What does it mean to be authentic on social media?

"Be authentic" seems to be a phrase of 2021. This advice comes up on my instagram feed almost every single time from almost every business coach. Even I used it in my previous posts. But what exactly does that mean? While this word is becoming an overused cliche you may be wondering...what exactly does that mean? Should you share personal details of your life on a regular basis or only a glimpse once in a while?

Official definition of the word authentic is: undisputed origin; genuine. But it could mean different things to different people. I thought a lot about what it means for me and more specifically for my personal brand. How do I apply this to my social media and overall online presence? To me that meant showing up on instagram stories and sharing some of my daily life with a mix of work and personal. It also means sharing things that inspire me or make me laugh. I shared my challenges and lessons learned. So I decided to do an experiment and show up consistently on instagram sharing all the things I just mentioned. My only rules were to stay consistent, true to my values, have fun with it and not to overthink it. At first I was nervous to look silly or feel misunderstood but eventually got into the rhythm and stopped caring so much about what others thought of me. And it paid off! Most people responded well to my sense of humor or resonated with a quote I posted. I was attracting my kind of people, my own tribe who appreciated me and I appreciated them. My audience was growing authentically.

Don’t be scared to share your silly or quirky side, you might be surprised how much people will appreciate it.

Then I decided to go even bolder and deeper. I started sharing some of my stories of struggles and how I overcame them. It was scary to be so open, I am an introvert by nature, but I did it anyway. If I went through something difficult surely others have too and can relate. At first it felt scary opening up but then someting magical happened. Being vulnerable actually gave me even more courage to face my hardships. I was wearing my struggles as badges of honor and it was now a part of my brand. This was huge for my personal branding. My audience could now understand me more and we could connect on a deeper level. Now I am not talking about sharing your deepest darkest secrets here. Whatever you are comfortable with but maybe go a little further. One of my struggles was sharing my journey of moving from Ukraine to the USA. It was an embarrassing time for me to be a 17 year old immigrant who spoke no English, trying to work as a cashier at a supermarket, no friends in sight, not the happiest time in my life. But what seemed like an embarrassing time for me to others seemed like courage. So before you dismiss sharing a story about yourself or think of it as embarrassing or insignificant it may not be so to others. It could potentially help you connect with your audience on a deeper level.

Do share your challenges and how you overcame them. Others may find your stories inspiring.

Back to my experiment… it turned out to be a successful one. Sharing jokes, tips, inspirational quotes, my struggles, glimpses into my personal and professional life helped me create a personal brand that is uniquely me. So no matter what service I provided or products sold my brand could never be copied.

So when building YOUR personal brand what make you unique and different? The little decisions of what to share, the bravery with which you tell your story will help you grow your own online voice that cannot be replicated by anyone else. If you are still not sure where to draw the line and afraid of oversharing try creating a few different folders on your computer. If sense of humor is important to you create jokes folder, it could be jokes about your industry. In the second folder collect your life stores, once you have a bunch you can revisit in a few weeks to see what feels right or what feels completely off. Sharing your mistakes and ways you fixed them is a great way to humanize your brand and make it more relatable. We all make mistakes, do not try to look perfect, people can smell fake miles away. In the 3rd folder you can keep things that inspire you. Share quotes, stories from others, favorite book recommendations, movies, etc. All these things combined together will help you create your own authentic voice that you can be proud of.

If you have any questions about your branding you can always reach out to me on instagram @oksana.pali

Happy branding!

Oksana