03 Jun Beat the shy: How to be an introvert and still kill it on social media

I can’t be the only one, right?

I can’t be the only small business owner around who is a little shy? A little hesitant to step up and out and become the brand? Tell me it’s not just me…

I am finding this ‘becoming the brand’ thing a deeply uncomfortable experience, and yet I completely understand how valuable it is that a business has a face to go with the name (even if it’s this face).

Being visible, and having a thriving social media presence is absolutely essential to the success of a typical modern-day small business. Customers like to have some sense of who they’re dealing with to really ‘buy in’ to the brand. And before you start to let the self-doubt creep in about your hair or your voice or that second wobbly chin…

Don’t.

Perfect doesn’t always sell.

Often all people want to see is someone just like them, doing an absolutely killer job of showing up and owning their presence, their brand and even their wobbly bits. The authenticity of just being yourself is something that’s desperately sought-after, and desperately lacking in a world full of filters and fake news. Being visible and being yourself is actually the ultimate power move. You’re saying: “Here I am. I’m confident in myself, in my products, in my brand. You should get to know me.”

So how do you get to bold as brass if your default setting is shy and retiring?

A few ideas…

Practise your live video first!

Find a safe space to practice your video technique! Call your mum if you need to. Maybe try out Facebook’s new ‘Rooms’ feature with some friends and sell your socks off! If you’re the type of person that needs to be familiar with the nervewracking situation, there’s even a function through Facebook Live for practising called, ‘only me’. Try it out! Some things to remember for a killer Facebook Live:

• Keep it short

• Keep it on point

• Engage with commenters

• Don’t worry about mistakes

• Be spontaneous (no scripts! Eek!)

decide how much of yourself to share*

While stepping into the light and becoming the living, breathing, recognisable face of your business is essential to social media success, sharing every single morsel of your life is not. Not interested in sharenting? Me neither. Some things are off-limits for a good reason so it’s perfectly OK not to share pictures of your children or details of your most recent viral infection. Despite appearances, not everything is up for grabs ALL the time.

So decide…

Where is your comfort level? For me, occasionally showing pics of my darling daughters but not their faces is fine. Telling stories of my day-to-day if it’s relevant is also on the safe list.

*N.B. I’ll put a caveat here… whilst it’s important for your followers to get to know you, it’s got to be happening in a way that adds value to them and to your brand. Different audiences have different needs – some will like to know everything about you down to the toilet paper you use. Others are fine just to know you exist and you like some stuff and that’s about all. An interesting rabbit hole to dive down…

get real

The absolute best way to succeed on social media is to have a genuine desire to connect and serve your audience. Even raising the notion of sales before you’ve proven your value is counterproductive. Interacting with followers, building a genuine rapport with them and creating relationships gives you a warm audience who, when the time comes, is more open to the idea of working with you. I don’t know about you, but it certainly seems like a more comfortable option than turning up as someone they’ve never met and simply asking them for money.

So there are a few ideas on how to get OK with becoming your brand. It’s oh so valuable to be known and seen as one of the good guys. If you haven’t tried it yet, why don’t you come and have a practice in the Innovators and Content Creators group! We’re such a nice bunch and we don’t bite!! It takes a bit of practice, but the discomfort of ‘talking to the world’ becomes less and less as you go. What have you got to lose?!