In this blog post, we will be covering the different ways you can be more authentic on social media for your brand and be on your way to creating your dream life!
Building your brand authenticity is important because it is the only way you can build online trust with your audience to create strong connections and build a community of loyal followers that will continue to invest in your services and products.
Let’s first define authenticity…
Authenticity is when what you say and do is aligned with what you truly believe in!
Here are the five questions you must ask yourself in order to be authentic on social media:
1. What are your brand’s core values?
This is one the very first things you want to do as you are building your brand identity.
Core values drive every brand to lead from an authentic place long-term, which will also create consistency between what you say and what you do online and within your business.
Every brand should develop a set of 3-5 values that their brand will live by. Core values shouldn’t simply be nouns, they should be actionable full sentences that you believe in.
Once defined, you can communicate these main core brand values through your social media content. This way every time you show up and speak online you will be demonstrating these brand values.
2. What is your brand story?
Humans love good stories and we love to find connection points between us and those brands we are loyal to and purchase from.
To start finding your unique brand story you need to dig deep within yourself to understand how to use your own personal history, background, and lived experiences to build your brand story.
For example, I am an immigrant woman living in the US and I make the conscious effort of connecting this personal experience with my brand story. I share this aspect of myself because it is true to me.
Why?
Because…
Only you will come from that one background.
Everyone will have a unique and different point of view.
No one else will have the exact experiences you have lived through.
Even when there are so many brands offering the same service as you, you will stand out to your true ideal audience and draw in followers that align with you and relate to your authentic story.
3. Are you in search of a loyal community or a huge amount of followers?
A big way people build online trust and show up more authentically for their brand is by focusing on community versus followers – it’s all about finding your ideal client!
So what is the difference?
A community consists of people who believe in what you believe, they cheer you on, they support you, and are present during any business pivots you decide to make.
Think of Apple and their loyal community of people. The people that buy iPhones are very different from those that buy Samsung phones.
Apple can sell their loyal community any new gadgets and that community will continue to believe that this new gadget is the best quality because it was made by Apple.
However, followers are people who constantly come and go. They are nothing more than stats on your IG profile.
A community invests in you.
Through a community-focused lens you will show up more authentically because you are aware of what your people need from you.
You know exactly what your people love and in turn, they will love you for who you are and not for what you offer them right now in your business.
4. Do you feel as if you are living a double life online and offline?
A big issue for people wanting to show up authentically online is the feeling of pursuing too many different lifestyles and personas resulting in a feeling of not being the same person online as they are in real life.
The underlying issue here is not connecting personal goals and passions with your business. This is also known as the WHY of the brand.
Speak about what lights you up while simultaneously making an authentic and strategic connection between your passions and what drives you to what your business does.
This allows you to keep the online version and real-life version of you consistent, reeling in your community of people naturally. Check out the Vision Book I created to for a guided way to center yourself both personally and in your biz – you’ll be able to see where the overlap lies!
5. Does your brand voice align with your brand WHY?
Authenticity comes through in how a brand communicates their message online.
The way you communicate is your brand voice and it should align with the values and persona of your brand.
So if you have done everything we have discussed in the past 4 points in this blog post, this part should be easy to build.
Solidify why you do what you do and remember this every time you create content and write your captions.Â
Don’t use language you wouldn’t use at dinner time with friends. Stay away from industry jargon and keep things simple.
Your community aka the people who really matter to you and your business will notice in a heartbeat because it isn’t YOU so it will never come through as authentic or believable!
And remember, great leaders inspire those around them to trust them and take action because they want to not because they were forced to.
I get it, it is difficult to put together all the pieces of your brand and navigate the world of social media while still maintaining your authentic self online.
If you are ready to build an online brand that allows you to live a freedom and joy filled life, check out my brand development coaching program. This program gives you hands-on experience creating your brand from scratch, including messaging and social media strategy.
