You won’t be surprised if I tell you that social media has changed A LOT in the last few years. With growing number of influencers out there, the competition is bigger than ever. I’ve been listening to Gary Vee’s new audiobook on my flight home the other day and it hit me- so many people out there are currently focusing on a singular social media platform and completely neglecting the rest of the things they could be doing. Whatever it is- Instagram, Facebook, Youtube or any other outlet, I can’t stress this enough- being a social media star is not enough anymore. In fact, I don’t think it was ever enough. Let me explain…

I’ve started my own blog in 2012, back then, blogging was broadly about our personal experiences. You didn’t have to be a makeup expert to make it as a beauty blogger and you definitely didn’t have to attend endless runways to be able to share outfits online. We were able to get pretty great opportunities by posting mediocre content and followers kept rolling. The things have changed tho…

For those focussing on social media numbers: stop right now.

It is devastating for me to see how many creators put all of their attention into only growing within one place. This doesn’t make any sense or any difference.

You see, talking from my own perspective, I can tell you that my monthly income continues to grow way quicker than any of my social media following. I get more e-mails from bloggers in need of my help than ever and by now, I really don’t feel that a number on Instagram can make a huge change if you’re trying to build a career online. It is just a number after all.

What really matters is what are you currently offering to YOUR people.

If you do your research, you’ll see that most of the entrepreneurs running successful online businesses don’t really have impressive social media numbers, but they most probably are already making six or seven figures yearly or might have collected massive newsletter lists.

When at the same time, we see a lot of Instagram influencers that are actually completely broke or in dept.

This only proves that being huge on a single platform doesn’t mean you’re going to make a living online.

If you’re currently focusing on growing your social media following, let me ask you…

Can you offer any useful services to your reader? Or perhaps you’ve just published an informative e-book? Are you keen to run a motivational podcast? What is the purpose of your social media presence?

If you’re creating social media content with no end point, no link to your blog or website, no product- you are not doing it properly. There are so many opportunities that social media can bring you & if you’re in this for a long run- you have to change your mindset.

Imagine if Instagram dies tomorrow? Imagine if they change their algorithm AGAIN or forbid paid sponsorship? Do you feel like you depend on the success of the platform? Does this make you feel insecure? I guessed so…

Don’t get me wrong- I’m not saying that social media stats shouldn’t matter, but I strongly believe they should come as a side hustle rather than require your full attention.

Instead, here are some things you must be doing if you want to create a growing, profitable online business that will serve you for a long, long time.

• Expand on other platforms. If you have successfully established your following on Instagram, why not to expand on Twitter or Facebook too? It’s most likely you already have a gift of inspiring other people & you should make sure to bring your content elsewhere for more people to find it.

• Start a blog. Why would you rely on anyone else if you can build your own outlet to share your content on? Starting a blog only takes 5 minutes if you use this tutorial & you will never have to worry about algorithms or platforms shutting down, you’re the one in control here!

• Launch an online shop. Many social media influencers are primarily focussing on creating their own products these days. As much as working with brands is exciting and fun, if you’re in this for a long run, you should think about creating your OWN brand. Luckily, starting an online shop is fairly simple, we even put a step-by-step tutorial for you over here: How To Start Your Own Online Shop Using WordPress.

• Build a newsletter list. This is the easiest part, but it makes all the difference. If you have a growing social media following, make sure to also start a newsletter that will help you connect with all of your subscribers through e-mail. Not only this can help you establish a more meaningful connection it can also be a great way to monetise your online presence once the time comes. Read: Why Your Blog Needs a Newsletter List & How to Start One.

• Really start focussing on creating a personal brand online. Seriously, if you’re building a presence on social media, but are not constantly evolving- you’re losing this game. Social media keeps changing every day, so you have to continue to learn in order to grow. Look at your social media presence as a brand and stop focussing on a single platform, if you look at any successful brand out there, you will notice that they put equal effort into all of the outlets out there and most importantly- they focus on creating sleek, recognisable branding on their own websites, newsletters, blogs and every, literally EVERY social media account.

Hope this gives you a better understanding of why I don’t believe in social media stars and why I think you should really change your approach if you’re currently only focussing on one platform.