Showing your face online…it’s a really difficult thing to overcome specially if your more introverted or just start out with your business, and everything is feeling a bit little scary?! Understandable so! I get the showing up online may be something you have had to build practice to do. I felt a lot more comfortable with posting static pictures of myself, rather than video or being on stories and talking. I think everyone is on a different spectrum and you may be start at different comfort level to me, and don’t feel ready to even post a static picture of yourself yet. I’ll be revealing three different tools to use, in order for you to show up online that doesn’t rely on you having to show your face. So that you can still connect with your people online and build strong relationships with your people. I also want to include some basics you may need to add and just a few little quick tips on how to practise on showing up online.
Audio Time Stamp | 01:54
The Showing Up Dilemma
I think all small business, feel this pressure or believe that it is a requirement when start your business that you must show up online all the time. It’s a really horrible feeling, I know it well, when you can’t do something and you know it will help your business. So I can sympathise if this is you, because it’s a great way to connect with your audience. But it’s not the online way, we need to get this narrative out of our heads. There are other large or small businesses succeeding that don’t have a single person showing up all the time.
Audio Time Stamp | 02:53
Audio Content – Podcasting
The first tool you can use is Podcasting. Podcast is all about audio content, you don’t have to show you face at all! I think most people use audio so they don’t have to be properly dressed or have face full of make up on to create content for your business.
Build a strong connection
But don’t worry it’s also got even better advantages than that, podcasting helps you feel authentic with your people, and help you build a stronger connection with them too. You listening to me right now, you’re building a better understand around who I am, by the way I talk and articulate certain words, even though you cannot see me you are gaining a colourful insight into my personality and who I am through the power of my voice.
Attention Span
Plus it’s also a great opportunity to hold someones attention for a longer period of time. Could you hold someones attention on social media for 10 minutes? of course not! But with a podcast once you’ve popped on a pair of earphones and pick an episode to play they are locked in for duration. Usually we play an episode whilst doing something mundane like washing up or walking, driving etc.
You might wondering that’s great but how can I use audio content on social media? By creating sound bites from each of your long-form podcast episodes, you can take 30 to 60 second audio clips and turn them into stand alone pieces of content for you Instagram feed, just pair it will an appropriate graphic, image and publish!
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Written Content – Blog Posts
If audio isn’t something you are comfortable with, talking into a microphone might not be right for you. I do want to just say that I wasn’t comfortable with it at the beginning either. I don’t think anyone likes hearing the sound of their own voice. However, I would say podcast and focusing on audio is much easier to get comfortable with than video. If you feel audio isn’t right for you, then you might want to use blogging instead! Similar to how people connect with you through audio, you personality and voice will be felt through your writing. Of course audio, is a bit more intimate because people will be able to hear your tone of voice. Therefore when writing blog post make a conscious effort to injecting your personality within the topic you are discussing, with anecdotes and comments.
Extra Tip
For me I include show notes alongside every episode, and you could definitely do the same if you want to gain more out of SEO for each piece of content your producing. But both of these option allow you to stop relying heavily on showing your face online.
Audio Time Stamp | 06:43
Graphic Design Content – Visual Style & Look
The last approach to not showing your face is through strategic photography and graphics. For example take photos from the back, side portrait or sort of using object or hands to hide some of your face. So people can see that it’s a person but they can’t see you whole face.
Obviously once you have a brand identity, you can create some amazing on brand graphics and visuals to post. These can help you showcase your knowledge on a topic and educate or help your peoples pain points. By having a brand in place you can produce graphic post whilst stay consistent and expressing your brand personality through other tools such as colour and style.
Audio Time Stamp | 08:40
Basic Face Essentials
I do believe you should at least include one picture of yourself on your website. I don’t think you should have to relying on showing your face on social media everyday. But I don’t think it beneficial on having at least one picture on your website, so your people can link your business with a real person. It will make them feel far more comfortable knowing what you look like, specially if you are a personal brand. The place I would include these pictures one especially on your about page and one or the same image smaller on your home page.
Audio Time Stamp | 09:31
How To Build Confidence Showing You Face online
Getting comfortable to show up online, I don’t think is going to be something you can just fake it till you make it. It’s going to be one of those thing you’ll need to build yourself up to. Like if you go to the gym, not that I do, but if you do. You know that on your first day, go in and lift a huge heavy weight if you’ve not be taught how to lift them, or practice lifting smaller weights, to work the muscles, to grow it so that you can eventually lift the bigger weight. The same goes for showing up online, if you’re not comfortable showing up even in static post, then how can you jump onto video because that going to be really difficult. It’s going to make you feel really uneasy and not going to make you want to do it again. You can definitely take a nice approach to showing up without having to throw yourself into the deep end.
Quick Tips To Build Confidence
Here are some quick tips to easy yourself in, first thing i would say start posting static images of yourself with your face. You can start image further away then more portrait ones more comfortable get over time. Then I would suggest for video, maybe even testing reels because they are already scripted, usually a trend where you don’t have to talk and you can just mimic. Make sure you stay authentic with the trends you’re choosing to produce. With stories just recording yourself, practising into your instagram video camera without the intention of publishing it. I sometime take 2 or 3 go’s before post a story. It take time, but slowly building up static post, practicing behind the scenes and get use to publishing one video a week and slowly increasing that over time.
Audio Time Stamp | 09:31
Take the Pressure Off Showing your Face Today!
Ok lovely listeners that is it for today, I hope you really enjoyed this episode showing up is a really big thing.I want you to all know it can be difficult, I know some people find really easy. But we all start at different comfort levels. I’m not saying you have to start showing your face, but I did just also include a few tips to help you easy you in as well. You now don’t have to feel like you’re holding your business back by not showing your face. And take some pressure of yourself, start connecting with your people through either podcast, blogging and strategic photography and graphics. Obviously you can use all three of these tools and start connecting with your people online and providing that you are a trustworthy business and brand. Unsure how to go about build a podcast? I’ve got you covered with Episode 30 Learn the 5 steps you need to take in order to build a podcast brand.