Written by: Samantha Hearne, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Social media, the online space, content creation, online marketing; these are magical things that we get to enjoy about modern technology, however, there are some challenges that come up frequently with my clients and community that I want to talk through and dig deeper into during this article.
When the world is so much now online, from; shopping, TV, holiday research, marketing, the news, it can mean that you sometimes come up against contrasting information. This is prevalent in the online space and on social media, and I want us to hold some space for that together.
If you use social media and the online space for your business (which by the fact you are reading this article tells me, you have some connection to it at the least!) you will more often than not find yourself consuming opposing views on ANY topic to be quiet honest.
Charge your worth vs. don’t be seen to overcharge
Share client results as social proof and credibility vs. don’t share results as not everyone will achieve this
Post daily online vs. post whenever you fancy it
Hustle and work hard culture are toxic vs. starting and growing a business takes hard work
Focus on creating solutions for client’s pain points vs. stop using pain points to sell to people
And the list of examples could continue, but this gives you the general gist of how easily content can contrast from person to person, post to post, platform to platform – now how on earth are you meant to manage that as a business that uses the online space to grow?!
This can manifest in you doubting yourself, feeling triggered, even feeling victimised by what you are consuming and left wondering – is the online space for me? Should I be marketing, selling, showing up the way I am, how do I navigate all of this and still show up as myself and for my brand and business?
Ultimately, there is NO right answer to having an opinion and NO one right answer for every person, so throughout this article I aim to provide you with a range of ways you can manage the online space AND still show up for your brand and business without constantly doubting if it will go against what someone else has said or written.
When clients or members of my community come to me these are some of the conversations we have and also some of the advice I offer when they find themselves in these consumption situations.
1. Think about your consumption habits and patterns
If you are consuming content when you feel low or in a self-sabotaging space that just emphasises that for you – makes you feel less than, triggers you into doubting yourself, throws you down a rabbit hole of uncertainty, you must take responsibility for this habit and pattern.
Your negative confirmation bias is going out hunting for reasons and things that will reinforce why you are a terrible person or bad at business – so this habit HAS to stop!
2. When you are consuming
Are you consuming from others before you have created yourself? If your first action to see what everyone else is doing, saying or sharing before you then share what you want to? As this will no doubt influence you and impact what you do next. Essentially making you a reactive creator rather than a conscious creator. You sharing your content from a place of knowing, excitement, originality should not be influenced by what others are sharing – there is space for you all!
3. Your business has to align with you, not everyone else.
What I mean by this one is – you working Sunday to Wednesday may suit your lifestyle, commitments, energy cycles and so on, so if you then find that when you go online on Sunday all you see is ‘rest is key, Sundays are for time off, quality family time happens at weekends, anti-hustle mode’ how do you think that will make you feel? UNLESS you are steadfast in your business values and aligned with why you are working and showing up the way you do.
Pricing as another example; if your pricing has been put together based on your experience, results, expertise, time, values and client understanding – that matters most. Your pricing will ALWAYS be too cheap to some and way too expensive to others. It is not your job to decipher other people’s money mindsets, money values, and money focusses. As long as you are pricing in a way of integrity and honesty with your community and self, that is key.
How you marketing your business is another great example here; if you share and celebrate your client wins that doesn’t make them false or that you are showboating results to those yet to work with you IF; you share a variety of wins but a variety of clients and not just 1 or 2 A* clients on loop, if you provide context and the journey behind the result and not just the end highlight reel and so on. Everything in the online space benefits from context and the story behind the snapshot – so as long as you are marketing in a way that provides context, the journey, tells the bigger picture story, you are allowing your community and potential clients to see beyond just a snapshot or highlight.
4. Posting and showing up online
If you show up every day that doesn’t make you obsessed with social media and equally if you show up 3 times a week it doesn’t make you lazy with your online marketing.
The essence to social media and online marketing is STRATEGY – if you have a strategy that works for you, your business, your client attraction and your brand, then do that!
It honestly doesn’t matter who else is posting or showing up when.
HOWEVER, if your strategy isn’t working then it might be time to take a look at what you could change or refine to enhance your online strategy, but at NO POINT is that about when or how often someone else is posting and showing up.
Another point to raise here is that social media is an illusion of time! A story of 15, yes FIFETEEN seconds lasts for 24 hours! So, you could show up for 1 minute (4 stories on Instagram) and have an impact on your audience for ONE WHOLE DAY, but does that mean you have ‘sat online for 24 hours solid’? of course not! So be mindful about your online marketing strategy, the results you are creating VS what someone else is saying you should or should not be doing and when.
When all you hear is contrasting content online – what do you do?!
I hope this snippet of time has given you some reprieve from this question and also provided an insight into how you can move forward with perspective and a plan for what will work for you and your online footprint moving forward.
If this is something you want to dig into further, follow me on Instagram as I have 3 free live trainings available for you to watch that will help take this all one step further for you.
Samantha Hearne, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Samantha is a best-selling self-published author, qualified coach, and mentor who works with female entrepreneurs to build a business of sustainability, wealth & ease. Samantha runs 2 mastermind programmes, 1:1 mentoring programmes, and a self-study business success school. Samantha supports her clients with; organic marketing, building a brand and engaged community, creating consistent sales (usually without launching), increasing profit within their business over time, creating balance, ease & fun, as well as a huge focus on mindset and performance habits for success.
As an ex-teacher, Samantha prides herself on differentiation, simple teaching strategies, and encouraging her clients to reach their fullest potential.
