Guest Post: Kathy Burrus
For only two days each June, Jessika Phillips, NOW Marketing’s founder and relationship marketing evangelist, gathers nationally known social media gurus to educate, inspire, enlighten, entertain, challenge… and so much more from Instagram to YouTube, blogs to videos to augmented reality (whoa!), from marketing to business planning.
Here are some of my takeaways from #SMWL18.
BE AUTHENTIC
Be You! Be who you really are. We struggle sometimes to build our personal brand because it's - well, personal. It allows people to know who we are day after day. Our fear is that others will think we are weird - different; that we are going to stand out for the wrong reason.
The thing is if we are not who we really are, then our audience can't really get to know us, like us, or trust us. If we can't be real, they won’t be real with us either. One human to another.
How can we stand out and be ourselves?
The speakers at #SMWL18 shared common themes and ideas. Yet each one shared out of their own experience, expertise, passion, style. They spoke of success and even their failure at times.
Now they can dress up and look good from the platform sure! Some did! Some didn't! But the thing about social media is that in the instant we see them on stage, even before they walk on the stage, we can visit all of their social platforms to see if what they are saying to us is what they say for real.
They modeled authenticity.
That was true of the people who sat at my table for the two days as well. Each of us were seeking how to improve our businesses and our social connections, sharing from real, inspiring but very challenging journeys.
Sometimes polished and perfect, sometimes it's messy and goofy. But the important thing is that we show up out of who we are with the message we are meant to share.
SHOW UP
Our message is only able to influence our world if we share it. If you are like me, I have a tendency to go silent on my blog or social media when I am uncertain or struggling personally in some way.
What if we live out loud even then?
What if we took the things that we are learning- our experiences, our beliefs, even our personal lives - and showed up every day just exactly like we are. Human to Human!
Out Loud! Every day! Or at least with some consistency so our community knows they can count on us.
PRESS THE DAMN BUTTON
Quit trying to make it perfect. Quit waiting to you have just the right words or just the right length or just the right stuff to say. We are human. Sound like real people and share with real people.
There is a place for that. But our best connection with community is made when we connect. Not while we are planning, preparing or practicing. Just press the button!
That BUTTON may be on
- a blog post we've written
- Or a video - recorded or Live
- Or a product we are working on
Do it! Get it out there! The speed of Implementation matters.
There is so much more I could share. My advice to you is to sign up now for #SMWL19. Here is the link.
It is not very often we get a conference of this caliber right in our hometown. (It’s worth a trip from out of town too!)
The conference is growing, but the beauty of its current size is you can sit down with some incredibly, creative speakers and ask the questions you have been dying to ask.
I'm already signed up! Hope to see you there!
Kathy Burrus is a blogger, author and certified life coach who helps women overcome the stuck places in their life so they can show up as their best version of themselves. Her business is Green Hope Coaching with Kathy Burrus.
Find her at:
Email: Kathy@kathyburrus.com
Website: kathyburrus.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/greenhopecoach/
Twitter: @greenhopecoach
just getting started with Instagram: seeinghope2
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