5 Ways to Set Yourself Apart on Social Media
Social media seems to be everywhere these days. It’s a flood of information where everyone seems to have an opinion on something.
So how do you stand out in this sea of endless information? What follows are five things you can do to help set yourself apart from the competition.
Create Your Own Brand
Everything we post online these days is a reflection of us. A reflection of who we are as people. Social media is all many people around the world will see of us, so it’s important to recognize this fact and make sure your social media outlets reflect you in the light that you want to be seen. The pictures you post give an indication of what you like to do with your time and the articles you share give a glimpse into your ideals.
The best advice I’ve ever received was to treat yourself as a $10 million brand. It doesn’t matter if you’re using social media to spread your ideas, connect with people, find a job, enhance your business, etc.; you’re selling yourself. Make sure you treat it as such. If you use your outlets to connect with the leaders you’d like to engage with and like pages from the topics you’re interested in, social media can be a powerful tool used to market yourself far beyond what you probably think possible.
Creative Content
We live in a world where we’re constantly bombarded with thousands of bits of information daily. We have no choice but to tune most of that information out. So how can you make sure the content you post actually gets read?
The best content is easy-to-read, user-friendly, and visually appealing. Sharing content that you strongly agree with is great, but creating your own content is even better. If you can create infographics or other visual devices to further your point while keeping your readers engaged, then you’re setting yourself apart in a way that most of the Internet cannot.
Nothing is more frustrating than pages that take a PhD in computer engineering to navigate or being flooded with irrelevant streams of information. Make sure the content you create drives home your point in a manner that is as concise as possible.
Amount of Content
There is a fine line between keeping your readers engaged and driving them up a wall, so how do you walk that line? I have friends that are at both extremes. When some of them post things, it’s so rare that it literally just reminded me that they’re alive. That’s not good because now I’m focused on what rock they crawled out from under and not the content they posted.
On the other end of the spectrum I have friends where you could literally trace their steps throughout the day because they feel the need to keep everyone updated about it. You don’t want to be these people either. I shouldn’t scroll past your name and already be annoyed without even bothering to read what you posted. If you completely saturate the market, this will inevitably happen. If you have excess content to share, you can always change your settings to have them be posted at specific times. You want to stay at top of mind awareness, but not to the point where you start to annoy people.
Clean Your Outlets
This one seems obvious, but all to many people are oblivious to it. Again, your social media outlets are a reflection of you. You may be an incredible person, but if your one Facebook profile picture in the last two years is you doing a keg stand at a frat party, you may have a problem on your hands. What are the rest of us supposed to think when we see that? What would potential employers think?
Look, we all like to have fun, but maybe those pictures from your best friends bachelor party should be kept private. You may want to revisit them at some point, but do you really think your grandparents, aunt, uncles, and 2000 other followers really need to share in the experience?
Think about it. When do you ever go on a companies website and see pictures from their Christmas party after the president has consumed a tad too much eggnog? Never.
Be Engaging
The best part about social media is that it’s a two-way street. Make sure you utilize that.
Engage with people, debate, gather ideas, and take suggestions. This is such a powerful tool that often times is underutilized. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, be original, and show people who you are. Also, when you engage with people, you’re making the experience more personal for them, which is always better.
Have you been slaving away thinking about how to make your blog or other media outlets better? Well guess what? You can ask people! And its’ free! If you take the time to ask and listen, you will gain invaluable answers to your questions.
You Might Be Interested In