If you’re an entrepreneur ready to bring your big brand vision to life, the Social Media Branding Package may be just what you need. This is a one-stop shop service for building a cohesive, stand-out brand AND content strategy that work hand in hand.Â
If you want to find your authentic brand strategy, check out this brand strategy quiz I created to help you understand how to show up in your business in alignment with your unique energy, personality & Human Design.
Once you have your account, upload the desired image you want to add the white outline to. (A free account is free forever! It doesn’t give you access to all of the tools that Canva has, so you can also try the 30 day FREE TRIAL of Canva Pro to access everything!)
Bonus Tip: Try to pick an image that doesn’t have a distracting background.
Remove the background of your pic
Click on “Edit image” and then click “Background Remover.” It’s as simple as that!
Create a copy of your image
The copy is what we will end up using as the outline.
Bonus Tip: The color of the outline can be changed to match your brand colors and make your images stand out from everyone else on Instagram!
Click on “Edit image” again, and scroll down to “Duotone”
Click on the slider that pops up once you’ve selected one of the color options (the color doesn’t matter since we’re going to change it anyway).
Select the color swatch and change it to your brand colors or to white
You’ll need to change the color for both the “Highlights” box and the “Shadows” box.
Send the copy of your image to the back
Now you have a beautifully outlined image! And since you’re already in Canva, you can easily use this cut out image on any of your Instagram graphics…without Photoshop!
And there you have it. 6 easy to follow steps on how to remove the background from an image without photoshop and adding a white outline to an image for free!
Check out an example of an outlined image I created below.
Comment down below with any questions and be sure to tag me on Instagram with your cool cutout image with an outline!
If you’re an entrepreneur ready to bring your big brand vision to life, the Social Media Branding Package may be just what you need. This is a one-stop shop service for building a cohesive, stand-out brand AND content strategy that work hand in hand.Â
If a brand refresh could bring your brand back to life, these customizable branded Canva templates can get your business feeling more aligned than ever! And if you’re interested in learning more about yourself and how to create alignment, check out the Vision Book I created.
If you want to find your authentic brand strategy, check out this brand strategy quiz I created to help you understand how to show up in your business in alignment with your unique energy, personality & Human Design.
Thinking about starting an online business as a digital entrepreneur?
Or maybe you started your online business but can’t seem to grow your followers, reach your revenue goal or make any money online, for that matter!
I completely GET IT! I have been there, too!
As a new digital entrepreneur myself, I made plenty of mistakes when I started that stopped me from reaching more people on social media and making money online.
However after doing these 5 things, I now make a full-time income through my Instagram and digital business.
Here are the top 5 mistakes digital entrepreneurs make when they start out and how to avoid them:
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CFieIOsHTT7/
Digital Entrepreneurship Mistake One: You are NOT niche enough
I know, niching is possibly the hardest thing to do as a digital entrepreneur, however it is necessary to succeed in the online world.
Let’s break it down.
A niche is an area of focus or segment of the market that your product or service occupies.
Initially, you might be thinking “I do not want to focus on one thing, I’m good at multiple things and I don’t want to limit myself”
Trust me, you are not limiting anything but your income by not picking an area of expertise for your digital business.
There is a good reason we pay specialists more.
How to pick a good niche?
Pick something you enjoy doing and can do for a long time (your zone of genius)
Choose something that the market needs and is missing
Select something you can continue to monetize and expand on
When I made the decision to shift and start to focus on social media branding for online business owners, these things happened in my business:
I saw an increase in my income
The number of clients I was retaining was also increasing because clients were able to refer me out for a specific service
The type of people I attracted to my business was much more aligned with me
So by niching down I am now seen as an expert in my field.
Digital Entrepreneurship Mistake Two: Researching ways to procrastinate
Do you find yourself downloading and signing up for freebie after freebie “to learn more”?
Do you feel you need to research “one more thing” before you launch your brand?
But all that time spent researching could have been spent doing the damn thing!
I truly wish that I didn’t waste as much time researching as I did in the beginning.
A much more productive use of our time would be to start putting in the work to create more valuable content that will help build traction and increase our visibility online.
