What is social post fatigue and how to know if you have it
Social post fatigue (SPF) is a modern-day syndrome that effects content creators of all kinds. It’s a silent condition that creeps up on you and presents as an addiction to social posting, with little regard for purpose. At its peak, you develop an inability to decide what’s good or bad content, unravelled from any coherent content strategy.
You can self-diagnosis by asking yourself:
- Are my posts mildly embarrassing?
- Is it hard to differentiate my message from anyone else’s?
- Would I rather do the washing or clean my inbox, than post today?
If you answered yes to anyone of these, then unfortunately, you may have SPF.
Causes of SPF
The most common cause of SPF is placing too much emphasis on engagement. It’s easy to be distracted by the number of views, likes and comments. Before you know it, you’ve steered your social media ship into an iceberg that you didn’t see coming.
Sure, engagement is important. It’s a key metric, but there’s other to consider also. Such as, brand awareness, market positioning and revenue trends over time. Whilst it’s tricky to directly associate social media with any of these, it certainly has an impact.
The good news is that once you’re aware of your situation, the fraying connection between your posts and your original communications plan becomes obvious.
A rise in SPF
Our BS meters are high. Genuine connections are expected more than ever, thanks to a world pandemic that has broken down our facades. COVID-19 has done us some strange favours. It’s now normal to where tracksuit pants to your team meeting, or in fact, none at all. No one blinks an eye when you have a needy toddler sitting on your lap clinging desperately to you, while you’re delivering last quarter’s results to the team.
We’ve been forced to show our real selves and fashion sense. Pants and all.
And that surely is a good thing.
Misdiagnosing SPF
Organic social media is a long game. If you rock up to your chosen platforms each time with an expectation that your audience will take action, then you need a complete reset. Actions you could reasonably expect are:
Your audience:
- Is aware of what you do
- becomes familiar with your brand
- is reminded that you exist
And then, once you’ve done that for what seems like an eternity and you’re reminded of yourself as a kid in those long car drives desperately asking “are we there yet”, you get a call from a new client about that thing you’ve been banging on about.
Simple, right?
Managing social post fatigue
I put a call out, ironically, on social media as I was worried that I might have SPF.
One respondent likened social posting to those long family games of monopoly. And advised to hang in there.
Others say delegation is the key. Delegate to someone who loves this stuff, if it’s not your forte.
Grevillea Marketing says ‘sustainable social media’ is the new game. And instead, say “pftt” to the algorithms in favour of your sanity.
Whatever your point of view, it’s an ideal time to rethink your content strategy. And if you suspect you have SPF, it’s highly likely that it’s a symptom of either not having a content strategy, it being stale, or your changed market thanks to COVID-19.
Your self-help plan
So, your self-help plan goes like this: one dose of ‘content strategy review’ and if you still feel symptoms, seek help. Don’t know what a content strategy looks like? You best book yourself in for a consult.
And get you back to social posting without fear of SPF.
But that’s another story.
Get in touch to see how Amy can help you.