A couple people have asked me recently about my content strategy on social media, so here I am fam.
(Why they ask me, I’m not sure — I’m definitely not the most popular person on Twitter/IG/FB. BUT I am fairly noisy. Maybe that’s it. Anyway!)
Here’s the deal: My strategy is… not really a strategy at all.
Instead, everything I post and write follows three rules:
1) I keep it truthy
I strive to keep everything I write as honest as possible.
Of course, this means I write like, one blog post a month — y’all know “no filler articles” is basically my religion. But every time I write something, it’s earnest, and it’s something I’ve been turning over my head for weeks at least.
That keeps me from sweating the “Is this original!?” question too much. Because even if it’s something you’ve heard before, I know I’m at least coming at it from my own perspective.
Also: people can smell a phony. So like… avoid being that.
2) If it makes me laugh or feels good to me, chances are it’ll do the same for you.
The best advice for being funny I ever heard was “I try to make myself laugh.” It felt counter-intuitive to me, like it was too self-absorbed to be an actual approach to light-heartedness.
Turns out… I was wrong. SO WRONG! Now if something makes me cackle, or makes a bad day better for me, I share it with you guys. I am unafraid of silliness, as should everyone be IMO.
3) I take note. Of pretty much everything.
Seriously that’s more or less all creativity is: paying close attention to things you react to. Everything that makes you laugh, cry, pull away in disgust, lean closer, dance, roll your eyes, freeze, etc. is inspiration.
That ad on the subway, that song you loved when you were 14, that weird commercial from the 90’s, that movie trailer, that line from that book that rattles around in your head. Dig in: WHY DOES IT MATTER TO YOU? Can you apply that idea anywhere?
Your inspiration is all around you. Use it.
Oh, and BONUS RULE: I try not to be a dick.
Granted, that doesn’t always work, but it’s always a good strategy to err on the side of kindness, warmth, and understanding. I do my best, as I’m sure you do.
… Annnd that’s it, people.
And if you’re wondering: “What about being a personal brand? Isn’t everything you create supposed to be FOR your readers?”
Yep. But that’s the beautiful thing about being a personal brand, too: Your personality and point of view is the backbone of what draws people to you. Or at least it’s supposed to be.
So have your honest opinions. Share what excites you. Take note of anything and everything. I think you’ll be surprised to see what unfolds.
Photo of the author by (who else?!) Jeff Weller
