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Ever feel the pressure to share every little detail of your life just to build your online personal brand? Like if you’re not posting about what you had for breakfast and also simultaneously your deepest insecurities, you’re somehow doing it wrong?
It can feel downright uncomfortable, right? Cause the thing is, not everyone wants to bare their soul to the whole internet. And that’s okay.
The good news is, that it’s possible to build an online personal brand without spilling your guts all over social media. Here’s how to do that:
1. Start by Setting Boundaries with Yourself
You get to decide what’s off-limits. Just because you’re a mom doesn’t mean you have to share pictures or videos of your kids. Maybe you don’t even want people on the internet to know what your kids look like. And that’s completely okay.
On the flip side, if you’re a mom who loves to share images and videos of your family and kids, then do that.
Set those boundaries early and stick to them. That way you’re only sharing things you’re comfortable sharing with your audience.
2. Use these questions to help you avoid oversharing
Oversharing is something that’s pretty easy to do if you’re an open book, like me. So here are 2 questions I focus on that help me avoid oversharing:
- Am I sharing this for the right reasons? One of the things I refuse to do is to be vulnerable just for likes or engagement. Sometimes people can tell when someone posts something vulnerable just for engagement. So I always ask myself: Why am I really sharing this? Is it to build a real connection with my audience? To help someone who might be going through the same thing? Or am I just trying to get engagement?
- Will I regret this tomorrow? If sharing something makes you feel icky or unsure, listen to that feeling and trust your gut.
3. Connect With Your Audience Through Shared Experiences
We’re all human, and we’ve all felt like an outsider, failed at something, or had moments where we wanted to crawl under a rock. These shared experiences connect us.
If you want to create a deeper connection with your audience but don’t know where to start, focus on shared experiences or feelings. For example, think about times when you:
- Felt overlooked or invisible
- Struggled with feeling “not enough”
- Felt stuck or trapped in your life or business
- Had your experiences invalidated
Also, think about experiences you had that you wish no one had to face alone. Look for the universal feelings in these moments. For example:
- If you’re introverted, you might have felt pressured to conform to something you’re not. The universal feeling: “You aren’t good enough as you are.”
- You might have grown up in a household where self-expression was discouraged or suppressed. The universal feeling: “My thoughts and opinions don’t matter.”
Instead of focusing on your personal experiences, focus on universal or shared feelings. For example, instead of creating a post saying, “I used to feel like my story doesn’t matter,” say, “For anyone who feels like their story doesn’t matter.” This shifts the focus from your personal story to a post that resonates with your audience and makes them feel seen.
By sharing these shared experiences, you create a bridge between your experiences and your audience’s. How you share this is completely up to you. Focusing on shared experiences makes it easier to avoid oversharing because you’re more intentional about what you share.
Remember, building a personal brand isn’t about becoming some perfect online version of yourself.
It’s about showing up in a way that feels comfortable to you.
By setting clear boundaries, asking yourself the right questions before sharing a post, and focusing on universal experiences, you can create a strong, authentic personal brand without feeling like you’re oversharing.
And if you loved this post, don’t forget to share it with others!
