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Many people see social media as a chore, a burden, something they must juggle and struggle with.
And building a personal brand sounds like a lot of work.
The word "building" sounds laborious.
But, If you’re being yourself and enjoy what you do, nothing is laborious about it.
Personal branding isn’t separate from you.
It is personal.
It is you.
And being you is easy.
You do it every day.
A better way to reframe personal branding is Personal mission.
- A Personal mission is something larger than you. It’s your mission, but it’s not about you. It’s an act of service.
- When you have a mission and stand by it, people may not agree immediately, but given time, some will soon start to realise what you’re doing and support you.
You don't need to be a tech whizz when it comes to content production.
Look at my content—phone content with some text on the screen. There's nothing amazing about it, but I’m being myself. I'm posting content with information in the caption because I like to express myself, share my ideas, and hopefully help others see things a little bit differently.
For example, my mission is to promote the “basics.”
I want to help Barbers and hairdressers advance their careers by focusing on the fundamentals.
I don’t teach anything “creative” because it’s not necessary to me. And you can’t be creative without a solid understanding of the fundamentals.
That's just called guessing.
or "visual" cutting, as some call it.
Promoting yourself online becomes easy when:
1. You deeply believe in your mission
2. You are yourself.
Authenticity is what will separate you from everyone else. If you think, “There are so many people already doing what I’m doing,” remember, nobody is being you. Only you can be you, and that's your superpower.
Too many people online try to be like others, and It’s easy to see through the inauthenticity.
When you are unapologetically yourself, you will attract a crowd that likes you and what you want. Otherwise, you will feel like a fraud. When you act online and people meet you, and that’s not how you are in person, you lose a lot of respect.
Authenticity shines bright.
It’s magnetising.
We can’t help but respect people who are themselves. Because you know how many inauthentic people there are, so when you come across someone who’s being themselves, you naturally like them more.
Be that person.
As Skepta said: "Real recognise real."
I mentioned that your mission is an act of service.
This is why you should create content and promote it because you can help more people.
Imagine you create one piece of content today, and it helps one person. That one person passes it on to their colleague. That college shares it with their friend. The next thing you know, your one piece of content just helped 30+ people today alone.
Why would you not make content? Imagine how many people you can impact with 30 days of posting. Or 365 days.
The impact you can have is unfathomable.
Recap
First, thinking about sharing your Personal Mission instead of trying to build a personal brand will feel less laborious and more exciting.
This reframing will help you believe that you are doing more than “building a brand” but more about finding people you can serve. The caveat is that you have to want to help others rather than just trying to make money. Otherwise, making and sharing content will always feel like a burden.
Second, unapologetically be yourself. Authenticity is what is needed in a filtered world. Otherwise, if you keep acting like someone you’re not, you will always feel like a fraud; therefore, making and sharing content feels like a drag.
Third, share your work. Not because you want to grow an account but because you can impact someone's life.
If you resonated with any part of this, I would love it if you screenshot the section, share it to your story, and tag me on Instagram: @Nathshapes
I'd love to chat with you about it in more detail.
To your success,
Nath
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