How much of YOU should YOU share online?
How much of YOU should YOU share online?
This is a question that we all ask at some time. Especially for those of us who decide to run a service-based online business.
So HOW do we know how much is the right amount of you to share online?
If you would rather listen than read then push play below to hear: how much of you should you share online
Are you the face of your business?
If you are a coach then almost 100% you are the face of your business. Unless you employ a heap of other people to coach for you then most of the time you are your business.
With that comes the question when promoting your business:
How much of me do I need to share ONLINE?
Now the easy answer is: as much as you feel comfortable with.
Great I hear you say, I will share nothing!!
I won’t share anything about me and I will just promote the business. Here is ABC Health and Wellness coaching that provides XYZ.
Unfortunately, most people won’t find that interesting enough to look further into, let alone remember who you are when they may need your XYZ services.
The hard answer which MOST people don't want to hear is this:
People buy from people they know.
When they get to know you, they first decide whether or not they like you.
Second, do they want to get to know you better?
Thirdly they begin to develop trust and respect and from there possibly enter into a business relationship with you.
And that’s what the health and wellness coaching business is about, relationships.
So the answer is as much as you comfortably can to develop a relationship with the people who count.
Back in the day, BOP (Before ONLINE Presence) was a thing, promoting your business was a bit different. It was talking to people in person one on one, leaflet dropping, sticking a note up at the local shops (you can still do that now by the way).
Many of my clients felt that this felt way more comfortable. You spoke to people at a networking session if you wanted to, you could drop a leaflet in a letterbox. For some reason, this feels safer. You could more easily pick the people you wanted to share, with more control.
The internet has changed our worlds, social media is huge. Billions of people worldwide log onto their home computers everyday. It feels like you are exposed to the entire world.
When people ask that question about how much should I share about myself online. The majority are thinking how much should I share on social media?
We have all seen those people on social media who share every last detail about their lives. And you know what that may be great for them, but not everyone is like that.
Not everyone is comfortable sharing their latest personal drama or all of their meals.
Many health and wellness coaches and other people for that matter don't really like being on social media all that much.
They can feel like they are being exposed. They compare themselves to others. They see others doing things that they would never feel comfortable with and think they have to do the same.
Then that wonderful Impostor shows up and says things like:
I don’t know what to say?
what if people aren’t interested?
what will people think?
I don’t want to spend all my time on social media!
Finding that happy medium between too much and not showing up at all, is a very personal journey.
And that is ok, because EVERYONE is unique, so the amount of sharing that you do for your online presence is also unique.
If you are thinking of taking your business online and know you are the face of your business
Here are three things to consider to help you decide how much of YOU should you share online?
#1 Share as much as you feel comfortable with
Note here you are the face of your business, so people will want to hear from you
Your opinions on what you do and why DO matter.
Your ideal clients will want to know why they should choose your service over someone else’s.
So make your sharing about them. About what your services can help them with. People love people who care about them if you can show this when you show up online then it’s less about you, more about them.
Remember when you share: MORE IS LESS
#2 It's not all about your socials
Your ONLINE presence is definitely about where you show up online. However, that’s not just your Social Media platforms.
There is more to you than Facebook and Instagram.
Your online presence can also be your website and your email list. ( if you have them) Don’t panic though if you don’t have them set up yet, these are something you can work towards.
Why is this important to consider?
It’s because these are two places are where you own your space. Social media platforms are owned by someone else, so you are basically renting space for your business.
Think about your social media platforms as renting the building for your business. When you can, you may like to buy the building and create an email list and /or a website.
An email list is where you have attracted people who really are interested in what you have to say. They are either people you have already worked with or they have signed up to read your news or a free opt-in you may have offered. By sending regular emails you can nurture these folks and get to know them and vice versa.
It's a closer relationship than the one you have with your followers on social media. In an email, you may feel more comfortable sharing more of yourself online.
Your website’s About section is another place to share about yourself.
Again you choose how much you want to share. Again make it about your audience.
Think back to the “Less is More” statement. Make your website About Section more about them and how you can help them with their problems. When you think about your audience in this way it makes it easier to share what is necessary. Makes it less about you and more comfortable for you to show up online
#3 Having a good plan for what to share.
A good content strategy helps you work out how much of YOU, you really want to share.
The best thing is you GET to choose.
The process of creating your own content strategy really helps to bring clarity to your online presence and how much of yourself to share online.
As you go through the steps of creating your online strategy you learn
what you want to say
who you want to say it to
how you want to say it
how often do you want to show up
how much of you, you want to share
Your content strategy will help you determine, how much of YOU is actually appropriate to share with your audience.
For example, if you are helping people with a similar problem that you have experienced then you can share the problems and issues you have gone through. You don't have to share anything that’s unrelated unless you want to.
Again think about who you are speaking to and ask yourself:
Will this be beneficial for my audience?
How will it help them?
Does sharing something from my experience give value to them?
Once you know and understand what you want to say and who you want to say it to, then you will naturally find your sharing sweet spot!
Getting comfortable with how much of YOU to share online is a journey. It’s not set in stone, it will grow as you grow which is exactly what you want.
You wouldn't expect your clients to be doing the same wellness program in 12 months so why should your comfort levels of sharing you from your content strategy be any different?
To help you figure out how much of you to share online, I created a simple 7 step guide to creating your own online content strategy.
Yes, It does guide you through the process of creating your own online content strategy,
But it does more than that. The things you learn about yourself along the way takes you further. The process transforms the way you think about yourself and helps you decide how much of you to share and become more comfortable doing so.
It gives you the confidence to be yourself. To share what you want, not because you see someone else doing it but because it feels right for you to do so.
You ALREADY know your stuff, you will feel more confident with a plan that will guide you through how to show up online.
Your content plan will raise your comfort level and you end up sharing exactly the right amount of you for your business growth.
Working out how much of you to share online is a very individual experience.
Start with these three steps you will soon know how much is enough.
Think “More is Less”: more of your audience and less of you
Your online presence is not just your social media platforms
Use a good content strategy to build your confidence and find your sharing sweet spot..
If you would like to start feeling comfortable showing up and knowing how much of you to share online simply
Download the 7 steps to creating an online content strategy here
or you can bypass that and
Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash
