Vitamin C Charisma: Being Digital
Hopefully, you’ve already read the first part of my CUNT series, but recap for the slackers, my CUNT series discusses the usage of charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent towards launching a career, furthering a career, or in life, generally. The first part, Charisma - Digital Appearance/Presence, discusses the curation of a brand image. This post is to act complementary to that post to help you with the real guts of a brand - work.
I know, just reading the word “work” triggered you, but you are going to stop fake crying, turn your ass around and get the fuck back to your seat because let’s be clear, being an influencer/content creator/brand ambassador is work, you just have more control over the your day than you probably did when you clocked into Hell today (no honestly, every single person helping these businesses to stay open by being worked to the bone, especially during this pandemic, for barely any pay needs to be compensated, Joe Byron 😒. Stop playing on their names and bless their bank accounts). It’s work, but it’s more so a labor of love.
Building a brand doesn’t only help expand your pocket, but your reach of opportunities, which are priceless. How else do you think some of these TikTokers are popping up with acting and singing careers? That dream life you want doesn’t come free. So, we’re going to use our work ethic and creativity to get our names in doors we’ve yet to walk in so that we can, one day, walk through them.
So, let’s get into it…
yuh…
Content Creation
Content is the basis on your social media. The only person that can gain a following and never lose a single opportunity by not posting is Beyoncé, and that’s after making content for over 20 years in the business. You are not Bey.
Therefore, the best place for you to start with creating content is where you want to be. You want to have a career in dance? Post original choreography and cover videos. Post about workshops you’re attending. Participate in dance trends on TikTok or perhaps, make your own (make sure you get credited so you, too, can end up in a Takis commercial). Even if you’re not the best dancer, direct your platform towards a “track my progress” angle. It’s inspirational to those who thought all hope was lost because they didn’t have an ounce of rhythm, but maybe there is still some hope left that they can at least learn a 2-step.
Popular Content Categories
- Makeup Tutorials
- Reviews
- Tech
- Finance
- Dance/Song Covers
- Recipes
- Styling
- Self Help/Self Care
- Comedy
- Etc.
And when you run out of ideas on what to post (because let’s be honest, creative blocks happen which is why my fanfics haven’t been updated in…don’t ask), collaboration might just be the savior you’re looking for because two minds will always be better than one. Where you lack, somebody might be able to pick up. Not to mention, being introduced to their base can only help you in expanding yours.
Quality
Everything you touch should be high quality. Invest into proper lighting. Amazon literally has a vast amount of light ring options to choose from depending on your price range and can get it to you tomorrow. What’s the excuse? Learn how to polish and edit your video/photos. There are plenty of YouTube and TikTok tutorials teaching how to a wide range of apps to achieve a particular effect or look, and most of these apps are free…for the most part. Every blog post should be well-thought out and not rushed. Well-researched. Quality, quality, qualityyyyy! I can’t stress it enough, but first impressions are important and I can’t tell you how many things I skip over simply because it looks cheap, unpolished, and unorganized.
There’s a difference between something being cheap and looking cheap. I love a good deal, but I don’t want to look like I got it on a deal.
Popular Editing Apps
- Adobe (Lightroom, Photoshop, etc)
- VSCO
- Snapseed
- TouchRetouch
- Facetune
- Afterlight
- InShot
- Splice
*This doesn’t include the editing options that are already included in the apps, but if you want a very high-end quality to your content, I wouldn’t rely on those existing options too much.
**I have a post specifically about posing and body language coming in the near future, but if you want a list of my favorite content creators that discuss posing and editing, I will gladly make a post tagging their accounts.
Utilize Your Platforms for Maximum Optimization
You wouldn’t post a podcast onto Twitter. That’s stupid. But you would tweet a link to it. You wouldn’t post an autobiography on TikTok. Again, stupid. It sound redundant, but it’s so important to understand which app is best for what. Like, announcing the publish date and time of when you post a YouTube video? Twitter. Dance choreographies? TikTok or YouTube depending on the length of said dance.
Utilize those analytics to find out the best type of post, what hashtags, what time to post works best with your audience and adjust yourselves accordingly.
Attracting Followers
Now, that we’ve covered content, you’re probably wondering, “Well, when are the followers going to come rolling in?” And if you want to buy followers like SOME people, go right ahead, but on this blog, we’re building things organically. I refuse to have anybody talking my advice be confused for an industry plant. Not on my watch. So, let’s cover how to attract followers.
