Posting on social media for startups raising capital

Some people thrive on social media, others hate it. Early-stage founders have limited resources, and the most needed and limited resource they have is the personal time and energy of the founders. Should you spend some of your time sharing content on social media? 

Pitfalls of social media for founders 

Spending a lot of time on social media can obviously be wasteful. It can also be a big distraction, create a false sense of accomplishment, and turn into a mode of busy procrastination. In some cases, it can serve to steer a startup off track, since what gets cheered on social media doesn’t always translate to actual clients willing to pay money for your product or service. Founders might end up navigating their startup and product in the wrong direction, away from true product market fit. Another pitfall of social media content is that it can be hard to quantify and measure how your efforts in creating and sharing content (either by yourself or with the help of an agency or social media expert on your team) translate into real results. This is true in regards to sales, and even more so when what you urgently need is to attract investors. 

Still, creating at least some amount of content on social media will benefit you as a startup founder. 

Why you should spend at least some time on social media while raising capital

First, because it might expose you to new investors, clients, or partners. Secondly, most investors will be sure to look you up online before they meet you, and your social media content will serve as extra points of validation. This is especially important if you are following our advice and using LinkedIn to reach out to investors. Once you reach out to an investor (or anyone else, for that matter), LinkedIn will often place your content in their feed. 

Finally, sharing your vision, journey, traction, and accomplishments on social media will help you hone one of the most important skills for founders: storytelling. Knowing how to present your vision in a focused, compelling, and convincing way is crucial for your ability to raise capital. You will need the same skill to recruit the right people for your team, sell your product or service, and generate valuable partnerships. 

So even if you feel uncomfortable posting on social media, force yourself to do it from time to time, especially on LinkedIn. While you might not be able to tie any success directly to your social media content, it will still most likely serve you well and help you raise the capital you need to bring your vision to life.