July 26

Are You Being Sucked Into The Shiny Object Trap On Social Media?

Fran Loubser

Table of Contents

What is Shiny Object Syndrome and what's the trap it creates?

With new inventions and innovations cropping up daily, the world is brimming with alluring opportunities or ‘shiny objects'.

These can often distract you and may potentially harm your business growth.

Here’s how you can avoid these distracting ‘shiny objects’ and focus on building your business online.

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What is Shiny Object Syndrome?

Shiny Object Syndrome is getting distracted by something that appears more appealing or superior.

You're tempted to shift your focus to that instead, abandoning your current path.

This diversion can occur repeatedly, pulling you in various directions.

For example, you purchase a course but within two weeks you end up spending a considerable amount on a new course, believing it to be better for you.

However, you never actually engage with the new course.

The original course was where you should have focused, but the allure of the ‘shiny object' derailed your progress.

This distraction not only wastes time and effort but can also result in significant financial loss.

Distractive Trends and Their Impact

An example of a recent trend or ‘shiny object' is the emergence of Threads.

Everyone is talking about it. But jumping into it too soon, without thorough testing and validation, can be a mistake.

It can cause issues, such as being locked out of your social media accounts or overwhelming you mentally.

You might get drawn towards these ‘shiny objects,' believing the grass to be greener on the other side.

It's the same with social media platforms that are constantly evolving.

However, the key is to avoid these distractions.

We've found it's best not to promote anything until we've tested it ourselves.

Hence, our advice is to stay focused on your business goals.

There's always going to be something new, but it's essential to resist the temptation, especially to prevent FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).

A common mistake we've noticed is people putting their current business on hold to explore a new trend.

Maintaining Focus and Discipline

Shifting from a platform where you're starting to gain momentum can derail your progress.

You could be developing influence on Facebook or Instagram, and suddenly, you abandon that to explore an unproven trend like Threads.

This shift can halt your progress, and you risk losing your audience.

Therefore, it's crucial to stick with proven and tested strategies to achieve your desired results, rather than banking on a mere possibility that may not even be around in the foreseeable future.

Again, remember once a platform launches, consider its evolution.

Reflect on how significantly Facebook and Instagram have developed.

These are platforms that have been around for a long time and yet, they still retain billions of users.

Abandoning a platform where you've invested time and effort – a platform where your network is expanding, and your influence is beginning to grow – to go to an untested, new space still working out its features and flaws could be a damaging move for your business.

It doesn't mean that exploring other platforms is off-limits.

However, it's worth noting that we've spent years cultivating our audience on a specific platform.

Consider other influencers who have amassed large followings; they started in one place, built up their audience there, then moved to another platform, taking their network with them.

Balancing platforms is an individual capability.

Some people can manage multiple platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

Yet, it's important to remember that platforms like Facebook and Instagram have been around for a long time.

People understand their algorithms, their workings, and we can guide you in navigating these spaces.

They are proven platforms that, despite frequent changes, remain reliable.

For now, resist the allure of the ‘new and shiny', and stick with what's currently working for you.

Even if your efforts are not fully paying off yet, or if you're just starting, persevere.

Continue until you gain traction, grow your audience, and establish influence and relationships.

Maximizing Growth and Minimizing Distractions

Facebook, in our opinion, is still the best place to build relationships.

Its user-friendly interface, including features like groups and messenger, make it an ideal platform to connect with people.

You can find your perfect prospects through these groups and connect with them.

Jumping ship to a new platform with unfamiliar workings could be risky.

Remember that different platforms serve different purposes.

To successfully bring people onto your team and get them to purchase your product, they need to know, like, and trust you.

This comes through relationships, which Facebook facilitates wonderfully.

Facebook still remains the number one platform for growing your network, building relationships, and attracting people to your business.

As of now, Facebook has the highest user count.

Comparing Facebook and TikTok, we can see they serve different purposes.

You can build a following on TikTok, but you must start somewhere first before branching out.

Instagram, too, has its own niche. It's great for brand awareness and entertainment, but it isn't necessarily the best place to build relationships due to its focus on images and aesthetics rather than personal connection.

Facebook, on the other hand, promotes human connection through its friending and group features.

It's crucial to understand the different platforms and their functions to help your business grow.

