What is Your Model for Social Media?

social media model

social media modelThe First question to ask Yourself is Why are You in Social Media?  Are You in Social Media to make friends, create more business, become famous ?

Next, clarify what topics You are Passionate about. Notice: I didn’t mention expertise.  Why You ask? Anyone can become an Expert at something through studying and then applying what they have learned, with a lot of dedication and hard work. However… Living, Teaching and Earning from topics You are PASSIONATE about is another thing altogether. Go to YouTube and watch a bunch of how-to videos on the EXACT same subject, then see if You can tell who is PASSIONATE about their subject or who isn’t. Which ones are You drawn to: the Passionate people or the indifferent people? Passion is magnetic – add to that deep knowledge and experience and You have one amazing formula for attracting people towards You.

Now go back to the YouTube how-to’s. Are the presenters talking WITH YOU or are they talking AT You? In other words, do the presenters leave openings between their words and sentences as if they were talking with YOU? Or do they adopt the tone of a GURU or EXPERT?  I, for one, stay CLEAR of people calling themselves a GURU or EXPERT.

Why? Trust me there is always SOMEONE out there that knows more than You do; to be so arrogant, to think You are the ONLY expert in this or that is naive to say the least.  I subscribe to the philosophy that we are all constantly Learning, Playing and Growing… and, although I may know a lot about a subject, I prefer the term Consultant or Mentor, appellations which connote service to Others. While terms like Guru or Expert imply more of a Singular “I” – Listen to Me, Follow Me, etc. – terms like Consultant or Mentor WE suggest “You and I.”

Once You have discovered Why You are in Social Media, What Your Passions are, you need to get honest with Yourself on what You are willing and not willing to do to get there.  Get clear on Your values and boundaries.  And start to write out a Model or Blueprint for Yourself.

ConsciousBusinessCollaborationQuestions

Here are Two of my Models I use which are Specific to Social Media and Business. I’ve abbreviated the descriptions here rather than detail the Entire Blueprint.

Social WE Media LOVE 

Social – Engaging and communicating with others
We – Teamwork
Media – Using various media modalities. For those that are more Visual, use video or images. Podcasts appeal to those who are more auditory. Reach the more analytical among us thru blog posts such as this.
Love – Loving others and being passionate about what I do

And…
Conscious Business Collaboration

Conscious – Being aware of our Ripple Effect in what we say, post, write, do, etc…
Business – Treating Social Media like a business. Those who don’t tend to do more things without prior thought to the results or outcomes of their actions.
Collaboration – It is thru collaborating with others that we Learn, Play, and Grow, which ultimately leads to being better able to serve others.

I hope this has served to bring up some aha moments or questions. Please feel free to leave your feedback and to ask questions.

Carly Alyssa Thorne

By Carly Alyssa Thorne

Speaker, Mentor, Author, Writer, Producer, Director, Photographer ~ Passionate about Conscious Business Transformations of the Mind, Body, Business & Spirit, as it is all interconnected. Life is a Journey, Enjoy it... Take time to Learn, Play and Grow each and every day... "Life is a Play and We are the Actors~Actresses, Writers, Editors, Producers, Directors, Co-Creators of Our Life's, we can create anything, anytime... Let's Do it." Carly Alyssa Thorne

11 comments

  1. Awesome post Carly Alyssa Thorne and you are so right. I admit I call myself an expert however not for reasons that you had described above as I know there are others out there who I can always learn from. However, consultant is a much better term. And if you are not passionate about what you do, there is no point in doing it- you are so right there. Again great post.

    1. Thank You Miriam… there is much stigma about titles and at the end of the day choosing words that empower others with a WE mentality serves a larger purpose than I. Thanks for leaving your comments

  2. I think we need to be passionate in what we do. You know really into it. Viewing things from a business stand point we take a step back and make more objective choices / decisions. We don’t take things as personally. It helps get the job done. These two, being passionate (loving what we do) and viewing from a business perpective I agree with you, are very important for any successful adventure… Awesome post!

    1. Thank You Dixie for sharing your thoughts. And absolutely Passionate is huge and yes very true that we don’t take things as personally when we treat things more on a business level. We tend to think prior to reacting

  3. This is so critically important. Too many people are “doing” social media without any vision or plan — and it shows. You need to ask yourself WHY you’re on Facebook/Twitter/G+/YouTube, etc. and really think about what you want to accomplish and WHO you want to engage. Social media is not just a numbers game. It’s about reaching the right people and then interacting with them in a meaningful way. Taking that time to develop a vision and a plan gives you the clarity you need to do that. Spot on, Carly! Great post.

  4. Liked your post Carly Alyssa Thorne – too many people have given themselves the title of “expert” or “guru” in social media because they have a background in marketing… it’s so much more than that. When someone introduces me as one of those, I always say – it’s an ever-changing environment and while I may know more than some, I know less than others. You have it right when you say collaboration and knowing you don’t know everything is important. If you think you do – you’re doomed to fail.

    1. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Knikkolette… and Yes Soo True… We can always learn from others… each and everyday

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