3 Ways to Be Yourself Online

Many people will tell you that you must "fake it until you make it" I believe that you must instead be yourself and be authentic at all costs. Being an authentic person ... I should expand in saying that Authenticity is no matter what you never lie about your numbers, never make any claims you cannot fulfill, and you always are who your friends and relatives have known you to be. As you extend your network of friends online there should never be a conflict from your circle of friends and your new contacts.

When you make a post or you create content that is about your passions or business they should be congruent with your current state and they should never over emphasize or over-sell what you do. Instead you should focus on under-selling and over-delivering. This way your customers and your friends will always be your largest fans and give you third party validation through their personal recommendations and reviews.

When being authentic you should always look at your writings and your company offerings with pride and know that what your selling is truly effective and that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it will be beneficial to others when they pay for your services or products. This is often what gets many Network Marketers into trouble as they do not have control over the hype that their company generates to bolster and to make their distributors over zealous about what they have.

You do not want to be seen as a fake and people will real away quickly from you and your company if you are always pushing them instead of pulling them with your honesty.

As my grandfather always told me "Never be someone you are not", "Always place your friends before yourself and give more than you take" - Harold Anderson

This is something I've held close especially as I've started my own businesses in the past. You must be willing to give value as often as you can and never expect to see a return but when people do give back be gracious and appreciate them wholeheartedly. This will build lasting relationships with others even if you have only met them virtually.

Just being online does not make your business complete. You must be active in the conversations in your field and build your networks with those who also do the same. In order for you to do that you must first take the steps necessary to be introduced just as you would be at a business meeting at a board room for the first time. Say "Hi" and then listen to what others are talking about and what interests they have. It is considered rude to shout at others especially if you are the new guy. It doesn't matter how much experience you have prior to walking into the board room at that point because you will be shown the door and asked to leave but in the case of social media when you "shout" you will just be ignored and your efforts will be in vain.

To begin a conversation or to simply get yourself involved when you are new post a little about yourself and be upfront with the network that you are new. Often veterans will offer their tips and advice and give you the 411 on the network. These are people who you want to immediately attach yourself to and be supportive of because they have taken the time to offer you a hand.

Secondly you must begin to engage and offer your opinions and advice. Never be confrontational and avoid hot topics such as sex, politics, and religion on your social networks as everyone has their own individual opinion and quite often it will not align with your own. When offering your voice be helpful and always be open to criticism and never take it personally if someone disagrees with your approach and advice.

Follow-up with the conversation and the replies that you receive from others who have taken the time to comment and reply to your own posts. Never leave people out to dry as this will hurt your credibility and will not build much of a positive relationship.

Your Conversations should always involve others just as the photo I've included depicts a multitude of people all around a single "topic". This should be how a good conversation should play out. Many people staying on topic and commenting and contributing to a single thread of knowledge. If you attempt to introduce something that is unrelated inside of a conversation it will have the same effect as if you had made a unrelated suggestion at a meeting.

Stay on topic. Add value with each and every word. Be honest and listen to others.

If you are talking and being yourself but are surrounded by people who do not share your interests then you are wasting your time. Join communities that share your interests and you will be rewarded with new business and new friends.

If you are a Realtor then you should become part of Active Rain, If you are a Musician sign-up for Myspace, A business professional - LinkedIn and the List goes on. Granted these are generalizations but they are to help you find where you should position yourself to be as effective with your time online. Just as the old saying goes in business "Time is Money" you must maximize your time by spending it wisely as you build your reputation online.

One of the falsities that many people will try to tell you is that it is easy and so very simple to build an online reputation. Many of those people are under the age of twenty and may be the sons and daughters you have just sent to college. It is not that they are lying it is that it is not as easy as it may be for us as it is for them. I am one of those twenty-somethings that had the privilege of growing up with the internet at my fingers and it became a fluent part of my day. Thus it just seams so very natural to me to understand what these changes are online and how to and where to apply my time the best. But what about yourself? If you are someone who does not know where to apply there time as they seek to grow their business or simply share their knowledge with others online where do you learn to do what these "young people" know. Well from my experience it is not that it is impossible for you to learn it is just that it is not what you should be learning on your own.

You should be applying your knowledge within these communities that have been identified by your core competency best by getting in touch with people who have already broken these social networks down and have spent over 500+ literal days online doing so. I'm not pitching you I'm simply telling you what I've found works best. My grandfather always took the advise from people who have "been there" before his own and he created a 50 Billion Dollar Trucking Company over his life time because he applied that knowledge to his every day life and spent his time on what he was good at instead of what he wasn't.

So get involved within communities that are interesting to you and they will likely be interested in return. Be authentic and communicate what you have learned through friendly conversations instead of shouting and being ignored. Add value to the communities you choose to join through active participation and they will participate with you. The law of reciprocation will reflect your actions as you give into and invest in others online just as in turn you invest in your future through Online Social Networking and finding that you truly can be yourself online.

One of the largest issues I've seen as I've dived into social media is the desire for people to simply automate everything and basically set the systems on Spam mode instead of recognizing that as a Social Network they need to be a social being.

They see people as objects or leads instead of individuals valuing their numbers on their profiles with disregard for their effectiveness in marketing or simply sharing with their their unique abilities and talents.

So many people for instance when they create a Twitter account disregard what the kind service is meant to be used for and simply shout into the void and clout the Twitterverse with useless and unheard and most often unresponsive rehashed material and links from their up line or their own internet leaders and do not truly understand the potential of the systems they are using and the poor use of the tools they have been given freely to use.

Other popular misconceptions and things you should avoid doing when on networks and you are doing your best to be yourself online is to post your links in your status bar. Only place links people have asked directly for if any unless they are funny or it is of you directly. Never send your friends to lead capture pages or other such nonsense through your status bar updates regardless of the network. People will tune you out in a heart beat and move you into the spam side of their network or remove you completely. You must be yourself at all times and know that there is no substitute for real human interaction.

Most businesses want to make money online and so do most individuals who recognize the potential but they most often fall into the Entrepreneurial side of things and never really find the close connections needed to succeed online. They struggle to do everything on their own then often revert to automation to relieve their tension and stress as this beast of social media devours their time and patience. You must get connected and quickly with people or friends that are active and can come along side you to help end this frustration.

If those people are professional bloggers on the subject, friends in real life, people you have met at the Midwest super conference or at other such social gatherings who know a thing or two you should heed their advice and get help. Not everyone is meant to be an online wizard and not everyone should. If you are good at something spend your time on what your good at be vigilant and seek out others who are good at what you lack and surround yourself with those people. You already do this with other businesses you trade customers as well as when you picked out your kickball team in grade school you picked players who would best fit your teams needs. Social Media is no different. Geeks and Nerds have lived in this space for years and will continue to have vivid fascination with each new platform and for tearing it into usable pieces that others can learn to use as well as capitalize on. Offline Businesses need to be more humble in their dealings with Social Media and seek out the best, get out of the Yellow Pages and use that same budget for social media. You will be amazed!