Cultivating a Content-Creator Mentality Through Social Media

Part 2

Welcome back to our series on utilizing an authentic social media presence to cultivate a content-creator mentality. Last week, we provided an introduction to social selling and the psychology of how creating authentic relationships via social media can impact your business. Today, we’re going to talk about how to use these relationships, regardless of your company’s size.

If You’re a One-Man Band

If you’ve recently started your business or are doing just fine running things by yourself, there’s good news: flying solo might be an asset to your social media. Without conflicting personalities or ideas, it can be easier to establish a persona, set goals and intimately communicate with your audience. Sure, it’s going to be time consuming, but your followers will always know exactly what they’re getting when they view your content: you. To make sure your authentic self shines through, try focusing on these tips.

- Establish a compelling story: What’s your “why,” your reason for starting your business? Tell that story. Talk about the hurdles you overcame to get where you are, the vision you have for the future, and the challenges that you regularly face.

- Be honest: While you should strive for a baseline of positivity, recognize that in the world of social media, raw honesty can be a breath of fresh air. Showcase your struggles and how you overcome them and don’t be afraid to get real about your concerns.

- Show off your personality:  Your feed doesn’t need to be strictly business, all the time. Post a meme, tell a joke, highlight a community event, or share a photo of the day you accidentally wore two different shoes to the grocery store. That’s the REAL you, and it’s the one your followers will form a relationship with.

If You’re a Small Team

If you’re running a small business, you should be able to utilize most of the tips in the previous section, you’ll just need to make sure you include the company as a whole, instead of just you as an individual. That could mean having one person taking the lead and showcasing things through one primary perspective, or taking turns. Do what feels natural and meaningful to you, and don’t be afraid to shake up your strategy if it’s not working! Also, you can keep these additional tips in mind:

Map out a clear picture: Take the time to strategize your overall voice, aesthetic and story before launching your social media accounts.

Get everyone on the same page: You know what they say about too many cooks in the kitchen. If you’re going to have more than one person in charge of social media, make sure to establish clear goals, explicitly outline content guidelines and expectations, and commit to following them as a team.

Make Things Personal: If you’re selling a physical product online, it can be hard to establish the kind of physical intimacy that exists in brick-and-mortar stores, especially right now (hello, pandemic). However, there are tools that can help you bridge that gap and create a personalized, cozy experience. verbLIVE allows you to sell anything, from anywhere--it can be a catalyst for connection that far exceeds that of a typical e-commerce site. For customers who crave the sociality of perusing a store in person, it provides a relaxed opportunity to connect with other shoppers, chat with friends, and ask questions in real time.

Communicate as an individual: By responding to messages and comments in first person, you’ll come off as more personable and friendly--think “I” statements instead of “we.”

If You’re a Large Organization

It’s easy to think that big companies don’t have a place in this kind of person-to-person social selling atmosphere. And it’s easy to see why: most big companies have social media accounts that are sterile, 100% business focused and exist primarily as a way to highlight promotions or new products. However, there are some companies that have taken the kind of intimacy established by artisans and single person businesses and scaled it into full-fledged large organizations. Take, for example, Nike. Nike has built rapport and seen a lot of positive interaction by cultivating authentic stories about products, often using athletes and engaging personalities to convey them. The response has been an emotional connection that inspires purchases and long-time loyalty.

So, how do you do it? It’s easy: Take the principles we’ve outlined for small businesses and USE them. Don’t get so hung up on maintaining a consistent brand that you completely sterilize your content. Use individuals to foster personal connections and allow your followers to see behind the curtain. Put personalities on display instead of just products. And above all, make it easy to communicate with your company so you can form real relationships with your prospective customers.

Tying It All Together

Like we mentioned last week, social media can be a huge asset to everyone in the selling space, regardless of size--it levels the playing field, allowing everyone access to the same audiences and tools. It also allows everyone to become a content creator and express themselves in a way that can be hugely meaningful and have a significant effect on your sales. How you cultivate that mentality and establish personal connections with your audience is completely up to you, as long as you do it with passion and authenticity. We can’t wait to see how you take the social media world by storm!

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