When most people think of social media, me included, they think that to be successful with it you need to be the typical outgoing personality type.
Trust me, I’ve believed that.
I’m definitely not an outgoing personality. I have done pretty good with social media over the years, but it seems that the ones that are really successful are the ones that pretty outgoing. They have interesting things to say. They seem to lead interesting lives. They always have some kind of interesting drama going on.
But recently I’ve been rethinking that mindset and I’m starting to really appreciate the “boring” people on social media. And I’m seeing that being boring can be a really good strategy for long-term social media success.
Being boring sometimes gets the big blasts of attention, but usually not as often as the outgoing accounts. But over time it seems that boring can be successful and sustainable.
Hot, New & Flashy
There are different types of content to share on social media. One kind, which I do find value in sometimes, is the hot news items or the flashy tidbits about who’s hot now and things like that.
Outgoing people are really good about staying up on all the current trends. There is certainly a place for this on social media. I like knowing what’s going on in the world. I like keeping up on trends and world events and things going on in certain industries.
But taking this route on social media can be very challenging. And the content doesn’t really have a lifespan beyond the present. Therefore, to keep things going with keeping the audience engaged a constant stream of content is needed.
So you can take that approach and have some good success if it fits your personality. But you don’t need to take this approach to be successful with social media. That’s kind of what I’ve been learning recently.
Timeless Is Often Boring (Until You Need it)
I’m always kind of looking to turnover the people I follow on Twitter. That’s really the only social media channel I use. I’ve followed the hot news item accounts in the past and have gotten value out of them.
But over time I’ve found that the accounts I follow are more geared toward content that is timeless. This means that those accounts could share a blog post from five years ago and I would still find it valuable.
Whereas if a news account shared something from five years ago it probably would seem like nonsense.
“Boring” people often revel in the content that is timeless. And you can find a lot of it on social media. They’re often featured stories or interesting tidbits about people, places and things. This kind of content might not seem flashy at the time, but it seems that it does better over the long-term.
And isn’t that what we’re really after with social media? We’re looking to build lasting relationships and connections. So sharing things that connect with people not just today, but five years from now seems like a good way to do it.
So if you’re seen as kind of boring then you can embrace it and still succeed on social media.
“Boring” People Often Only Share What Really Matters
One final thing on “boring” people. What I’ve found is that they’re more careful with their words. They think before they speak. They don’t overreact to news items and things like that. They seem boring maybe because they’re quieter than others, but if you sit back and think that’s a really good thing.
Boring people tend to only share what really matters. They take the time to think things through and when they do share something it’s usually something that will matter and have impact.
So again, this is just a little note that if you see yourself as boring that it’s an opportunity to embrace your uniqueness. Still be willing to share your thoughts on social media because you’ll probably find that people respond. You might not get the really hot takes engagement that others will, but over time if you stay committed you’ll likely build a loyal following.
Takeaway
The big takeaway here is that it’s good to be yourself on social media. If you’re seen as “boring” you probably aren’t actually that boring. Maybe you keep most things to yourself, but I would be that you’re pretty interesting. And the good news is that the stuff that seems boring can be really valuable.
So go ahead and share the information you have on social media. Focus on helping your audience with the questions they have. Even if those questions seem basic on the surface the answers you provide can be really valuable.