Social Media Explained

In my last blog about knowing who you are online I explained that the most important thing you can before you start to create an online presence for yourself is to find your voice. Discover what your passion is and the sound that is authentically you. But the questions was raised, how do you find that voice?

That is not an easy thing to pin down – it tends to be fairly personal, and there is no one formula for answering this question.

I am going to share a story I heard at a PRSA luncheon a few months ago. I can’t vouch for how truthful it is, but I like the point it makes: a member of the public relations team at Blend Tec (a company that makes blenders) noticed there were a lot of wood chips on the floor of a room and inquired as to why they were there. They found out that one of the ways the blenders were tested was to put wood in the blender and see how they performed.

It occurred to the public relations specialist that people might find that interesting, so they made a video of the process and that started the “Will It Blend” series, where the host blends a variety of random items. My personal favorite is when they blend glow sticks, although I did take some sick pleasure in watching them blend an iPhone when they first came out and no one could get their hands on one.

So you have to ask yourself, what is the sawdust on your floor? What do you have locked in your brain that other people might find fascinating? What is the thing you always end up talking to people about? When you are in church/at a bar/hanging with your friends, what is the topic you can’t seem to escape? If you had more free time what would you spend your time doing? Maybe your hobby is where you find your voice. What do you want to learn more about? Researching blogs is a great way to grow your knowledge on a topic as well.