Instead, we are so stuck in our own heads, waiting for the perfect time to create perfect content so that we can seem to be perfect and all knowing….
But watch out because that is our EGO!
Your ego is stopping you from reaching your greatness and full potential. It’s constantly telling you that you aren’t ready enough or not good enough.
How can you crush this ego?
You can start by shifting your focus from yourself onto the people you can help and serve through your expertise, experience, and knowledge as a digital entrepreneur.Â
Spend some time in reflection, and then ACT ON IT!
Digital Entrepreneurship Mistake Three: Not knowing who you are serving
AKA your target audience!
For some time I was struggling with defining who my target audience was. Like you, I thought I wanted to work, talk, and engage with anyone and everyone.
But you can’t be talking to everyone because not everyone is your type, sort of like dating.
You need to really hone in on your ideal client, audience, or customer and create a specific message just for them.
How can you start defining your target audience?
First think about who you would enjoy serving with your business.
Then think who needs this service.
Lately define these things:
what are their values
what is their background
what do they like
what do they dislike.
Then you open up a Google document and brain dump everything about this ideal audience.
Get all your thoughts out and then go back and make some changes once you have a better understanding of who and what you want to attract.
Once you have this step completed make sure you are creating content that is directly talking to this ONE person.
Remember, you are NOT talking to everyone.
No one will find you that way, not everyone is your person. Now go out and find your ONE.
Digital Entrepreneurship Mistake Four: Not investing in your business early enough
A major mindset shift I had to consciously work through when I started my online business was—to start investing in my business before I felt ready to!
I know a lot of people think investing means hiring people onto your team or business, and for some it does.
But, I am talking about investing in terms of putting in the time, passion, self-work, and skills that your business deserves to GROW.
From experience, I can tell you that the return on investment is HUGE!
I was able to two times my income all because I invested into a business coach.
This is the biggest mindset shift you need to understand.
When you invest in your business, you are NOT spending money you are investing, which means that you will be getting a return on that investment. PERIOD.
My advice is to really invest in your business in whatever capacity this means to you.
And make sure to do this BEFORE you are ready because you will never feel ready, you will always feel like you never have the money.
So invest now.
Digital Entrepreneurship Mistake Five: Defining your WHY
To do that you can begin by asking yourself the following:
Why did I start my business?
Why am I running a business?
Why am I posting on social media?
Why do I want to do this?
Why am I spending my time sitting here reading this blog post?
Why am I a digital entrepreneur?
There has to be a good reason why you decided to start a business in the first place.
Because if not then you will soon be finding yourself feeling burnt out and your marketing efforts had no purpose.
You might eventually start feeling sad because your content isn’t reaching enough people, not many followers are engaging with you on social media, you aren’t hitting the number of calls or bookings you had hoped for.
All this can be easily avoided when you know and define your why!
You must realize you are helping someone, but this realization only occurs when you know you are speaking and connecting to a specific person.
When your ideal client receives your purpose-driven message you begin changing their lives.
Today, I get a lot of messages from followers and my clients telling me how I’ve inspired them to take steps towards building their dream lives and brand.
These messages are what keeps me going. I know I am changing lives, even if it’s a single person through a single blog post.
I know why I am running Livin Vivaciously, do you know why you are running your business?
Now that you know all the mistakes I made early on in my business, you will hopefully be able to take away lessons from them towards success in your online business.
What big mindset shifts do you think you need to make to get to that next level of your business?
If you’re an entrepreneur ready to bring your big brand vision to life, the Social Media Branding Package may be just what you need. This is a one-stop shop service for building a cohesive, stand-out brand AND content strategy that work hand in hand.Â
If a brand refresh could bring your brand back to life, these customizable branded Canva templates to make content creation a breeze!
If you want to find your authentic brand strategy, check out this brand strategy quiz I created to help you understand how to show up in your business in alignment with your unique energy, personality & Human Design.
If you are an online business owner or a digital entrepreneur you know how essential it is to create consistent on-brand content for your brand on social media.
Why is it important to create consistent on-brand social media content?
