If you're an entrepreneur, social media should be a part of your day. Every day. Period. Sorry.

Instagram, facebook, twitter, snapchat, whatever your social drug of choice is. As a photographer, mine is instagram and I post at least 1-2 times a day. Last year I set a goal to post to instagram no less than one time a day, EVERY day, just to see if it would make a difference in my business and it did. When you're present, people take notice. If you are running any kind business (or attempting to) you should know by now….branding yourself is important! Personal branding is all about you and the role you play within your business' brand and social media makes it so easy to show people what you're all about! Infusing who you are personally into whatever brand you are trying to build and letting people get a little inside peek at the person behind the curtain is always a good look. You should be posting about your life AND your boss moves regularly like your business depends on it. Because it kind of does. And here's why.

People want to Know Who the Hell YOU Are!

People lurve mission-based companies, brands with a meaning, small businesses, and solopreneurs who literally let out a sigh of relief every time a sale hits their inbox. In order for people to feel connected to you, especially enough to do business with you, they need to know who the hell you are! When you only post your product and leave the rest of your life tucked tightly away, you aren’t allowing that authentic connection to form between you and someone you don’t know. If you can survive on sales from just people that personally know you, then by all means, stay in your cute, adorbs cave. But....I’m willing to bet you need more than a few friends to sustain your business. You gotta let people innn! People like knowing where you shop, if you vote, your favorite coffee shop, things that allow them to relate to you. If you have a kid that is your world, post em. If you hit up a festival every other weekend because you love music just that much, tell us. If tarot cards are your jam, don’t keep it a secret. All these things give people an idea of who you are as a person and it gives like-minded people genuine reasons to support you and what you’re doing.

Your Ideal Tribe Will Follow the Sound of Your Voice

Someone once told me that you are the five people you hang around. Well I only hang around boss ass babes that get shit done so thats about right. Jokes aside, the way you project yourself does attract like-individuals aka your tribe. So be sure to use your real voice on your social media platforms (and your website) so that you can attract both the right customers and the right girl gang. If you cuss, cuss. If you don’t, well hell don't. If you say ‘yall’, don't change it. If you’re an activist, drop your political opinion every now and then. If you’re unapologetically black, be that always. If you're a cat lady, more power to ya! Don’t be afraid to be yourself or feel pressured to be someone you’re not. Authenticity is the key to using social media as a means to expand your network and your business. People who like what you put out there will follow right along and people who don’t will exit stage left. But you weren’t checking for them anyway....

Social Platforms Are your Resume

Have you ever asked someone what their IG handle is and they say “I don’t have one” or “I have one but I don’t post to it”? Girl. I don’t know about ya’ll, but sometimes I just cant even. Like it or not social platforms are your resume. We’ve all probably been in a situation where we’ve forgotten our business card to give someone so instead we just give people our instagram name. Even when you have a website! Websites are where you sell your services all professional-like and whatnot, but your social media is where you sell YOU. Your social media site tells people who you are, what you do, how often you do it, and why they should think about doing it with you. Today, people are making decisions based on the 'why' more so than the 'what'. Your social sites along with effective branding answer that. Its where people find out what makes your heart sing outside of your business, or how you felt when something major happened in your city. Its where your business takes a more human form and where personal connections are made (Yes! Personal connections can be made through the 'internets'). If you want a business people can really get behind, you should have at least 1 or 2 social media accounts and also be active on them. Post, comment, like, all that. You cant jump on once a month and then wonder why you don’t have any new clients or why nobody is asking to meet you for coffee or why no one hit you up about a cool project that you'd be perfect for. How can they if they don’t see you? The answer is they can't. Make sure your 'resume' is updated regularly for maximum impact!

Now, if the thought of spending more time on your social media sites makes you roll your eyes and grab the nearest bottle of prosecco, I mean I totally feel ya; social media can feel like a beast. But there are a few ways you can manage it without overwhelming yourself or falling behind. You can hire a social media guru or content creator who loves posting to twitter and instagram all day, every day to make up posts for you. And if you don't have the budget for that, you can download apps like Buffer or Later that help you schedule posts out in advance so you don't have to worry about it on a daily basis. Or just simply make a pinky promise to yourself that you will find at least one thing to post about every day, and just do it! Whatever path you choose, just make sure that you keep up with it. The more you do it, the easier it'll become. Ready to take the plunge? Start with a post simply introducing yourself to your followers and then go from there!

So I'll see ya on the gram, yea?