With the rise in popularity of Facebook Live, Instagram Stories, Snapchat, and now Instagram TV, one of the most common client questions I receive is, “how much should I be sharing on the internet?” Believe me, I understand it can be scary to put yourself out there for the entire world to see. So what’s the answer?
YOU. You are the only person who can choose how much you want to share with the world. You are the only one who knows your comfort level and how vulnerable you want to be with your personal life. Although it’s up to you to decide how much or how little to share with your audience, I do have a few tips to help you decide HOW to show up online.
Authenticity and Transparency
Before we get started, let’s differentiate between authenticity and transparency. To me, authenticity is how you show up. Transparency is how much you decide to reveal. You can be authentic and not transparent, and you can be transparent and not authentic. It’s important to acknowledge this difference and find your perfect balance between the two – it will greatly affect the impact your online presence makes on your audience.
Ok, now we’re ready for tips to help you decide how to show up online!
Tip #1
Go back to you. Ask yourself, “why and how am I being authentic?” Now, more than ever before, people can smell when someone is not being real. When someone is fake or only revealing one perfectly wrapped up version of themselves, others will pick it up. I cannot stress to you enough, please do not do that! Speak like you. Share like you. Be like you.
Your authenticity allows people to trust you, and in turn, connect with you and your brand.
Tip #2
Go back to your why. Who are you trying to reach and what is the point of reaching them? This is where transparency comes into play. You get to share what you think is most relevant to your audience. Personally, my audience cares about what I do with my day. So I choose to share special moments in my life, as well as my home life with my daughter. I also choose to not share things that I know my audience doesn’t care about, like what I ate for breakfast.
Social media and video are all about engagement. We want to avoid self-serving posts and videos where it’s all about “me” and instead, look at what we can do to serve our audiences. The more you can be of service, the quicker your brand will grow.
At the end of the day, only YOU can decide what to share and what to keep private. So pull back the curtain as much, or as little, as you want.
How are you showing up online right now? What are your personal choices and thoughts about sharing? I would love to hear from you in the comments below! When you are inspired, you inspire others, and that is what this world is all about!
Dream it. Live it. BE it!
P.S. Have you discovered your It Factor? Join us for our upcoming 2-day event.