Hashtags
I’m still haunted by the word “hashtag” thanks to the many white girls circa 2013-2015 that would literally say “hashtag ___”. Still makes my skin crawl, like Bring It On Worldwide #Cheersmack where they thought it was funny to make every other word a cheer pun.
(Honestly, who keeps approving these sequels because did they really think they could outshine the original? The sequels are just knockoffs.)
But I will swallow my disgust temporarily because of just how important they are to reaching your audience. How else did you think they would find you? Magic flute?
Find out the best hashtags, and maybe some more nuanced, that your audience uses to search for content. The key is to become the go-to for that particular hashtag and content. You want to become the first one to pop up on the search. That’s how it works. Include them into your stories (there are tutorials on how to hide them for aesthetic reasons). Keep a copy of these hashtags on standby in your notes, so you only have to copy-and-paste.
If you’re interested in ending up on a specific brand’s social media, not only tag them in your content, but also include tags that they typically search for. You want to be seen? You can’t hide, too intimidated too even have Twitter fingers. You really going to let Meek Mill have bigger balls than you? Seriously? MAKE 👏🏼 THEM 👏🏼 LOOK 👏🏼!!
Engagement
You want to interact with your audience. Ask open-ended questions in your captions. Introduce polls to your posts. Converse with them, even check out their page and show your appreciation back. You can’t ignore them and expect them to continue to follow/subscribe to you.
Consistent Posting
I’ll be the first to tell you that inconsistency can kill your brand before you do. Yes, quality matters, but you need to balance that equation with quantity. If you want to take months, years, millenniums to update, trust and believe, your audience will gladly leave for someone that provides the same content you do on a regular basis. Nobody is trying to wait forever for you to make up your mind.
What you’re going to want to do is maintain a schedule. There are programs, such as HootSuite, that assist in social media management of multiple accounts in one space, where you can schedule posts across multiple platforms, view analytics, etc. Most of these programs, though helpful, will cost you, so if you want to save some money, invest in a planner or calendar for now.
Plugging
It should go without saying, but I’ll say it, plug your other platforms. Say one platform has much more of a following than your other ones. You’ll want to direct that traffic towards your other platforms. You do that by plugging. Plus, if you’re constantly uploading across different platforms (not simultaneously), it’ll keep your fan base fed.
Another note I would recommend is having a username that is the same or similar across all platforms so that it’s easier for you to be found if you aren’t plugging.
Monetizing Your Content
There are a few ways to monetize your content, such as:
Influencer Programs
Influencer programs help to bring brands to you that pay per post you make promoting their products. Not all of them are paid, however, at least not financial compensation. You’ll get free products. But if you wanna make the big bucks like the KarJenners, invest into building your base and your brand, and you’ll get it. The bigger you base, the bigger the paycheck. (You can Google a few and apply to join or reach out to the brand specifically through their designated email address for PR and such).
Affiliate Programs
Affiliate programs allow you to pick a specific product and brand to promote with a custom link or coupon code, and you get paid for every click and commission for every transaction made using your link/code. The affiliate programs I am a part of is Amazon and Aimee. So, if you’re interested in an extra stream of income or just extra information, don’t hesitate to DM me.
Selling Your Own Merchandising/Promoting Your Own Business
Selling merchandise is another way to monetize your platform. Pietra Creator Hub is a website that connects you with suppliers to create product lines, graphic designers to come up with packaging/logos/prints, create a website, and help you with essentially everything you may need to create and launch a business. Launching a business isn’t cheap, but as I’ve said, the more you invest into your brand, the more you get back.
Spotlight
I would like to spotlight one of my favorite bloggers and creators on this app - @babyphat05 . I specifically want to point out her usage of social media to building her brand. As you can see, she doesn’t post herself personally, but her brand image and content creates such a clear persona that it’s not needed. She creates amazing and original content that is always of high quality gearing towards you being your most glamorous and ambitious self. Even when she’s not posting on her blog sheissobougie and releasing worksheet/guides to help you better yourself (a way that she monetizes her content), she is always posting on here and engaging with her followers. She’s really is an example to follow.
Take Aways: A brand image is powerful, but is meaningless without the foundation of work to support it.
*Gifs not mine.
my inbox is always open 🌸🧸 stay tuned for future posts. check out my previous post on digital branding here
Omg I love this thank you so so much for shouting me out 😭😭😭
