In case you didn't know, I'm an avid meditator. It's part of my morning routine. I get on the floor and meditate for as long as my body and mind need it—sometimes it's 10 minutes, and sometimes it's an hour. Sometimes, I choose a guided meditation; sometimes, there's nothing.
After one of these morning sessions, I came up with the concept of what if I stopped taking everything that isn't serious SO seriously? For example, when random stuff pops into my feed for contests and stuff, what if I stopped overthinking, even entering the contest, and just entered the contest? Because entering the contest is not serious.
It stopped me because EVERYTHING right now is SOOOO serious. The way someone parks their car- serious. The way someone looks at you across the street- serious. Getting the wrong coffee order-serious.
But in the long game of life, these things are NOT serious.
And then I got to thinking….
What if we all stopped taking social media SOOO seriously? I get it. This might seem weird to a social media strategist and manager.
But hear me out. Social Media is a serious thing nowadays for brand recognition and staying top of mind. However, the content we put out there does not always need to be SO serious. It's like whenever I go to scroll, it's all so heavy and serious, and I'm getting on a feed to escape some of the heavy and serious.
It feels like next to no one is experiencing any joy anymore.
Here are some facts:
There are three reasons why people use social apps like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Do you know the number one reason?
The number one reason is to disassociate and to be entertained. The world out there is heavy right now, and people are tapping in and searching for dog videos, memes, or any other kind of entertainment that feeds their brains dopamine.
When people scroll, a chemical is released in their brains, and they get a dopamine hit. Each like, comment, or new piece of content triggers a dopamine spike, and we all know how good a dopamine hit feels.
Number two, Connection and Community. The theory of social media is to keep people connected and feel a part of a community regardless of location. This is a whole topic for another day.
Number 3, Education & News. Platforms are often used to stay informed about current events, trends, and topics of interest.
But for today, we're going to focus on number one and why it's important: If you want to be scroll-stopped, you've got to stop taking everything so seriously. I know you're thinking about it.
When I meet to consult with business owners, we start discussing content ideas they have. After they told me their ideas, they said, "But no one is going to watch that or pay attention." OR they will show me the content they've created, and when I ask them why they haven't posted it yet, I'll get a because it's not perfect or articulated correctly.
The only person who knows your content isn't perfect is yourself. No one scrolling through will know that the font isn't the one you wanted or that the photo isn't exactly what you imagined in your head.
My friends, this is being stuck in Analysis Paralysis, as Bob Proctor used to talk about. You're making excuses because it's scary to move forward. You're making this piece of content mean something SO serious.
And here's the thing….
People casually follow 150 to 300 social media accounts, meaning a lot of content is being pumped out to them. Trust me when I say they definitely aren't going to notice if the small piece of content that you are putting out there isn't perfect in your brain.
I know now this is the part where you're going to get defensive and tell me that big brands are only putting out serious, life-altering content. Now, I am going to show you this 2018 Twitter exchange between Burger King and Budweiser.
I've been in this space a long time, and here's the thing: If you aren't having fun putting your content together, the person interacting with the content isn't having fun, either. Like energy attracts like energy. I'm challenging you to let loose on one piece of content, bring more joy to the noise of someone's scroll, and then let me know how that felt.