Do you dread building an online presence while juggling family and business? Finding time for online marketing might feel impossible, but it doesn’t have to be. With a step-by-step plan, you can build a solid online community without neglecting your family.
This post will:
- Let you define your online presence goals
- Help you consider what platform(s) to use
- Direct you in planning and creating content
- Share how you can be effective with your time
- Manage posting expectations and consistency
Define Your Goals for Online Presence on Social Platforms
Before sharing a single post, it’s crucial to clearly understand what you want to achieve through your online presence. Ask yourself:
What is the primary purpose of my social media channels and online platforms?
Are you aiming to sell products directly from your platforms, or is your goal to create a professional portfolio? Maybe you’re using social media as an educational tool for your audience or to maintain your brand’s likeability and trust. Each intent will shape your strategy.
How will my online presence support this purpose?
A detailed plan based on these goals will guide you as you build your social media presence. Be detailed but realistic, understanding that your time and energy are precious resources.
What online platforms should I use?
It can be overwhelming to look at all the possible platforms you can use to build your online brand. You have multiple options within short-form channels like Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and some great SEO-driven platforms for Long-Form content such as blogs and YouTube.
Any successful entrepreneur will tell you that, eventually, you need both short and long-form platforms. After your business is well established, you will want to attract traffic from multiple platforms.
But it’s best to target one social platform at a time when you are just getting started so you:
- Do not become overwhelmed.
- Can learn what is effective.
- Put systems in place that run like clockwork.
By learning one social channel at a time, you can be intentional. This will ensure you are not spread thin and can be effective. Also, note that it takes time to build organic audiences. When we are spread thin, it can take longer to see results, which can cause you to feel defeated. So, pick a short and/or long-form platform and commit your energy to them before expanding to others.
Business Coaching TIP: I highly recommend doing a quick Google search and seeing where your target audience spends their time. Or do an audience survey if you are already working with your ideal clients. If you do a Google search you can type in age ranges, gender and the industry you are in to see what Platforms are recommended. After you do the research, make those platforms your priorities!
Create a Content Calendar 🗓️
Your content calendar is the backbone of your social media strategy, keeping you organized and on track. Develop a monthly or quarterly calendar that aligns with your online goals. Consider the following steps:
Plan Your Posting Frequency
Decide on your posting schedule and frequency. It is important to not just “go with your heart” but to put details in place of when and how often. Also consider how far in advance you want to work ahead so you have plenty of time to develop content.
I often see new business owners stressing over getting content out. I would encourage you to stop stressing about how much and focus on what works for you and your schedule. At the end of the day, if your posting frequency is not sustainable, you will quit. We don’t want that!
Start with a posting frequency that is sustainable for right now! Once you become more efficient, you can add more. It is better to start at a lower number and build up a library of content (feeling good about yourself) than to bite off more than you can chew and feel defeated.
Plan Your Online Content- Brainstorm Topics and Themes
Research what your audience would find valuable and engaging. Take note of what their interests and pain points are within your niche.
If you do not have a following yet, look at several experts in your field. See what pain points they are speaking to. See if you can see a pattern across their channels that you can start to adapt (not copy) to yours.
Based on what you discover, define your common themes so you can create content that caters to your audience. It will be IMPORTANT that your posts fall within these themes so that you can maintain your audience’s attention and build loyalty.
Think of it this way: Say you sign up for coupons for Black Rock Coffee, and they send you coupons for a local shoe company. You will likely quickly unsubscribe! (Unless the shoes are cute, HAHA.) But do you see what I am saying? Consistent themes are important for audience retention. BONUS! It also helps you to know where to put your energy when it comes to content creation.
Balance Your Content To Keep The Audience You Need
Once you have your themes, create a plan on how often you need to speak to each of them. For example, my brand speaks to simple strategies, mindset growth, and business. Right now, when I create content, I need to cycle through those themes evenly. And when I create long-form content, it is a huge bonus if I can touch on each within one post!
You want to ensure various promotional, educational, entertaining, and brand-appropriate-personal content can be created within each theme. So try not to narrow your themes too much.
Adopting Social Pillars (Remove the Guess Work of What to Post)
To maintain a balanced and diverse online presence within your themes, you will create “social pillars” or categories you regularly post within. For instance, you might have a pillar focused on product highlights, customer testimonials, Q&A sessions, tutorials, personal insights, industry news, quotes, and more. This structured approach ensures that your content is robust and serves various purposes for your audience.
Example: I have nine pillars. But right now, I am currently focusing on 5 because this is my capacity. So, every week, I have one post in each pillar that relates to one of my themes. So I am only needed to creatively come up with 4 unique posts per month for each pillar. That sounds a lot better than 20 unique posts! Goals are easier to manage when we have a sytem for how we break things down.
What does this look like?
