Bridget Willard
Voice.
What is voice?
You’re just tweeting, why do you need a voice?
By no means is this key one of the first you’ll need in your social media keychain. Voice is something that develops over time.
This week at Buffer Chat we talked about finding your voice.
Q3: What advice would you give to those working on finding their “voice?” #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/o2DwDUrNTh
— Buffer (@buffer) March 25, 2015
That can be a tricky thing. It requires some introspection. When asked, can you answer?
What’s My Voice?
Though I’ve been on Twitter since 2007, it took me a while to find the voice of this persona. Through questions in tweets, text messages, or emails, I realized I needed this forum. I needed a place to give my advice and tips, not just for the person asking, but for anyone else.
So many small businesses do their own social media. Sometimes it shows. Through my blog, tweets, and videos, I help small businesses using humor and analogies. Yes, I will make a fool of myself for your benefit.
How did that happen? It didn’t happen overnight.
I appreciate humor. I was a teacher. I’ve been a secretary for over twenty years. Now I’m a self-taught social media manager. Did my previous experiences suddenly disappear? No. They make me who I am. This is me after four years of tweeting on this account alone.
Finding Your Voice in Social Media
Don’t overwhelm yourself. Think of three things that interest you.
Grab a pen and pencil. I’ll wait. Without over thinking, list your main purpose. Now choose two sides (kind of like a good dinner).
1. Main Passion (Social Media)
2. Side Passion (Dogs)
3. Side Passion (Photography)
Voice takes time.
The more you write, speak, sing, or dance, the closer you are to finding your personality. The more experience you have, the more likely you’ll fall into your voice. It’s the same in social media. Some people say you should know your audience. I say, when you find your voice, your audience finds you.
I recently watched, “The Improv: 50 Years Behind The Brick Wall,” a documentary about The Improv. It affected so many generations of comedians. They all said how The Improv facilitated their voice-finding process. Jimmy Fallon, in this clip, recounts how he once shaved on stage. Needless to say, it didn’t work.
No one starts any trade as amazing. You have to try things first. Then you can analyze the results to see what works for you and what doesn’t.
Having more dimensions to your online presence is one way to be authentic. Figuring out the right combination of topics for you is how you find your voice.
What’s yours?
Are you a paper doll?
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