Breath of Fresh Air

Social media is one of the most consistent forms of entertainment for the vast majority of us. We aimlessly scroll through timelines to keep up with friends, family, and even celebrities. It’s also how a good portion of people stay up to date on world events since headlines on IG posts can provide information quicker than traditional news outlets. Content creators and regular, degular people are going viral each day for funny, informative, or touching content that resonates with the masses. 

Now, I’ve never been particularly popping on social media, but I have been on most of the popular platforms for about a decade. Facebook was my initial timeline of choice. I enjoyed playing the games and uploading personal family pictures to my page. Unfortunately for me, those pictures didn’t stay posted for long since I had to go over the reasons why that was inappropriate with my parents soon after. That initial conversation with them kind of soured my view of the platform since I was hyper aware that other people could see my actions. Even to this day, if I change my header image, I delete the subsequent post that’s automatically created. 

Every once in a while, I get the notification that I have memories to look back on and it’s usually text posts of me talking about an NBA game, a book that I read recently, or my childhood dog, Ebony. My profile now is technically updated with my married name and a headshot, but I don’t post anything on my personal page. My Facebook friends are an interesting mix. I’d say most of them are people who I went to high school with that either still live in Americus or in a surrounding town. Then, there are the people I went to college with, and finally, I have some family members on the platform. I’m always astounded that people still frequently post on the platform, especially people my age. I mostly prefer to lurk in the shadows by simply liking posts instead of commenting or sharing them. 

In college, I used to absolutely love Twitter as a platform. I enjoyed reading the think pieces over that blue, white, and brown dress that had the internet in an uproar. I remember when the character limit got expanded and people started writing novels and short stories. While I still didn’t post original content, I was most active with retweeting and sharing funny tweets in group chats. My favorite part was that I had a Spongebob Squarepants meme as my profile picture. 

I was more of a Tumblr girlie during my high school years. I loved the platform solely because it was different from the other trending social media apps and it didn’t focus on pictures. I would research the books I was reading at the time to unveil the deeper meaning and simulate a virtual book club with strangers. I reposted a little bit, but I felt the most comfortable since there was no way anyone from my real life would stumble upon my profile. Nowadays, I’ve effectively retired from Tumblr and have even removed the app from my phone.

I view LinkedIn as the professional Facebook. Some people are really popping on the platform with their accomplishments, leadership opportunities, headshots, and mastermind events, but some posts seem forced. The line between professionally acceptable and way too personal has become blurred as politics has weeded its way into the platform. If you’re looking for a job, LinkedIn might be fun to scroll, but if you’re just a casual user, graduation season is always when the content peaks. 

Pinterest is definitely a staple for aesthetics and ideas. I originally used the platform heavily when I was an RA and had to come up with cute, yet doable bulletin boards each month. I relied on Pinterest to give me ideas I could tweak for door decs, restroom signs, and even programs for the residents. It was always fun figuring out the theme of the month. 

I have Pinterest Boards full of fitness and exercise content, clothing and hairstyle ideas, recipes to try, husband gifting ideas, nail designs, natural hair tips and tricks, and my favorite, home ideas. My Home Goals Pinterest board has my design inspiration so detailed, the ideas are even categorized by room of house. It’s the board that I’m most proud of and is the easiest to add to. I definitely thought I accidentally deleted everything one day, but thankfully it was reversible. I would’ve been a little sad if I had to go through and curate my favorite elements and style again.

And finally, we have the social media platform that I have the biggest love hate relationship with…Instagram. It’s the platform that I use most often now, but I absolutely hate that the timeline isn’t in chronological order anymore. I know that update happened a few years ago, but it makes it so difficult to get traction on your posts. The algorithm is a piece of work, and not in a good way. I’ve always heard it likes frequent posters, but for a lurker like myself, I will always get the short end of the metaphorical stick. I love keeping up with my favorite influencers and friends, but sometimes the platform is just stale from the content constantly being pushed to us. 

For business purposes, I utilize Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to publicize my new blog posts. While I haven’t been successful in gaining traction on the first two platforms, I actually had a post go viral on Pinterest recently. Pearly Whites is actually doing numbers! I remember how geeked I was the first few days when the impressions started going up. It hit 7k, then went up to 9k, 13k, 20k, and is now sitting at about 27k after a month. It’s so interesting that that’s the post that is doing the best. I’ve also started utilizing YouTube since Kris prefers listening to my Musings than reading them. Puppy Prison is the video sitting at the most views so far with 47.

It’s definitely intimidating trying to grow on social media when you don’t have a following, but it’s a breath of fresh air when you get just a little bit of traction or engagement. I’ve been trying to focus on just posting my content instead of double guessing. For more on this, check out Unconventional Nuances and The Fear of What If that go further into how I combat my reservations. 

At this point, everything I’m doing now is paving the way for my future success. I know if I stay consistent, I’ll see genuine growth eventually.

If you enjoyed this episode, let me know by giving this video a thumbs up, leaving a comment, and subscribing to my channel. See you in the next episode! 

Signed, 

Jessica Marie