How to not compare yourself to influencers
I read somewhere the difference between an amateur and a professional is $1. I can’t tell you what an influencer is, how you’re not an influencer, or about your comparison to influencers without mentioning the industry of influencer marketing.
Are you comparing yourself to influencers?
The easiest way to find out if this article will apply to you is to go into the moment of your self-edit. When you’re about to post on social media and you decide to backspace and reword, what makes you do that? Go back to the last time you edited yourself before publishing. Connect with that moment of doubt. Now… Which of the following three thoughts were at the front of your mind?
Thought 1: My dream audience needs to hear something else for me to serve them to the best of my ability. I can add more value to their life.
This is a great thought! Be sure to subscribe to my blog updates because I’ll be posting some cool stuff about consensually lovingly respectfully stalking your dream audience to know them deeply and tap into empathy marketing. Most of the following may not apply to you.
Thought 2: I don’t know if this is pretty enough, smart enough, cool enough compared to what I see to social media.
You will greatly benefit from this article because you’re comparing your posts with the posts of those that professionally create posts. It’s my highest purpose to remind you of your journey without comparison and scarcity.
Thought 3: I don’t know if this is good enough generally.
This article may not be for you, but check out what I said about Imposter Syndrome, which may help you be more at peace with posting to promote yourself.
Professional influencers and their industry
You may see social media influencers as the standard of content creation. It makes sense, right? These are folks that have millions of followers, which means whatever they’re doing is magnetically attracting that attention.
Imagine what you could do for your personal brand with that kind of magnetic attraction. You’d get enough prospects and offer letters to finally move on to your next step!
📢 EEH - Wrong.
Notice the key of that sentence of “You’d get enough … to move on”. Influencers are actually attractive content creators as a lifestyle. Many consider themselves to be content creators before taking influencer ambassadorships.
Ambassadors of brands
The career of a professional influencer is to be the bridge between brands and audiences. My favorite influencers are ones that own their own brand and use their platform to do what they really love as entrepreneurs. Most are basically ad agencies, and they beautifully execute the art of marketing on behalf of their client. Even for those that don’t take cash receive products of value; the trade of the product for access to followers.
Content creators
The art of taking brands and translating it to an authentic credible voice takes much more work than talent. Content creators are constantly talking to each other, listening to audiences, and expressing their full personality to be authentic in their content. This includes staying on top of the conversation in their field by knowing what memes, challenges, trends, and more is happening.
Hustlers
Professional influencers are hustlers. They have reprogrammed their minds to be really aware of opportunity to get what they want in return for their attractive content and audiences. This awareness has become a part of their DNA. They are constantly following up with opportunities and are very comfortable with rejection, because it usually takes 19 no’s to get to 1 yes (my own ambassadorship data).
Their audience, not yours
Those millions of followers you look at with sparkle in your eyes? Those most probably aren’t the audience you want. This may leave you wondering, “followers are followers. They make me more important, Khayra. Why are you wasting my time?”
What decision do you want your audience to make?
Some options:
To buy your products you love to make
To pay for your services you love giving
To use your social media to trust you enough to hire you (A total of 3 decisions!)
To share your content with their friends
To learn from, be inspired by, or be entertained by your content
This may also be the first time you asked yourself this question. If it is, you will benefit from a free intro call with me. The secret to this list is you can choose only one decision for them to make. If your one decision is in the first three, you do not want an influencer’s following. More on why below.
How do you want to spend your time?
Your day is sacred and the hours that make it up can seem filled with obligation. How do you want to spend it?
Creating products to sell?
Serving clients?
Working a job you love?
Enjoying hobbies you don’t post about?
Spending time in your private life with loved ones?
If you said yes to any of these, you do not want an influencer’s following, you want your following. You want people who see your posts to take a decision and act upon it so you can spend time doing what you love.
Do you want to spend your time getting better equipment to create free content? Writing up ideas for content? Taking pictures of your day in an aesthetically pleasing way? Collaborating with influencers you admire? If the answer is yes to these, then I had you all wrong and influencer life is for you. Next section will help confirm it ✨
Are the audiences you’re attracting with this compare-filled content the audience you want?
As you hesitate to post when you compare your posts to what’s out there on the interwebs, ask yourself this: Is the audience this is attracting ready to make the decision I need them to make? Your post itself will hold the answer. Is it inviting people to make the decision you want? Does it have a Call To Action (CTA) to make your wanted decision?
If no, why are you worrying about posting it? Only you know why you’re comparing it to anything else. It’s my highest hope that you now know the difference between influencer followers and the followers you want.
Your audience, not theirs
The secret to all of this is you probably have an audience in a place you didn’t before consider. You must have had a job, customers, or clients before you started worrying about the content you created. Let’s dive in and explore these beautiful souls that already admire you.
Where does your audience that makes the decision you want come from?
Think of the people that gave you the opportunity to use your time as you wished. How did you meet them? How do they spend their day? Are they scrolling through posts or attending events? Are they listening to podcasts or watching YouTube?
If you can’t answer this, we really need an intro call together.
If you do know, what’s becoming clear to you? Are they hungry for the content you wish you could make or content you didn’t consider making?
What’s happening around your dream audience?
Now that you’re forming a picture of your dream audience, and you may even have names and faces in your head that represents them, it’s time for empathy. You’re clear on who they are, how they spend their day, but
What are they going through?
What are their fears and motivations, especially during these uncertain times? 💔
If this article worked, you may feel a furrow in your brow as you feel for your dream audience as know exactly what fears and frustrations they’re working through.
They need you.
It’s time to serve them. This is the core of empathy marketing. As they deal with their frustration, what message will help empower them to take action? What do you need to share with them to ease their pain and increase their motivation?
What is your criteria given what you know about your dream audience?
From the last paragraph, you now have the real criteria for what your post needs to show:
Show something that your dream audience needs right now.
Call on them to take a decision that will help them reach their happier day.
Be a representation of who you are, because you know how to empathize and provide them with what they need.
It’s not worth worrying about because it’s bigger than any influencer you can compare yourself to.
Why? Because it’s all clear now. You know what you need to say and you know it serves a much higher purpose than what comparison can offer you. You’re ready to be visible as you are, not as you think others need to see you 💕✨