Commit to one platform and one course that has proven results and testimonials.

When you invest, go all in. Put on your blinders and focus on your chosen path.

Understanding that you are being targeted by marketing tactics can help you stay focused on your path and resist distractions.

If the course or platform you're investing in is being managed by people who have been where you are and can guide you to where you want to be, then stick with it.

Learn the required skillsets, take action, and don't be distracted by the allure of other platforms or courses.

Want To Accelerate Your Business?

If you want more help on how to make more money in less time using social media, grab our Social Influencer Formula where we show you how to crush your business in three simple steps.

Video Transcript

Disclaimer: Transcripts were generated automatically and may contain inaccuracies and errors.


Hey there, beach Bus influencers, uh, coming to you right now on our podcast. Welcome. I’m Adrian Linde here with Fran Lauer. Um, and today we’re talking about are you being sucked into the shiny object trap on social media? Okay? We are seeing this a lot. In fact, it’s just something that just is always there, right? But, uh, with, you know, as technology, um, you know, continues to advance, right? New things being created, there’s like shiny object all over the place mm-hmm. , and it is very distracting. Uh, it can be very distracting to your business and hinder your business, hinder your growth. And so, um, that’s what we’re gonna be talking about today on our podcast. Now, if you’re tuning in and you’re like, what is shiny object syndrome, , what’s a, what’s the shiny object trap? Okay? So that basically means, I don’t know, Fran, if you wanna explain what shiny object is, um, it is basically, you know, when you, when you are following a course, and then you see something there and it’s like, oh, that looks, that looks even bigger and better than what I have now, let me go and grab that. And then you see something over there and you think, oh, that looks even better. Let me go and grab that. Or perhaps I should be over here, or perhaps I should be over there. Instead of, you know, staying on your course, stay putting the, the blinkers on and staying true to your path and staying, you know, on the course of action that you have decided to take. Um, so it happens all the time, and I mean, I know in the past I have bought a course and literally two weeks later went and spent another couple of thousand dollars on another course because I thought that was going to be better than the one that I’d bought.

Um, I actually never did anything on the other course, okay? Because the one that I originally bought was where I was meant to be. Um, but, you know, it is, it is a huge distraction and can, you know, end up with you not only, you know, wasting time and effort, but wasting a lot of money. Yeah. And so, so one of the things that we wanted to talk about right now was, you know, something that has just come out recently is, is threads. And, um, you know, people thinking, well, I need to be there. Like, it’s just started. And, you know, everyone’s creating all this excitement about you need to be there and you need to be the, the first to be there. Um, and often that’s a mistake, you know, wait until something is, is tried and tested before you jump in there. And in fact, one of our, you know, one of our students was saying like, something, all of a sudden everything has changed on her social media because she went into threads and now she’s like being locked out of Facebook groups and locked out of all kinds of things. So, you know, if isn’t proven and tested yet and fully tested, it can mess a lot of things up and mess with your head. Yeah. So for sure, uh, yeah. So, so shiny object can be in different forms, right? Yeah. It’s like what Fran said, where it can be in training courses, right? Like, and how many, how many people follow, we follow a lot of gurus out there, right? In, in your email, okay, where there’s always a new, there’s always a new offer, or there’s always a new training, a new, a new something, right? And, and then there’s shiny object inside of, you know, in network marketing with different companies, right? Different companies because you’re sitting there, you know, you, you might be frustrated with where your business is at, and you see a new company launch and you see a, maybe, maybe, uh, you have people in your network and they’re like, oh my gosh, ground floor and this and that, and the comp plan, and you’re like, boop, jump ship, go over there. Right? Shiny object. And then you’re like, man, the grass was not greener over here. . Yeah. So, and then you have shiny object on actual social media platforms because it’s evolving, right? Like you think when we all got started, well, first of all, before there was even Facebook, it was, uh, MySpace. Okay? So you had MySpace, all right? And then, and then now you, then you had Facebook, and then, you know, now there’s TikTok and, and, and Instagram and, and you know, the reels and, and
Yeah. And, and youTube. And, and, and gosh, the list goes on and on. Yeah. Okay. So, so, um, you know, there’s so much distraction. Now what we found, okay, because we’ve learned that, like exactly what Fran said is, you know, we don’t promote something that we haven’t tested ourselves and proven. And so that’s gonna be my, our advice. If you’re, you know, as you’re listening here is, there’s always gonna be a new something. There’s always gonna be a new training. There’s always gonna be a new company. There’s always gonna be another new platform, but for the sake of your business, right? Because you have a goal you wanna get from here to there, right? And you’re trying to condense time and do it as fast as possible, okay? And a lot of times there’s fomo, it’s a real thing, right? Fear of missing out. So you’re like, well, everybody else in my company is over on threads.

