Being authentic has a lot of attributes to it. It’s not just about getting on LinkedIn with your fun and telling a story.
I find it so sad when people get on their mobile phone and they say, “John Smith challenged me to do my very first video on LinkedIn. So here I am, I’m here. There.” To me, that’s a missed opportunity.
Also, who cares? Who actually cares that someone challenged you, and who cares that it’s your first time on social media?
The reason I say that is not because I’m not empathetic – it’s because no one cares. People have a three to five second attention span on social media. So no one is caring, whether it’s your first time, your last time when someone challenged you.
But what I would care is, if you actually go up the phone and you actually put that story into context for what it is that you want to be known for. Those type of videos work really well. I do them all the time. It’s in context.
You’re not going to hear me talking about, “Hey, here are my kids. Merry Christmas, everybody. We’re going to sing a jingle bell song, just to wish you all a Merry Christmas to the #LinkedIn Fam.”
Please. You’re never going to see me do that wasted opportunity, even though people might say, but Mary, we get to see the real you.
That’s not how I want you to see the real me, the real me is how I articulate the things that I care about, that I stand for, that I’m passionate about.
I’ve always put into context what it is that I do, who it is that I serve, and what it is that I promise.
