It’s no surprise that maintaining a social media presence in today’s digital landscape is an important part of brand awareness. Not only does social engagement help you stay connected with your audience, but it’s a great way to showcase new products and services.
However, building a brand and promoting it through social channels can be an intimidating process, especially for introverted personalities. But becoming a successful marketer need not be a daunting task, even if you are the quiet type.
Here are five social media tips you can follow while minimizing anxiety and avoiding burnout.
Brand Yourself
Most introverts struggle to speak first, and this can cause problems when trying to express your advice and opinions online. However, personal branding can help introverted individuals feel more comfortable in their abilities and confident in their communication.
By creating a personal brand, individuals are able to express who they are “professionally” while building trust with listeners. This trust helps to breed more confidence in the individual and helps marketers build their brand without compromising their integrity or core values. Branding your voice can be a great way to give you the confidence you need to express yourself to like-minded people while overcoming shyness and social anxiety.
Highlight the Accomplishments of Others
For some individuals, branding themselves, or having the confidence to do so, can take some time. Still, this doesn’t mean that introverted personalities need to abandon their social marketing activities. If expressing your personal or professional thoughts and ideas doesn’t sound like it’s of interest to you, why not express the ideas of other individuals whom you respect?
Showing interest in other individuals, brands, and organizations that you admire helps to open up opportunities to connect and build a network. Networking with other professionals not only adds credibility to your own brand, but it’s also a great way to force yourself out of your shell.
Create a Posting Schedule
Regardless of whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, maintaining consistency when managing your social presence is vital. But it can be challenging to know when you should engage with your audience, and even more so what type of content you should deliver. A good way to get past this marketing slump is to remember the 5:3:2 rule.
The 5:3:2 rule helps to provide marketers with a template to follow when sharing content and engaging with their viewers. For every 10 social media posts:
- Five posts should be curated to your audience from other relevant sources.
- Three posts should be custom-generated content made specifically for your audience.
- Two posts should be fun and lighthearted, designed to humanize your brand.
By creating a regular posting schedule and sticking to the 5:3:2 rule, you’ll maintain consistency with your social media while staying relevant to your audience.
Choose Your Interactions Wisely
A major concern that introverts have when marketing themselves online is the feeling that they’re leaving themselves open to unsolicited feedback and criticism. Social media can be a great tool to build a reputation, but what if your content is challenged by other readers or customers reach out to express their dissatisfaction in your products and services?
Choosing your interactions wisely is a concrete way to maximize the effectiveness of your social media campaigns without exposing your brand to public complaints or criticism. However, choosing your interactions wisely doesn’t mean you should ignore difficult conversations.
Introverts may at times be tempted to shut down and ignore disgruntled customers when they express their displeasure with a specific situation. This can be damaging to both the customer relationship and the brand’s reputation. Instead, finding quick solutions for unhappy customers or moving conversations to private messaging boards as soon as possible will help to nip issues in the bud while preserving the integrity of your brand.
Give Yourself a Break
While stepping outside of your comfort level can be healthy for your professional growth, it’s also important to disengage from time to time. Taking the time to travel and get away from the computer can help you reset and be a more effective marketer down the road. And although some individuals may suffer from differing levels of travel anxiety, there are steps that everyone can take to address these symptoms successfully, giving them the ability to truly enjoy their introverted lifestyle.
The great thing about social media is that it affords marketers the ability to connect with their audience whether in the office or on the road. But it’s important to recognize the stressors that can lead to being overworked and give yourself the time you need to disconnect. Social networking can be more than a full-time job for many. But by being realistic about your expectations will help you to stay balanced when marketing your brand.
Introverted people shouldn’t feel intimidated when it comes to sharing their thoughts and ideas on social media. By following these marketing tips, you can build a credible brand online while establishing a growing network of like-minded business professionals.