The Socialize Strategy - Post Like a Diary
Welcome to The Socialize Strategy. Happy Friday, and today we are going to talk about a specific social media strategy. But before I do that, I want to go over my unsponsored by items for this week. I always like to make sure to include in those things that I use frequently, so that this is really my true review. It's something that I'm very close to in my life.
Helen:And my first one is my Oura Ring. It's on the charger right now charging up. And you can see, well, you can't really see. But anyway, there's a little light here that indicates it's charging. And when this light turns green, then it indicates that it's completed.
Helen:So I'm going to leave it on the charger. But I wear it on this finger. And the reason I decided to get one of these, it's not because I'm going to track every footstep I make in a day. I don't even need to track my sleep because I sleep really well, although I am always curious about my sleep stats and I do tend to look at that a lot. I just like to know how long I'm sleeping, how settled I am, what my heart rate is.
Helen:I enjoy the sleep facts. But I don't wear an Apple Watch and I've never been a person that has embraced a Fitbit or anything like that. So this is really something that I dove in with the purpose being, let me see how well I sleep. Let me have some type of tracking of my footsteps. Because even though I know our phones track our footsteps, it's not the same.
Helen:Because often I put my phone down and I go somewhere and I do things. So because it's not with me all the time. If I'm wearing a ring on my finger, like my Oura Ring, it's with me all the time. There it is. It's coming with me when whenever I go somewhere.
Helen:So that's why I like it because I don't really have to think about it. It's just a part of my jewelry and off I go. And I recently posted a video where I mentioned Oura Ring in the caption. I was saying that I'd been sitting all day and my Oura Ring alerted me it's time to get up. So when I posted that, I wrote in the caption, not sponsored by Oura Ring quote yet.
Helen:And of course they reached out to me. But I have to laugh because these brands reach out. And just in case you think it's like a money machine, this company, I'm going to be completely honest, I'm going see if I can open the email now and either read it or at least tell you what it was. Okay, it's share your wellness journey with the Oura Ring Creator Opportunity. And it goes on and on.
Helen:What about we're excited, your content caught our eye, we discovered your page, Love your passion for wellness. Yada yada yada. As an Aura creator, what you'll enjoy. And this is where this is the benefits to me. Early access to Ring models.
Helen:What does that mean? They're gonna send me something? Monthly swag and gear drops. Are they sending me this for free? I don't know.
Helen:Your own creator code. K. Thanks. I have to, like, share it to earn. Featured on channels of wellness.
Helen:Oh, yes. They wanna use my content in their ads. Not paying me. Competitive compensation based on engagement and sales. Right there is a red flag.
Helen:If you are someone who is wanting to do brand collabs, and right away it's about based on engagement and sales. When you post sponsored content, it is automatic that you are not going to get the same engagement. Sponsored posts do not get the same engagement. That's why advertisers and brands pay for media buys. Because when a brand, sorry, when a creator is doing a sponsored post and it says sponsored right away, the person knows this is an ad and they're likely going to scroll.
Helen:So the automatically, the engagement is going to go down. So it's not fair to a creator who is spending the time making a video, posting it, and they have to do the rule, post it as if it's sponsored. Automatically you're not going to get the engagement. And they're putting that into their their ask so that you don't you're not gonna make money. Clearly, it says, like, you're not gonna it's gonna your compensation is gonna be based on how many views your content gets, and automatically, your your content is not gonna get that many views because you have to disclose that it's sponsored.
Helen:You see what I'm saying? This is like a very weird I'm being straight honest with you right now. It's a very weird, industry where creators are somewhat taking advantage of now. Like I could make a great piece of content. It's a great ad.
Helen:But because it says sponsored, it doesn't get pushed out, so it doesn't get as many views. So I get paid very little. And then they're allowed to use it, it looks like, in their, wellness campaigns. But you know what? That would have to be a payment if they're going to use it.
Helen:So that's where I think creators don't necessarily know they have to pay attention to the fine print when they get offered. Oh, this sounds so exciting. I'm going to be representing the Oura Ring. Like, I got excited for half a second. Even knowing what I know, I still got excited for half a second.
Helen:It also says, here we go, ta ta da da. But we ask, create 10 pieces of content per month showcasing how Oura fits into your wellness routine. 10 videos per month? That seems insane to me. I'm sorry.
Helen:And then at the end, this is a paid performance based partnership with potential to grow into a long term collaboration. So that is my honest disclosure of what it's like to have a brand offer and initially potentially get excited about it. And then find out, I don't know if this really benefits me so much. Because what my takeaway is that they're only going to pay if my organic content that is labeled sponsorship does well. Likely it's not.
Helen:And then they're going to be able to use my content on their own paid ads. So then they're going to be able to put money behind it and push my ad out to people. That maybe my ad's going to be good if there's money behind it. Oh my God. This is getting me more mad the more I talk about it.
Helen:So I'm not mad at Aura. I'm mad at the process of brands in general. Because Aura, I'm sure this is just like what a lot of brands do. I'm sure it's the same thing. So I think it's important.
Helen:And I might talk about this more and more moving forward on maybe we'll make a whole episode about it because I do think we have to be aware that influencer life is not what it seems unless you have the know how. And I know influencers that have the know how. They're making their deals. They're getting the right payments for the content. And that's what needs to happen.
Helen:So this is not oh gosh. And for Lorraine, if you're listening, by the way, this is not don't be an influencer. This is like go into it with your eyes open because the minute you start giving away your content to these brands, the more they're just gonna take advantage. And that's why, I mean, Lorraine, thank god, has has an agent. So she's getting her agents who make the deals, and she's not making content for, like, this crazy situation that I just got asked.
Helen:I don't know. But I would love Lorraine's take on this one. I mean, I'm not even gonna respond to it, to be honest. But, Lorraine, if you're listening, and Joanna, my two people that are in the mix of influencer life, I would love to know what you think of this. I'll forward you the email and you can read it for yourself and give me your feedback.
Helen:All right. Now that I did my little rant about how everyone should be careful if they start to grow suddenly on a social media platform and then they start to get so excited because they're getting brand deals. Read the fine print. Okay? Okay.
Helen:So but I love my Oura Ring. So back to that. I have no issue with the product. I love the product. I love the app.
Helen:I love discovering how I slept. It also scolded me one time because it said that I don't sleep at the right time of day. Well, F that. I like to go to sleep late and I sleep seven hours. So leave me alone.
Helen:I'll get my seven hours when I want to get them. But anyway, it does have a thing where it's like not the best time to do your sleeping, whatever. To each his own. So that was my only minor complaint about it. But other than that, I love it.
Helen:And I love tracking. And I like seeing more accurately how much movement I'm doing in a day. And I think the battery lasts really long. I did a lot of research before I chose this brand over other brands. And Julie had sent me a bunch to compare.
Helen:So I did my homework. I didn't just dive in. It also sends you, you can order, if you do it online, you can get the kit of the sizes of the rings before you order, which is really helpful. And I did and I went and got it in person at Best Buy, a very rare moment where I made an in person purchase. So that's I tried it on right then and there and decided I wanted the silver, the shiny silver.
Helen:Okay. Next. One more. Sorry. We're going into the next one.
Helen:Purely Elizabeth. I have such a story about this. This one's going be a long episode today. My Purely Elizabeth granola, I love it. It's gluten free.
Helen:It has so many flavors now. You got the vanilla chocolate chip. You got the chocolate sea salt. So you can get your little chocolate dessert fix in a healthy way. Love it.
Helen:I have lots of other flavors downstairs too that are already poured into Tupperware containers. So I don't have the packages to show you, but these are the ones that I love. And the reason I picked Purely Elizabeth is I started with the oatmeal because she was first an oatmeal brand even before she was a straight up granola brand. So I got to tell you something about Purely Elizabeth. I know Elizabeth.
Helen:That's the funny part. And when I say I know her, I'm not going to call her on the phone tomorrow. But I know her in person because my office was right next to her office on a very small floor in an office building in New York City. So I had an office there on 20 Fifth Street. Crazy when I think about it.
Helen:130 West 20 Fifth for, let's see, from 2002 to 2019. That's how long I was on that floor, in that same office. A really nice loft space. I loved it. Loved it so much.
Helen:And on that floor there were two other offices. One was an eyeglasses company, an old man who had an eyeglass shipping company. And a tiny little office that changed from a PR company. There was a nonprofit in there. Tiny office.
Helen:As big as half of this room here. Really small. And purely Elizabeth started in that office. She was my neighbor. She was had her granola in boxes there.
Helen:She was shipping it, and she was using that space to do her business. She wasn't making granola in that space. She was obviously making it probably in her house at the time. I have no idea. But I was friends with her.
Helen:I used to go over there and we, you know, I got your mail, you got my mail, chitchat. One point, I even offered to make some content for her. This was before any social media. This was like, do you want me to help you make a commercial? Like that kind of thing.
Helen:Had really, we were connected. Now she's not the warm and fuzziest person. She's very to herself a little bit, I won't even say standoffish because that sounds like rude in a way, but she's not as like effervescent and out there like me. Like I'm like out there. And ta da da, let me give you a hug, you know.
Helen:She's not like that at all. She's very reserved, healthy, conscious, like healthy, lifestyle conscious. She no longer lives in New York City. She did move out West and I think in the Colorado area where all the healthy people are. But anyway, she's awesome.
