doing more on social media."
Most people feel there is value in social media, but perhaps aren't always clear on why. There's an element of FOMO: "Other businesses are doing it, so it must be worthwhile. I must be missing out if I'm not".
So you find something to post.
You publish it.
Maybe you get a few likes or comments.
Then you do it again next week.
But what's it actually supporting?
Part of the challenge is finding the time to do it consistently whilst juggling everything else that comes with running a business. But I think there's a bigger issue: businesses often treat social media as an isolated activity rather than using it deliberately to support their wider marketing and business strategy.
For many businesses, social media has become the plan when it should simply be one part of it.
The good news is that getting value from social media doesn't necessarily mean posting every day, dancing in front of a camera, or spending hours creating content.
The less good news? It isn't a magic bullet either.
Social media isn't a strategy in itself. It's a marketing tactic that supports one. Like most marketing activities, it delivers the greatest value when it's working alongside everything else you're doing, rather than trying to generate results in isolation.
Used well, it helps you stay visible, engage with your audience, and demonstrate your expertise. You can make new connections, strengthen existing relationships, identify potential opportunities and arrange conversations that might never have happened otherwise.
And that's an important distinction. Because if the objective is simply "post more on LinkedIn", social media can very quickly become another demand on your time.
If instead you know why you're using it, and how it supports everything else you're doing, you can be much more deliberate about where you spend your time.
With that in mind, here are 15 practical ways to make social media work harder as part of your wider marketing and business development strategy.
1. Write for one person, not everyone.
Don't write for "businesses" instead picture one individual.
Think about your target audience. You might have a prospective customer in mind, or you could use a persona who represents that audience.
Either way, what role do they have? What challenge are they facing? What language would they use?
The more specific you are, the easier it is for someone to think, "That's exactly me."
Social media becomes much more useful when you're clear about who you're trying to reach in the first place.
2. Don't just sell. Add value.
If every post is about your business and the products/services offered, people quickly lose interest. Instead, ask yourself:
"What would someone in my network find genuinely useful?"
Share something you've learned. Answer a common question. Offer a different perspective. Help people solve a problem.
People scroll past the businesses that constantly sell. They remember the ones that consistently teach them something.
3. Don't chase the algorithm. Chase value.
You'll regularly hear about how the algorithm has changed and how you now need to optimise your content accordingly.
The latest "hack" usually has a short shelf life as people game the system and platforms respond.
Ignore most of the noise and remember that useful content is timeless.
If your posts genuinely help people, they're far more likely to be read, saved, commented on and shared. You'll usually get more long-term value from that than chasing the latest trick.
4. Share your own experiences.
The best content doesn't come from sitting down and trying to think of ideas. It comes from paying attention to conversations you're already having.
That's exactly how this article came about. I noticed a recurring theme, and had an opportunity to speak to a networking group; I turned it into something useful.
If three people ask you the same question this week, there's a good chance it's worth writing about.
Your day-to-day work is often your best source of content.
5. Decide on one takeaway.
Before you start writing, ask yourself:
"What's the one thing I want someone to remember after reading this?"
Build the post around that one idea.
If you try to teach five different things, most readers won’t remember any of them.
You don't necessarily need a complicated objective for every post, but knowing what you want someone to think, learn or do helps keep your content focused.
6. Have a personality.
Don't be afraid to let people see who you are. People buy people.
That doesn't mean you need to share every detail of your personal life. Share lessons you've learned, opinions you hold, challenges you've overcome or stories from your working week.
Those are often the posts people connect with most.
Over time, that familiarity helps people feel as though they already know something about you before you've ever had a conversation.
7. Use AI to make content easier, without removing what makes it yours.
AI is brilliant for brainstorming ideas, overcoming writer's block or improving structure. But people are becoming increasingly good at spotting generic AI-generated content.
By all means use AI to help you think. But don't let it do your thinking for you.
Your own experiences, opinions and personality makes your content worth engaging with. The objective should be to make creating useful content easier, not simply to produce more of it.
