Social Media: Ok, but how do I start?

One of the most-asked questions I receive about social media, blogging, or personal branding success is about getting started. Whether it's with a blog, a YouTube channel, or a social media persona, getting started can feel like a monumental task in and of itself.

I connected this week with a woman on Facebook who needed help "finding her niche" on social media. She already had an unofficial social media presence, but she wanted to leverage the existing profiles she had to find her niche, build an audience, and, eventually grow her business.

"How do I get started?" she asked.

Here are a few articles I've written in the past that help simplify the steps at the beginning of creating an incredible digital or online persona for yourself:

1. If you want to be an "influencer," you need to understand the responsibility behind that term, as well as what TRULY influential people value.

2. Speaking of values, have you identified yours? Knowing your personal values is directly connected to success in the online world.

3. Create a social media mission statement. A mission statement may seem extraneous, but it can seriously help guide your efforts.

4. Strive for authenticity in every piece of content you produce. Not quite sure what that means? Check this out.

"Ok, but these articles have little-to-no strategies on what to post, when to post it, and how to grow an audience."

Sigh, I know. And there's a reason for that.

Developing the right attitudes and beliefs about social media before you dive into it can be just as crucial to your success as finding the right tools and platforms.

Throwing everything at your audience in hopes of seeing what sticks can be a draining endeavor.

Focus, instead, on activities that are going to help you, creatively. In turn, this will give you the proper fuel to play the long game in social media, which is where REAL success happens.

Curious to know more about social media? Subscribe to my site or follow me on Instagram or Twitter at @mareejones.