As I scroll through Twitter day after day, I sometimes find myself wondering how people are so active on social media. How do they find the time to post constantly? Not only that, how do they come up with their witty tweets that have me favoriting and retweeting? Will I ever be as witty or charismatic as them? So then I'll switch over to Instagram and I'll see the gorgeous pictures people take of their books and I wonder to myself, how long did it take them to stage that picture? Should I be doing more of that? I don't really have the time. Or the desire. Or the skill.
And it feels like every time I start to get better about using one social media platform, another one sprouts up that I'm supposed to be using. Like Snapchat. Snapchat used to be a platform where I just sent ugly selfies to my sister and vice versa. Now I'm supposed to post on it multiple times a day. Funny pictures with witty captions. Short videos that will make people laugh.
And then there's Pinterest. I can't just pin random things. I have to pin beautiful graphics. And if I want to pin stuff from my own blog I have to create beautiful, Pinterest worthy graphics. Do you ever just sit back and feel exhausted over keeping up with it all?
Sometimes I feel like it's a never-ending battle to stay relevant in the book blogging world. If I don't tweet enough, if I don't post pretty pictures on Instagram, if I'm not constantly updating my Snapchat, then I'm no longer relevant. People won't follow me because why would they? I'm not interesting. I'm not funny like so and so. I don't take stunning pictures like that other person. And my Snapchats aren't all that entertaining. Just me trying on weird cat ear earmuffs at Nordstrom. Or playing with the new Snapchat effects and making rainbows come out of my mouth.
These questions roll around in my head multiple times a week. I do really well on one platform for a week or so, but then I neglect others. And I think I can't possibly be alone, but when I look around it seems I am. Because everyone else seems to be posting on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram multiple times a day and I'm sitting over here trying to write a tweet, but I have nothing to say.
And if I have nothing to say on social media, then do I really have anything to say on my blog? Anything people will really truly care about? I try to write witty posts that will make people laugh. And I try to write serious posts like this one, but they never seem to come out as well as the blogs surrounding me. And maybe that's my biggest problem. Maybe I need to stop comparing myself to other people.
No, not maybe. I do. Because I'm me and I have to do this blogging thing the way it works for me, even if it's not the standard or the norm. I have to stop thinking that everyone else is doing a better job than me because I'm not following the standards everyone else appears to be setting. I have to focus on me and what's best for me. I don't have time to post on every social media platform daily. That's okay. I have to stop trying to keep up with the Joneses and start keeping up with myself. There is no bar to reach for around here. There's only you and your blog and what you want to get out of it. Your posts don't have to be eloquent masterpieces. As long as they embody you and capture who you are and your personality, I think you're being successful.
Easier said than done though, am I right? I'm sure I'm not the only one who has felt all these insecurities and sat here thinking that my own blog is terrible in comparison to the greats that surround me. It's human nature to feel insecure. It's human nature to compare yourself to others. To see a bar and decide that you have to reach it. So how do I put my words into practice? How do I let go of my insecurities and be myself?
I'm still figuring it out. I'm trying to set goals for myself when it comes to social media. Tweet at least once a day (not promoting my blog post of the day related). Post two Instagram pictures a week. Use Snapchat once a day. It may not seem like much, but it's a start and hopefully I can reach the goals and maintain them and it will help me become more active in the community.
Do you ever feel completely overwhelmed by social media? How do you keep up with everything in this social media day and age?
I've actually talked to some blogging friends about twitter and they also say the same that if they aren't on twitter, then they start to feel out of it. I can totally understand that. I think I just deal with what I can handle. I have a FB for my blog but I don't really use it. My IG I just post whatever comes up... I don't do the pretty pictures because I just... don't have to time to make things that pretty! And that's kind of why I don't do snapchat. I have nothing to post... and it's just too much for me to keep track of. I'm on twitter a lot. I mean, I wasn't really on there this past week or so but I feel like I jump into conversations or just talk about random stuff haha that I can pop in and out easily. I think as long as you just do your thing, and be yourself, then that's the best thing to do. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I never use my FB page for my blog. Just to promote my blog posts, but I never post other stuff on it. I keep seeing all these articles on why Twitter is so important for bloggers, why Pinterest is so important, why Snapchat is so important, etc. and I just want to scream. I mean seriously. When do the social media networks stop?? It just gets so overwhelming. I'll probably never be as active on social media as other bloggers, but I guess I'll just be myself and hopefully that will be enough. :D
DeleteHell. Yes. I 100% feel the way you feel, Rebecca! I used to be on all of the social media sites and struggled to stay active and relevant on them all. But eventually, I realized that some of them just aren't for me and have withdrawn from a couple, and started being low-key about how I use them (Tumblr, Facebook, Pinterest mostly). I really just keep up with my favorites (Twitter and Instagram), and that's it. It's been a lot less stress and a whole lot more fun; I get to devote my time to the ones I really enjoy.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite line in your post? "I have to stop thinking that everyone else is doing a better job than me because I'm not following the standards everyone else appears to be setting." -- YES. I struggle with this at times. But I try to remind myself that I am doing this for ME and that means I can define my own standards. Lovely post, R!
That's a great way to manage them. Maybe that's what I need to do. I love Pinterest and Twitter. But I suck at Instagram. So maybe I should just kind of let my Instagram do it's thing and just occasionally post like I do now. I almost never use Facebook, just to promo my blog posts honestly. I used to have a Tumblr but I got rid of it, it was way too much. I feel like I could get into Snapchat because it's fast and easy, but I just never really have any funny pictures to post.
DeleteIt's so hard to keep that in mind - that you're doing this for you and that it doesn't matter what other people are doing, you just need to do what's best for you. I sometimes feel like if I don't keep up as much as other people that I won't fit in in the book blogging world which is sad. But true to a certain extent. I feel like if you're not on Twitter all the time you miss out on those conversations and in turn miss out on friends. I think this is something I will continue to struggle with, but am working hard to overcome!
Great post Rebecca! I totally understand and feel the same way. I don't know how people can continuously post on Twitter, Instagram, etc. I find myself constantly comparing myself, wishing I could share posts like them. It's a struggle.
ReplyDeleteI think what I really need to do is find the right social media platform I can work with and concentrate on that. It's too difficult to do everything especially when there isn't time to do everything. Hopefully that's enough.
It's crazy!! I just don't understand how they all have time. I don't have time to craft 20 perfect tweets a day or post 2 stunning Instagram photos a day.
DeleteI like the idea of concentrating on just one, but then I feel like I'm losing the advantages each has to offer. Because they really offer different things. I think I might try to focus on Pinterest and Twitter for now. Those two seem to be the ones I'm best at.
Oh man, do I ever feel you! I didn't even recognize all of the icons at the top of the post, that's how bad I am. It is really hard to immerse yourself in a realm of communication that is foreign to you, even if you are active in other ways on the internet. Trying to build my presence and make sure it is easy for people to find quality content from me takes up so much time! Kudos to you for making an effort too :)
ReplyDeleteI know right? There are just so many social media outlets out there now, it's impossible to keep up with them all. I'm definitely not on all of the ones at the top of this post. Keep swimming through the sea of them and hopefully we'll both be able to stay afloat!
DeleteThis is a great post, Rebecca! It's SO hard to keep up with social media and I feel like we totally feel the pressure to keep up with so many outlets in order to stay relevant and at the front of people's minds. I've become kind of a social media junkie. It's easy for me to be on Twitter all day (.... at work. Shhhh) and then I've found a new, fun hobby taking book photos for Instagram (the staging really does take a while!) but then I tend to forget about things like Snapchat (though not that many people follow me there anyway) and I hardly use my Facebook except to post links and my Tumblr is basically all of my Instagram photos plus some random reblogs haha. I definitely TRY but it's hard to keep up with them all!
ReplyDeleteYeah, your Instagram pictures are always so pretty! But I just don't have time to keep up with them all. I'd love to be better at Instagram, but my pictures never turn out all that great and I don't have the patience to stage it just right, you know? I probably keep up best with Twitter, but even that I feel like I fail a lot. I don't have time to look at it at work during the day and by the time I get home at night, I just want to read. :/
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