🤮 Does social media make you want to puke?

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Publicity Challenge: You want to get known—or better known. You’ve learned that engaging freely on public platforms helps customers get to know, like and trust you.

Solution: For starters, get active and engage on social media. You can also create your own marketing and publicity materials that include newsletters and collaborative offline projects.

Your challenges: You dread social networking, especially on increasingly toxic platforms. You even question its value because analytics constantly shift. Lax moderation means creeps, clowns and haters have become more brazen on and offline. You don’t want to deal with them and safety is a concern.

I get it. I’ve dealt with my share, especially this month. (One person went beyond social media when he blatantly and “anonymously” — I did an IP search to find out who it was — used contact information that’s not readily available.)

So, how do you build your brand when the thought of social media makes you want to lose your lunch?

1) Post where your audience hangs out.

2) Engage with like minds and trusted peers.

3) Proof all posts so you’re message-confident before you post.

4) Ignore trolls.

5) Use BLOCK and UNFOLLOW buttons as necessary.

6) Report gross posts, emails or texts to authorities so they’re on record.

After chats with peers and a confidant who indulged my vent about people invading my personal/electronic space this month, I made a decision for how I’ll approach and coach social media going forward. I’m not going to change a thing.

People with far bigger profiles than me are challenged by and deal with questionable creatures without sacrificing their talent or who they are. If they can thrive using social and other digital publicity tools, so can you and I.

Publicize in peace

Strategic social media engagement still works to build brands, but if something feels off or uncomfortable, ignore and/or shift publicity gears to something that makes you feel more secure.

P.S. 📲 Even though I’ve tweaked social media habits through the years, it’s still a valuable connector. It’s provided links to people I may not have otherwise met, including clients and friends. This week, I reconnected with Rebkah Howard after reading a USA Today Network story about how she and others have fought for aggressive publicity when Black women go missing. Howard’s story is personal to her, and resulted in “Finding Tamika,” which was produced by Kevin Hart’s and Charlamagne Tha God’s SBH Productions (worth your time).

Howard continues to fight for the rights of missing Black women via the Black & Missing Foundation as she did when she tirelessly sought the truth in her niece Tamika’s case.

I’ve been in the promotional trenches, so I get people’s social media trepidation. I can help you navigate any challenges and concerns you have with it. BTW, not all social media is toxic. I promise.

© 2025, Gail Sideman, gpublicity.com