The Intern’s Social Media Advice: Don’t wait for perfection to begin

When businesses start using social media to promote their concept, there’s a solid chance that they’ll experience some initial anxiety. Social media influencers and marketing gurus all give the same advice; “Be authentic.” It sounds obvious, but you might be surprised by how many struggle to share the raw, genuine content that speaks to followers. For most, it boils down to fear.

Authenticity goes hand-in-hand with fear. You’re making yourself vulnerable to every hater and troll on the internet and that would scare the crap out of any sane person. But here’s the deal, people are programmed to notice (and reject) messages that feel insincere.

Below are our tips for empowering your business to be more authentic online.

Don’t wait for perfection to begin. Ahhhh! I know. I said it. You’ve been tinkering with your work for weeks, trying to get it just right. Push it live today. We’ve been blogging for a long time with a handful of content creators and if you look back at our work from the beginning, it’s totally different than what you’re reading today. It didn’t matter. We’ve grown and improved. We will continue to grow and improve. That’s authenticity: showing an honest view of where you are at that very moment. Take pride in your “not quite there” ideas.

Experiment. Beginners may start creating content with a similar feel to some favorite influencers’ posts. That’s a great place to start, but that cannot be your go-to strategy.  If you have a strong brand identity, it already stands for a set of values or social goals that you address through your offering. The hard part is overcoming the fear of being different or failure. It may be easier to take low-risk options, but then you’re not doing your brand any favors. Try something new! The worst-case scenario is that it doesn’t work.

Share your journey. Peeling back the curtain on different aspects of your brand can be exciting for your target markets. When you document your process, your followers feel as if they’re along for the ride. This is a trust-building strategy and it allows you to look back and appreciate the progress you’ve made along the way.

 Worry less about how your content will be received. Here are a few studies that outline how minimal changes in excitement and positive expectation impact your decision making, perspective, and creative problem-solving. Our brains are designed to work as efficiently as possible. So, when you decide that a piece of content will flop, your brain won’t waste the energy helping you develop content that’s already “doomed to fail.” Choosing to make yourself be hopeful lets your brain know it’s possible and allows it to prepare for the task.

Find your voice. A common misunderstanding about writing social content is that an authentic voice is synonymous with a conversational tone. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Luxury car and skateboard brands won’t have the same voice. Once you figure out how you want your audience to feel when they read your content, you can craft the necessary voice to fit those needs.

At the end of the day, there’s no “secret formula” for creating authentic content. It boils down to writing what’s happening, what you believe, and who you are. Don’t think just write. You can go back and edit later.