Helen:And I probably could reach out to her. I just don't feel like I need to. And I, but I do, I am a purchaser forever since then of the oatmeal and the granola. So Elizabeth, if you're watching, I hope you're doing well. Haven't seen you in a while.
Helen:I will always remember our time on 20 Fifth Street. Alright. On to the topic of the newsletter. Maybe I'll give Elizabeth a call now and just tell her I talked about her on the podcast. Ay yai yai.
Helen:Alright. Here we go. Why should you post like social media is your diary? And we're going to dive in, whether it's TikTok, whether it's Instagram. Why should you consider this?
Helen:And it's sort of trending now. People are talking about it and it's always like, you know, the vibe all of a sudden now. We've got people who are like, post like it's your diary and that's all of a sudden the new thing. But what it really means is not like start a post off in dear diary. And it doesn't mean share your most personal inner thoughts with the internet if you don't want to do that, you know?
Helen:It just means posting without judgment on yourself. It means posting what you feel like saying. You're not overthinking it. You're not kind of you're not thinking what do people want to hear. You're posting what you actually want to share.
Helen:That's that's a very big difference if you think about it. I do think about my own content, like what would people want to know when I talk about tutorials or whatever. But sometimes I just got to share something. Like, I found someone's license. I found someone's passport in the bathroom, and I really want to find her, blah blah blah.
Helen:So I just post that. I want to tell the story of how I reconnected with her. So I just post that. Someone asks me, how are you so good at social media? Oh, I will tell the story of my career.
Helen:And I'll just post that. The thing about this is posting like you're on a FaceTime call with a friend, making it feel personal, making it feel like you're really talking to the person. Instead of looking at yourself in the selfie camera, wherever that is, you're looking at the camera. You're talking to your audience. You're sharing with your audience.
Helen:And this builds community and loyalty, and it actually makes people feel your feel like they're your friend. So I'm gonna get a little into the kind of I'll keep it organized the way the newsletter was because I also kind of jumped all around. But what it means is if you have a random thought about something, makeup, your aura ring, whatever it is, that you go, oh, let me pick up my phone right now and say it. And I just met with someone who's in my studio and also I met with her privately first. And I just was talking to her about that and she said, you know what I found most successful so far since she just started on social media, a couple like, I want to say a couple of weeks ago.
Helen:She said, when I think of a thing, I just pick up my phone and I record it. Yes, girl. Yes. That's what you're doing. You're going, now's my moment.
Helen:Everything isn't perfect. I don't have whatever, set up, whatever. I'm just recording. So it's like doing that random thought. Now, this is not for everyone.
Helen:And a lot of times for businesses you might think, oh, that's not for me. I want to plan my content better. Sure thing. If you're a business and you want to strategize and come to the studio and go to the small business center and get your four ideas for the week and plan ahead. Yes, yes, yes.
Helen:But let's say you are a business owner and something really cool happens. Like a person reaches out to you to say thank you because your product or your service changed something in their life. And you just feel so good. And in that moment, you pick up your phone and you record that. I bet you, I bet you a lot that that video does better than all of your business videos.
Helen:I bet you. I'm just saying. Because people want real, raw and inspirational or heartfelt. We're all looking for that. And I think that people are scrolling are looking for it too.
Helen:So just even if you're a business and you want to disregard this as a strategy, I think you should think about it as a part of a possible strategy that you can sprinkle in. Okey doke. Now sometimes the overproduced, overscripted, over edited, blah blah blah videos that you spend so much time on fall flat, do poorly, and it's so devastating. And what'll happen is the opposite. Like, the piece of thing that you picked up and you just said the thing, all of a sudden that one goes viral.
Helen:So it's true that even though you think the algorithm is against me, I worked so hard on that video, it's also the audience who is into it or not. And that's what helps you have a viral video. I've talked about this a lot of times, so I won't belabor it now, but I will talk about it again on another strategy session, is that the most significant worthwhile metric that really helps you go viral is when your video is being sent from person to person. So the send feature is first. And then the favoriting feature is second in terms of hierarchy.
Helen:So even though people talk about engaging from the bottom up, it's not so I don't believe in necessarily that you should do that on people's videos. It only helps the person on the video. So it's great for the content creator, but it's not going to help you go viral. But anyway, the meaning of that is that the most important metric for the algorithm starts at the bottom. So the send is the highest metric, and then the favorite, and then the comments, and then the likes.
Helen:So you could have like a lot of likes on a video. Not likely to go viral if you have a lot of shares, people sending your videos to other people. So relatability and something you say that happens off the top of your head about a moment in a store or how you were treated at a place that made you feel good or something something. Somebody will like more likely to forward that to someone else. And that's what will help you get more views on your content.
Helen:Woo hoo. Next up. Here's one. Don't overanalyze your content because this is one of the things that we always say don't don't overanalyze. It's hard to do it.
