7 Tips to Develop the Confidence You Need to Show Up On Social Media

Jun 4

“Confidence is not just something you have-it’s something you create. It's a sense of certainty. It's the feeling that you can accomplish anything that comes your way. It's a state of mind that you can harness to help you get the results you want. If you’re not feeling confident, you don’t always have to put yourself through a pep talk to get psyched up. Instead, learn how to show confidence by using your body to your advantage.” - Tony Robbins

Oh, Tony. So much wisdom. He also explains that where you fo cus your att ention is where your energy will flow, so if you’re nervous and that’s all you’re paying attention to, then you’ll look and sound, well, nervous.

There is a difference between looking confident and being confident, and I think it all starts with a little fake-it-until-you-make-it attitude, sprinkled with sheer determination to be more outgoing. This applies to several areas of life, and especially when trying to grow your business.

Recently, as I was onboarding a new client, she mentioned that one of her biggest pain points in growing her business was how afraid she was of having to show up, even on sales calls. It’s not that she lacks the ability, she is quite capable. She just lacks the confidence to be herself in those situations (video, live chats, sales calls, etc) After one week, and some quick tips, she took the leap and started showing up….and she got some wins!

So, how can you develop more confidence to show up on social media to promote yourself and your business?

Follow these seven tips below..

The 7 Helpful Tips To be More Confident on Social Media

1. Make a Plan

This is table stakes. You can’t be confident on social media if you’re out there plan-less and winging it. Trust me on this. We’ve all heard the expression ‘when you fail to plan, you plan to fail’ and it’s never a good idea to be reckless with your social media content.

Think of it like building a house. You start with a proper foundation. Having the confidence to show up on social media is no different - it starts with a solid foundation.

So what’s in a social media plan?

Your social media plan starts with your strategy and ends with your calendar. (Don’t think you need a strategy? You do. Here’s why)

Your strategy should cover things like target audience, content buckets, voice, channels, and post frequency. You’ll soon see the beauty of creating a social media strategy because it makes content creation so much easier. It gives you a clear roadmap of what topics you will cover and how often so you’ll never have to scratch your head and wonder what to post again.

2. Create a Schedule

Start by planning out your content in two-week batches. Grab a calendar so you can see important dates and be ready to reference your strategy so you can determine what topics you want to cover and on which days and times.

It’s helpful to schedule a full day every couple of weeks to create all your upcoming content in one sitting. You can plan all your post topics and then write out the captions as well as create the visuals all at once. This is also a great time to record all your video content.

Yes, I said video content. Stop hyperventilating for a second and listen carefully to what I’m about to tell you.

First, video content is the number one way to foster a connection with your audience so making an effort to create video content will eventually pay off in spades.

Second, recording content well in advance is helpful because it keeps you organized and accountable and it also means less pressure on you to create something on the fly.

Finally, recording in advance means plenty of time to ‘get it right’. That means you can edit and re-record to your heart’s content in order to feel comfortable and more confident with what you are about to put out into the world. Which is the ultimate goal, right?

So, once you’ve got all your content created, you can use a scheduling tool (like Facebook Creator Studio, Hootsuite, or Later) to schedule your posts for the next two weeks.

If you plan to go live or record video content that can’t be scheduled ahead of time, make sure to schedule those days in your calendar. Commit to it.

Whatever schedule you start with, the key is to remain consistent week-to-week. Consistency and accountability to your audience will lead to a gain in followers and engagement.

Related: 8 Ways to Find Balance Between Work and Creativity.

3. Outline Your Speaking Points

Before jumping on a video or a live, outline the 3-5 points that you want to discuss. I write these points down on a post-it note and hold it in my hand when I am speaking and will refer to it if I get off-track. And yes, I do get off-track sometimes. In today’s world, being authentic and making mistakes (ah!) is human and believe it or not, expected.

Perfectionism is often at the root of our confidence issues. The thought of making mistakes (especially on camera) is what prevents so many of us from showing up. But here’s the thing: Your community wants to know that you are human and they want connection. Think about what type of content you most connect with on social channels. Are you drawn to someone who always shows up perfectly 100% of the time? Or do you prefer consuming content from someone who is a little more relatable and real in what they publish?

Mistakes are relatable. And people like to see things they can relate to because that’s what makes a brand more personable. So be yourself!

4. Show up More Often

The more you do it, the easier it gets. This one’s not rocket science, it's just about showing up again and again.

It takes an immense amount of courage to put yourself, your thoughts, opinions, and values out into the world. Give yourself a pat on the back for taking your very first, scary leap.

And take comfort in the fact that once you start doing it, you will notice that it gets easier and easier every time.

5. Expect Real Growth from Yourself

Yes, being on camera is intimidating, but all those successful influencers you follow also show up with doubt and fear. When I first started showing up live on social channels, I was crap! I hardly had any viewers, and no one liked or left comments. But the more I showed up and the more I studied the platforms, the more I grew. And with growth comes confidence. This ties back into the ‘fake it until you make it’ mindset. It’s scary at first, but you’ll learn and grow leaps and bounds from being outside your comfort zone.

6. Consistency is Your Currency

I say this all the time. Be consistent. Don’t drop 5 IGTVs one week and go radio silent for the next week. You have to create the plan, secure the schedule, and show up every day or every week as outlined in your plan.

Try not to get discouraged if you feel like you are putting content out there and getting nothing back in return. Just keep showing up. Your audience will get to know you better if you are showing up regularly and they will show up for you eventually. Some of the most successful people I know have told me that the key to their success isn’t because they are the smartest or best at what they do, but because they are the most consistent.

Now, as you work on improving and showing up consistently, you may have days where you get frustrated and second-guess your abilities. Try to keep your inner critic at bay and instead find the things each day you are proud of to celebrate.

7. Consume Less Content

Want to get better at creating content? Consume less of it.

I follow the Pareto Principle of 20% consumption and 80% execution. That means you need to scroll less and plan more. While there is an important time for engaging and connecting on social media, growth will only happen if you execute your content plan.

I highly suggest you create a task in your calendar (ahem SCHEDULE IT) for engagement so that you can protect your creative times. But don't fall down the rabbit hole of the scroll. That's for lazy people trying to avoid the inevitable: work!

Last Words Of Advice

This above all else: be YOU! You have a story to share, perspectives and opinions to give, and a whole audience to inspire. When you believe in yourself, everything changes.

You just have to walk in the room and be fearless. Never let people think for a minute that you couldn’t totally take them down.- Stevie Nick

To gain more confidence on social channels will take a lot of practice, but that’s the only way to keep improving. Pushing yourself outside your comfort zone is scary, I know. But it’s where you will find the most success. And success, my friend, builds infinite confidence.

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