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Can you have a startup nowadays without social media?

I've been reading that a social following now is basically essential before you should even quit your job to start working on your business. And I've even heard it in podcasts recently just how important it is.

But it made me wonder, is it really that essential? I personally hate social media and although 'resistance-is-futile' I really would prefer not to have one because it'd be ingenuine.

Thoughts?

  1. 5

    Can you? Yes.

    Should you? No.

    1. 1

      Sums it up nicely. No matter how good your product is you need to have some kind of growth strategy otherwise you're severely limiting your potential.

  2. 2

    I created www.supgrowth.com to help busy founders grow their Instagram pages on autopilot.

    It's a manual service and we grow IG pages by 400-800+ new targeted followers every month (or your money back!).

    Check out some case studies here --> www.supgrowth.com/case-studies

    Drop me a message if you would like a trial!

    1. 1

      This is super interesting. Does your service for simple Instagram growth go beyond manual following of people who like posts on niche-relevant accounts, and then unfollowing after a specific time?

      Your 400-800 number would match that of an account getting 15-30 new followers per day at a 20% follow back rate of 75-150 follows daily, with about the same unfollows after a set time.

      1. 1

        All we do is manual following. It's not sexy and it takes lots and lots of hours. IG has blocked any type of tech automation so we created a human-powered service instead. However, we have developed an internal management system that allows us to target niches or locations, never miss an interaction, manage a large team and consistently grow all IG accounts that work with us.

  3. 1

    For what it's worth, I've run a SaaS business for 8+ years and we've maybe logged 5 hours of social media work, so yes you can have a company without having to be active on social media (we still have our profiles, but activity is minimal).

    In the startup stage, you'll find yourself searching for an audience and it will likely bring you to the social media watering hole.

    With the right business, the right talent and the right strategy it can be an amazing tool for you to grow, but it can also be a complete waste of time.

  4. 1

    It completely depends. If you have a startup, you need to at least ensure that you own your brand's name in the Big Five (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube). If not, you open yourself up to brand name cannibalization that will be a nightmare to retain once someone else grabs it up and either squats on it or uses it for illegitimate means.

    I have plenty of websites (not necessarily startups per se) that obtain 100% of their traffic through organic SEO. I prefer it to social in my own work because it is far less work to maintain on a regular basis, is far more steady than the ebb and flow of social media, I don't have to spend time growing a social media following or brainstorming relevant content, the benefits go on and on.

    But if I have a project where I want to integrate with an audience, social media is an absolute must have. If you want to cut your time down on social media planning, do what I do: a combination of Later for social scheduling and Canva Pro for developing image assets in 1200x630 for LinkedIn and Facebook and 1080x1080 for Twitter and Instagram. Spend a couple hours, build some stuff up in a social calendar, and push it out once every few days for a month. Ignore for a month unless it starts to go viral. You're good to go.

  5. 1

    Running an Instagram for your project requires a lot of effort. It's the same with Twitter: you invest hours of time in posts just for the sake of 3 followers in 2 weeks. I see SMM as a great way to retain customers, but not the channel for the start.

    What are your thoughts? When do you think is the right time to start your social media presence?

  6. 1

    You could always just contract with a social media consultant to handle it for you. There are a million of 'em for a reason.

  7. 1

    Yes you can, especially if your product is B2B.

  8. 1

    Social media is a marketing channel. There are tons of marketing channels available. To say that one outweighs all of the others doesn't make sense. B2C products should probably have social media but many don't. If you're going to make a social, I would actually put work into it or not do it at all. It's certainly not necessary depending on what you're doing.

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