Podcast: The "Why" of Social Media
In the first of a two-part series on social media, we discuss the “why” of social media: Why do we post on social media to begin with? And why do we post what we post? Do we have any systems? And do we have some sort of a rubric to help guide us? What’s at the heart of our social media presence? Next month, we’re going to talk with Kristine Farnum, our Exhale Contributing Artist & Instagram Manager, about the nuts and bolts of social media: tools to use, strategies to try, and more.
Resources we shared:
Elise Cripe had a rubric she shared in a podcast that she asks four questions before she posts: “Is it colorful? Interesting? Purposeful? Upbeat?”
Sonya’s hairdresser, Ruby Devine, has an interview in our artist interview series that demonstrates how to post to grow your audience into what you want it to be, not what it is right now.
We talked with Ashley Abramson back in Episode 16 on “Finding Your Message”.
Need help finding your message or purpose in social media? Sonya’s Writing with Purpose Workshop starts on October 5th and it gets rave reviews from past participants.
We used our beloved Melanie Dale as an example of someone who does social media authentically. She sells books in the same category as Emily P. Freeman and their voices and approaches to social could not be more different -- or more perfect for their own selves.
Our prompt for you:
Create a rubric for your social media posting. Ask yourself some of the questions that we did here: Who am I talking to? Who is my audience? If I had to nail it down to ONE or two women, who is she? What do I want them to feel? Why am I uniquely positioned to help them feel that way? What’s my motivation? What’s my expectation? Come up with a few guidelines for yourself to help determine whether posting that salad is a thing you need to do -- and if it belongs on your grid or in stories or on Facebook instead of Instagram. Why are you sharing on social media and why does it fit into those categories?
Then, mark your calendar to re-evaluate in a few weeks. Is it working? Does it “feel” more like you? Are people engaging more? Less? Are you? Take what you learn and tweak your guidelines. Post more or less often. Share behind the scenes stuff instead of just finished product. And keep re-evaluating as your message changes -- it will!
Our submission opportunity for you:
We want you to submit something to your own social media -- it’s also our Coffee + Crumbs free write hashtag for September: #cc100wordstories. Inspired by www.100wordstory.org,
it’s a great opportunity to use your shiny new social media rubric and practice telling a story with attention to brevity. We’d love to see the stories starting August 1st -- we’ll be sharing them on the Coffee + Crumbs Instagram account starting in September.
Our quote we shared with you:
“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It's about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.” - Brené Brown
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