I need to be over there, so I’m gonna stop what I’m doing in my business. I’m gonna put the brakes on and I’m gonna go over there, okay? Right? When everyone’s getting on, okay, again, hasn’t been tested brand new, and then I’m gonna tell everyone to come with me, right? And we see this behavior a lot in the space that we’re in. Um, and, you know, I feel like that’s irresponsible to do with your, your network. And again, we’re straight shooters here. I might say some things that are controversial, , but you know what, we’re always gonna be honest and tell you like it is. Okay? I think that’s irresponsible to do to your network. Um, because let’s give an example of, of last year. Was it last year? The clubhouse?
It was, was it last year or two years ago? It might have been even longer ago. It feels like forever ago. Anyway, it was two years ago. Clubhouse came out and everybody had to be on clubhouse. And you know, and all the gurus are like, I’m doing a training on it. Get there. Gotta be here. Gotta be here. And so, so they tell their their whole networks, right? Go ahead, Fran. Yeah, yeah. No, they, they tell everybody, you know, you’ve gotta be, you’ve gotta be here. And what happens is, just as you’re starting to build momentum on wherever you are building, so you’re building on Facebook, you’re building on Instagram, and you’re just getting momentum. Like things are just falling into place. You’re getting traction, you’re building that know, like, and trust. You’re building that influence, and all of a sudden you up ship and hop over to, to, um, what was it called?
Clubhouse.

Clubhouse. I kind of outta a blank. You pop over to Clubhouse, all right? Now you pop over to Threads and what happens? Everything grinds to a halt. You disappear. You’ve disappeared from your people because now all of a sudden you chase, you’ve chased this shiny object over here, that threads that isn’t proven, that isn’t tested, that, you know, people have created a lot of hype about mm-hmm. . But, you know, we, we don’t know. It may work and it may not, but you know, like Adrian said, I think one of the things that is, that is that is most important when you are building, when you’re building your business is, is sticking with, you know, sticking with what works. Mm-hmm. is sticking with what is proven, is sticking with what is tested, is sticking with, you know, what is, what you can see is gonna get you the results that you wanna get, as opposed to, you know, a wish and a prayer that this, this shiny object over here might, you know, might do something for me, but you don’t even know what it’s gonna do. It says like, you might connect with some, with some, some people over there, but you don’t know how it’s gonna work. And you know, you dunno what it’s gonna do, and you don’t know if it’s even gonna be around in six months or a year’s time. You don’t know. And your network isn’t even over there with you. So, so, so all these people that you’ve built, there’s no lack and trust with all these people that are following you. All these people who are loving your content, suddenly you drop them, ditch them, and hop over to hop over somewhere else.

It and Clubhouse lasted like a hot second, y’all.

Yeah.

Like a hot second. And it was dropped like a pancake. Okay? Uh, so again, another reason why we like to test it out, okay? And again, remember once something launches, think about all the thing. Think, think about how, how much Facebook has evolved, how much Instagram has evolved, right? These other platforms that have been around a long time, okay? And how many users are still on them? There’s billions on Facebook. So to leave a platform like Fran said, that you’ve invested time in, you’re showing up, right? Your people are, or you’re starting to build that, that your network’s growing, you’re starting to build that influence and then leave and go over to a space that’s brand new that hasn’t been tested and proven. They’re still working out functions and di and, you know, kinks and it might not even be around, is almost like, kind of like, I don’t wanna say business suicide, but it’s definitely gonna put a grinding halt to all the work that you’ve been putting in.

