Getting Social: Attracting Authentically

In the past few weeks, I’ve covered how to use social media to brand yourself, and how to use social media as a professional networking tool. But now, we’re getting to my favorite part – something I’m so passionate about that I hosted an event on it earlier this year: authentically attracting an online audience.

Being authentic is the most important part of any work with social media. If you copy anyone else or even emulate them too closely, you can lose potential connections and even your online credibility (especially if the other person finds out). But, if done right, you can cultivate a devoted and excited following just by being who you are. And if that’s not the dream, I don’t know what is.

So how do you stay true to you online ? And how does that help you attract an audience? You’re in the right spot to find out. Let’s dig in!

Be Yourself

Being yourself is the most important part of authentically attracting an audience. Without this, you don’t have anything else. Here are a few things to think about when you’re figuring out what your online brand looks like:

1. What experience do you want your followers to have?
2. What does that experience look like?
3. What does that experience “sound” like?
4. How can you showcase your unique value to your followers?
5. What do you feel comfortable sharing? (i.e. do you feel comfortable talking about your personal life? Would you rather just stick to biz talk?)

At the end of the day, stick to what resonates with you. The more excited you are about getting online and sharing your content, the more it will show to your followers (and I’ll talk more about that in the next section).

It’s important to add that I’m not saying you can’t be inspired by other people – especially if you’re just getting started. By looking to others who are doing it right, you can figure out how to put your own twist on things and make it work for yourself and your brand. The second you start straying into copying other people’s work, though, you’ve gone too far. 

Long story short, use your brain/common sense and make sure your online content has a twist that makes it truly yours.

For more on this topic, check out this great article from the Academy of Handmade.

Be Passionate

Now we get to the fun part, the part where you get to be excited about your content and what you have to say. Being passionate about your online content ties heavily into what I’ve talked about in previous “Getting Social” posts (See Parts 1, 2, and 3 here), but I’ll paraphrase here for you just in case. Here are a few places to start when it comes to sharing content online:

1. Talk about you.
2. Talk about your work.
3. Share your opinion on relevant industry topics/current events.
4. Share articles you enjoyed. 
5. Share your own work/writing.
6. Give your audience a behind-the-scenes look into your work.
7. Share a day-in-the-life experience.

Obviously, these are just a starting point. Don’t be afraid to get creative and innovate these ideas into something that works for your or your business. And, most importantly, have fun! If you’re not having fun doing your work online, you may need to re-evaluate your content plan or the direction that you have for yourself/your brand.

Be Valuable

This ties back to being yourself and finding your unique value as a person or brand online. Your potential (and current) followers need a reason to come and check out your social media accounts as opposed to someone else’s. Here are just a few ideas on how you can provide value to your followers:

1. Provide tips or inspiration to your audience.
2. Share what makes you/your business unique.
3. Ask your audience questions.
4. Provide something that can help them get results quickly.
5. Update them with information about courses/products/sales/etc.

Again, these ideas are just a starting point. Don’t be afraid to innovate and improve on these ideas into something that works for you or your business. And, as I said before, have fun! If you’re not having fun, you should re-evaluate your content plan or the direction that you have for yourself/your brand.

Attracting Authentically

By combining good social media strategies with these tips, attracting an authentically engaged audience is easy. However, it’s important to remember that all of these ideas tie together – you can’t have one without the others. If you assure that you are being yourself, being passionate, and providing value, you put yourself on the track to success.

How are you going to incorporate your unique value into your social media presence? Let me know in the comments! If you’re already seeing success, share some of your best tips.