Stop Wasting Time on Social Media (Do This Instead)

Is posting on social media a waste of your time? For a lot of small businesses, the honest answer is: it depends. Carrie talks with Laine White, a Birmingham marketing strategist and “the friend who answers your marketing questions.” Laine explains how to decide if social media is worth it for your business based on your industry, your goals, and how much time you actually have. They get into posts that perform vs. posts that sell, when trends are worth it, carousels vs. reels, hiring a social media manager, building a B-roll library, and a rapid-fire rundown of Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, X, Reddit, and YouTube Shorts. If you are tired of posting into the void, this is a practical guide to what to post, where, and how often. _______________________________________ Connect with Laine White Instagram:   / imlainewhite   LinkedIn:   / laine-white-735aba150   Mentioned in This Episode How to Use AI Without the Internet Turning on You: https://carrierollwagen.com/podcast-e... Influencer Marketing for Small Businesses: https://carrierollwagen.com/podcast-e... Church Street Coffee & Books: https://churchstreetshop.com Paramount Birmingham: https://www.paramountbirmingham.com Ohm Jiu Jitsu: https://www.ohmjiujitsu.com Uptick Marketing: https://uptickmarketing.com Infomedia Media Services: https://infomedia.com/services/media/ _______________________________________ Follow Carrie Rollwagen Instagram:   / crollwagen   Website: https://www.carrierollwagen.com LinkedIn:   / crollwagen   Listen to The Localist on Spotify & Apple Podcasts Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/01dHWZx... Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... _______________________________________ Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:01 Is social media a waste of time? 04:08 Visuals, stories, and personalities 06:24 Testing who works on camera 07:19 What social should do for a business 08:07 Posts that perform vs. posts that sell 11:36 Should you chase trends? 14:44 When a trend works: Infomedia's founder 17:01 Least effort, most results 18:40 Carousels and new Instagram features 21:56 Social should feel like play 23:00 Hiring a young social media manager 24:50 The risks of posting without guardrails 25:20 What makes a good social media hire 27:11 Know what you want from social 28:03 Why platforms don't want you to leave 29:13 Content that stands on its own 30:29 How important is video? 32:28 Why video editing is so hard 34:08 Why talking head videos work 34:32 Studio-style short videos for businesses 37:06 The podcast credibility effect 39:43 Hiring a videographer and building B-roll 41:21 Getting your staff to shoot content 43:36 Repurpose what you already say 45:08 Platform rapid fire: Instagram and TikTok 47:29 Facebook and LinkedIn 49:35 Threads and X 52:00 Should small businesses use Reddit? 53:00 YouTube Shorts and long-form video 55:35 How often should you post? 58:44 Businesses are not influencers _______________________________________ Thanks to Our Sponsor, Infomedia The Localist is sponsored by Infomedia. They are a Birmingham-based web and digital marketing company. They help small businesses grow online. Contact Infomedia: https://infomedia.com/contact Subscribe to Carrie's Newsletter Want more small business tips from Carrie? Sign up for her newsletter. Sign up here: https://gmail.us20.list-manage.com/su... _______________________________________ #TheLocalist #SmallBusiness #SocialMediaTips #SocialMediaMarketing #Birmingham #Infomedia #LocalistLab