Burned out by social media? Do less, better

Hi there,

Everyone says, Just go where your audience is.

But what if you’re not really sure where that is?

Or worse. What if you’re already everywhere… and still not seeing results?

I manage 5+ social platforms daily at work while building my own personal brand omnipresence on the side.

So I get it. It’s hard to know where to pour your energy (and what actually works).

For me, being everywhere makes sense.

I’m in my build era.
This is my craft. This is my niche.

I’m testing every platform, every format, every strategy.
Learning from the best and documenting it all along the way.

But for your business or personal brand?

That probably doesn’t make sense.

You’ve got limited time.

And your goals are likely to attract leads, build authority, grow revenue.

Or maybe land a remote job in social media.

This week, I’m breaking down how to choose the right platforms for your business or personal brand (using AI & tools to help)

Here’s what we’re going to figure out:

→ your audience
→ your capacity
→ your content type
→ your business goal alignment

Let’s dive right into it…

The Problem with Platform Overload

• Most businesses post on 3–5 platforms without a clear strategy

• Their audience isn’t always engaged, even if they’re there

• Burnout happens when you don’t see results but feel like you’re constantly ‘on’

• More doesn’t always mean better. Do less, better

Even as a social media manager, I focus on LinkedIn as my primary platform for my personal brand and then grow the others one by one.

Why?

Because I’m both an employee and a small brand freelancer.

My next job offer or client is likely already searching for answers I can provide on LinkedIn.

I treat the other platforms as hands-on learning labs. Places for creativity, experimentation, and human connection.

If I had the capacity, YouTube would be my joint main platform. It’s truly the elite social platform, as it’s primarily a search engine. Content lives longer in search, and the trust you can build there is on another level.

Yes, go where your audience is. But how?

Let’s break it down:

• Define your audience: Who are they? What do they care about?

• Research where they actually hang out, not where you think they are.

• Validate engagement: Are they active or just lurking?

Step 1: Start with your audience persona

Before you pick platforms, you need to know who you’re actually trying to reach.

Ask yourself:

• What do they do for work?

• What stage of business or career are they in?

• What kind of content are they consuming?

• What do they want from social media? Entertainment, education, connection?

This is your foundation.
Get my AI workflow to build your audience personas here.

Step 2: AI tips to speed this up

Here’s what I use:

Use ChatGPT to define your audience personas
Use SparkToro to find out what podcasts, sites, and socials they follow
Use Answer the Public for content topic validation
Use Meta Ads Library to snoop around on your competition

This mini-prompt will get you started:

Here’s my results:

Tactic 1: Use SparkToro for real data

SparkToro is an AI powered research tool that pulls real behaviour data about your audience. Not just guesses.

Just type in a keyword like ‘freelance designer’ or ‘social media manager’.

It shows you:

• What websites they visit

• What podcasts they listen to

• What YouTube channels they follow

• What social platforms they use most

→ This is actual data-backed behaviour.
Not what people say they do, but what they actually do.

Plus the founder Rand Fishkin (ex-Moz) is a genuinely kind and cool person, I worked with him on a podcast at work. His viewpoint is spot on when it comes content and his ‘zero-click’ originator, VP of Marketing Amanada Natividad (complete badass).

Tactic 2: Use Answer the Public to validate what people actually want

You might think you know what your audience wants but these tools help you find out for real.

This tool owned by Neil Patel Digital scrapes Google data which means you’re seeing the exact questions people are typing into search bars.

Search a topic like ‘social media platforms’ and you’ll get questions like:

What questions → What’s the best platform for business marketing?

How questions → How to build a content calendar

Why questions → Why post on LinkedIn vs Instagram?

It’s free for a certain number of queries then you gotta pay (they do lifetime memberships at different points throughout the year).

Why it’s powerful:

These questions are literally what your audience is thinking but hasn’t told you yet.

They’re perfect hooks, content ideas, and pain point starters.