Now, at the same time, I’m gonna say, that doesn’t mean that you can never go outside into other platforms, okay? The, but the caveat of that is, is we’ve spent years building our, our audience on a platform, okay? And you think about other gurus, other, other, uh, you know, people out there that have massive audiences, they started in one place and once they built that audience up, okay, they put that work in, they build that audience from there, they can move to another platform, tell their network, and their network will confine them. And then boom, they’ve built a network, an audience on that platform. So you’ve gotta stay in one place. You gotta stay in a place, I’m not gonna say one. ’cause some people are capable of running Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Instagram and you might on Facebook and Instagram, wherever, right? Right. But, and that, yeah, go ahead.

No, no, but I mean, you know, they’ve been on round for a long time. People understand how the algorithms work, people understand how they work, you know, and, and we can teach you how to, how to build there. Um, but they’re proven. They’ve, they’ve been around for a long time. Yes, they change all the time as well. Both of them change all the time as well. Um, but stick right now, right now, don’t be sucked into that shiny object, you know, um, syndrome. Um, and stick right now with where you’re at and what is working for you right now. And even if it isn’t working a hundred percent, even if you’re just starting, stick with it. Stick with it. And, and until you get that traction, stick with it. Until you have grown that audience and built the influence over that audience and built relationships.

Um, honestly, the best place to, to build relationships for me is still Facebook. Yep. It is still Facebook, it is the easiest. You know, where you have groups where you, where you, you know, messenger’s easy. It, it is the best place to actually connect with people. And where you can find, you can find all your, all your perfect prospects, you know, through groups you can go, go and connect with, go and connect with your prospects, but, you know, hopping over to another platform where you have got no idea how it’s gonna work, you know? And where, you know, maybe, maybe some, maybe some top leaders are over there trying to entice you to come over. All right? Yep.

Yeah. I mean, and also understanding like the different platforms serve different purposes, right? So exactly what friend was saying, you know, in, in the industry that we’re in, in network marketing, it’s a relationship business. TikTok isn’t about relationships, okay? Like, it’s, yes, it’s entertainment, but when you have followers, you’re not, you’re not actually, you don’t know them as they’re human beings. Like there’s so many, it’s such a big cold market, right? Like you don’t know them from Adam, right? Yeah. And so, building your network and getting people to join your team and buy your product, okay? They have to know, like, and trust you. That’s about relationships, right? It’s about relationships. So it, Facebook is still the number one place to grow your network, build relationships and bring people into your business, into being a product user, a business builder or someone that pays for your services.

And if you don’t believe me, okay? You can look it up. It’s still the number one platform. It has the most users on it still to this day. Okay? So that is a differentiator between Facebook and TikTok. ’cause they serve different purposes. Now, don’t get me wrong, you can, you can create a following there, bring people over to Facebook and vice versa and have another way. But you gotta start somewhere first. Yeah. Before you move over. And then also ig right? It’s another entity in itself, okay? It’s great for brand awareness, right? Uh, um, uh, getting out value out there, right? Uh, entertainment also, but it also isn’t necessarily the right place to build a relationship. Again, such a cold market because Facebook, right? You actually have to be their friend, right? Connect with them on a human level. And Facebook built in, like what Fran said, the groups, because they wanna create communities, yeah.

Take communities, build relationships, and no other platform has that. So, and we’re not trying to say one here and one there. This is where you should be. We’re just trying to educate you on, on the different, um, I wanna say diff the different platforms and what they’re used for to help you in your business. Because, um, as people inside network marketers or inside network marketers, inside network marketing, right? Um, you can sell products in different deals, but as far as building your team and building that following of like, raving true, loyal fans, uh, it’s just not gonna happen necessarily in some of these other spaces and platforms.

Yeah. And let’s talk a little bit about, you know, the other, the other big shiny object that we see so many people doing and that I have been guilty of doing is, you know, buying one course and then immediately, you know, thinking, oh, but hang on, you know, here’s, I’ve got, just got an email from somebody else and they offering another course, and maybe that one’s better than the one that I’ve got. And then, then buying another course and buying another course and actually just ending, ending up completely confused with all these different courses and not knowing which way to go. And so I, you know, I, I think it is, it is really, um, key when you do, when you do decide to invest, um, in a course, um, is number one, you know, is it proven? Alright? Have people got results? Are there testimonials?

