Psssst… hey introvert… over here… a heads up on surviving social media…

So… recently, I was at the Friendly Friday and Enterprise Club . I’d been asked to deliver a short talk on some of the ways I generate marketing ideas… Which was all well and good… But what really sparked my interest, was a question that someone asked me later on… Forgive me if I don’t quote word for word… but it went something like this…

Help me! I’m an introvert! I can’t cope with all this social media and networking… How do I make it work for me?

Which I did find a little bit amusing, as I didn’t know this introvert, but they’d made an effort to speak to me… so, I sat down to chat…

Firstly because all KUDOS to my new introvert friend for taking a little leap of faith…

Secondly… I’m bloody nosy! 😀 and I want to know what introverts think… In a room full of people, they are often sitting quietly whilst the extroverts talk… But… you know… I probably shouldn’t say this… but not every one who can talk has something interesting to say…

Now, if you can get an introvert to talk… they more often than not have lots of interesting things to say. All that time they are sitting there quietly, they are thinking, analysing, contemplating, noticing what’s going on, evaluating and assessing… and these are all key skills when it comes to marketing ideas… So it seems to me, that the introverts have actually got a pretty big asset if they know how to play it…

Unfortunately, time was short, but we managed to get through some key points… See… I think social media is a great tool for introverts, it allows them to approach people who they may not have approached in a face to face situation… you can sit back and watch how people interact and join in at a pace that suits you…

Anyway… I was so interested by the question, that when I got home, I did what a Tarot reader does, and got out my cards…

So introvert… you feel a bit awkward and out of place? Guess what? Most people do at some time or another… don’t assume that appearances are everything… not everybody who is good at talking, is as comfortable with it as you think. Admittedly it comes more naturally to some than others but it’s like any other skill, and if you want to do it well, then it requires time and practice… You have to learn to put your ‘work face’ on. I’m always amazed by the number of times I’ve read about performers who have been going for years, who suffer from massive attacks of stage fright… But they go on anyway… and when they deliver, no-one has faintest idea that half an hour ago back stage, they were a nervous wreck… But I’ve gone slightly off question there…

So how do you make social media work?

Well… it’s pretty much about doing and sharing what you love! When you are passionate about something, those nerves are going to sooner or later have to take a back seat… Because when you truly have a bug for something… you’re gonna do it anyway eventually, one way or another… because it’s an itch you just have to scratch!

So… make it easy for yourself… Keep your eyes and ears open and seek out other people whose work you really feel inspired by… It’s far easier to start a conversation with – Hey, I noticed you write about such and such, you made a really interesting point, I wonder what your views are on this…

And that generally works… I’ve had a couple of notable exceptions where my little voice has rolled like a windblown tumble weed into the cyber void… But meh? so what? no worries… no-one died 😀  

But mostly, I’ve met some great people to share ideas with…

Speaking of which… there’s a little bit of coincidence, that fills my little tarot heart with glee… My very good eFriend Jordan Hoggard wrote a lovely blog piece … which I will share with you at the end…

Because… I firmly believe that one of the best ways to make your social media work, is to share other people’s work you enjoy…

And I think there is way too much noise and shouting on social media, along the lines of Look at ME ME ME…

Which I think our introvert friends can never be accused of as they do avoid the ME ME ME…

But… to avoid slipping into the eVoid…

Maybe try out the I… I… I… I

And share…

Intelligent, Informative, Inspiring Information…

Speaking of which…. check out… Jordan’s post… 

And if you like it… pass it on… 😉