8. Make the first two lines count.
Social platforms don’t display every post in its entirety. People will usually only see the first few lines of text, around 160 characters.
That means those first few lines matter as people decide whether to click ‘more’ based on that opening.
Give people a reason to click and continue reading. Ask a question. Challenge a common assumption. Start a story.
You may have written something incredibly useful, but it can only do its job if someone actually reads it.
9. Use a variety of formats.
Variety also helps keep your content interesting. And not everyone consumes content in the same way. Some people enjoy reading, others prefer videos, images or carousels.
Different formats can also serve different purposes. A short video might help people get to know you, while a detailed article can demonstrate expertise and a simple graphic might communicate one useful idea quickly.
Experiment with different formats and see what works for your audience, your objectives, and your own style.
10. Don't just broadcast your own content. Engage with other people's.
One of the biggest mistakes I see is treating social media like a notice-board. People publish a post and then disappear.
Instead, spend some time commenting thoughtfully on other people's content before publishing your own.
Celebrate their successes, leave thoughtful comments, share useful insights.
Not only does this help build relationships, it's also one of the easiest ways to improve your own visibility because you're actively participating rather than simply broadcasting.
11. Consistency beats frequency.
You don't need to post every day.
One thoughtful post every week, supported by regular engagement, is far more sustainable than posting daily for a month before disappearing completely.
Choose a pace you can realistically maintain.
A strategic approach should fit around the realities of your business, rather than creating another workload you can't sustain.
12. Reply to every comment.
You posting isn't the end of the conversation.
Every reply gives you an opportunity to continue the discussion, understand someone's perspective and build a stronger relationship.
If someone has taken the time to engage with you, engage back. It also shows there's a real person behind the account.
13. Take the conversation offline.
Maybe not literally, but you don’t need to keep the conversation on social media.
Offer to meet for a coffee or arrange a virtual one-to-one to discuss an idea in more detail.
A LinkedIn comment doesn't have to remain a LinkedIn comment. Sometimes it's more valuable as the start of a conversation that moves somewhere else.
14. Connect your offline and online networking.
Met someone new at an event?
Check whether they're on LinkedIn, send them a connection request and follow up with a short message about what you enjoyed discussing.
A fleeting conversation at an event can easily be forgotten. But it's much less likely if you connect afterwards, continue the conversation, and regularly come across each other's content.
Social media can make your face-to-face networking work much harder.
15. Use your existing network to extend your reach.
If you're part of a networking group, don't be afraid to support each other's content from time to time.
If someone has shared something genuinely useful, leave a meaningful comment or contribute your own perspective.
Likewise, if you've published something particularly relevant to the group, there's nothing wrong with sharing it and inviting people to contribute to the conversation.
A few genuine interactions can help useful content reach people beyond your immediate network.
Just remember that this works best when the support is authentic and reciprocal, rather than something people feel obliged to do.
Final thoughts
Social media doesn't need to dominate your working week. It shouldn't be your entire marketing strategy either.
The question I'd encourage you to ask isn't "Am I doing enough social media?"
Ask: "What role is social media playing in my marketing?"
Maybe it's helping you demonstrate expertise to people you've met through networking. Maybe it's keeping you visible with potential customers who aren't ready to buy yet. Maybe it's helping you meet new people, distribute useful content or turn online conversations into real-world relationships.
Think of it as one part of your wider marketing and business development activity. Once you understand the job you want social media to do, it becomes much easier to decide what deserves your time.
Your business won't transform overnight because of a single LinkedIn post. But over time, consistently showing up, adding value and engaging with the right people can have a significant impact.
Like most areas of marketing, it's rarely one big thing that makes the difference. It's doing the fundamentals consistently well.
Social media is just one piece of the puzzle. The real value comes when all of your marketing activities work together towards the same objectives.
If you're investing time and money into marketing but aren't confident it's all pulling in the same direction, I'd be happy to help.
Book a free 30-minute conversation and let's explore how a clearer marketing framework could help your business make better marketing decisions.
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