Tips For Sharing Yourself through Social Media
I have been utilizing Social Media to share messages that I am passionate about since 2010. This 14 year journey has led to immense personal growth, countless new friendships and connections, and many work opportunities.
Here I will share some specific tips and insights which are important to consider if you want to share yourself more online. Most of these tips apply to video content, though many can also apply to writing :
PEOPLE MUST FIRST KNOW YOU EXIST
Whether you are sharing music, art, writing, products or services, the first step is to get on people’s radar, so they know that you even exist. How do you do this? Create interesting, original content on a consistent basis. Your personal brand is essentially what people remember about you, and how you have impacted their life.
DON’T CREATE, DOCUMENT!
This is advice from Gary Vee, a social media expert. It’s not meant to be advice for 100% of the time, because being a Content Creator obviously entails creating. With that said, the advice is that you can make a cool one minute video that is simply documenting what activity you are doing in your day, and why you want to share it. Rather than having to come up with some brilliant new idea, you simply whip out your phone and document what’s happening.
PROVIDE VALUE - INTERESTING, INSIGHTFUL, INSPIRING
There are a million other places where people could be putting their precious attention. So why should they come to your Social Media page? Because in some way you are adding value and enhancing their life. You don’t have to be building a rocket to Mars to be interesting or valuable. Simply providing helpful reminders like “Did you drink enough water today?” or telling a funny story can really brighten someone’s day. You also don’t have to be an enlightened master to share any sort of advice or recommendations. You can simply share wisdom that you are working on every day, that will likely also benefit your audience.
DIVERSIFY YOUR CONTENT
Personally, I love surprises and agree that “Variety is the spice of life.” I recommend sharing things that relate to your passions, business, etc. but I encourage you to not be 1-dimensional. Sharing other aspects of your life, including challenges when you feel appropriate, can help people get to know you more.
I also recommend making sure that you aren’t selling something in every post. Some people recommend a ratio of at least 4 to 1, meaning 4 pieces of content that are not directly tied to anything you are selling, then 1 piece of content related to your offering.
I don’t feel there is anything wrong with sharing your paid offerings, as long as you are doing it with Integrity. But it can get boring and repetitive if most of your posts are trying to sell people on your product / service. The concept of Giving Value up-front is important. Once people see how much benefit they receive from your free content, they will likely be more interested in your paid offerings.
CULTIVATE + SHARE AUTHENTIC STATES OF BEING
Your State of Being is the combination of your Physical, Mental, and Emotional State in any one moment. I recommend cultivating healthy holistic habits so that you experience enjoyable States of Being more often. Then you can record content when you are feeling good, and help remind, attune, and inspire others to cultivate similar States of Being. This tip can be summed up with the popular, yet great advice : “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
With that said, I also recommend making sure you are being authentic. It’s okay to share the authentic ups and downs of your journey, when you feel it’s appropriate. We all go through spectrums of emotion, and sharing some of your vulnerability can help people get to know you on a deeper level.
STREAMLINE YOUR CREATION PROCESS
A. Find a friend who also wants to create content and team up for an hour or two in a cool location.
B. Make a list of interesting locations where you can record videos, where there isn’t too much background noise or distractions.
C. Buy a decent tripod
D. Make a list of simple ideas for videos
HARNESS YOUR WHY, PASSION, + SACRED ANGER
A. If your Why is strong enough, then the How will be easier
B. What are some social issues that make you angry? How can you channel that anger into putting energy towards an alternative solution? - For example it makes me angry that many kids are taught to repress their emotions, so I channel that frustration into helping provide many tools for Emotional Intelligence.
PINPOINT ANY STORIES / BELIEFS HOLDING YOU BACK
Here are some common excuses : You don't feel ready, You feel awkward, You’re nervous of what people might say/think, You feel there is not adequate lighting, camera quality or editing skills.
SHARE THE SAME CONTENT IN DIFFERENT PLACES
A. I post videos in these 4 places : Instagram Stories and Facebook Stories, Youtube, and my Instagram Page. I find that the Facebook algorithm generally doesn’t do well with videos. I used to use TikTok, but I don’t really use it much, because I don’t want to spread myself too thin. I will post the same video on my Stories, and Youtube, then wait 2 weeks to post it on my IG page.
MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH THE CAMERA
If you are using selfie mode on your camera while recording video, it can be tempting to look at your face on the screen, rather than looking at the actual lens of the camera. I recommend recording practice videos doing your best to keep eye contact with the camera lens, which allows you to essentially make eye contact with the viewer and communicate your message and intention much more powerfully. Imagine if you were talking to someone in real life and they just looked down during the whole conversation. Would you feel very connected to them? Probably not. The same goes for video and even selfie photos - make sure you look into the camera lens!
REDUCE YOUR UM’S, LIKES, YA KNOWS
The best public speakers use very few filler words. The connection between their mind and their mouth has been honed over many years of practice. Reducing your filler words takes consistent practice. I recommend watching your practice or public videos to notice how often you use filler words. Getting yourself into an optimized State of Being beforehand is a great way to have your BodyMind System as sharp as possible.
GROW YOUR NETWORK
A. Collaborate with other creators like using the Collaborator post feature on IG
B. Make content that people feel inspired to share with their networks
C. Follow and engage with other Creators that you resonate with
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If you enjoyed these tips and would like to watch the 90 min. Replay of the Interactive Workshop I led on this topic, I offer it on a sliding scale of 15-25$. Getting the replay also includes the option to be a part of a private group chat on Facebook where we will all encourage each other to keep sharing ourselves online. Please email me at KevinMayCoaching@gmail.com or message me on Social Media.