You can create entire mini-series or content clusters from just one query to test on your selected platform.

→ 1 topic = 5 content angles
→ Use these for carousels, reel scripts, or even newsletter sections

AI tip:

Once you find a popular question or phrase, drop it into ChatGPT and mini prompt it:

You’ll get a ready-to-use outline like this one:

Then layer on your personality and expertise.
Boom! fast, validated content.

Tactic 3: Use Meta Ads library to see where brands are spending

Most people scroll social media and guess what’s working.
We look at ad spend.

Head to Meta Ads Library and search for your competitors and/or aspirational brands in your space.

You’ll see:

• What platforms they’re putting money behind (Instagram? Facebook?)

• What formats they’re using (carousel, video, Reels, static)

• What messaging they’re A/B testing right now

If a brand is running 10+ image ads only on Instagram, they’re not doing that randomly, they’re seeing ROI there.

If they’re pushing Reels on Instagram with bold CTAs and none on Facebook?

That’s your cue:

This format
This platform
This message
… that’s what’s working.

Use this as a shortcut to avoid weeks of trial-and-error.

→ Watch the ad spend
→ Steal the strategy

But you want to analyse LinkedIn. No problem, apply the same tactics to their Ads Library.

Step 3: Ways to check if your audience is actually engaged on a platform

Before you pour time into content… make sure your audience is active, not just present.

1. Look at similar accounts to you

Check creators or brands in your niche.

Are people:

• Commenting with real thoughts?

• Tagging others?

• Saving or sharing posts?

If it’s just likes and bots, that’s not real engagement. Worth a rethink.

2. Test with a low effort post

Try a poll, story, or simple question on that platform.

Do people respond?

• Are you getting DMs, replies, or reactions?

• Even 3-5 replies is enough to signal life.

• If it’s dead? Silence speaks, it tells you a lot.

3. Use Analytics

Look at your own post insights (or competitors’ if you’re starting fresh).

Check:

• Save rate

• Shares

• Comments

• Watch time (if video)

See what has worked for you in the past and how you can double down on those efforts. For your competitors, look at the same but swap out watch time for Views to get an idea how many times their content is being seen.

Final Step 4: The Platform Fit Test

Not every platform deserves your time, even if it’s trending.

I use a 4-question test to check if a platform is worth it:

• Is my audience engaged here?

• Can I consistently create content for it?

• Does it align with my goals (awareness, leads, sales)?

• Can I streamline it with AI or tools?

I score each one out of 5 and the total tells me where to focus (or drop).

If you want my scorecard spreadsheet, hit reply with scorecard and I’ll send it to you 🤗 

Reality of Social Media in 2025

Everyone, is everywhere.

The rules are changing:

Your 67 year old Nan is on TikTok, & Facebook chit-chat groups while watching Strictly on TV.

Your 20 year old cousin is on Pinterest while watching YouTube on TV and voice noting her bestie.

You are everywhere.
You just show up in a different headspace.

Maybe…

You go to TikTok for escape
You go to LinkedIn for networking
You go to Instagram for connection

Everyone has different reasons.
Everyone has a different level of intent.

That’s something easy to forget.
Not only what and where you post, but more so:

How do you fit in their day.
Where can you answer their questions in the way they want to receive them.

If you’re a beginner, start with 1 platform.

Know your skillset.
Lean into the formats that come naturally to you.

Then expand, step by step, across platforms and channels.

And don’t forget your newsletter. It’s the best place to build trust and keep your audience close, even as algorithms shift (or if you get banned).

You got this!

Post by post.
Platform by platform.
You’re building your online narrative.

As always any questions, hit reply, I respond to every message.

That’s all from me this week, I’m heading out to balloons, tears and dinosaurs at my nephew’s 3rd birthday party. I’ll post this when I get back!

Thank you for being here 🥹

Until next time, as always,

You’ll catch me on my socials.

Stay Remotely Social 😉,

Nikki