This One Mindset Shift Helped Me Go Viral
In the spring of 2020, I quarantined in my bedroom with a tripod, my phone, and new ideas for posts that I could create for social media. I told myself I was going to post once per day—no exceptions.
TikTok had recently come out, and I vividly recall telling my mom over the phone, "I know this app is going to be really important." So, later that afternoon, I decided to take action. I gathered all the willpower I could find and sat down to record—determined to find the breakthrough I had been looking for.
Video after video went by, days passed, but nothing satisfied me. I watched the videos back, noticing how inauthentic I looked, how forced they felt, how my hair looked bad, or how the expressions on my face were ‘annoying.’
I couldn't help but wonder, shouldn't this be easier? After all, I had experience speaking in front of the camera. I had always considered myself a performer and felt comfortable in front of an audience.
But nothing seemed to work.
By the time Autumn 2020 rolled around, I was packing up my things and beginning a road trip across the country, completely forgetting about the videos I had tried to record in my bedroom all those months ago.
The road trip ignited something inside of me. It made me feel alive. I drove to a new city practically every day and decided to document my trip on TikTok.
I started sharing more personal stories from my life, thinking that no one would see them anyway (as I had hardly any followers on TikTok). I just kept sharing, without overthinking, and for the first time ever, I absolutely loved what I was creating. I had a blast making videos.
Before I knew it, a breakthrough happened.
Video after video went viral. I shared stories on love, loneliness, and my search for a place to belong. And people resonated. Messages came in from all over the world.
I was shocked.
The most surprising part was that my business began to grow as a result. Even though I wasn't specifically sharing anything about personal branding, people were still intrigued by my offerings and wanted to join my program, Personal Brand Accelerator.
When my road trip ended and I made the decision to stay in Boston, I had a whole new audience of people who were rooting for me and waiting to see how my journey unfolded.
This experience of sharing my road trip taught me something valuable.
Sometimes, forcing yourself to "stay consistent" for the sake of growing your business can be counterintuitive. In fact, it actually restricts the range of possibilities for your business and beyond.
When I finally let go of the rigid structures and rules and allowed myself to create what I felt inspired to, that's when everything shifted for me and my business took off exponentially. I increased my revenue tenfold that year, hired my first employee, and created my dream life in a new city.
Welcome back to the Personal Branding Bulletin. This week, I'm sharing the story behind my first viral post and what it taught me about social media that changed my life forever. You'll also get a personal branding tip and a personal question to consider. ↓
Personal Branding Tip
Don't force it. Instead, focus on creating the content you truly want to make. Yes, it's risky. There's always the fear that you won't make anything at all, or that you'll confuse your audience and lose followers. But what I've found is that there's something greater at play here. Something bigger than your business, bigger than your bottom line. The content you truly want to make comes from a deep place within you. If you listen to that voice, you will discover a new part of yourself that's waiting to be realized.
Personal Question
If you had zero followers and were starting completely from scratch, what kind of content would you post? If you knew you could create anything, what would you truly say?
