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The way we see ourselves is completely different than other people see us. #vatip 
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You’re amazing offline, so be that online. #vatip Gotta Tweet!
Let’s work on building some true connections using SOCIAL media. #vatip Gotta Tweet!
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In Words:
Hi and welcome to The Business of Being a Virtual Assistant. I’m Tiffany Parson, your virtual co-worker, and you are watching episode number 125.
I want to talk to you about social media. Now, if you’re like me, you probably have down pat the media part of it. But the meat of it all, the social aspect of it. Now, I am an introvert. This means I don’t like crowds, don’t like being around a lot of people, or if I am around a lot of people, I can’t wait to get back home and get reenergized at home without the crowds.
In this industry, really anybody’s industry, you can’t get around not using social media. What do you do when you’ve got the media part, meaning you get it? You know the tools. You know where to go. You get the platform, all that stuff. But now it’s time for the social aspect of it, and this is where it’s challenging, maybe challenging for you just like it’s challenging for me. I’ve seen a lot of different people giving tips about commenting on various posts or sending messages and stuff like that.
Yes, it does help to build relationships. But it’s hard because a lot of my social happens in here, but you don’t know it. Like it’s very easy for me to read an email, hear the person’s voice on the other end. Even if I’ve never heard their voice, I’m giving them a voice, and I may respond to it while I’m reading it, but I’m not actually typing out the response. It’s just that’s how I’m interacting with it.
Then that translates over onto Facebook. For example, there are a lot of things I see that are funny and it’s easy to hit like, laugh, love, all the different little responses. But I’m working on interacting with the post so the person that posted knows I’ve interacted with it beyond clicking on buttons, and it’s hard.
So I’ve started with groups I’m a part of. Not for the sake of my virtual assistant business, but being on a more social aspect to kind of learn what it is to be social on social media, just for the sake of fun, fun [laughs].
A lot of these social media tools, I would not use. I hate to say it. I wouldn’t even use if it weren’t for business. Is that wrong to say? Well, I’ve got to be honest with you. If we were chatting at Panera like I was with one of my clients earlier today, I’d be totally straight with you and that is the deal.
So I am working; I am making it my business to be social, and it should be a lot easier since I’m not talking, so I don’t feel so awkward. But I can still be myself, still be natural, and type it out because, oh, I’m so social in here. Oh, I’m super social in my mind, but now to get it to come out and start typing.
I will follow different people or check out their page or their Instagram profiles and different things like that so I can learn from them how to be social. Like how do you just hang on social media? What does it look like? So I can join in the fun too, and yes, eventually, it will pay off for the business as well.
My fellow introvert friends, or those that are a little leery about being on social media, you’re not by yourself.
But if you want to do business, you want to get more clients, you just want to meet people – maybe you just need to meet people. You’ve moved to a new area and you want to meet people. You know, I’ve started following some local sites for Charlotte, which is my local area.
There are all different sites to tell you about the best restaurants and, you know, places for dog sitting and different neighborhoods and all this stuff for my area. There’s even articles on how to meet people and networking especially, you know, for people that are new to the area. But all that information, guess where I found it? On social media.
If you’ve been creeping around, maybe you’ve been creeping around on my Facebook page or creeping around on my Instagram or creeping around on YouTube, say “hi” to me. Let’s practice being social [laughs] okay. Comment. I will comment back. If you say something to me, it’s very easy for me to say something back to you. I get it. The hard part is commenting when you’re first.
I’m going to give you that challenge. I know that if you saw this whole video, then you know what the social challenge is, so let’s help each other out. So comment. If you are watching this video, I want you to comment on the video. Even if all you say is, “Hey, Tiffany,” I’m going to respond back.
If you’re listening to this, then where do you go? There are all different places you can go. You can go to, let’s see, you’re already watching – you’re listening to this from either iTunes or Stitcher or maybe you’re on my website. If you’re on my website, it will be easy to comment in the comment section of the post that you’re listening to.
If you’re riding and you’re listening to it on iTunes, then you can’t really comment yet. When you get to a stopping point and you park somewhere or you get to where you’re going, shout me out on my Twitter or on my Facebook page. That would be cool because you may not remember later. I don’t know. Anyway, I’d love to hear from you.
But, yeah, this whole thing about social. So the emphasis more so on social. SOCIAL in all caps. I’m seeing it visually. SOCIAL in all capital letters. When I’m around people that I really enjoy being around, I have a blast. I’m super social with my peeps. We’ve got to get us some peeps, right? How do we do that? We can start initiating in the comments, and of course, you know, participating on the actual video we’re watching or the actual comment that’s posted.
If you’re funny, be funny in the comments. I’m funny in person, but it took me a while to figure how to be funny in comments. So I just started sharing exactly what’s in my head, and then I will reread it. Sometimes I’ll reread what I write like three times, maybe more times. I put way too much pressure on myself. Are you like that too? So don’t do it. Read it once. Make sure, you know, words are spelled right. Make sure it is what you meant to say. Then, boom, let it go.
It’s probably the over-analytical part that is causing some hesitation as to why we’re not interacting in the comments.
I can think of a post right now on a friend’s Facebook that I clicked love, but I need to like go back and say something and I’ll make sure I do that once I’m done with this. But let me know. I want to hear is this something you struggle with as well, the whole SOCIAL aspect of social media?
You see, when I first got on Facebook, it was for a client project. That was in 2009, I think. I remember creating a Facebook profile for fun and then the fun lasted a day or two and then I deactivated. I was like, ugh, there’s no point in this.
Then there was a client project and the requirement was you had to have a Facebook profile. So I was able to get my profile back in time before, you know, the deactivation period was over. I can’t remember what it was back then, maybe 30 days or something. I don’t remember. But anyway, I was able to get it back in time for my client project.
I always think, oh, it would be so much easier if I had a kid or an animal or something. Those are just excuses, just excuses because there are plenty other stuff that I look at. I’ll watch nail videos, cake videos. People that read, they post their books.
Be yourself. Be yourself. If you’re not funny, no big deal. You don’t have to be funny. If you don’t like the way you look, no big deal. When you’re recording, you’re not supposed to be looking at yourself anyway. You’re supposed to be looking at the camera like I am looking this way at my camera. But it looks like I’m looking straight at you, doesn’t it? If I look at myself, then I won’t be looking at you. So you don’t have to see yourself on video.
We’re overcritical of ourselves. I was telling my client that today. You know, the way we see ourselves is completely different than the way other people see us, so we have to stop being overly critical. I think I talked about that in a past episode. We’ll link that show up in the show notes, the past episode about being overly critical of ourselves.
But you’re awesome. You’re amazing offline, so be that online.
We can do it, so let’s make some new friends, some connections for the SOCIAL aspect of it. Of course, within limits, you know, not being all super social when you’re supposed to be working. Right? Whatever the rules are where you work, or doing client work and you’re social. No, no, no, not that time.
Anyway, let’s work on building some true connections using SOCIAL media.
That’s how I’m going to start saying it. SOCIAL media. Okay, I don’t have anything else to say about that. That is just what’s fresh in my mind because it is something I need to work on. If I tell you guys it’s something I need to work on, then you’ll hold me accountable, and my hope is that we’ll work on this together.
Thank you for watching. This is episode number 125. We are moving right along. Have a wonderful and fabulous day. I appreciate you so much for watching and all the way through to the end. Let me know in the comments that you were here, that you’re hanging with me, that you were feeling it, and that you want to me social so you just want to say, “Hey, Tiffany!”
I look forward to hearing from you. Have a great day.
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