As more and more people build massive followings (to the tune of 100,000 followers and up),you begin to get this group of A-Listers, who became semi-celebrities online. That’s not a problem per se. This isn’t something that just happens in the social media and tech scene. Celebrities with a cult-like following happen in just about every industry. But what makes the social media celebrity different than most is what happens when they step away from their computer and Internet connection.
How many of your non social media savvy friends know who Chris Brogan or Guy Kawasaki?
Probably not many. Now this isn’t meant to be a dig on these guys. They have done amazing things to build their personal brands and businesses. But it illustrates a key point.
Are we paying too much attention to honing our personal brands online? And, why do so many people want to be just like their “favorite social media A-listers?”
Every day, we see people try to compare themselves to the A-listers. It’s just plain sad. You aren’t Chris Brogan, Guy Kawasaki, Scott Stratten, Amber Naslund or Gary Vaynerchuk. (The lists goes on and on) These guys and gals are great at what to do, and they have found a way to stand out from the crowd. But, YOU aren’t them. While we can all learn a few things from them and their successes, it doesn’t mean you need to be like them or do things just because it works for them.
The key to standing out (Believe me, this is easier said than done!), is to just be yourself and own it.
One of the best ways to start doing this is to stop emphasizing and comparing their follower and friend counts to yours. Just because they have 100,000+ Twitter followers doesn’t mean much. Let’s face it. How many people can you really start and keep conversations going with? A couple hundred maybe? Definitely not 100,000.
I’m sure some people reading this post will likely blow it off and dismiss me as naive, inexperienced or just plain dumb. You know what? I’m okay with that. I know many people, who view social media as one giant numbers game. While numbers are certainly important (especially for business purposes), it’s not the end all be all for me. The real power of social media doesn’t lie in the numbers. Instead, it lies in the relationships that you can make here.
