How To Approach Social Media When You Don’t Know What To Say
You know you should be posting to Instagram.
You know that you should be recording yourself on video, posting photos, and writing captions.
You know that your competitors are already out there; building brand, closing deals and rising to the top.
If you don’t level up on social media soon, you’ll be missing out on one of the massive opportunities of our era.
Your brand is worth it.
I don’t have to tell you this, because you already know it.
So what’s the problem?
Why is it so hard to put yourself out there? Say what you really want to say? Build a brand that you can be proud of?
I believe it’s easier than you think.
So today, we’re going to break this down. One by one. I’m going to give you three ways to help you re-shape the way that you think about content creation and personal branding. And once you’re done reading, I want you to leave a comment at the end of this post as a Step. Numero. Uno.
You with me?
Let’s go.
Become an industry influencer.
As a Personal Brand Strategist, I show my clients how to go from industry expert to industry influencers. I’m fascinated by this concept.
Think about it.
How do influencers approach social media?
They view content creation as “documentation.” It’s a part of their lifestyle. Second-hand nature.
A thing that they do, not a thing that they have to do.
Integrate content creation into your daily life so that it feels less like a chore and more like second-hand nature.
What happens when you approach social media this way?
Consistency.
You won’t fall off the wagon, because you ARE the wagon. (I’m not really sure if that line really makes sense, but you get what I am trying to say).
Okay, so how to do this:
Write for at least 20 min every day. (EVERYONE has at least 20 minutes)
Record yourself on video every day. You can do this while walking to your next meeting, during 10 minutes of downtime, after dinner. Or really whenever it’s most convenient for you. If you don’t feel comfortable posting these videos to social media, share them with your friends first. It’s simple: you’re just documenting your daily life.
Record voice memos on your phone. Get in the habit of SAYING exactly what you think and feel. It sounds SO simple, but you’d be surprised by how difficult this actually is.
NEXT ↴
Speak from a place of personal experience: share the stuff that has absolutely zero to do with your business.
“Are you sure??” Yes. I’m sure.
In fact, this is the content that performs the best.
I’ll tell you a short story:
I’ve been blogging once a week for the last 9 months. I track every single email to see which content performs the best.
And do you know which blog post had the highest click rate and open rate?
The post I wrote about moving to Oakland and looking back on the last three years.
It brought in the most traffic and was the reason I closed my biggest deal of 2019.
People want personal.
They care about what’s happening in your life.
When you get real with them, amazing things happen. It opens the door for deeper connections and healthier business relationships.
Which brings me to my next point ↴
The most important one: you have to be 100% authentic.
Are you sick of hearing the word, authentic? I am, too.
But I think this word gets thrown around so much that we don’t fully understand the importance of it.
Are you being whole-heartedly authentic in your daily life? In your content on social media? With your family and friends?
If we’re being really honest with ourselves, most of the time the answer is no.
I used to be self-conscious.
Seriously, I would second guess myself at every turn.
From how I spoke.
To the blogs I wrote.
To the IG stories I posted.
It was such a shitty way to live my life. Constantly wondering what people think.
About halfway through my first year of business, I made a vow that I would be 100% real on social media.
I wouldn’t dilute my personality.
I wouldn’t sugarcoat the way that I feel about things.
I wouldn’t half-ass authenticity.
And HOLY SHIZA, that's when life got so good!
The person I am online became aligned with the person that I am offline.
One of the best feelings in the world: to feel understood.
I attribute that feeling to building my personal brand.
The process of building your personal brand is the process of knowing yourself. To your core.
Anthony Tjan writes, “There is one quality that trumps all, evident in virtually every great entrepreneur, manager, and leader. That quality is self-awareness. The best thing leaders can do to improve their effectiveness is to become more aware of what motivates them and their decision-making.”
Magazines from Forbes to Fast Company all say the same thing: know thyself.
There’s peace, alignment, and success on the other side of authenticity.
The idea is to replicate the conversations and experiences that you are having offline and put those online.
Write as you speak.
Share photos that are a good indication of your lifestyle.
This especially important for entrepreneurs.
Show up 100% yourself, wholly unabridged, so by the time that someone reaches out to you and wants to book a discovery call or purchase your product, they already know who you are.
This actually pre-qualifies your clients. BOOM.
It means this is an opportunity to hyper-attract the people you really want to work with. Dream clients.
Agree? Agree.
Alright, I’ve got to jam to the office right now, so I am formally ending this blog post.
Share your thoughts below.
What’s been the hardest part of content creation for you? Do these tips help you re-shape the way you think about content creation?
