Before I answer ‘How to become a Social Media Celebrity’, I have this very inspirational story to share:-
A young Indian girl was very lost in life. Mere 22-23 years old, she didn’t know where she was headed. She couldn’t find a good use of her education, and her relationship status was not a story worth telling, although her turnaround story is pretty amazing!
Bordering on depression and battling constant sadness, she just randomly uploaded a video on YouTube. Only a few friends saw it, it didn’t go viral the first day (of course). But it was good fun. It was a funny video and she realized that making others laugh inspired her. It made her happy. So she made a few more. Social media became her way of fighting depression. Random, funny videos about everyday life of a brown Indian girl in Toronto started becoming a sensation.
Today – she owns a bachelor-pad in LA. I am talking about Lily Singh a.k.a ||Superwoman|| of course! And if you haven’t watched her videos yet, please do. She is a laugh riot.
Lily Singh, and so many other social media celebrities– who are YouTube celebrities, or famous instagrammers, or brilliant LinkedIn influencers, or commendable bloggers – have one thing in common. They found a way to turn around their social media presence into something meaningful. Instead of simply killing time on it, they found a way to make a living out of it.
When it comes to social media success stories, there are examples galore. From bloggers like Neil Patel, Alok Kejriwal, Kiruba Shankar and Miss Malini, to superb content creators like AIB, TVF, to actors like Mithila Palkar and many more – they seem to have hit a formula for social media success. How do they do it? Let’s try to decode how you can leverage on the power of social media to make something very cool out of yourself.
- Your unique talent
Some 15+ yrs back- I discovered my talent to be 1) storytelling & 2) being brutally honest in a funny way with out of the box analogies. Social media became an amplifier. That’s what it is – a multiplier. Social media has no talent in itself. It is an advanced technology. If you are an idiot, you probably won’t go very far. But to make something of yourself, you first need to know your talents.
Timing is also important. When I got onto Social Media; there were not many. So, a clear door was open to be walked through. Now (with almost everyone trying to do it) -it is as difficult as asking a married women for a date and hoping to be successful. Yes! She might just go but the risk-reward ratio may not get favoring you. So, think of ‘what is in future and where there aren’t many people already’. That is where is your answer is lying.
So, ask yourself- ‘what are you genuinely good at’. Even if you are 60% good at it; start doing. The skill set will automatically keep sharpening as you make your own share of mistakes. If you are not camera shy, you can try videos. If you have a knack for photography, a vision for creating good images and a good eye, you can try your hand at platforms like pinterest, Instagram, flickr etc. If you have a way with words, the whole internet is your oyster.
The best part is – your audience is limitless if you have the right knowhow. And even if you do not have that knowhow, you can just Google! The internet has that covered as well 🙂 … topics as specific as hamster grooming, DIY jewellery, henna art, tattoo making, vegan food (and millions more) have an audience waiting. If you do it right, you will find them.
And once you do find them, mix your talent with their needs. Don’t just keep talking garbage in the name of your talent. Do something for your audiences. Solve a problem, make them laugh, share their sadness, share expertise – anything. But help them. Thats what I have been genuinely trying to do over my Blog, Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Twitter & Pinterest. It works and sometimes it works magically.
Just know what you can do and then go do it, like no one else can!
- Show your passion
Just like your talent, your story will also help build trust.
Everyone has a story. What is it that drove you to the platform? What makes your passion points tick? What drives you to post a video every Tuesday, no matter where in the world are you? Why that ‘keeda’ in your head – that makes you paint and upload in the middle of the night?
Social media will be fruitless if your passion is listless, if there is no strength in your purpose. Because here, you have an audience and the good part is that this audience is available 24*7. No matter what you do, you are a marketer; you are selling yourself by selling your stories. And you are entertaining.
It becomes imperative that there be some drama, even in honesty. Social media has revived people like Renuka Shahane from their long hibernation – because it gives them voice. She talks about topics that matter to her, with little drama and lot of honesty. That’s what gets multiplied in this platform – your passion for what you stand for. Make sure that your voice gets heard, and in a different way.
- Don’t consort with the extreme
The internet is a doorway to the infinite, one can say. If it gives us access to every good thing, it also opens doors to a lot of negativity. It gives voice to everyone, even those who do not have the intellectual ability to make good use of the voice.
Result – extreme views. There is a bandwagon out there, with millions following it blindly. You refuse to be a part of that bandwagon. You be the one to make trends, to find new ones. You be the one to break stereotypes and be a pioneer. Don’t outrage on a few you meet online who do not understand your genre. There will be another million who do, should you send out your message in a logical and creative manner.
Criticism is everywhere. And everyone is an armchair critic these days. I work for my believers. They are my target audience. It is them – whom I strive to make happy, to inspire. Not the extremists who refuse to use their brains and acknowledge that everyone is a unique blend of ideas and perspectives. Inside story- I receive hazaar abuses (with a lot of variety too) on my Blogs & other SM. What do I do – I still keep working. Simple!
If you want to leverage on the power of social media, keep your fans closer. And your enemies closer too maybe. They will too, keep talking about you, if not in the same positive light. They will ensure your name remains on the top of search results, making more people curious about you!
- Don’t be addicted
I know this sounds difficult when social media is your bread and butter.
But what I mean is – your creative juices will flow best when you are thinking and spending time with your ideas. And that won’t happen only when you are online. Even when social media is the biggest parcel of your life, make sure it is also just a part.
Your ability to regularly switch off from the digital and spend time with yourself – will help you maintain sanity. I believe being online too much – makes you a reactive person. In life, it is good to delay reactions to avoid over-reactions. Life is more than the 5 reactions you can give on Facebook.
The best content creation happens when you are calm and at peace with yourself. For that, you surely need to switch off from time to time. A good team (or a few good friends) can help you manage things smoothly, so that you can juggle between creating and implementing ideas. Besides, there are many scheduling tools that you can use to ensure your updates reach your audiences in time, but you don’t have to be online 24×7.
Remember – this has to be treated like work. You can’t work all day – can you?
- Install massive patience
I started my career as a Motivational Speaker and Trainer 17 years ago. And I started blogging 7 years ago. I still have a long way to go. The amplification takes time. The ones who become successful overnight – they generally do not last. They either spend the rest of their times living up to that expectation or they fizzle out pretty soon.
A better idea, as you go on about leveraging social media, is to build your brand brick by brick – with strong foundation. That’s the kind of structure that can withstand the test of time. And that’s why you need to install massive patience in your own software to deal with it. Keep honing your skills. And promise yourself that every piece of content that you create online, will be better than what you created yesterday.
Technologies get upgraded every day. If you are committing to a profession built on the power of social media, you will need to follow the latest trends and adapt.
The internet, in its vastness, also gives you all the necessary tools to keep building your brand going. You will find all the help you need to build your social media presence at Neil Patel’s blog.
You could be a doctor, an architect, a cake maker or a massage guy in South Delhi – by juxtaposing Social Media with your already existing career you can get it an escape velocity.
Trust me- you follow the above five points with patience and perseverance – 80% of your syllabus gets automatically covered about How to become a Social Media Celebrity. It is about shedding that mental inertia & taking that one strong decision. Once you decide, stay put to it. And the big bang is as incidental then as a mother-in-law after a marriage.
Rise & Shine!
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