Helen:But when you're posting like it's your diary and you're just winging up your phone and just like rambling, that's more likely to be less overanalyzed by you. And in that case, it does go viral. Now even when I record my, like, off the cuff, like, pick up my phone, blah, blah, blah, blah videos, I do tend to edit them after. And I don't mean edit my what I'm gonna say. I mean I'll afterwards go, I was really rambling for too long about that topic, so I chop the center out.
Helen:And I but so I let myself ramble. I don't I don't edit myself as I'm speaking. I speak, speak, speak, speak my mind. And then after I listen to it and I go, well, I really went on too much about that part. So I just take that part out.
Helen:And I don't care if it's jump cuts and it's like choppy. That's more interesting for the viewer anyway. So ramble, ramble, ramble, but then edit. And that will help you for sure. I can tell you that for sure.
Helen:Alrighty. And then the other thing that this does for you, this type of mindset, is that it lets your audience get to know you more. And that builds loyalty. So the other thing I was talking about with this creator that I met with today is that when you're building, you want to post a lot in your niche. You want to stay not stay in your lane at all.
Helen:No. I don't believe in that. But I mean post more about the thing that you want to be known for. But make sure you sprinkle in your personal stories, your personal self. In her case, she was adopted.
Helen:So it's like, I said, tell that story. Like, you're going get people who are going to be on board with you because they have that in common with you. Or they know someone that's like you. Whatever it is. So you want to use that to build that kind of loyalty.
Helen:It really helps because it's like I know that parasocial, there's like the negative connotations to that, that people feel they know you. And I have that situation. It happens a lot. I, as soon as I meet people, like, Oh my God, feel like I know you. And, you know, they do because I'm in their feed every day like telling them, teaching them this or dancing that or whatever.
Helen:So that's a reality, but it's also a way to build your community because people do feel like they know you. So you have to accept that that's going to be part of it if you go down this path, and you have to be okay with it. And I'm totally okay with it. I enjoy it so much when someone comes up to me and they feel like they know me, I'm like, oh my god, let me know you too, you know. I embrace it because that's who I am.
Helen:So anyway, the point is when your viewers feel connected to you, they are going to have more of a loyalty. And I'm going to close with this because I had another private session this past week. And it was with a gentleman who I just didn't expect this. He had I wish that I was recording that session because it was so moving, the things that he said in the beginning. And then I was like, man, I wish I was recording this because he told oh, how come I'm do this without being emotional?
Helen:But he told me that he was hold on, drink. Okay, regroup. Because he told me he was following me during my cancer journey. And he's like, Yeah, I would, I was so inspired watching you. And yikes.
Helen:I hate when this happens unexpectedly. But he said that he would go to my page because he would go, oh, I think she had a doctor's appointment yesterday. Let me see if she posted. Are you freaking kidding me? Like, somebody in the middle of I think he lives in Colorado.
Helen:I can't remember now. But some wherever he lives. He was invested in what I was going through. You know what I mean? And that, it's moving.
Helen:So the point is, I was moved by this because I realized the impact that I had on someone I didn't even know, which is like that's the part I think we don't realize as creators. So when you start to put yourself out there, you might not realize the impact you're having and you may never know. Like if I never had a one on one with this guy, I would never have known about this. And to me, it's like holy crap. Like I don't even think I realize the impact that some of my videos have had on people.
Helen:And I'll never know. I mean, was random that I got to know from from this one because I had a meeting and it was like, oh, I just want to say this to you before we start. And I was like blown away. I don't even know how I even kept it together. But I think the point is it's just that is just a big dramatic maybe example, I guess.
Helen:But it's it just shows you that even when you post and somebody says, oh, I only have 200 views on my videos, 200 is a lot of people. And of those 200 people, like, someone was really impacted. I'm positive. It's just like it's the odds are that if 200 people think about 200 people at a party. That's a big party.
Helen:You need think of wedding. Okay. You had a whole wedding watching a video. Not even. That's a big wedding because I think of wedding as a 100 people.
Helen:So you have a 200 person wedding watching your video and someone was moved. You know, someone made a connection of the odds are. So I think that what we're really missing with, like, this whole, oh, I don't have my views are so low is, like, are they, though? Because you really might be impacting someone, and you don't even realize it. So I guess the whole point here is post like it's your diary and whatever that means to you.
Helen:And you never know who you're impacting. Okay? If you loved this episode despite my breakdown, please subscribe because then you'll get the notifications when I release an episode And I think it helps me in the algorithm. So subscribe, make a comment, make a little rating. I never ask that.
Helen:So on this one, since I bared my soul, I'm asking you to please do something. Press the buttons on a podcast, whatever that means. And thank you so much for being here with me week to week. I hope you had a good shower. You know who you are.
Helen:Bye.
