Authenticity online…unless you’re boring?
Authenticity online. We hear about it a lot. It’s the thing that’s in.
And make no mistake, it’s in ‘cause it works.
Be authentic. People engage with people. People want to see the REAL you. They want to witness YOUR story in all its glory! As it unfolds!
Facebook and Insta are like…..hmmm….like the Big Brother of this decade!
But with less evil producer contrived drama and way more reality than this early 2000s ‘reality’ show. Oh, and actual real interaction. Not just talking at the TV ‘cause you forget for a sec that they can’t hear you.
Now, if you weren’t a teenager OR an adult with absolutely nothing better to do in the early 2000s, it’s possible I just lost ya.
Side note. Full disclosure. I was an adult and yes, clearly I had nothing better to do!
*Insert winky face here*
See, perfect example of authentic self in action!
I’m happily sharing that I was on the Big Brother bandwagon AND….
……by describing an emoji using words rather than just clicking on the emoji button, I’m telling you that I’m still struggling with the idea of including ACTUAL emoji’s in a piece of writing that’s longer than a facebook status update!
Anyway, I digress. Back to Big Brother and those of you I’d just lost….
Not to worry, this is the internet age! Go ahead - google it - you know you want to BUT……hold off until the end of this post because I can’t guarantee that you won’t get sucked down into the youTube rabbit hole.
Ok. For those of you who resisted the urge and are still with me, back to authenticity.
You think to yourself……yep, I’m absolutely totally 100% gonna be myself. You’ve given yourself a pep talk and you’re ready to go.
But then, the fear creeps in. What. If.
What if I’m authentically boring?
What if I’m…….*insert all your fears here*
Here’s the thing. You are your own worst critic. That negative self-talk of yours takes the things that you worry about (but other people hardly notice) and inflates them.
So, ditch the fear and take the leap. Be authentically YOU.
I’ve been watching a really great friend of mine do this with a business she’s recently launched and you know what, it’s working.
Her online community is growing and it’s brilliant to witness. To watch HER STORY unfold. To have the opportunity to be a part of it through engaging with her community, commenting on her posts, being part of the conversations.
It’s inspired me to be the most authentic ME I can be.
And if you haven’t already guessed it, the person I’m really talking to right now, the one who’s full of fear, it’s me.
I’m constantly swinging between fear and pep talk mode. And that’s ok.
As long as the pendulum keeps swinging both ways and doesn’t get stuck on fear, I’m ok with it.
My latest pep talk is the one that got me to take that step. That one step forward.
One foot in front of the other, and with each step, I develop and grow this business a little more. I gain a little more confidence, and the fear mongerer that lives inside my head gets a little quieter, even if only for just a moment, a moment is enough.
The pep talk went something like this.
‘It’s ok. So, you could quite possibly be boring. BUT…take your own advice and just be you. If you are in fact, boring, your fellow boring peeps will be attracted to your boringness, so shine a light on it and bare it in all it’s glory!
Now, I’m very experienced in the art of pep talks. I have to give them to myself quite a lot.
So, if you’re pendulum stops swinging and is stuck in fear mode, get in touch.
I’d be more than happy to give you a pep talk that inspires that foot of yours to move.
It only needs to take one step. One step at a time.
#authenticity #authenticityonline #engagement #socialmedia #justbeyou #copywriter #smallbusiness
