“If your dream only includes you, it’s too small.”
You’ve created something wonderful.
You’re proud. of this work and you want to share it with others.
You know that the world has turned to social media. You know you should be using it.
And then, you open up Instagram or Facebook and you feel dizzy. There are so many accounts, so much information. And you’re convinced that having a huge following must be the way to get people to interact with your work. Do you need to buy followers? Do something really goofy or controversial to get someone’s attention?
Nope.
The key to enjoying all this is to realize that there is community within that chaos.
Connection and community are all that matter in the world. Make a fire in the darkness and invite people to sit with you, sharing stories.
People will be drawn to the flame of your passion. They’ll want to know more about your work.
Your work on social media can create a community.
Imagine a campfire in the darkness.
How many people do you want around that campfire? 2000 people there is going to be a disaster. People will fight to get closer to the fire and kick others out. If you have a dozen people there, everyone has room to be warm and feel like they belong.
Big numbers are not the point. When you make connections and create a community on social media, people will discover your work. And when they find joy in your work, they’ll share that work with the people they love.
Stop caring about followers.
Instead, build a space where people feel like they belong. Feed the fire with more stories, more questions, and more songs. Then, listen to the stories and songs that emerge in the conversation.
When you turn your time on social media into a space to broadcast what matters to you, you can create a corner of the chaos that becomes your community.
I began writing in a personal online space in May of 2005. Since I had been sick, then recently diagnosed with celiac, I named the place where I typed and uploaded my point-and-shoot photos Gluten-Free Girl. I had no idea I’d created one of the first gluten-free blogs in the world.
People found the site, to my amazement, and then they began coming back. Quickly, a community gathered in the comments section. Some of the people who found my site that first year are still following me on Instagram and buying my workshops — 16 years later.
Social media didn’t exist then. Facebook was still in a dorm room. Twitter was a figment of someone’s imagination.
Since I’ve always been fascinated by how people communicate with each other, and I grew up as a kid desperate for community, I joined nearly every social medium soon after it debuted. I’ve been using social media as part of my work ever since.
After 13 years of using them, I’ve learned a lot of strategies to keep them joyful. The key is to create communities. Forget the numbers. Make a community. Then, feed the fire of that community.
I want to show you how to create that too.
How will we do this?
We’ll meet on Zoom, once, for a 2-hour seminar.
I’ll be presenting a curriculum that will help you create a solid social media strategy.
I’ll help you realize why you are doing social media, then discover the community you want to create.
We’ll discuss the kinds of images you could produce and how to make videos that pull people in.
I’ll help you think about boundaries and schedules, so you’re not on the phone 6 hours a day.
And I’ll share how I create posts I want to share and how to schedule them.
Afterwards, you’ll receive a workbook with creative prompts, suggestions, and some of my favorite tools and tips.