Brand-esteem

Brand-esteem

When you run an online business you end up spending more time than you ever imagined you would on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Sure I was on there before Sewcialite, I still am, for personal reasons, like entertainment, online shopping, and to keep up and share with friends and family. But when you’re building an online brand and you’re marketing not only yourself but a product too, being “online” means something entirely different.

I’m ashamed to admit just how many hours I am “online” each day. Posting, planning posts, sharing insta stories, commenting, liking, engaging, taking out ads. It’s a full time job even before I spend any time actually designing the product I sell. I jokingly tell my friends I think I’m a Kardashian. Just without the bank account and millions of followers.

I’ve recently had quite a few friends declare that they are taking a “social media break.” As a purely online business it seems impossible for me to ever really take a break. Not without the risk of losing revenue or worse consumer interest and engagement. Damn those Instagram algorithms. You won’t believe how quickly you lose your social media presence if you aren’t active.

If I’m being honest, marketing myself and my business has me feeling inadequate most days. Now I have to deal with FOMO (fear of missing out) because actively being on social media daily and getting exposure and engagement equate to sales.

Every post has to be as good as or better than the last. You start worrying why one post got more engagement over another. Or why people unfollow you? And why you aren’t gaining more followers? You start comparing yourself to other accounts. You quickly realize (no matter what you’re selling) that you are in a sea of millions of other talented creatives with amazing social media accounts vying for the same consumer attentions, comments, likes and follows. And let me just say….it’s freaking exhausting!

Ssh…do you hear that? It’s every other entrepreneur I know screaming YAS at the top of their lungs! We like to call all this crazy I just described as the hustle in the small biz world. And it is NO JOKE! It literally makes you feel like a dancing monkey at the circus.

One of the biggest challenges I have faced in building an online brand presence (outside of holding onto my sanity), is trying to retain my confidence and remain authentic. How do you share real life when everything has to be picture perfect? How much real life do people want to see? P.S real life is nowhere near perfect, it’s actually a hot mess most days.

Your target market may prefer a certain look, style, or design. Do you stay true to your esthetic and risk losing business? I swear it’s not until you have seen yourself talking on an Insta story that you truly understand just how easily your self-esteem can tank from being on social media. I say this because I have literally cringed from seeing myself online. I know I may come off nonchalant and confident but I’m not.

So how do I keep going? Why do I keep going you ask? Because at the end of the day, I love what I do and I love being able to share it. And if I strip away all the crazy social media marketing and worrying about if you’re going to like, comment, or follow me. Doing something that makes me feel good is what truly matters. It’s why I started all the crazy rope designs to begin with. So when I no longer enjoy what I’m doing, then that’s the day I will officially take a “social media break.”

Also setting realistic goals for yourself really helps too. Like I’m probably NOT going to hit 10K followers anytime soon so I can get that cool swipe up functionality on Instagram, or get discovered by Joanna Gaines (no matter how many times I tag her) or end up on HGTV. Haha And I’m totally ok with that because I’m not doing this to be famous. I’m grateful for the sales, followers and engagement I have today!

I’d love to hear from you! Tell me what you thought of this blog post!

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