How to Stand Out on Social Media

Social media is more crowded than it’s ever been, and millions of new businesses are being created every year, and promoting themselves on social media. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a great thing that so many people are following their passions and making their businesses work – it’s inspiring and I’m wishing all of you the best. 

However, that also means that it’s harder than ever to stand out online, especially as a small business. We often worry about being too sales-y, not being sales-y enough, being too corporate, not being too corporate enough, being funny, not being funny enough… and the list could go on forever. 

Rather than worrying about everything we’re not, I always encourage you to emphasize everything that you ARE, if you really want to stand out on social media. So, here are three important things to do if you want to stand out on social media in the most crowded landscape ever. 

Be authentic. ⁠

Nobody likes someone who tells lies or embellishes the truth. If you want to be seen as trustworthy, build authentic relationships, and be open and real with your clients and audience, then being authentic in your content is the first step. Showing up as YOU - whatever that means to you (I'm talkin’ messy bun, mid-workout, with your pets, taking a day off, binging netflix on the couch, or literally anything) translates as authenticity with your audience. ⁠

Not only that, but people want to be able to build a relationship with YOU – they can google or go somewhere else to find the information they need, what they get through social media is your passion, your vision, your spin on the information – they want to be able to trust you as a resource, so showing them that you’re authentic and trustworthy goes a long, long way. 

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Be consistent. ⁠

If you can't show up consistently for yourself, you're likely planting some seeds of doubt into the minds of potential clients that you'll be able to show up consistently for them.

Being consistent doesn’t mean showing up every day, all day, never taking a break. Being consistent means presenting the same main topics with each piece of content you publish, using the same voice and visual guidelines, and posting/showing up at a regular cadence (even if that’s not every day). 

You want to show your followers that they can count on you, and this is another way that they feel comfortable building relationships with you and putting their trust in you. 

Be original. ⁠

There are SO. MANY. PEOPLE. on Instagram, and so many new businesses popping up every single day, like I mentioned above, but if you want to truly stand out from the crowd, then you need to find a way to produce original content. Show off what YOU bring to the table - not what's trending or what your mentors are saying. ⁠

There are so many “copycat” accounts out there, and none of them have ever done well… you won’t be the first to do well with copycat content. So, rather than replicating someone else’s posts, reels, stories, carousels, videos, etc… come up with your own! Put your own spin on the information and infuse your personality into the content you’re sharing – not only does this help your followers get to know YOU better, but they’re able to tell it’s authentic and it will ultimately help you build your business (unlike copycat content, that could get you into some serious trouble, or in the best case scenario just flop). 

There’s a lot more to this when it comes to standing out on social media, of course. But, this is a good starting point – because if you aren’t doing these three things, then it doesn’t matter what else you’re doing, growth won’t be happening. 

If you’re ready to outsource to the pros to handle your social media growth FOR YOU while you work on running your business, I’d be happy to help! Visit the Services page of my website to learn more about my packages and how I can help you grow on social media with minimal effort on your part!