Digital Herstory

Finally, we are here. This is the part where you start to see the reward for your hard work. If you’ve shown up, discovered your little corner of social media, and begun joining and leading the discussions, then you are well on the way to building your online community.

This is also the part where I see some people start to stumble and get lost in the numbers. I want to be clear: This is not the time to focus on the numbers and algorithms.

And again just for emphasis:

This is not the time to focus on the numbers and algorithms.

I find that the minute you start to worry about numbers and data – you lose your connection to the people in your community. And when that connection gets lost, then you start to lose a bit of authenticity. So what should you be doing at this stage?

• Build
  • Continue to look for like-minded people and connect with them. Finding an audience isn’t something that is done once at the beginning and then stopped. As people naturally fall away, new people will come in and you want to be there – ready to welcome them.
• Inspire
  • Continue to tell your story or share a journey and also make sure to encourage your community/followers/audience to join in on the conversation. Invite them to share their ideas, and experiences and join in on the fun.
• Appreciate
  • Appreciate those in your community by letting them know. Give them a like, follow, comment. Cheer with them on their wins. (Virtually) Sit with them on their challenges. Most of what you are doing should be focused on the people in your community and making them feel heard.
• And play…

Wherever you are in trying to build up your profile, if you are here trying to work out what to do next – I permit you to play. Experiment. Test. Whatever you want to call it. For the next couple of months, don’t worry about whether or not your posts are getting the most reach, high numbers of likes and comments, etc. Just put yourself out there and play. Your focus is to consistently post and engage with your growing community. Listen to their conversations and add to them with your spin. See if posting in the mornings or evenings works better for you. Post at different times of the day with different types of content. You can keep it loosely themed but don’t lock yourself into a niche too soon because you might find it isn’t the right thing for your profile.

Then, after three months, you look at the data. And while it is good to notice which posts had more reach than others, it is just as important to look at the ones that had a high engagement % rate. And start asking questions – what was it about the high reach/likes one that made it go viral? Did it end up outside your “normal” network? What was it about the high-engagement one that resonated with your community? 

From there, you might find inspiration to give more to your community of what they are looking for.

People want to talk to people

“The author platform follows the work. Not the other way around.”

 Mirella Stoyanova

The other parts in this series are linked below:

• 1. Finding & growing your audience
• 2. Planning content
• 3. Creating content & accessibility
• 4. Nurturing your community