YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF: Here’s to not showing up

Be authentic.

Anyone that has their own business hears these words constantly, mostly in relation to their social media marketing. BUT what if your authentic self hates social media to the point it makes you unhappy? Surely still posting and having social media profiles is the total opposite of authenticity?

I’m just going to say it. I hate social media. I always have. It took my family ages to get me to join Facebook and then it was a downward spiral, I had Insta, I had WhatsApp, Messenger, you name it, I had a profile on it and all I found was that I didn’t feel any more connected to anyone, in fact, I felt more disconnected and this is why you won’t find Clear Skies VA active on Instagram, Clubhouse, or TikTok. My social media pages are merely skeletons, placeholders, a necessity but not really used.

I know what you’re thinking, especially if you’re in marketing, and yes, it might be crazy, and of course I want my business to be seen, but not at the expense of my sanity. The hours I used to spend creating posts and thinking about ideas for posts, I now spend either with my family, working out or tending to my clients and it feels like a much better use of my time. I’m way less stressed and actually, I’ve found other ways to market my business.

• Networking – I’m a shy person so this one doesn’t come easy, but I find that once I’m there I enjoy it.

• Referrals – My clients are the best and thankfully refer me to others

• Pinterest (I don’t count this as social media. Pinterest is an amazingly powerful search engine and boy do I plan to use it!)

• Blog posts (ties in with Pinterest)

All of the above feels much more me - much more authentic and I have every belief that by marketing myself through these platforms, I will have a much better chance of attracting the clients I want to work with and will work with happily.

And if you’re reading this and thinking “Thank God! Someone’s actually said it! I hate social media too!”, but you still find you’re falling behind with your admin, why don’t you drop me an email and let’s chat.