Changes on social media: How I deal with it content planning and mental health wise.

We all have seen the changes Instagram has been making to the platform (making it more video-centric than photo-centric) and we are seeing all of the additions Twitter is making (I’m interested to see how people react to it and how other platforms react to it too).

If you are someone whose constant social media platform changes stress you out because it is already hard to come up with content and to consistently engage in the community, all of those changes can make social media a heavier burden than what you might have thought it was. This is why I thought I should share the way I deal with it in case it inspires you to change how you engage with the platform or ease the feeling of being overwhelmed.

First thing first, if the content strategy you have is working there is no real need for you to scramble and change it just because of changes in the platform. Same as you don’t have to be on every platform. Is true that social media has been gearing towards being almost exclusively for entertainment but the bottom line and what ends up really working for people is connection. Post things, comment on things to connect with other humans. With time you’ll see how it would affect in a positive way your creative business.

In relation to platform changes, I look at what they are adding or subtracting and then I decide if I want to try it out and the ones I straight up don’t. The ones I would like to try it out I give them a solid month and see if I like it and if the people that follow the account I try it on are receptive to it in a positive way. Based on those things I decide if I want to keep doing it or not. Again, I don’t let myself be persuaded by all of the changes.

The reason why is the same as to why I post the content that I post.

Social media platform changes are to cater to their ideal customer. My ideal customer is not the same one as them, so why in the world would I change my entire content strategy to something that fits within the platform changes? Until I see and experience my ideal customer preferring the new changes or until my reach and engagement plummet I’m going to stick with a strategy that has been working for me already. Some people may think I’m stubborn but I think it is okay to stick to your guns and only change or pivot when it’s required by your own community and/or niche and not when the platform decides to.

Also, take breaks! We are humans, we are NOT a machine. We get tired, stressed, and overwhelmed and it is okay to take a step back whenever we need it. This is important for your mental health, not only creating what you and your audience like but also resting when you need to.

I mentioned in a blog post before that you don’t really have to post every day but you have to find what frequency works for you and stick to it. For me, knowing this makes it a lot easier to take breaks when I need and to decide if I want to schedule posts so there’s content out when I’m on break and know my engagement will take a little hit because I won’t be replying or if I just want to go radio silent for the time I take my break.

So in summary, I don’t really sweat it and I cater to my own ideal customer and my own self. Social media platforms can do whatever they want and I’ll keep doing me.

Tell me, do social media changes stress you out? Do you have a social media strategy based on your ideal customer? Let’s talk in the comments.