It builds up your brand recognition and loyalty
It grows your online community
It helps you convert your followers into clients of your paid services
In this blog post, I share a list of some of the best apps for creating better social media content for your online business.
Content creation doesn’t need to be complicated so these apps are also pretty intuitive and easy to use!
Create Better Videos Using These Apps:
1. Mojo for animated Instagram stories
I convert over 50% of my clients through Instagram stories alone.
That means the more engaging your stories are, the more you’ll connect with your ideal client that will take the next step of checking out your services and buying from you.
See this example below of an animated story I did on Mojo to promote my newsletter:
Mojo helps you create animated IG stories. You get a ton of free templates to use and if you wanted more freedom, you can get the pro account for $39.99/year!
Pro tip: I use Mojo to quickly add animations to my in feed IG posts by using their pro feature “Format” to choose the size of my canvas.
2. Jumprope for creating tutorial videos
If you want to grow a community, you have to start using the power of video!
Videos showcase your personality and help you connect with your audience which builds trust and eventually builds your sales.
If you share tips and how-to’s on any of your social media platforms, you will love Jumprope. It’s a video creation app where you can create easy step-by-step tutorials.
What I love about Jumprope is the export feature which helps you use one piece of video content across various social media platforms from IG to youtube to Pinterest by exporting your content in the appropriate size for that platform!
The best part? It is all completely free to use and you can end up getting featured on Google’s web series through the app.
3. InShot for editing videos
Hate spending hours on your computer trying to figure out how to use iMovie or Adobe Premier to edit your IG or Youtube videos?
I DO!
InShot is an intuitive and easy-to-use video editing app that you can use on your phone. They integrate with GIPHY to add animated stickers to your videos, offer a ton of transitions, and a great library of royalty-free music you can use on your videos!
You can use the app for free but I highly recommend investing the $40 to get access to all the pro features for life!
4. Veed.io for adding subtitles
Did you know that over 80% of people say they watch videos on mute?!
That means that if you want to increase your video views on Instagram, you need to start adding captions to your video.
Veed.io helps you add automatically generated subtitles to your videos. It is free to use for videos under 50MB.
5. Teleprompter to help you with creating your script for your videos
If you find yourself forgetting your words as soon as your video camera is turned on, then you will love Teleprompter.
It’s an app that helps you write out scripts or key speaking points that roll out on the screen as you record your videos.
6. Boosted for creating video intros for youtube
If you are on Youtube or trying to be on Youtube then you know that intro’s take forever to create!
Boosted makes creating engaging intro’s a breeze with their pre-made video templates.
You can use the free templates they offer or if you want to take it to next level they offer all their pro templates and access to stock video and images for $119.99 for life!
Create Better Graphic Content Using These Apps:
7. Canva Pro for creating Instagram educational posts & memes
Canva is a graphic design platform that is meant for everyone!
It is free and simple to use but I highly recommend getting the pro account for more flexibility, however it is super easy to use by all people even non-designers. They offer pre-made templates for every social platform.
I love their GIPHY integration to create my own brand memes and their pro feature that allow you to instantly remove the background from your images.
Create memes on Canva using the GIPHY integration
All of which helps you create more engaging content for your online brand.
If you hate designing or it takes you forever to create a single post, you may want to check my ready-made IG Canva templates for online entrepreneurs.
8. Wibbl to animate your text and turn them into gifs
Word of advice: if you can turn any content into motion or video, DO IT!
It’s much easier to engage people with motion graphics and animations.
Wibbl helps you animate any text (ex: your logo, your brand tag line) or shapes by turning them into GIFs that you can then download and use on your social media content.
9. Bazaart to create images with outlines
This app has a lot of features but my favorite is the ability to create cutout images of yourself and add a fun outline and a shadow to that cutout image.
I made a step-by-step video on how to create your own cutout images with an outline:
So, you’re ready to make money online! You have finally reached out to your favorite brand on social media to pitch them and they respond saying “Please send us your media kit for review.”
You nervously think to yourself “what the heck is a media kit?!!”
