When Social Media Burnout Strikes

01 Sep When Social Media Burnout Strikes

Posted at 12:20h in Blogging, Facebook, Social Media, Twitter by Paul Sutton

The social web can be taxing. It’s an always-on, demanding, beast of a child that needs constant attention, effort and thought. It can take up evenings, weekends and, even though I don’t like to admit it, the occasional dream time. There’s no doubt that it’s rewarding, repaying in spades the effort that you put in, but there comes a time when you simply can’t take any more. Or at least, there comes a time when I simply can’t take any more. Which leads me to an announcement: Tribal Boogie is Dead.

Ideas and creative thought are at the heart of good social communications. And as a social marketer, my best ideas and creative thought go, quite rightly, to my clients. Which doesn’t currently leave a lot of brain space or time for my blog. Or my Twitter profile, for that matter. So, a question for you: is it right that a person’s own social media presence, learning and profile suffers due to client requirements? And, in any case, what can you do about it?

I don’t mind admitting that I’ve been struggling with my blog recently. At BOTTLE PR we have over a dozen clients currently working in the social space; most of which have Facebook pages, some of which have Twitter profiles, blogs, YouTube channels and/or LinkedIn pages, and ALL of which need ideas, ongoing strategic guidance and creative input. Then there’s the company’s own blog, Twitter profile, Facebook page et al. Added to my own social profiles, this saps energy, time and brainpower, and I’m sure (at least, I hope…) I’m not alone in needing some time offline every now and again.

I currently find myself in a position where my RSS reader delivers 200 articles a day to me that for the most part get deleted without being read. As a result, my Twitter profile lacks the regular, great content it once did. I don’t feel that this blog contains the interesting, high impact posts it originally attracted attention for; Social Media Today hasn’t syndicated many of my recent posts, for example. And I believe it’s down to fatigue and a lack of focus and purpose. This post, for example, is taking me an inordinate amount of time to write. And edit. And rewrite. In short, I’m suffering from social media burnout.

Over the last eight months I’ve written approximately 100 blog posts and 3500 tweets. I need a break from the self-imposed pressure to deliver great content to my Twitter followers and three impactful blog posts a week for Tribal Boogie. And so I’m taking one. I’ve been taking a long, hard look at this blog and its raison d’etre. And what I’ve discovered is: I don’t know. So this will be my last ever post on Tribal Boogie.

I have a holiday coming up and am going to use the time to take stock and to reassess things: the type of content, the design, the branding, everything. When I come back in a few weeks, there’ll be a new look, a new feel and a new content strategy. One that I very much hope is more beneficial to you. It’ll be fresher, more focused, more in-line with where I am now.

All current subscriptions shouldn’t be interrupted, Feedburner willing! But if they are, I’ll email you if you subscribe by email to let you know when I’m back up and running. If you subscribe by RSS, please email me your details now and I’ll ensure I let you know too.

In the meantime, thanks very much for listening.

Tribal Boogie RIP. Elvis has left the building…