First of all, hi. If this is your first time reading something I’ve written.. Awkward. I really called a bitch out there, huh? Anyway, now that I’ve potentially offended you – let’s move on.
When I tell you to stop being fake, it’s not that I think you’re the “mean girl” from high school who pretends to be your friend just to talk shit about you behind your back. I’m talking about your social media presence. Wait, what? Good god, I called you out twice in less than 2 paragraphs.
How are you showing up on IG, FB, Twitter, TikTok?! Are you a super bubbly, wholesome, herbal tea-drinking and totally into farmhouse decor personality online but a coffee: black like my soul, “fuck” saying, minimalist at home? Well, there’s the issue.
Let me tell you a little story: a few years ago (like 5), I was hell bent on not cussing, sharing my *slightly* dark sense of humor or being vulnerable on social media. You know why? Because I thought my audience/clients/family wouldn’t be able to handle it if I was 100% me. I thought, not only would they hate the REAL me, they wouldn’t want to buy whatever I was selling. Hey, hi, hello. Fast-forward to 2021, you’re reading my blog where I called you a fake bitch in the first 5 words. Obviously something has changed since then! I got over myself. Yep, that’s it. Can we just talk about the difference in these two photos? We go from trying wwaaayyy too hard to fit into some stupid mold to giving much fewer fucks.
Social media, if used for business is a way for you to connect with your potential ideal clients. This is how they get to know, like and trust you enough to buy your product, book your service and in my case, whip a titty out at me (boudoir photography). If you’re super wholesome, bubbly and totally into farmhouse decor in real life, go ahead and show that online! BUT, if you aren’t, stop playing pretend to fit into some bs mold you think you need to fit into.
Your clients/customers, when they interact with you will (hopefully) get to see the real you! I used to have clients tell me that I seemed super buttoned up online and they were worried we wouldn’t vibe in real life – which is totally a valid point! I am SO glad they took that chance on reaching out a hiring me, but can you imagine how many people didn’t take that extra leap of faith to even reach out to me?! Fuuccckkk. The amount of business I missed out on. I don’t even want to think about it… I do want YOU to think about it though. How many potential clients are you turning off because you’re being a fake bitch?
Okay, so how are we going to fix this? On IG, start posting to stories more. Stop taking yourself so seriously. Your customer/client base doesn’t give a fuck that you aren’t prim and polished 24/7. Trust me, they will appreciate you more if you aren’t dressing up just to hop on stories that are only active for 24 hours! Be real, like really real! Find a way to connect with your people. Has it been 4 days since you’ve washed your hair and you’re living off of dry shampoo, caffeine and dreams? Awesome, say that. Do you have cute dogs or tiny humans running around being psychopaths? Cool, post that. Want to post sneak peeks of photos you’ve taken or teaser photos of products that are launching soon? POST. THEM. Haven’t found a new denist you love? ASK. FOR. RECOMMENDATIONS. See?! It’s so so so so easy to create stories that aren’t 1. fake and 2. allow your audience to engage with you, get to know you and ultimately hire you/purchase your products.
Also, let’s have a conversation. Your captions do not need to be inspirational quotes or song lyrics. I repeat! Your captions do not need to be inspirational quotes or song lyrics. Plz. Stop that shit! Do it every once in a while, every post is doing the absolute most. Not here for it! On that note, your caption does not have to relate to the photo you post. Obviously don’t post a picture of ice cream or you celebrating with friends when you’re talking about taking the week off because of your grandma dying and traveling home to be with family – common sense. If your audience best responds to super long winded, inspirational captions totally keep that up! If they like an interactive caption like “which do you like better 1 or 2” keep implementing that, if they like you being snarky and saying that captions are difficult and you don’t give a fuck about them, keep that style up!
If your audience doesn’t like who you are on social media, there’s a very good possibility they won’t be your people/tribe/ideal customer or client. If you don’t vibe, don’t work together. Soooo, stop being a fake bitch. K? Thx.
I truly value your work, Great post.
You have noted very interesting points! ps nice website.