Then you panic google search what it is and why brands need you to send one before they decide to work with you or not.
Well, my friend, I’m glad you looked it up and landed here because I’m going to tell you exactly what a media kit is and why you need one to work with brands as an influencer or content creator.
I will also tell you what to include in a media kit and show you some examples to make things easier for you, so stick around.
What is a media kit?
Put simply, a media kit is your resume or portfolio.
It is a document comprised of visual and statistic data about your creative work and your social media influence.
Media kits allow you to quickly show a potential brand partner the quality of your content, the type of content you create, and what your numbers are like across your various social media platforms.
Maybe you’re not feeling very aligned with your content at the moment…that’s where I come in!
If you’re an entrepreneur ready to bring your big brand vision to life, the Social Media Branding Package may be just what you need. This is a one-stop shop service for building a cohesive, stand-out brand AND content strategy that work hand in hand.
If a brand refresh could bring your brand back to life, these customizable branded Canva templates can get your business feeling more aligned than ever.
Why do influencers and content creators need a media kit?
Imagine applying for a job without a resume…
Yeah, you can’t do that. You will never hear back and your potential employer will never take you seriously.
Similarly, influencers and content creators pitching to brands to land brand sponsorships and deals, especially with the intention to be PAID, need, and must have a media kit ready to go!
If you are ready to build an online brand that allows you to live a freedom and joy filled life, check out my brand development coaching program. This program gives you hands-on experience creating your brand from scratch, including messaging and social media strategy.
Brands receive hundreds if not thousands of pitches and requests for collaborations from influencers and content creators on the regular.
You want to make their job easier by presenting them with a document that shows them, at a glance, all your numbers and what you can do to serve them.
Media kits are especially important for micro-influencers, and new content creators because they can show the brands you are interested in numbers that may not be easily accessible to them.
For example, your account or post reach numbers or the influence you have through your stories based on the views and DMs you get.
How can a media kit help you land paid partnerships?
Brands, big or small, usually have a monthly or quarterly marketing budget allocated to use on collaborations with content creators.
The way they decide on where and who to spend this money working with depends on a few factors:
Their marketing goals (at the time you reach out) Are they trying to spread awareness? Are they running campaigns to promote certain products or services offered?
New product launches Brands will usually plan on using influencer marketing when doing new product launches.
Target audience& style They see that you have their target demographic and the content style that meshes well with content already existing on feed.
Remember, brands are always in need of fresh new content so it never hurts to pitch them even if you are unsure about their current campaigns.
Your media kit plays a big role in whether they decide to work with you (and offer you a paid deal) or not based on how you fit in within those top 3 deciding factors.
Pro Tip: Make sure your media kit and pitch reflect work that can fit within their demographic and marketing goals.
What should you include?
Now that you know you need a media kit to land paid brand deals, you need to create one.
I actually have a video on youtube that explains what you should include in a media kit:
Here is what you should include in a media kit as an influencer or content creator:
Your Bio This is an overview of who you are, what you do and how you help/influence your audience
Your Services This is a breakdown of all the different services you are able to offer to brands. Example: product photography or hotel reviews
Your Statistics and Analytics Here you will show brands your stats broken up into each platform you are active on. You don’t need to show every platform but highlight the ones where you have the most influence through.
Pro Tip: include hidden stats like your Instagram reach on posts, link clicks or your mailing list subscribers
Your Past Collaborations Your past collabs will help establish your credibility and accountability to brands before they invest in you.
If you don’t have any past brand collabs, start working on mock projects using your personal resources until you have some to showcase.
Examples of Your Work and Content Creation Style The same thing applies here as to # 4. You want to showcase your best work and not all your work.
Your Contact Information If the reader quick access to all your contact info as sometimes they will keep your media kit on file for future collabs and might not remember the email you contacted them from.
Media Kit examples for influencers:
Here are some examples of Canva media kit templates.
If you want to make sure your media kit professionally and strategically represents you, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me so that you can start earning money on social media doing what you LOVE.
