Being a trainer for Digital Media Marketing, I come across different people at different stages of adoption curve in terms of Digital Media. They may be really doing very well in their career and some of them may be at the peak of their careers too. But when it comes to Social Media, they have inactive accounts. Their LinkedIn profiles lay untouched. Their Facebook and Twitter accounts are just empty timelines. Instagram? Snap Chat? Pinterest? What are they? Oh Gosh! Why are there so many social media platforms? They get overwhelmed and anxious about using all these different platforms. So how to overcome this?
First of all, identify what is the issue? Is it a phobia? Is it your introverted nature? Is it because you are feeling shy or is it the anxiety that your posts may not be well received? Or it could just be that you don’t like the idea of Social Media. Each of these issues is different and hence there is no one common solution for all of them. Each has to be dealt with separately.
List down about the feelings you have while posting on social media. This will give you the answer to the question – Why don’t I post on social media? Now that you have the answer let us look at ways of dealing with your specific issue.
I have a phobia which stops me from posting anything. If this is your major problem then here are some tips:
- Don’t expand your contact list on social media in a haste. Send friend requests to people whom you know personally – your family, subordinates, colleagues, team members, close friends etc.
- On Twitter, Instagram etc follow people you admire or aspire to be like or have interest in. Maybe guru’s or mentor from your industry or famous personalities and start following what they share.
- Start by sharing things posted by these selected people you follow and that moved you. It could be an inspiring thought or a motivating article or a humorous post that brought a chuckle.
- The mantra for you is to read, analyse and acquire knowledge/ content/ information before you actually post. Don’t rush. Take your time. When you start getting a good feedback on the content you share, you will automatically come out of your shell.
I am too shy to post. What if they don’t appreciate my posts?
- Even for these set of people, I would advise the above four steps initially.
- In addition, what you need to do is, to come out of the shell deliberately by setting social media activity based goals and accomplish them.
- Tell to yourself that you will post at least one update per week of your own. It can be a memory, a joke, an accomplishment, a concern, a cause or an incident. Anything you like. This will slowly get you out of your shyness.
I don’t like posting on social media. My life is private.
- Your life is private and there is really no need for you to embrace social media and make it your daily dose. Period.
- But, if you are for some reason in the digital media marketing career and your job demands you to be socially active (There are always reasons where you get stuck in the wrong career) or you are in a business which needs you to be especially active (you don’t have a choice. your company believes in getting brand recognition through digital media you being a brand manager or a team member you ought to be socially active) or you work for an NGO and you need to be socially active to promote the activities of your NGO to gain more trust and visibility economically etc., the list is endless. Then, you will have to be active as there is no other option. In such a scenario shalk out a strategy that will focus on sharing what is important.
- Talk more about the business or products or services rather than yourself. Talk about the events, the causes, the processes, the people or the issues in the industry.
- Share relevant information related to your industry.
- Get someone from your team to talk (video), write(blog) or go Live(the cause/event) and share this.
These are some of the most common reasons people shy away from social media and I have tried to enlist ways in which they can overcome it. If you have comments or feedback about the article please mention them below in the comments section. Also, feel free to disagree with my views or have something to add to what I have mentioned. I would love to know your thoughts about it. Lastly, break the chain, get active and get social.
– Article by Padmaja Duvvuri