Are you trying to increase views, engagement, and follower count because you think it’ll solve all your problems – bring in more customers and, thus, more revenue?
Social media is a great tool to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses, but the way you approach it is everything.
If you’ve been in the online space long enough, you’ve probably felt jaded a time or two. Jaded by the trendy TikTok dances. The cold sales pitches. The lack of proper business etiquette. The lack of originality and the endless sea of the same sort of content.
Where is the originality, I think to myself. Where is the uniqueness, the new ideas, the innovation? Where are the real, authentic human connections? Do people only see me as a potential dollar sign? Because that’s how it can feel.
People want to know how to grow their businesses, and they’re looking for all the strategies they can find. The best Instagram strategy. The best TikTok strategy. The best email marketing strategy.
What kind of content is hot right now? How can I hack the Instagram algorithm? What trends should I follow? When is the best time to post on TikTok? When do I get the most engagement on Instagram? How do I grow my email list and get more, more, more people to see my content? How can I get [x amount of] followers on Instagram? How do I grow my follower count so I can increase my customer base and make more money?
Listen… Wanting to grow your business and make more money isn’t a bad thing. Money is a tool that provides us with a plethora of opportunities. But the problem here is we’ve begun to prioritize the money, the growth, and the numbers over the quality of the content, the original ideas, and the real human connections.
We’ve become so swept up in the strategies and the hacks that we’ve become blinded to what we’re actually doing – going through the motions, creating the same sort of content as everyone else, viewing potential customers as walking dollar signs vs actual human beings.
It’s time for a change.
The best thing you can do to increase business growth is adjust your approach. It’s time to shift the way we view our customers, shift the way we create content, and shift the way we show up online.
Being authentic is going to help you stand out on social media because although there may be other people who do what you do, there will never be another you.
People can smell fake from a mile away, and if you’re being fake then people are going to feel that – and they’re likely going to run from it. They’re going to lose trust in you, and they probably won’t purchase from you either because they can tell you’re not being true to who you are.
If you’re a gritty, in-your-face, intense person, OWN IT.
If you’re a sweet, demure, quiet person, OWN IT.
If you’re somewhere in the middle, OWN IT.
People are drawn to authenticity. Whatever type of person you are, whatever qualities or traits you possess, there’s a tribe out there for you. Your people will find you and they will love every bit of content, products, or offers you release if you’re fully owning who you are.
Don’t hop on every single trend because not every trend will align with who you are, your brand, and your mission.
The best advice I can give here is:
Hopping on every trend for the sake of going viral, increasing your audience, and hopefully boosting your revenue will only create more confusion for your audience. They’ll likely lose sight of who you are and what your brand stands for.
If it doesn’t align with you, your brand, and your mission, then don’t do it. Simple as that.
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One of my biggest qualms with the online business space right now is… Everyone’s content looks, feels, and sounds the same.
We’re trying to fit into molds or follow viral trends because it seems to be working for other people, but all that’s doing is diluting your work and forcing you into a box.
I see Instagram accounts that look nearly identical, I see brands that look extremely alike, I see content that looks eerily similar.
What are we doing here?! Why are we doing this? We’re becoming carbon copies of one another in an effort to “grow” or gain more followers or make more money, but that’s not going to help you stand out online. And it’s not going to help you build trust with an audience if they see you mimicking everyone else.
We’re not thinking outside the box enough. We’re not exploring our artistry, leveraging our unique creative voice, and creating original content.
So how can you be more original in your content?
Exploring your creativity and honing in on your signature sound is going to do wonders for your business.
People crave originality. They want new ideas and fresh perspectives. One of the most innovative brands that comes to mind is Apple and their Think Different campaign. Not only were Apple products ahead of the curve in many ways, but the way they marketed their products was so different and unique that it sparked genuine curiosity in their customers, and it inspired many of them to buy into Apple’s mission.
It’s not only about having a great product – it’s about how you present it to the world. Apple presented computers to the world in a fun, original, and different way. And it resonated with millions of people.
Be willing to dig deeper and explore your creativity. Be willing to think outside the box and show your originality to the world.
Whew, this one’s a doozy, and it’s something I’m sad I even feel the need to address.
So many people hop on the internet hoping to start their own business because they know how much freedom comes with it. And I don’t think it’s a bad thing to want to go into business for yourself. If that’s your dream, then go for it!
But something I’ve noticed is… A lot of people don’t practice basic human decency or understand proper etiquette when it comes to running a business online.
They’ll come at you with cold pitches without even saying hello first. They’ll expect something from you without establishing any rapport or building a relationship beforehand.
One thing potential customers are craving more than anything is genuine connections. They want to be heard. They want to feel like they’re actually talking to another human on the other side of the screen. They want to be seen as more than just a walking dollar sign.
We need to adjust our approach to communicating with and selling to our potential customers. They’re people after all. Real, tangible people. People with hearts and minds, dreams and desires. So we should treat them as such.
How can you prioritize true human connection in your business?
Often what happens is we’re only interacting with a screen. Sure, the messages and comments are being sent to and viewed by people on the other end, but when we send the message or leave a comment, the only thing in front of us is a screen. Even if we can see someone’s profile photo, we don’t actually see the person on the other side and, thus, they become less real and tangible in our minds. They become less than human.
We need to adjust our approach – not only with how we’re communicating with our potential customers, but also how we’re viewing them.
If we view them as less than human, they become less than human in our minds. But if we view them as real human beings with hearts and minds and desires, we’ll begin to understand that we are, in fact, talking to real people on the other side of our screens.
Adjust your approach. Speak to your potential customers as if you were speaking to them in person at a coffee shop. View them as real human beings because that’s what they are!
At the end of the day, we need to adjust our approach. We need to fuse our creativity and uniqueness into our marketing. We need to think outside the box. We need to be genuine and sincere in our sales processes and how we communicate with customers.
Ultimately, it’s time for us to think differently about how we run our businesses online.
Jordan graduated from Campbell University with a Bachelor's in Business Administration in 2021. She is the Creative Director at The Awakening, where she is responsible for all photography, video editing, graphic design, copy editing, and creative campaigns. She is a creative to the core and, in her spare time, loves to write poetry, spend time with loved ones, and listen to music from the 60's and 70's.
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