Social Media Marketing: Lessons from Parenting a Toddler

Does navigating social media marketing feel like a bit of a maze? Not sure which way to turn?

Hi, I’m Steph and I’m here to help you make social media less overwhelming.

At High Weald Marketing, I mix tales of motherhood and marketing – the two things I know most about! You might wonder how the two are connected, so read on to find out…

The key to both is consistency

My toddler loves his routine – bedtime starts with an episode of In The Night Garden and then involves careering up the stairs for a “choo choo” (Thomas the Tank Engine) story and several rounds of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Just like a toddler, your audience on social media craves consistency. It is vital to have a regular posting schedule to help keep your business front and centre of your audience’s mind and build a positive relationship. Regular doesn’t have to mean frequent – if posting once a week is what you can consistently keep going, that’s absolutely fine.

Being adaptable

As I’m rapidly finding out, a toddler is pretty unpredictable! Yesterday, he wanted his sandwiches cut into triangles – I did that today and it was the end of the world as he wanted square sandwiches. The answer? Stick them back together with jam!

Social media is equally unpredictable and changes its mind just as often. Different parts of a platform are favoured (for example, Instagram currently wants you to share posts), trends appear out of nowhere and what audiences are interested in changes rapidly. Just like parenting a toddler, social media marketing requires a knack for quick thinking and creativity!

Being present

My days are conducted to a soundtrack of ‘mama, mama, mama, maaammaaaa’ – my toddler wants me to watch as he builds a tower of bricks, twirls round doing the hokey cokey, climbs into the dishwasher, licks the television – you get the idea. He loves attention, and being enthusiastic and interacting with him is so important.

Engaging with your audience is at the absolute heart of social media. The keyword is social – responding to comments, answering questions and creating a community is what it’s all about (I’ve still got the hokey cokey vibe going on!) If someone said hello to you in the street, would you ignore them and carry on? I bet you wouldn’t.

Get to know your audience

Getting to know a toddler’s preferences is crucial, and it’s the same with your audience. Now, I’m not expecting my audience to have a meltdown due to a square/triangle sandwich situation, but they will have likes, dislikes, interests and pain points. Take the time to get to know what sort of content your audience enjoy and find useful, and this will reap rewards.