There’s never been a time in history like right now. A person can pick up a device that fits in their hands, share something and have thousands of other people who are spread out all over the world consume that information. All which happens in literally a matter of minutes.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, banker, doctor, pastor, teacher or anything in between, there’s never been a time in history such as now where anyone can share their passions and provide legitimate value to others on such a mass scale.
Social media often gets a bad rap because many people are consumed by how many likes a post can achieve or by how many followers they can gain. If there’s no goal behind this, then it’s just digital self-indulgence.
But… when the goal of using social platforms is shifted from being focused on self-gain and how others perceive you to producing content your passionate about to better other people’s lives, it becomes an amazing thing.
Here are some basic steps you can take action on today to better other people’s lives with content that you care about:
1. Pick Something You’re Passionate About
There are a million and two different subject matters and topics in this world. In order to provide consistent, relevant value to a following you can only pick a few to be an authority on.
If you could do one thing for the rest of your life, what would that thing be?
If you had to make a video, post a picture or write an article everyday about something for the rest of your life, what would that subject matter be?
You can choose several topics, but your social platforms should have an overall theme. Otherwise, your content will not be very relevant to an audience and whatever it is you are passionate about will have a lesser chance of resonating with people.
A few of mine are: entrepreneurship, the digital marketing space, basketball, and my relationship with Jesus.
I’m still working on how to tie them all together for my social “theme” or brand, but the process is a blast! So I’m in no rush.
2. Choose What Platforms You Want To Use
In today’s digital world, there are lots of mediums in which you can share content. Understanding the way each of these work is important but that’s a whole different discussion for another time.
For now, let’s focus on how you think you’d like to communicate.
Ask yourself:
- Do you like being in front of a camera? – If so, Youtube is going to be your main focus.
- Do you enjoy writing? – Then I’d suggest starting a blog, and using Medium or Tumblr as supplemental platforms.
- Do you dislike video but still enjoy speaking? – Start a podcast!
- Do you like taking photos and creating unique visuals? – Instagram will be where the majority of your time is spent.
These are all questions that need to be asked so you can decide what platforms you want to dedicate your time to and what forms you want your content to be in.
Of course it’s good to utilize all platforms and promote content on each one, but when starting out, being hyper-focused is a must otherwise it’s easy to get overwhelmed and never get started.
Note* Everything you put out should be shared to Facebook, as it’s the largest social platform in the world.
3. Consume Relevant Content
Just because you’re passionate about something probably doesn’t mean you know everything about it.
In order to produce content that will mean something to people, you must constantly be informed on relevant information on the subject matter you want to provide people value with.
A great way to do this is to follow and emulate people you view as authority figures in your subject.
Keep in mind, just because you don’t know this person doesn’t mean you can’t learn from and be mentored by them.
Observe what kind of content they’re producing and how they’re doing it. Reuse what you want and put your own twist on it by including your story and using your personality when sharing.
4. Creating Content
After asking yourself the questions in point #2, you should have an idea of what form you want your content to be in.
Knowing through what medium you’d like to publish content to, write down a list of subject matters, concepts, experiences, stories, tips, facts and any other information you’d like to share that align with what you are passionate about.
Then start putting it out there and taking action! There’s no secret formula.
Don’t get overwhelmed here. You don’t need to spend hours upon hours creating amazing graphics that are attached to a book’s length worth of text.
Gary Vee (who’s a genius on the topic of social media and producing relevant content) always says document, don’t create.
What he means is just simply capture what you’re doing each day. If you are truly passionate about something you most likely live it out. So simply capture it though photo, video, audio or text and then share it in a way that you think would provide value to someone who comes across it!
5. Commit Now, Figure It Out Later
This simply means practice practice practice. You do not need to be an extreme authority to impact other people by sharing what you care about and what you are interested in!
It’s much better to start producing content right away and figure out what works and what doesn’t as you go along as opposed to trying to have everything figured out before you begin.
Don’t be crippled by what your friends will think of the content you put out, just go for it.
Learn as you go, this should be something that is fun.
Those who end up striking a chord and resonating with a large sum of people can often gain a platform that allows them to have greater influence on what they’re passionate about and even monetize the information they post.
6. Engage
As you consistently post, show you care about others by interacting, answering questions, and thanking people for consuming your content.
It’s super simple but many don’t do it.
Ending Statements
In order to be successful at providing value through social platforms you have to let go of caring about what other people may think. You also have to be willing to be vulnerable.
Don’t get discouraged by lack of views or engagement. Remember your goal should be to provide value first. Even if what you’re putting out there is only resonating with 10 people, that’s fantastic!
This is a fairly brief article on a super in depth and vast subject matter. So…
If you have a topic/subject you care about sharing with other people but feel you need help, reach out. I’d be happy to help as I’, in the early stages of this process as well!
Here you can create the content that will be used within the module.