Are We Wasting Our Time Creating Social Media Content?

Just look at how much content is published on each platform daily. (Source: NP Digital).

  • TikTok – 23 million
  • YouTube – 216 million
  • Facebook – 350 million
  • X – 500 million
  • LinkedIn – 2 million
  • Instagram – 95 million

Among these six social networks, more than 1.1 billion new pieces of content emerge regularly. This flood of content contributes to the challenge of achieving the desired engagement on social media.

Adding to the concern, NP Digital analysis of 5,204,391 social media posts in the last 30 days revealed that 59.41% received no engagement – no likes, shares, or comments. This staggering statistic suggests that a significant number of individuals are investing time in social media without seeing meaningful results.

Posting content on social media often means it gets lost in the overwhelming noise. However, the solution is not to abandon content creation altogether; rather, it involves adjusting your strategy to avoid wasting time.

Some Common Time-Wasting Practices on Social Media:

  1. Copying Popular Posts: Replicating content that has already gained popularity on others’ profiles may not yield the desired results. People may have already seen it elsewhere, diminishing its impact.
  2. Excessive Posting: Bombarding social media with numerous posts in the hope that something will resonate is counterproductive. Algorithms may penalize such practices, hindering the reach of even quality content.
  3. Overemphasis on Visual Design: Highly produced content does not guarantee success if the substance is lacking. Analyzing 102,394 reels on Instagram revealed that visual design elements alone don’t necessarily lead to increased consumption.
  4. Ignoring Data Analysis: What works on one social network may not perform as well on another. Tracking and analyzing data provide insights into the type of content that aligns with marketing goals, improving the overall strategy.

The takeaway from this post is not to stop social media content creation, need to do is adjust your strategy because it’s a great channel to market a company, product, service, or personal brand. Avoiding common time-wasting practices ensures that your efforts yield meaningful engagement and contribute to your marketing objectives.