Social media has come such a long way. I may be dating myself here, but does anyone remember MySpace? I made my MySpace profile in 2006 and social media looks completely different today. You would seriously be hard-pressed to find someone that doesn’t have at least one social media account. Everyone is somewhere!
Because of that, we all know social media has become a huge space for marketing. And why not! If everyone is on it, it makes perfect sense to take advantage and promote your products there. As creatives, we use social media to promote our books, blog, or business. It’s the perfect place to do so. But, at the end of the day, we can’t forget about the reason social media was created in the first place: to be social.
Why Being Personal Matters For Businesses
Maybe you’re wondering why it even matters if you get personal on social media if you’re just running a business. Maybe you’re trying to keep personal and professional lives separate. That’s all well and good, but here’s the thing: it’s okay for our personality to shine in our professional endeavors. It’s important to understand why someone wants to become a part of your brand.
Let’s face it, there are hundreds of other people doing the same thing that you’re doing. What makes you stand out from them? This is where your personality needs to shine. Consumers today are driven by emotional connections. If you aren’t willing to show them a little bit about who you are, you aren’t giving them reason enough to want to connect with you.
You can create the most helpful freebies or paid products on the internet, but if you don’t take the time to be authentic and show people the kind of person you are, what you’re creating won’t reach who it’s intended for.
Ways You Can Be Personal On Social Media
When you get personal on social media, you don’t need to go all in. You don’t need to share every finite detail of your life or your beliefs. You don’t need to share your political opinions. You don’t need to talk endlessly about your children. You don’t need to talk about your depression or anxiety. If these are things you want to discuss, that’s totally up to you. But in some way, it’s important to give your audience a taste of who you are. Let that personality shine! Here are some of my favorite ways to get personal.
- Go Live. Talk to your audience! Go live on Instagram or Facebook. Post videos on your IG stories or Snapchat. Chat about anything. Share a win you had from the week. Host a Q&A session. Share where you are: if you’re hiking, on vacation, or just strolling around town. Give your audience a peek into your life outside of writing or whatever your business is and what you do when you’re not online.
- Share Life Updates. Every Sunday, I share something personal on my Instagram. I’ll chat about what I’ve been up to this week or talk about my family. For me, Sunday’s are dedicated to my family. And I want to share that with my followers! I want them to see who and what matters to me. I want to show them who I am outside of being a writer: a fiancée, a mom, a hiker, a makeup lover, a church-goer, etc. I love being a writer, but I’m so much more. All of who I am is part of my writing, so why not share it!
- Show Yourself. So many of us post flat-lay images, stock photos, quotes, writing spaces, etc and that’s all great. But what about the person behind all of that? I’m a huge proponent of showing your face to your audience. It’s another way others can connect with us! It makes us real, it shows our audience that we aren’t just someone hiding behind the computer. Not comfortable showing yourself? No worries, there’s more on that below.
- Talk About Your Goals. There’s no place like social media for finding accountability! Aside from the fact that sharing your goals online can help you crush said goals, it’s also a great way to let your audience in on what matters to you. Our goals can be pretty personal. When we share them, we let our readers know about what drives us and what our passions are. That’s deep!
- Don’t Be Perfect. One thing I’m not a fan of when it comes to social media is the amount of BS that graces our timelines. We’re constantly shown these perfect images over and over. It can honestly be a bit depressing! Are people really that happy? In some cases, yes. But we both know no one is perfect. Don’t paint that picture of yourself online! If you’re not doing well on a goal, talk about it. This will help other people connect with you. Plus, you’ll definitely find people that cheer you on and tell you that you’ve got this. Who doesn’t need a good support system?
What To Do If You Want To Remain Anonymous
I 100% understand the desire to remain anonymous. (Hell, I’ve had an anon Twitter account for over 6 years!). It wasn’t until this year that I finally decided to come out from behind the curtain and embrace my desire to become an author. In 2013, I started a lifestyle blog. I talked about my writing journey, shared my favorite outfits, and talked about my fitness/weight loss journey. But I did it all behind a persona. I didn’t want anyone to find out this was what I wanted.
I could go into detail about why I didn’t want to come out with my author pursuit, but if you’re in the same boat, you have your own story, so you know what I mean. I completely respect your desire to remain anonymous and you can absolutely do that. But, that doesn’t mean you’re exempt from getting personal on social media.
You don’t have to share a picture of yourself online. But try to share personal pictures from your life like a pet, your favorite vacation spot, or a hobby/talent you have. You can still infuse your personality into your social media presence. Try not to disconnect yourself too much. It will be hard to connect with others. Find a way that makes you feel comfortable to let your personality shine.
Feeling Hesitant?
If you’re still a little wary of showing more of yourself on social media, reach out to me! I would be happy to help you figure out a way, that makes you feel comfortable, to share your personality online.
