Why is social media so freaking scary? Oh yeah, because people on the internet can be real jerks.

So much so that a lot of folks are pre-intimidated. Like, too afraid to even put anything out there in case a jerk happens to come along.

I just heard Glennon Doyle say that waiting for jerks on social media is like watching a jack-in-the-box.

Surprise jerks suck. For sure. So we let our fear of them keep us from using social media to be in community and help others with what we know.

We do nothing.

The cost of doing nothing is expensive. Social media is one of the key places future customers are going to find out about you and make a decision to listen to your advice. Creating that relationship builds trust and eventually turns some of those people into paying clients.

Even if you can nod your head along to everything I’ve been saying so far, I still don’t see you tweeting, Honey.

Like, even if you know you need to be on social and you are able to confront the fear of offending someone or saying the wrong thing, you still don’t know WHAT to post. Coming up with ideas for content can be hard.

So let’s talk about easy social media.

Start with a post a day, during the week.

That’s just 5 posts to write in a week. You can do this.

Try structuring your weekly posts in a pattern. Here’s an example:

Monday – promote someone else’s cool work

Tuesday – quick tip about my main service (should be educational in and of itself)

Wednesday – pose a question related to my services

Thursday – a light brag about a client win

Friday – cute cat or kid photo (Fridays are good for something casual)

A pattern structure helps you generate ideas for your posts.

And bonus: It creates a balance so you aren’t ONLY promoting other people’s work or ONLY ever talking about your services. You are a real person with a real cute dog.

No one else is paying enough attention to recognize or predict your pattern. Stay chill, ok?

Sit down on Friday afternoon and think up next week’s posts. Make a calendar for yourself of your upcoming posts so that if you come up with an extra (and you will – you’ll get good at this) you can queue it up for the week after.

At first, planning out next week’s posts might take you an hour. As you get into the routine, you’ll get faster and faster.

Social media doesn’t have to be scary. Or a giant time suck.

We’ll talk so much more about where to put your social media energy in Boost & Bloom, the online course for entrepreneurs reaching for seven figures. Enrollment opens February 1. I’m still tweaking the webpage with details but since we’re friends you can get a sneak peek and sign up for the VIP list here.

Once you know what your pattern will be, write to me and let me know, along with a link to your account so I can watch you work your magic.