I received an overwhelming number of responses from one of my recent blog posts, “Your Values Always Come at a Cost“. So much so, that the majority of that post’s comments came directly from subscribers to my Raise Your Voice newsletter via email replies.
This comment came from Amanda, a public health student:
One thing that’s given me solace during this time is that so many people are looking for Black voices, in all professional fields. And I want to capitalize on that! Your quote “There should be no question where you stand and you should only want to surround yourself with people who share the same values” really resonated with me. As I matriculate through my MPH program, I’m discovering the importance of raising my voice, as you always remind us to do. But I feel like, no matter what I try to bring awareness to, no one hears me. I know that I have to promote myself in creative ways outside of the traditional resume, and I’ve been utilizing social media to share my thoughts on issues I care about. But I feel discouraged because, between Instagram and Twitter, I don’t have many followers (combined it’s like around 700 total). How can I raise my voice when no one is around to hear me? Hardly anyone likes, retweets, or comments on my posts. Is it because what I’m saying isn’t resonating or that I’m not articulating myself in a way that would make people want to listen to me?
My consulting business began as a Tumblr blog. I used that blog as an outlet to share my thoughts on what eventually became my business’ vision, mission, and core services.
Over the years, I’ve slowly built up a social media following, where I’ve been more intentional about connecting, networking, and highlighting what I can do. But what I’ve learned along the way is that there’s more to building an audience than likes, shares, and retweets.
While these metrics can tell you how you’re resonating with your audience, unless you ask every single person why they’re following you, these numbers don’t tell the full story. Some of the most engaged followers you’ll have are the ones that don’t do these actions, but they’re still paying close attention.
I would consider myself to have a small social media following, but while promoting myself on social media as been part of the job, I’ve never landed a client based on something I’ve posted on social media.
How did they find me? They either asked around or they Googled something and came across one of my blog posts. Possibly an older blog post in which my voice and message weren’t as strong as it is today. They perused my blog and website and noticed how my voice has evolved and strengthened over time. I’m also sure my Raise Your Voice newsletter subscribers who have been around since my first newsletter have noticed this as well.
I took the time to get clear on who I am and how I wanted to show up for my audience, especially my clients. I wanted to position myself so that a prospective client could look at me and say, “She’s the right person for the job”.
Raise your voice regardless of the size of your audience. Use this time to strengthen your voice and message for the followers who are here right now.
The last thing you want is to suddenly gain an influx of followers and you haven’t strengthened your voice and message.
I know it’s hard to not focus on the numbers, especially when you see others’ numbers seemingly skyrocketing. If you want a larger following, ask yourself WHY. Why do I want a larger following? What do I gain from having a larger following? Who do I want to make up this following? (Because not everyone who follows you actually cares about your perspective). As you contemplate this, take advantage of the audience you have right now. Ask questions, comment on their posts, give recommendations, and make the most out of your following.
I also understand how frustrating it can be to see someone with a larger following having large amounts of engagement. What I’ve found to be true (for me) is I noticed I was comparing my beginning to someone’s ending. Most individuals did not start with a large number of followers. Sometimes it seems as though they’re overnight sensations, but I guarantee you that they used their time finding their voice and crafting their message before their audience grew, and their voice and message grew stronger over time. Messing up in front of a smaller audience is nothing compared to what can happen when you mess up in front of a larger audience.
When we’re hyper-focused on gaining a larger following before getting clear on our voice and message, it leads to insecurities as you won’t be able to dialogue with and stand in your message when followers don’t agree with you, and it also leads to confusion for your followers because they won’t understand what you’re saying.
The clearer your voice and message are, the likelihood of your ideal audience finding you. What constitutes a small or large social media following is subjective, but 700 people are following you for a reason. You’ve probably been able to establish trust and the ability to share your perspective on public health in ways that may be refreshing to your followers. Continue to go with that.
Raise Your Voice: How are you making your voice and message clear, regardless of the size of your audience? Share below in the comments section.
