As humans, we have an innate need to be heard and respected by others. To put your ideas out there in the first place requires courage; to have your hopes dashed by a lack of attention or even negative comments can be devastating for people who hoped that the Internet (perhaps even Google+ in particular) would be a place of intellectual refuge.
At first, it can be upsetting. Why aren't they paying attention to what I say, you moan, berating yourself for creating something on social media that didn’t include pictures of puppies and kittens. I’ll never make it here online.
It’s not easy to make it over this particular psychological hurdle. In fact, this is often the stage where people leave an internet platform altogether. Plagued by insecurity or facing the frustrations of a business that needs to get going NOW, you need encouragement to keep going (even with the ongoing discoverability of Google+ posts).
Seeking inspiration and a reminder of what you're working towards, you look at the popular people:
Strangely enough, numbers like those don't make you feel any better. (Even when you realize how many hours of effort it takes to build up toward those numbers.) You don’t have time to spend hours each day building your Internet popularity. You can barely get through a full blog post every couple of weeks.
Maybe it’s hopeless. Maybe no one even wants to hear what you have to say.
The Truth About Your Audience
Ever been a victim of this kind of self-talk? I believe that while not everyone will admit it, everyone has self-doubting thoughts somewhere along their journey. And those thoughts really suck.
Among other things, negative self-talk sucks away your capacity to see yourself and your audience for what you really are: a group of human beings with your own sets of passions and needs.
Most people who are trying to get going on Google+ make the mistake of trying to mimic the strategies of successful people. While it’s certainly fine to look for good examples, the truth is that social media is best when you focus on being real and creating things that you believe in.
But my audience! The distraught Plusser cries. If I create something and no one sees it, what good is it?
Setting aside the merits of simply creating things for their own sake, there is some point to this question. We crave an audience for many reasons—the psychological benefits, the sense of community, and the assist to our professional aspirations. We should pay attention to that need.
Here’s the thing, though. There are lots of ways to meet people on Google+ — commenting on other posts, interacting in communities, attending Hangouts on Air, and more. What turns your fellow Plussers into your audience is what you have to say…what you offer as a reason that they should come back to interact with YOUR profile on a regular basis.
I offer these three questions to those who feel like they haven't found their audience:
- Have you found your message? Have you got something to say that makes people crave your content? Or are you trying to imitate someone else’s message instead?
- Have you found your medium? Blog posts might not be right for you. Maybe people would rather hear your message through a video or a podcast. Maybe you're actually an artist, and you should be showing your message instead of telling it. Medium matters!
- Have you found your voice? Lots of professional social media types recommend a very people-oriented, ‘kill-them-with-kindness’ sort of approach, and it’s true that it works well. However, sweet talk may not be your style, and that’s actually okay. You can employ humor and even anger and frustration to great effect on social media too (though I would add that it’s best not to be a jerk when you don't need to be).
Don't let your own self-talk get you down. Audience building takes time, and social media platforms like Google+ definitely favor the early adopters.
Fortunately, Google+ still has at least one foot in this early-adoption phase, which means that it’s not too late to find your voice there. Audiences (or tribes, or the monchu, according to your favorite marketer) build up around those who connect with people on an authentic level. Be that authentic person, and proactively seek out people that you would want to connect with.
Your willingness to unabashedly be yourself will speak louder than any mimicked message ever will.