How To Avoid The Social Media Police And Build Your Brand
The social media police are out there, so you need to know your rights to build your brand. You have the right to remain silent and everything you say can and will be used against you. Yea, kind of like real life.
A lot of people really fear the social media police due to the way they patrol the internet. It would be great to say that social media police don’t have any real powers, but that wouldn’t be entirely true.
Luckily, the social-media-police only tends to have as much power as you give them. So don’t give them the power to affect how you build your brand.
I want to make a disclaimer here, so you must know that I’m not a social worker. I am also not a doctor or anyone with a lot of degrees revolving around social work. Now, I have spent plenty of time talking to therapists, but my profession is social media marketing. Spending as much time as I do on social media does help one better see patterns in people though.
Therefore, it makes sense to take this article with a little grain of salt. The goal is to get people to think about how to discern what criticism is constructive while also identifying the malarkey.
It doesn’t take a genius or a degree to know wasting time on malarkey costs money. Avoiding the malarkey will help you save a lot of time and energy so you can focus more on your goals.
Who are the social-media-police?
One of the best ways to avoid issues with the social-media-police is knowing how to identify them. Social media police differ from the real police due to the way they don’t really protect or serve anyone. They act like more like any abuser does so you can save time, hassle and pain by being aware of their tactics.
Tactics of social media police to watch out for
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Gaslighting-
The term describes the act of manipulating events to make someone question their own thoughts or perceptions. Gaslighting is also really great for social media scam artists. It is easy to spot at first if you’re paying attention so make sure you do. The act of gaslighting starts with telling or condoning blatant lies. Lies set a precedent, so pay attention to how truthful someone really is.
If a person gets away with telling you a lie they know they can tell a bigger one later. If they know you know they lie, but you play along you become a target. There are many different ways to go about gaslighting someone, but the goal is always the same. Trust your gut and the things you know you know.
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Love-bombing-
Love-bombing on social media is pretty easy to fall for due to the way we all need social-media-love to thrive. People that like and comment on everything you post no matter what may be love-bombing you online. The abusive pattern starts when the person starts to invite you into drama or gets mad about your engagement with others.
People that give you a lot of social media love are awesome, but it is important to be mindful here too. Some people will give you a ton of social media love only to invite you into conflicts with others. Love-bombers may also threaten to withhold the support if you don’t do x, y or z. Love-bombers will use you to build their brand only to move onto the next person that can help them better later. Appreciate all the love you get, but be wary of people that demand more than a simple win-win mindset.
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Benching-
Your social media tribe is like a roster on any sports team due to the group mentality. No matter who you are there is only so much time in a day. Some people have built millions of followers by treating their followers like people on a sports team. It is an approach that makes a lot of sense in a lot of ways. You need to take care of your best players to put the best team on the field.
Don’t waste a lot of time trying to make someone else’s starting rotation. It’s always best to focus on your team and decide who is on the field playing for you. A great online networker will be on a handful of teams at any time. A bad online networker only works on their team and focusing on how much their team scores. People that make money online don’t tend to spend a lot of time sucking up to anyone to get off the bench. Join a team that teaches how to be a coach like the SPN social media groups. :)
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Ghosting-
This one is a little trickier due to the anonymity behind social media and the crazy people that dwell on it. Ghosting a random social media follower that gives you the creeps is one thing. However, someone that you have gotten to know a bit deserves more. If someone is irking you for whatever reason, then you owe it to yourself and them to air the issue. Experience has taught me most misunderstandings or things people do to irk you are truly unintentional.
Most people really want to do good and spread positive vibes. It is important to remember that how you treat people online is a reflection of your character. No one likes to be ghosted, so avoid ghosting people unless you have reason to fear for your safety. Safety is always first, but following the Golden Rule should also always be on your list of things to do.
Don’t worry about how you build your brand as much as you worry about how you make people feel. Telling someone your boundaries and letting them know they are pushing them is the proper way to go.
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Gossip–
One of the best ways to spot someone working for the social-media-police is watching out for gossip. Those that gossip to you will gossip about you, so be mindful of those in the gossip circles. It is also important to hear what people are up to, but there is a line between spreading need-to-know info and partaking in gossip. Gossip can kill your brand in many ways. Those that gossip tend to do the other social media police activity too, so be alert. Misery loves company and so do haters. Successful people don’t waste a lot of time with gossip. They’re too busy reading blogs with topics like how to build your brand better.
Final thoughts on the social-media-police and how to build your brand
The internet is a sea of information full of life and creatures of all kinds. Learning how to navigate through the social media channels can lead someone to a great life. Making a passive income on the internet is tough to beat, so the lure is always there. There is also plenty of danger and things that will get you to float off course.
Don’t let anyone that is acting as the social-media-police to chart your path. Plot your own course and set sail as you see fit, so you can truly be captain of your own ship. Build your brand and social media tribe like a captain builds the ship and crew, so you feel comfortable at sea in calm waters or hurricane-like activity.
History remembers the bold captains that went where no else did. The ones that treated people right along the way sure have a better legacy.
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