When I attended college we had the opportunity to host Mark Schaefer during our annual Social Media Week presented by both our Advertising & PR Clubs at the University of Tennessee. He started the session speaking directly about his book, Return on Influence, and just how impactful social influence is, even today four years later.
Now, if you don’t know who Mark Schaefer is I highly recommend dropping my personal favorites The Content Code, Return on Influence, or The Tao of Twitter in your cart the next time you go shopping on Amazon.
Mark is an acclaimed speaker, author and college educator who has spoken globally on the power of social media. Leveraging his personal experience with over thirty years in global sales, PR and marketing. He has authored seven books, frequently spoken at SXSW, is an avid Keynote speaker, and developed corporate marketing strategies for global brands such as Adidas, Johnson & Johnson, The U.S. Air Force, and so much more.
Four years ago, the power of social media was almost seen as a sleeping giant, unknown or unrealized to the average user. No one really understood just how powerful social media would continue to become, and just how important it would be to your identity. Sure, we all acknowledged the power, but at the time it’s likely safe to say that the average person didn’t quite understand just how impactful the algorithm working behind the scenes would become. We were more focused on the authenticity that brands were needing to adapt in order to better appeal to the average consumer, and posting cool shit on our own pages.
In his book, Mark specifically calls out the idea of Social Proof. Social proof can be easily explained through the idea of believing, or being attracted to something simply because of the validation the patrons provide with the item, brand, or more. Mark Schaefer quotes a man named Jay Beer who states:
“In the world of social media, social proof is what makes you legitimate.”
I still believe that this statement accurately explains just how important social proof is to your social presence. If your content cannot be honest and valid, how can it be legitimate? If you aren’t acting authentic to your core, are you simply just another influencer posting an ad on their personal page? What makes you any different from them?
I’ll admit this, I make a conscious effort to try to show the best version of myself on Instagram. We all do. But, over the last few months in the wake of Covid-19, the Black Lives Matter movement, and even more recently the election, now more than ever our friends and followers crave honesty and open opinion. People want to see the authenticity amplified.
Being authentic also inevitably results in being vulnerable, and through the act of being vulnerable you cultivate stronger connections with those around you.
So why is it that we continue to put our best foot forward on these platforms? Or better yet, why do we focus on our image so heavily that we’re afraid not enough likes on a post means we’re not a valuable human being?
What this comes down to is the co-dependence we’ve formed with these platforms, and in a way, have shaped them to be an extension of ourselves in digital form.
All that said, social media isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I really believe that the platforms we use create opportunities for us to connect with people who might not be close to us, find brands we’ve maybe never even heard of before, and even learn a thing or two here and there. The platforms allow for big and small businesses owners, particularly during COVID-19, to use personalized ads to target audiences online who might be interested in purchasing their products.
Keeping all this in mind, it would be ignorant to ignore the slew of fake news and toxicity that appears on the platforms (which, as a note, the majority of these social companies are actively working to protect our voice and safety). But, this toxic and false environment should not come as a surprise to any of us. We all grew up in an age where the saying, “if you read it on the internet, it must be true” was and still is a rolling joke. Have we all really forgotten? Check your sources, and check multiple sources at that.
In the lane of toxic environments, outside of the realm of fake news and more in the line of how likes and friend requests dictate our popularity, we have to constantly remind ourselves that this shouldn’t decide how we judge ourselves. Sure, people are unique, but we’re really not that different. We all uniquely have our own set of skills and particular desires that make up our personalities, but we all have very similar core values and needs at the end of the day. We all tend to over-analyze and judge ourselves and others by thinking a little too much about the way we acted odd in a situation, the way we said something, what we wore, how we performed, and more. There is also of course the obvious needs for water, food, air, compatibility, safety, success… Need I go on?
The fact is, we’re all not that different, and the judgement we feel is created through a false perception we have of ourselves. This perception we hold is reflected through our codependency on social media as well. Yet another reason why being authentic and learning to not take every “like” so seriously is so crazy important.
All this to say, I encourage you to be more authentic, be vulnerable, and quit over analyzing how that Instagram post performed when you posted at the “prime” time Sunday afternoon. Maybe even put your phone down for a few hours and try doing something a bit more intentional with your time. And, if you feel compelled to share that intentional thing on social media, do it and don’t be afraid of the perception. Instead be more confident in that thing you’re proud to share that reflects your own authenticity, and really fucking own it.
Proud papa! You are an amazing writer!!