Two of my pillars are Tips and Motivational Quotes. So I focus on Motivational Quotes for Mondays and tips on Wednesday. If that week my long-form content theme is focused on Mindset, my content will all be mindset-based. This means my Monday content will be a quote on mindset growth, and Wednesday content will provide my audience with mindset tips.
By having themes and pillars in place, you eliminate the decision fatigue of what to create! This also allows you to plan with purpose and streamline like a pro!
Become Efficient With Your Time⏰
With limited windows to work on your online presence, efficiency becomes critical. Block scheduling will allow you to focus on creating content during specific periods without the distraction of switching tasks. Here’s how it can work for you:
Designate Content Creation Days:
Set aside the days of the month or week that you need to create your online content. Commit to these days by establishing boundaries to protec this time.
When I first started, it took me a long time to generate content. But I can easily do 4x the amount of content in that time frame now because I have routines and systems in place. Randomly posting or creating content in the moment is a major time waster!
Work Smarter, Not Harder:
Did you know a well-written blog post or YouTube video can be cut down to create WEEKS worth of short-form content?! People might even assume I spend countless hours creating content, but the truth is I spend intentional hours not countless!
After creating the core long-form content, spread it across your short-form platforms by crafting short-form posts, stories, and updates.
Why focus on Long-Form before Short-Form content?
Now, this might be different based on your industry! But long-form content creates more value and can be found through Google searches when SEO is well executed. I don’t know about you, but I want my customers/clients to find me when they search Google!
Have you ever tried finding a post you saw on social that you forgot to save? It is almost impossible! So, if I have a choice on how to invest my time, it is not going to be something that is temporary and where the algorithm changes more frequently than my preteen daughter’s outfit.
It also kills two birds with one stone. When I create long-form content, my short-form content is already living within my main focus content. My short-form content is what I use to market my long-form content.
Now, this does not mean you have to do this. In fact, if long-form overwhelms you, it is better to start in your comfort zone and build up to long-form. Again, you want a sustainable strategy for your goals. I talk about how to build momentum with your goals in my Goal Snowball Method blog post (if you want to read a bit more on that subject).
Use Tools and Apps to Streamline:
Leverage apps and tools to streamline and protect your time. I share all my favorite apps that help me streamline content creation in this blog post!
Implement an Online Scheduler (A Mompreneurs Dream!)
SocialBee: An online social media scheduler is a time-saving hero for the mompreneur who wants to be present on multiple social media platforms without being tied to her phone or computer. Choose a reliable scheduler like SocialBee that allows you to plan and publish your posts across different platforms in advance. The tool’s AI features can also suggest captions, connect to Canva, and deliver analytics. It is by far worth the investment for a paid platform!
Repurpose and Reuse Quality Content!
Content does not live forever in social media algorithms. Many business owners feel that reusing content provides less value. That is NOT true!
Repetition is beneficial for our audience. Did you know the average person only retains 10% of what they read after 30 days? That means only 10% of your content is memorable from a scrolling follower. Not to mention, not everyone sees every single post you make.
Start to shift your mindset and commit to reposting GREAT content! If it helps you overcome that fear of reposting, remind yourself that 90% of people have already forgotten it!
Manage Expectations and Consistency of Your Online Presence
It’s essential to manage your expectations. Accept the reality of your capacity as someone juggling the roles of a mom and an entrepreneur. Stop expecting yourself to have a social that looks like you have 40 hours to commit to it. Give yourself grace and be realistic about what you can achieve. Remember, consistency pays off in the long run, even if it means dialing down your expectations of content volume.
Comparison Is The Thief of Joy and Realistic Results
Be sure you are not comparing yourself to social media accounts. The truth is that many large social accounts have teams or virtual assistants helping them grow their socials. What you want to focus on is not numbers but quality. Focus on attracting quality followers and providing valuable content (not just filling a space in your grid).
Mindset Check on Social Media Following Goals
If you did the work and defined the purpose of your social channel, I doubt your goal was to have hundreds of thousands of followers for no reason. If the goal is to monetize and build brand awareness, realistically, you want true followers who are willing to invest in you—either by consuming your content (for monetizing with online ads) or by purchasing your products or services.
What are 250k followers worth if none invest in your services or products? At that point, it is the “fame” of followers you are after, not business results. But when you think about how many customers and clients you need- aim to attract that number of loyal fans. Put in your effort for them! Is that 20 invested followers? 300? 2k? Focus on what you need, not what others have!
Let’s wrap this up!
A strategic and minimalist approach to online platforms can be your greatest ally for the mompreneur looking to grow her business while managing her family life. By defining clear goals, planning content thoughtfully, and adopting time-saving tools, you can build an online presence that reflects the heart of your business and connects deeply with your audience. It’s not about how much you post but how effectively and meaningfully you engage with the community you are building.
