I’m the founder of Social Kat Media— but I’m also a social media strategist, mom of two, The Office fangirl (IYKYK), and your business’ biggest cheerleader. My mission is to make social media as simple, fun, and effective as possible for small business owners like you so you can get seen, form real relationships with your community, and (yep!) make more money.
Do you find yourself reaching for your phone for no reason? That was me a few months ago. I had no social media boundaries. I was checking my phone way too often, scrolling without purpose and using that little screen to numb big feelings. (Hello, pandemic fatigue!)
Social media is supposed to be fun (right?) but managing your business’ social media accounts can feel like a full-time job if you don’t have some very clear boundaries set up to protect your time and your energy. (More on setting boundaries in a minute, I promise!) For months now, you’ve had to rely on social media – whether it was Facebook, Instagram, or emails – to keep connected. And, if you are anything like me, you may have even started to use social media to escape the not-so-fun reality of pandemic life.
Here’s the thing. Social media shouldn’t be a mindless activity. It’s supposed to be about creating connections, getting inspired, and feeling good. Social media is meant to be used mindfully. When it stops being social it stops being fun and can have a real effect on your mental health and on how effective social media is going to be for your business.
When you pick up your phone, I want you to feel good about logging into those social media apps. And you can by changing your mindset and setting some clear boundaries for yourself and your audience on social.
You don’t work for social media. It works for you.
If you are feeling like somewhere along the way you stopped calling the shots and your social media FOMO has taken over, you’ve got some work to do. It’s time to redefine your relationship with social media. This is something I’ve been working, too. We’ve got this!
Every healthy relationship has boundaries. Your relationship with social media is no different. Setting boundaries isn’t about being bossy. It is about protecting your time because as a business owner or entrepreneur, time is one of your most precious commodities.
Setting boundaries is about being intentional. You have to ask yourself how you want to show up on social media and what you hope to get from it. Then you have to step back and take stock. How does the relationship you HAVE stack up against the relationship you WANT?
Let’s look at an example from my own life. A few months ago I was noticing that my social media use was cutting into my time with my partner and my daughter. I was always scrolling and checking notifications and emails – even at the dinner table. No thank you!
The problem: My social media use was cutting into key time with my family.
The boundary: I stopped bringing my phone to the table and went one step further, banning myself from social media between 5 pm and 7 pm entirely. This is my family time and my new boundary protects it and lets me enjoy it!
Here’s another example for you to consider.
My impulse to fill any spare moment with social media scrolling started to bother me. (What’s this? 5 minutes of quiet time? I could rest or… *Scroll*) It didn’t feel healthy and it sure wasn’t productive! I was just going through the motions mindlessly. I wasn’t interacting effectively online or in real life because my attention was split. So, another boundary was created.
The problem: I felt unable to simply BE. I was filling all of my “spare time” with mindless and unproductive social media scrolling.
The boundary: I set specific times for myself to log into and use social media mindfully and with intention. Each time period has a specific goal attached to it like “connect with 5 new accounts” or “support local businesses by sharing their posts in my stories”.
Now when I log into social, I feel focused and active. More importantly, when I sign off I feel like I’ve used the app successfully, connected with real people and done something good for my community. #winning
Setting boundaries around social media isn’t always easy – especially when you use it for business. There is even evidence to show that people go through withdrawal-like symptoms when they try to cut-back or cut-out social media from their lives! That doesn’t mean you can’t do it.
If you are ready to set some boundaries of your own and change the way you feel about using social media, here are some simple changes you can put into place today.
– Put time limits on your social apps. This can be limits on how long they can be open at any one time or limits about the times of day you are able to sign in. Experiment and see what works for you. There are apps and phone settings that let you set up time limits on apps. I have daily limits for Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The app “locks” once I reach the time limit. Here’s how to set up time limits on Android and iOS.
– Take time-limits a step further and create social media black-out periods during times when you want (or need) to focus your attention on something specific or special. (Remember the example I gave above about no phones between 5 pm and 7 pm? This is what I’m talking about here.)
– Put your phone away while you work. Out of sight, out of mind. If having the phone on your desk is too tempting, leave it in your bedroom or lock it in a drawer. If it isn’t one of your scheduled social media times, put your phone on a time-out.
– Turn off notifications. All of them. Remember, your phone is not the boss of you. Plus, you won’t need notifications because you have scheduled time for checking your social accounts now, right?
Setting boundaries for your audience is totally fair game. Make it clear to your social media followers and clients when they can expect you to reply to messages and emails. Make sure your hours of operation are clearly stated in your profiles and on your website. Then, stick to them. If you say you work Monday to Friday then don’t start sending emails to clients over the weekend. If you are using Gmail, you can schedule your emails to go out Monday morning. That way, even if you are sneaking in a little weekend work session, no one will know.
You can also specify how you would like to be contacted. When people are always reaching out to you by DM not only can it be hard to keep track of, it also pulls you right back onto social. Direct people to your email or website instead.
By changing the way you use social media you will change the way you feel about social media. Get clear about what you want your experience to be you and then set boundaries to make it happen. Put the social back in social media! Social media is so much more fun when you make it work for you instead of the other way around.