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Phil Cooke > Finding Your Authentic Voice on Social Media
Finding your authentic voice in social media isn’t that different from traditional media.
I had a client once who was a TV host. The problem was, as soon as the red light came on the camera, he became a completely different person. His voice got deeper. His style became bigger. He was more over the top. The problem was – that wasn’t him. Even his friends would tell him, “Stop using your TV voice.” But many of us do the same thing on social media. We try toproject authority, sound more spiritual, or generally be someone we’re not. Remember my age-old branding advice – a brand isn’t about becoming something (or someone) else, it’s about discovering who you really are. So with that in mind – here’s my advice about finding the real you on social media:
1) Don’t say things on social media you wouldn’t say to someone face to face. I have a friend that suddenly becomes totally “spiritual” on social media. He blurts out cheesy cornball Christian sayings he’d never actually say to anyone face to face. Others become hyper political, or try to be overly inspiring. If that’s not you when you’re off Facebook, then my advice is to drop it when you’re on Facebook.
2) Think about your own personality. Do you love jokes? Make people happy? Think about more serious things? Love sports? Keep that personality online. People like you because you’re unique, so stop trying to be someone else. Make sure that if your followers didn’t know it was you, they’d be able to figure it out just by your subject matter, writing style, and online personality.
3) Write about the One Big Thing in your life. Just like I write about in my book, discovering the One Thing that defines you, that you’re passionate about, and that you love is the key to discovering your purpose – and developing your brand. If you haven’t read the book, I’d encourage you to get it right away. Once you find that unique niche, then your voice becomes defined, and you’ll start getting noticed.
You can stay frustrated that few people are following you on social media, or start re-thinking your unique voice. It’s not something you make up – it’s something you are. Find it and start getting heard.
This post originally appeared on Phil’s blog.
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About Phil Cooke
An internationally known writer and speaker, Phil Cooke has actually produced media programming in nearly 50 countries around the world. In the process, has been shot at, survived two military coups, fallen out of a helicopter, and in Africa, been threatened with prison. And during that time—through his company Cooke Pictures in Burbank, California—he’s helped some of the largest nonprofit organizations and leaders in the world use the media to tell their story in a changing, disrupted culture.
According to former CNN journalist Paula Zahn, Phil is rare—a working producer in Hollywood with a Ph.D. in Theology. He’s appeared on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, and his work has been profiled in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal.
His book Jolt!: Get the Jump on a World That’s Constantly Changing shares his secrets of making today’s culture of disruption and change work for you. One Big Thing: Discovering What You Were Born to Do helps you find the great purpose and calling for your life and was named by the Washington Post as one of the Top Five Business Books for 2012. His newest book is Unique: Telling Your Story in the Age of Brands and Social Media.
He’s lectured at universities like Yale, University of California at Berkeley, UCLA, and is an adjunct professor at the King’s University in Los Angeles. In addition to writing his blog at philcooke.com, he also blogs for The Huffington Post, and is a contributor to Fast Company, Forbes.com,
and FoxNews.com.