Have people got results? Um, and have other people who are teaching you are people who are teaching you number one, do they, are they, is it like a no BS straight shooter? Here we are. This is how we’re gonna help you. Um, we are not gonna blow smoke up your up your, I nearly said , I nearly said your skirt. We’re not gonna hot up your skirt. But, um, understanding that, that, you know, if you, when you, when you invest in a course, has that person been where you are, and are they where you wanna be? And can they help you get there? Because that is key. All right? And then when you do invest in a course, and when you do decide to, to invest the money, go, go, like, I dunno why the language is coming out today, but go all in, okay?
Um, and, and, and then, then put, put the blinders on, put the blinkers on, and stay there. All right? And know that you, that, and in fact, there was a, there was a post in one of our communities today saying, saying, why am I seeing all these ads for all these other courses? And, and we said, you know, stay focused on where you’re at, stay focused on where you’re at. Yes. It’s because you’ve actually probably shown interest in some of them that actually now the feed is gonna keep showing you more and more and more. It’s, it’s, it’s, it’s advertising doing its job. It’s Facebook doing its job, but you’re being targeted. You’re on purpose. Exactly.

Exactly. It’s happening. But know that it’s happening and thinking, okay, I know, but I know where I’m at. These people understand me. These people know where I was. They’ve been where I was. They’re gonna help me get where I wanna be. I know I need to do the action. I know I need to, I need, I need to, you know, learn the skill sets and take the action, but then don’t be sucked into this shiny object of buying other courses and just getting yourself confused and spending a lot of money, okay? And wasting time and wasting precious time and precious resources. Um, yeah.

Yes. So if anything, you’re gonna take away from this, it is commit to one thing, right? And I’m not saying don’t ever buy a training, right? Because I know that I’ve bought some trainings in the past, but they’ve led me to other things and they’ve led me, you know, finally onto something that PRT was proven and worked and, and led me into, you know, an incredible community and mentors that, you know, we, we learned the skill sets and that’s how Beach Boss came about, right? Exactly. But it is exactly what Fran said. I I ended up there because I, I found that those people had been where I wanna be, right? They had experienced that, and so I trusted that their strategy and their training was gonna get me where I wanted to go. Mm-hmm. and it did. Mm-hmm. , you know? Um, but as far as like platforms go right?

Pick a spot and stay there. Yeah. Right? Stay there, commit to it. And I’m not saying for like three months, okay? We, we’ve, we spent years building our, our audiences on Facebook before we even went out to IG and to YouTube and to everywhere else that we are at, right? That all didn’t happen all together at the same time. There’s no way we never would’ve been able to build our six figure then multiple seven figure and now eight figure business. Okay? If we were, we had multiple things on our plate and trying to run multiple accounts on multiple platforms, that’s like our recipe for disaster. So, yeah. And don’t, don’t get stuck in this compare artist thinking, well, they’re everywhere. I need to be everywhere too. Okay.

Yes. Don’t compare your chapter one or 20 or two to our chapter, you know, 30, right? And a lot. And that’s the thing is a lot of the gurus out there that are like, go over here and go over there. They’ve built their network, they’ve built their audience so they can move from one to the other and have people come. All right? So pick your platform, stay in your lane, right? As Fran says, put your blinkers on , that’s her UK talk and just stay committed for the long haul and commit. I’m gonna stay here. I’m gonna grow this network and audience until I get to here. And then from there, when I have the bandwidth, I can then branch out and I can go into other places. So, awesome. So I hope you’ve got a ton of value from, from this, and we’d love to hear what your biggest takeaway has been. Um, and as I said earlier, if you wanna help to get where you wanna be, the question to ask is who, who has been there? So who has been where I am and who’s gonna help me get where I wanna be? And there’s gonna be a link above or below this video to grab a course to help you get started so that you can stop, you know, chasing the shiny objects. You can stop chasing your friends and family and doing the things that you probably hate doing, and actually start building a business that you love. So we’ll see you all again soon. Thanks for joining us and we’ll see you soon. Yeah. Bye.


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Fran Loubser

About the author

Fran Loubser is a wife, mother, former dentist, and spunky network marketer on a mission to help people around the globe believe in themselves and to learn the power of influence marketing to build brands on autopilot.

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