You’ve probably heard a lot of use the words “fake it til you make it” as an encouragement to people who are starting out on any field. And it’s actually good advice, if you think about it.
The only problem is, it’s more often than not easier said than done. So how do you do it? How do you fake it until you actually get the hang of it? This is a dangerous path to take but if your goals are all set and consistently study how things are turning, then it can be a very good strategy.
Believe it or not, I too went through a phase where I didn’t know what I was doing. Up until I actually got the hang of how things in social media worked, I was “faking” it. And I did it with the help of some tips I picked up from friends and mentors.
It’s my turn to pay the favor forward by sharing you the tips that actually got me through.
Image matters. Although this shouldn’t be the case, many prospective clients will judge you by the way you look and talk. Some would expect social media practitioners to look a certain way or talk a certain “language”. You can either conform to their expectations or throw them a curve ball, it’s all about how you want to present yourself to your clients.
Confidence is a great thing for a beginner to have. If you believe in your own abilities, it will show. Just make sure you don’t get in way over your head with your confidence. Having confidence about what you can do is different from being too arrogant about your skills.
I mentioned that I got these helpful tips from friends and mentors. This leads me to this great tip, which is to get great teachers. Although some people think that hard work and eagerness will get you by, having an excellent mentor to teach you the social media ropes as you go along makes getting the hang of how things work a hell of a lot easier.
Going back to hard work, you can also learn things easier by making sure you allot hours to work with your craft. You can’t expect yourself to understand everything by heart in just one sitting. Like any other craft master, you may need to put in countless hours before you can fully master your stuff.
Don’t pass up opportunities. You may think it’s a bit out of your league, but who knows? You may be able to do it. It may not be as good as the work of someone who’s been doing it for several years, but it’ll prove that you have the capability to do it. After all, what harm would it do if you don’t get to achieve the desired result
Don’t let criticisms stop you. Behind every criticism is a chance to improve. Therefore, take what you can from it and move forward. It’s not how hard you can take the hit, it’s how you move on after the hit that matters more.
The best tip I got ever was to keep a straight face even if you’re shivering in fear deep down. You can’t show people that you’re scared shitless because it will lower their faith in your ability to do the job.
Hey, I hope these tips will help you. It sure worked when I was starting out. Now don’t hesitate to add your own tips or share your ideas about this topic over at the comments section so we can talk about it some more.