If you want to find your authentic brand strategy, check out this brand strategy quiz I created to help you understand how to show up in your business in alignment with your unique energy, personality & Human Design.
In a sea of content creators and online businesses on social media that offer similar services, your personal brand is what sets you apart from the rest of the crowd.
Yes, we don’t need another [insert product or service here] but we do need your unique point of view, your story, and how you package it for us.
So how do you create a personal brand on social media to stand out and attract brand sponsorships and new clients?
I will tell you how….
First, let’s define what personal branding is.
What is a personal brand?
Personal branding is basically the way you position yourself and your expertise within your industry.
It is how you package and design the impression that people will associate with you and your services when they come across your social media account.
Your personal brand helps build trust between you and your followers (read: potential clients).
Your brand is a perception or emotion, maintained by somebody other than you, that describes the total experience of having a relationship with you.
Why is personal branding important on social media?
I’m sure you heard the phrase “People buy people”.
We like to invest our money in what makes us feel good about ourselves and what makes us feel like we are part of a community.
Therefore…
Personal brand = Money
Your story and branding are such essential factors for making money on social media and standing out to clients or brands you wish to work with.
You want people to trust, recognize, and stay loyal to you. You want to make them like you so much that they keep coming back for more.
Think about brands or content creators that you currently follow and love on social media.
Why do you buy from them? Why do you follow them and feel connected to them?
They probably have a strong brand presence, a consistent look and feel, and a message that you relate to!
How to create a personal brand on social media?
A great personal brand on social media starts with a theme and a unified look.
It takes less than 60 seconds for someone visiting your Instagram feed to decide if they want to learn more and follow or bounce out.
In order to create a unified theme and look on your Instagram feed, you will need to:
My friend Cynthia Pong introduced me to coolers.co; an online app where you can play around with various color combos and find your brand color palette.
3.Decide on 2-3 brand fonts
The fonts you should decide on are your header font, subheader font, and body font.
You can use Canva.com to play around with their font combination options, then you can add that to your Canva brand kit.
That way you can come back to your brand fonts every time you are designing in Canva.com.
4. Choose your brand elements
Brand elements are basically any shapes, textures, or icons that make your brand more recognizable on social media.
You can choose things like stripes, dots, leaves, circles…etc.
Here is what my brand elements look like:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_pxcWRHWrJ/
5. Define your brand voice & language
This step is very important as it will make a huge impact on how people on Instagram relate to you and your brand.
It will also help you create the community that you want and that will support you in whatever you do.
You need to look into who you want to attract as clients or sponsors on Instagram and keep them in mind when coming up with your brand voice and language.
6. Create branded graphic templates
Templates are pre-designed visuals where you can simply drag and drop new content into when creating posts for Instagram.
Templates make it so much easier to stay on brand and never miss a day in your posting schedule for Instagram, as they cut down the content creation time.
Or…if you’re an entrepreneur ready to bring your big brand vision to life, the Social Media Branding Package may be just what you need. This is a one-stop shop service for building a cohesive, stand-out brand AND content strategy that work hand in hand.Â
7. Use presets for your images
Presets are filters that you can use on your images when editing. Using the same filter helps keep your Instagram feed consistent and on-brand.
You can create your very own presents on the Adobe Lightroom, purchase presets from photographers you like, or use apps like Tezza and VSCO.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAJBxFKnV1D/
Now that you have all the tools to create a branded social media presence, you will be able to start monetizing your content and attracting new clients before you know.Â
Remember packaging is just as important as the product you are trying to sell.
People buy you before they buy your services, so make sure you are presenting YOU in the best and most relatable way possible.
Starting a business is a journey, and it can be a challenging transition. However, with the right mindset, resources, and support, you can absolutely build a successful and fulfilling business that supports your true-to-self life. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to take your existing business to the next level, embrace the process and take the first steps towards building the business and life of your dreams.
If you are ready to build an online brand that allows you to live a freedom and joy filled life, check out my brand development coaching program. This program gives you hands-on experience creating your brand from scratch, including messaging and social media strategy.
