Is managing your own social media worth it?Maybe, maybe not. Let's find out.
- Amy Tarkington
- Sep 24, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: May 29
Managing your own social media can be both a fun and a time-suck. Social media is an amazing tool to show everyone your expertise, build trust, and get your prospects to notice you. Plus, it's pretty hard to get prospective clients' attention without social. But should you manage it yourself or outsource it? And if you decide to take it on, how do you do it well without wasting time?

Ok, so should you manage your business's social media?
Here are the questions I would ask myself when I was thinking about DIY'ing my business social:
1. Do you have time?
I mean duh, obviously not (who does?) but could you make the time? And would you want to make the time?
Social media doesn't work if you're just posting randomly. You need to be consistent, make posts that people want to read, and have some sort of strategy. So if you're already stretched thin managing clients and growing your business, you prrrrrrobably don't have time to do social. BUT! Is it worth rearranging your time so that you can do it yourself? Let's find out.
2. Are you comfortable with making your own social content (and do you know what you should be writing about?)?
Do you feel confident creating content that educates and engages your audience? You definitely have plenty of valuable industry knowledge to share, but writing about it on a social platform is a whole different animal. And if you want posts that engage, you will need media to go with it, i.e. videos, photos, pictures, etc. This is usually the hard part for people (for good reason!).
3. Do you have a social strategy?
Also, do you know what constitutes a social strategy? Most people won't (bc it's literally not their jobs). Posting without a plan won't get you the prospects or the community you're trying to create. You have to think about your goals: are you trying to generating leads, building your online presence, or make stronger relationships with your current clients? If you don't know what your social media goals are or how to reach them, you will need a strategy.
4. Do you like being on social media?
I personally love being on social (obvs) but if you don’t enjoy being on social media, it’s going to feel like a chore. Social only works if you’re engaged and authentic (if you don't like being on social, it's pretty hard to be you. But if you do you enjoy commenting or liking other people with others and sharing your expertise, you’re already halfway there.
If the answer to most of these questions is “yes,” then managing your own social media could be a good fit. If not, you should get someone to do it for you (maybe yours truly).
How to do a good job with your social media
If you’re reading this, you probably decided to take the plunge and handle your own social media! Good for you! Now here’s a step-by-step guide to make sure your social gives you the results you're looking for.
1. Choose the right platforms
You don’t necessarily need to be on every social media platform. The key is focusing on where your ideal clients spend time. Depending on your culture/clients, LinkedIn is probably the platform you want to spend the most on for kind of obvious reasons (it’s a professional network where you can show off your expertise, share what you're thinking about, and this is mostly where your prospects hang out). X can also be useful if you like condensing your thoughts into 280 characters). And really, a lot of B2B people are missing out on using Facebook and Instagram because honestly...almost everyone from every age are on there, more than they are on LI. So my advice is be on the meta places but still focus more energy on LI.
2. FIgure out who you want to talk to
Who are you trying to reach with your social media content? Is it high net-worth individuals? Business owners? Young professionals starting their financial journeys? Figuring that out is so important because if you don't, you will be talking about selling apples to a butcher, YKWIM? You don't have to alienate audiences that are not your number-one focus, but you should probably at least figure out who 75% of your posts are talking to.
3. Make the plan
Your posts, stories, reels, whatever X is calling their not-tweets now, should provide value to your audience. Think about educational topics that showcase your expertise, stuff that's not preachy or salesy. Things like:
Your personal tips on retirement planning that you've learned from <whatever your niche is> type of clients
Biggest mistakes people make when they manage their investments (for succession, 529s, whatever your specialty is)
Budgeting and debt management for young professionals in 2025 (how it's changed in the latest political reforms etc).
Your first step is to make a simple content calendar that outlines what you’ll post and when. Don't forget to mix up your content types—write LinkedIn articles (clearly awesome channel, ha!), videos (they can be selfies!), or even short Q&A sessions with your partners or colleagues.
4. Engage with your audience (and what the heck I mean by "engage")
Ugh. Engage is such an overused buzzword but this is what our society uses now. But in my words, when I talk about "engage", I'm talking about that thing you do when you're at a party and you have to talk to someone or else it's kind of boring. What could you talk about or look at together so you have something in common? What can you give them so they enjoyed your convo and got something out of it?
In the social media world, this basically translates to finding topics your audince cares about, figure out what they're asking and how to answer it with your expertise (ugh, "deep expertise" is another buzz phrase I hate. But I digress), and talk in a voice that you normally talk in (when you talk to your friends, not when you're giving a presentation to the board. This is so hard but once you've got it down, you're golden!
5. Even though it's painful, look back on your social performance
I for one have an unnatural fear of seeing how the stuff I poured my heart and soul and the occasional help with BFF Chatgpt is performing. Is it just me? Probably. But anyway, we all need to overcome that fear and use the built-in analytics tools on LinkedIn and Meta to track how your posts perform. They're literally there and free so it would be stupid not to.
When you look at it, don't just be doom and gloom with low percentages/impressions/views (unless maybe you're already amazing and this is irrelevant to you). First of all, you need to compare it to benchmarks AND know that it takes at least 6-12 months for the algorithm to catch on. The more important insights are things like: which topics get the most engagement? What times are your audience most active? Whatever is working, do that more. If everyone responds to tax savings for people with yachts (those lucky bastards), talk about that more. And don't forget to regularly try out new topics or formats because you never know!
6. Be consistent
Oscar Wilde said "Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative", but he never even dabbled in B2B marketing, so what does he know. Consistency is actually one of the most important things you can do to squeeze the delicious juice out of every single social effort you make. Not just because the algorithm loves that, but it's also a habit you just need to do for yourself. Writing/creating social posts/reels/stories consistently will help you get more creative, more authentically you, and more in tune with what your audience needs.
These are the two most important things that I can pass on to you:
Keep it personal even if it feels uncomfortable: Us human beings inherently want to know the vulnerable, personal side of other human beings, even if it's a company. We want to know what your personality is because our brains automatically infer your personality to your business culture and morals. Also people love connections (even the introverts who claim they don't. Not talking about myself. Definitely not me.). So share personal insights, experiences, or behind-the-scenes looks at your day-to-day as a financial advisor.
Give the people what they want! You have specialized knowledge that you literally went to school for and have years of experience in. Most of the rest of the population do not have that and need that. So give out that knowledge freely. It'll show that you're the expert in the field yada yada yada, but more importantly, they can also take your tips on investing and (try to) use it and when they inevitably crash and fail (not that we want that), they will be like WAIT, I should contact <your name> to help me.
Wait, don't go yet! I'm about to be vulnerable!
Confession time: once upon a time, I decided to forge the DIY social media path alone. I failed spectacularly. And that's ok! I am amazing at doing other company/peoples' social media but I am shockingly terrible at talking about myself and my company. So I finally hired the incomparable Kara Huber and this is why my social is actually a beautiful butterfly (vs the caterpillar that was close to metamorphosizing (this is a word, I looked it up) into a mothball. So anyway...
If you've made it this far, you are already ahead of most people thinking about doing their professional social media. It is actually completely doable, just make sure you calculate the time it takes, it it's enjoyable for you, and make sure you have a GREAT strategy to make it work. And if you gave it a try and find out that it's not your thang, remember who wrote this article (hi) and give Chien Industries a holla!
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