You might have noticed lately that we’ve been putting consistent effort into our social media channels (Instagram & Facebook)! Did you know that according to the Pew Research Center, 84% of adults aged 18-29 are actively on social media? 81% of 30-49 year olds and 73% of 50-64 year olds round out the statistics, and on average they all spend 2.5 hours per day scrolling (I spend 3-3.5 hours per day on social, on average! Don’t @ me though, it’s because I do this professionally).

Say what you will about how this is the bane of our mutual human condition, or a drain on society, or the best thing since sliced bread; our opinions aside, it’s here to stay and it plays a vital role in business. I personally use social media to pre-scope businesses before I reach out for initial contact! Thinking about joining a new gym? I check out their social channels because I’m looking to learn something about who they are. Are they very buttoned up and corporate? That’s a data point. Are they very community focused? Another data point.

As the head of the Branding/Digital/Social Media Committee (the BDSM Committee for short), I wanted to take this month’s newsletter to give you some insight into how I approach the social channels I manage and why. Take all of this with a grain of salt because I’m operating on lived experience alone – no professional training here, just an abundance of opinions and intuition.  View all this advice through the lens of your own lived experience, and the authenticity that comes out the other side will certainly benefit your social presence, if you let it.

One of the things I think most about when juggling a social media account is content balance. The way your content is balanced is crucial because it keeps people from getting bored and gives you the chance to show who you really are.

Think about: What are your business’s values? Who is your ideal client? (pro tip: your content should almost ALWAYS be talking to your “ideal client”. You can’t go wrong with that permanent lens). Do you have happy customers, or reviews you can humble brag with? Are there any industry related tips & tricks you can share that would be helpful? Make sure you have a mix of video and non-video, and when in doubt consider that your content should be: Entertaining, Informative, or Inspiring. If it’s not one of those things, do you really need to post it? Or can you retool the post to be one of those things?

I feel like you can always tell when someone who doesn’t actually care about the business is running the social media account – they sound rote, robotic, and BORING. This violates golden rule #1 (about being entertaining, informative, or inspiring)! It’s not only OKAY, but it’s good to sound like a human being. Use a little humor! Are you being inclusive? Empathy is your best tool here, and communication is the burden of the communicator: think about what you’re saying from as many perspectives as you can, make sure you still sound like a real person who’s not being a total jerk, and post away.

Naturally, there are some do’s and don’ts – in your pursuit of an authentic voice, you don’t want to lose sight of your cohesive branding. Do the viewers know it’s you at a quick glance? Not comfortable with taking pics on your phone? I’m sure the fantastic photographers in the Gaymber can help get you hooked up with some solid photographic content for you to tool and retool to your heart’s content, so that when you’re posting consistently and tagging community members they don’t think to themselves “yikes, that pic tho.” (I think these days they say “oh, that’s so cringe.”)  

One last critical caveat: a lot of folks tend to suggest “oh just have the intern do it!” because social media takes time and effort. As tempting as that is, consider that social media is effectively your online storefront. This is the first thing (usually) people see about your business when they go looking for you online – do you really want to leave that in the hands of someone you’re not paying commensurate with the responsibility?

In Pride & Solidarity,
Vera Minot, President
Tucson LGBT Chamber of Commerce

P.S. And why are we talking about social media? Because it has power. The power to grow your business. AND the power to connect with people to create change — to defend our marriages, our right to exist, our right to decide what happens to our bodies. Wielded well, it can be a tool for good.