Social Media- Love it or loathe it?

Sunday 26 May 2019

Nadia Newton of Penelope Hope raised an interesting question in her Express newspaper column this week: was life easier before social media?

"Can you remember life without Facebook? Can you imagine not being able to Facebook (or LinkedIn) stalk someone? (I don’t mean it in a creepy way….but merely someone asks you if you know ‘Joe Bloggs’ and so you do a quick check on social and ‘oh yes, I know who you mean’, in that kind of way!)

Having an online business (and a studio which is off the beaten track) I rely heavily on social media to help engage with my customers and hopefully encourage them to make an action whether that is placing an order, booking a workshop or giving me an answer to a question I have asked. 

I love how instant and fast it is. A quick snap here, add a few words and with a click of a button it’s out there for anyone to see. With my business hat on, I would be pretty lost without social media.

Last night, as an example I posted about a workshop I am running in the half term break and within a few hours it was fully booked. Rewind 10-15 years and that wouldn’t have been possible. It would have taken a lot longer to market an event. Resorting to more traditional advertising such as press, radio, posters, flyers and email and no doubt at a considerably higher cost. My Facebook / Instagram posts cost me nothing. 

I was given the advice about a year ago to show more of me, the designer behind the brand, on my social media channels. People buy from people, they say. 

I am an open, warm person if you meet me in person, but if I am honest, I find it cringey sharing my soul with the world. It’s weird not knowing who might be reading or watching you. People want authentic but how much is truly authentic? Are we still just filtering what we are prepared to share? Through rose coloured glasses perhaps. 

Forgetting about the business for now, does social media help or hinder my life? 

I like keeping up to date on what my family & friends are doing, how the kids are growing up, what milestones friends are celebrating. Seeing that it’s someone birthday and dropping them a quick birthday message. Thanks Facebook for the reminder to be a good friend. 

I am also a member of several Facebook groups and have found like-minded people who have become my ‘online friends’ and I do feel a real sense of community in these groups. I also love that I can post a question and within a few minutes often get a handful of helpful answers or opinions from people that I trust. 

On the flip side, I often feel that I am wasting so much of my valuable time endlessly scrolling through a feed, deciding who is worthy of a like or a heart. Comparison-itis sets in when you see what all the amazing things other people have been up to. On holiday somewhere tropical (jealous!), ran an ultra-marathon (how can I not run for 5 mins without getting a stitch!) cooked a healthy curry from scratch (when would I have the time?!) as much as I enjoy seeing and can’t help but look at my feed I am not sure it’s all that healthy. 

Was life easier before social media? People got on with living their lives, enjoying the moment and didn’t feel the need to broadcast it. 

I would love to open the debate on this with you so please let me know your thoughts… you can find me on social media! 

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