Using A Holistic Social Media Strategy: Incorporating A Tree of Life Approach

It's 2023—no one is surprised that social media is a great tool for many businesses, including health-based and spiritual practices. Social platforms let us connect with a broad audience, build trust, and attract clients or customers who resonate with our mission. Still, many practitioners in wellness and esoteric industries may struggle with creating engaging content and using social media effectively. Do you spend hours each month (or even week) brainstorming content ideas and feeling overwhelmed by the process? Are you unsure where to even start? Don't worry! Use this guide and a Tree of Life approach for tips on developing a holistic social media plan that aligns with your business's values. You can also message me for more one-on-one guidance.

Understanding Your Ideal Audience  

The very first thing to do when creating a social media strategy is to identify your ideal audience. I like to not only identify them but I visualize their personalities, the kind of businesses they run, and their interests. 

Your target audience is a group of people who resonate deeply with your service, mission, and values. These people are also more likely to buy your products or services. By visualizing them, I take the time to think about their potential needs and obstacles and can design a helpful content plan.

Are you a life coach, energy practitioner, yoga teacher, or psychic medium? No matter what you do, you want to hone in on identifying and connecting with your followers. In your strategy, you can (and should) share the tools, techniques, and modalities you use, but even more important is identifying the core problems that you can solve.

Unleashing the Power of a Holistic Social Media Strategy for Your Wellness or Holistic Business

I love holistic social media strategies because they look at all angles of a marketing plan on a loop. Instead of putting all of your eggs in one basket (or all of your energy in one platform), this works on connecting different elements like your website, emails, and social content. It's a circular system that supports and reinforces itself. I see it as the tree of life for marketing strategies. 

Applying The Tree of Life Approach to Holistic Social Media Strategies

The Tree of Life is one of my favorite symbols. Dating back thousands of years BC, it's powerful and ancient, appearing in various cultures and belief systems. I love it because it represents interconnectedness, growth, renewal, and the life cycle.

Applying the symbolism of the Tree of Life to social media marketing strategies can offer valuable insights:

1. Interconnectedness: Just like the branches of the Tree of Life are interconnected, social media platforms provide a vast network where businesses and individuals can connect with their audience and form communities. A successful social media marketing strategy acknowledges the importance of building meaningful connections with followers, influencers, and partners to create a thriving online ecosystem. All aspects of a social media plan also influence each other, just as the roots and branches feed into each other in many symbols.

2. Growth and Expansion: The Tree of Life signifies growth and expansion, and social media offers limitless opportunities for businesses to grow. You can increase your company's brand awareness and attract new followers by nurturing your online presence, providing valuable content, and engaging with the audience.

3. Renewal and Adaptation: Trees adapt to the seasons, shedding their leaves in autumn and growing new ones in spring. Social media marketing strategies must adapt to changing trends, algorithms, and consumer behaviors. Being flexible and open to experimentation is essential for staying relevant in the fast-paced social media landscape.

4. Strong Roots: The roots of the Tree of Life represent stability, support, and a solid foundation. For your social media marketing strategy to succeed, you must build it on a strong understanding of your brand's values, target audience, and objectives. This foundation will guide content creation and ensure consistent messaging across platforms.

5. Cycle of Life: The Tree of Life symbolizes the cyclical nature of existence. Social media marketing strategies should be designed with a long-term perspective, recognizing that relationships with the audience evolve—consistent engagement and nurturing of the community lead to enduring loyalty and advocacy.

Reviewing the Key Elements of a Holistic Social Media Strategy

To recap—a holistic social media strategy considers the following:

1. Integrate Social Media with Other Marketing Assets: Rather than focusing on one or two platforms to get your message out, integrate email marketing, newsletters, and other ways of promoting your digital presence and encouraging your audience to connect and follow you. 

2. Craft Engaging Content: Develop a content plan that ensures consistency and relevance. Instead of posting when inspiration strikes, create a plan that keeps you providing valuable, informative, and relatable content. Remember to speak directly to your client or customer's needs, wants, or problems. Videos are one of the most popular tools right now, but you can also incorporate blog posts, inspirational quotes (that are relevant), memes, quizzes, and more to keep engaging your audience.

3. Boost Conversations: Interact authentically with your community by leaving thoughtful comments on their posts too. Offer valuable insights, share personal experiences, and ask open-ended questions that spark conversations and potentially lead people back to your account.

4. Collaborate and Network: Collaborate with like-minded individuals and businesses to expand your reach and tap into new audiences. Building genuine relationships and engaging in collaborations can accelerate your growth and establish you as an authority in your field.

Things to Avoid in Social Media Marketing  

While developing a social media campaign, it's essential to avoid common slips that can hurt your success. 

1. No Strategy: Keep your social media plan clear and focused with well-defined goals and a plan aligning with your end goal.

2. Lack of Content Plan: Create a plan that outlines the topics, formats, and posting schedule for your social media content. A plan will keep your strategy consistent and help you avoid feeling overwhelmed.

3. Inauthentic Replies: Engage genuinely with your audience by leaving thoughtful and meaningful comments on their posts. Think about it—we can tell when our followers are ungenuine, so they can also feel when we are too.

4. Agreeing with Every Post: You can show support while adding your unique perspective. No one agrees 100% with everyone. Share your point of view too.

5. Forgetting to Address Your Ideal Client's Needs: Focus on creating content that solves your ideal client's problems and offers solutions. Prioritize value over promoting your product or services—clients and customers will contact you independently.

Social media is a great tool that we can all use to connect with our ideal customers and clients—especially holistic health and spiritual practitioners. By developing a holistic social media strategy using the tree of life approach above, you can understand your ideal audience even more and avoid common mistakes. Harness the power of social media to attract clients and grow your business. Remember to stay authentic, provide valuable content, and foster meaningful connections. Embrace the opportunity to share your expertise, inspire others, and profoundly impact your audience.