When to Adjust Your Social Media Marketing Plan

I have a confession to make. Lately, I have NOT been being consistent in the execution of my own social media content. I am always talking about the importance of planning and consistency for your social media accounts, so today let’s talk about when to adjust your social media marketing plan.

Lately, in addition to client work and other projects (not to mention it’s peak gardening and canning season), my content plans for my various social media accounts just haven’t been getting fully implemented.

So, instead of feeling like I’m always behind and that I’m failing at my own social media, you know what I did?

I ADJUSTED MY PLAN.

Everyone should have a marketing plan for their business and follow it throughout the year to keep on task. But, you can adjust your plan! Plans aren’t made to be broken, but they are made to be adjusted as needed – I promise!

Knowing When to Adjust Your Social Media Plan

I have two businesses, Digital Darcy and Preserving My Sanity. They are each on multiple social media platforms, and they each have an email list and a blog.

Prior to this week, my content plan included:

• 6 social media posts per week on most social media platforms, for both businesses
• 1 new blog post per week for Preserving My Sanity, and 1 every other week for Digital Darcy
• 2 email newsletters per month, per business

Would I love to get all of this done every week and month? Of course.

Can I get it all done? Nope. Not while I have client work to do, and not without an assistant.

Does it really matter to my followers if I don’t, as long as I still show up consistently and offer value when I do? Not one bit, I promise! They may very well love hearing from me, and if I’m lucky some may even look forward to my next post. But, are they going to notice if they don’t see me every single day? Think about how fast your days go by, and what you see on social media. Do you notice if your favorites don’t post daily? It’s highly unlikely.

It’s so important to remember that plans can be changed, and strategies can be adjusted. If what you are doing currently isn’t working, CHANGE IT.

So … from this week forward, my plan will feature posts on social media 3x per week for both businesses instead of 6x. For new blog posts, my goal is 2x per month for Preserving My Sanity and 1x per month for Digital Darcy. I am keeping my email newsletter goal the same, at 2x per month per business – those email lists are essential, you guys!

Be Realistic About What You Can Get Done

When you run a business, there are so many things to plan, manage, implement, remember, handle, etc. Somewhere along the way, it’s easy to get swept up into doing things that aren’t really going to make you money. At the end of the day, isn’t that really the point?

So, I encourage you to take a peek at your social media marketing plan and what you are doing and make sure that your content schedule and execution has the potential to make you money. If it doesn’t, then you are wasting time.

Now, it can be hard to gauge … because social media exposure is just one element of how people are learning about your business. And, even though you may not be seeing a lot of likes, comments, and shares – people ARE still seeing your content. We call them silent followers. They are there!

But, if you find yourself sitting in front of your computer for 30 minutes because it says on your content plan that you are supposed to post on Facebook and Instagram every day, it might be time to reevaluate your plan. If you can come up with killer content 4x a week, and the other 2-3x is a struggle and you just post a quote or meme or whatever else you can think of to fill the space … then maybe just post 4x week.

So, as you think about your existing content plan, think about its effectiveness and the time it takes you to implement it. I do recommend posting at least 3x per week on your social media accounts, 2x per month to your email list, and 1x per month on your blog. In my opinion, posting more than that is a bonus. Leave yourself some of that extra time for other income-producing activities!

And, if you need help with any ideas, check out my blog post about how to post on social media when you are stuck. Good luck!