Social Media As A Hazardous Work Environment For Entrepreneurs

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As 21st Century business owners, we are obligated to come into contact with social media on a regular basis.  Our own personal addictions (Candy Crush or otherwise) and personal interests aside, our business requires us to mix it up on social just to remain relevant and reach potential customers where they play.

As you already know, there’s a giant downside…  

You build a big following only to pick up people with the craziest ideas on politics, religion, conspiracies and more who are all too willing to fill your feed with momentum-sucking, focus-obliterating content and opinions.  Some of them can even be your family members.

Make no mistake about it, we entrepreneurs work in a hazardous environment for mental health and well being.  We welcome more people into our digital lives than the average social media user does in order to expand our reach.  So we tend to get the brunt of the “crazy,” — well over normal daily recommended allowance than social media users.

No one ever wins an argument against people with nothing but time, Red Bull, and a chemical imbalance on their side.

Here are some things I’ve been thinking about that can help you remain focused on growing your business…

(Without getting distracted by clickbait, political discussions, or anything else that distracts and distresses you while working with social.)

  1. Unfollow people who chronically complain and pass around end-of-the-world or otherwise disturbing crap.  They can still potentially see your stuff, but theirs will be blissfully absent from your feed.
  2. Do not engage!  Start today with a policy of only interacting with those whom you’ve determined to be “sane” and stable.  Never, ever engage in arguments or heated debates on social media – ABOUT ANYTHING, EVER!  No one ever wins an argument against people with nothing but time, Red Bull, and chemical imbalances on their side.
  3. Remove unwanted topics from your news feed as much as you can.  Check out Social Fixer to remove posts before they ever show up by author or keyword.  Want to rid yourself of political junk?  Filter all the candidates names, for example, and any post mentioning them will be zapped before it hits your timeline.
  4. Set a schedule and stick to it.  Having a plan for your professional interaction on social is CRUCIAL.  Set a timer.  Have a specific purpose in mind before opening your favorite social site so that you come prepared (with blinders) instead of being vulnerable to focus-sucking and time-wasting rabbit holes.
  5. Simply remove, block, or ignore the weirdos and the unstable.   They won’t make good customers anyway.

I’m just like you when it comes to this stuff.  I have to constantly remind myself why I spend the time I do on social media.  Make no mistake, it is a minefield of misinformation, strong opinions, and people whose minds you will never, ever change about things you think are absurd.

So what tools and tactics do YOU use to keep your social clean?

 

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