ADHD and authenticity: the power of using vulnerability online
"One of the best ways that you can build trust with your potential and ideal clients is by outing yourself as the beautifully imperfect person that you are... and demonstrating your ADHD authenticity." - Katie McManus, Brave Business Coaching
If you're feeling frustrated and defeated and.. just argghhhhh!!!! Ok, Katie breathe haha... Ok let's try that again!
If you're feeling like you're in a tail spin because your carefully crafted social media posts aren't generating the engagement and sales you desire... then I want to name that you are not alone!
Lots of us ADHD entrepreneurs struggle with the pressure to present a perfect and polished image online, but this can actually hinder our ability to build trust and community with our followers. And ultimately this hurts our bottom line because we're not turning them into clients!
Now don't misunderstand your ol' friend Katie here, embracing vulnerability and imperfection can be uncomfortable! Yet, if you try it, it allows for a more authentic connection with your audience.
Instead of trying to hide your flaws, share them with your followers and let them see the human behind the brand. This transparency can lead to more meaningful relationships and ultimately, 'real' success on social media, not just the vanity metrics that we all think we're here for...
And I'll be covering more on that topic, in the next following episode (37) so make sure you're following this podcast so you don't miss it...
Promo
Accessibility: click to read a written-to-be-read transcript of the episode
Building Trust with ImperfectionIn order to connect with potential clients and create a supportive community, you've gotta present yourself as genuine, relatable, and beautifully imperfect! By sharing our imperfections, we make ourselves more approachable and relatable, allowing audiences to see us as real people rather than experts with unattainable qualities.
This creates a bond of trust between you and your audience, which ultimately leads to a stronger and more loyal community of followers. Sharing our struggles, whether they're small everyday mishaps or larger personal challenges, can help entrepreneurs build trust with their audience. In this episode I want to recognize that sharing vulnerabilities is going to be especially challenging if you have ADHD and its common co-pilot rejection sensitivity dysphoria.
But my goal with this episode is to talk you through starting slowly and then if you work with me on it, we can gradually build you up to new heights as you grow more comfortable sharing your stories with your audience.
Sharing Scars, Not WoundsNow I appreciate that I just spent the entire previous section talking about how sharing our vulnerabilities is important, but let's not be hasty. Have a listen to the episode because it's essential to differentiate between how to share and how not to share.
Like with most things in business and indeed life, there's nuance to this!
Sharing in the wrong way can lead to trauma and tailspins, so let's prep this powerful new you that you're gonna bring to your socials, k? Hey, what are you waiting for? Stop being a weenie! Hit play!
Direct quote from episode
This episode that's all about ADHD authenticity covers:
- Discover the power of vulnerability and imperfection on social media in forming meaningful connections.
- Learn how to develop a relatable personal brand specifically tailored for ADHD entrepreneurs.
- Understand the distinction between sharing scars and wounds for maintaining emotional well-being.
- Explore the importance of processing difficult experiences before expressing them to others.
- Share a personal story or imperfection on social media to build trust with your potential clients.
- Use LinkedIn (and connect with me with a note to say you heard this episode!) to connect with ideal clients by allowing them to appear smart in the comments.
- Share relatable imperfections like forgetting things or making silly mistakes.
- Avoid being scared of scaring people away by sharing past struggles or imperfections.
- Embrace your ADHD and don't feel like you are faking your competence.
- Use vulnerability to build trust with your audience and potentially gain super fans.
- Share light imperfections if sharing something super vulnerable scares you.
- Use the marble jar analogy to build trust with your audience gradually.
- Encourage your audience to take action by providing specific calls to action for products, services, or other tools you are promoting.
- Provide detailed instructions for your audience to find and access the product or service you are promoting.
00:00:00 - WHY You Need to Share Your Imperfections on Social Media 00:01:02 - Outing Yourself as Imperfect on LinkedIn 00:03:15 - The Difference Between Faking Competence and Faking Confidence 00:05:01 - Building Trust with Imperfection 00:09:32 - Being Imperfect Builds Genuine Connections 00:14:05 - Sharing Vulnerably 00:15:19 - Sharing Scars, Not Wounds 00:16:50 - Normalizing Experiences
Related must-listen episodes 25: ADHD entrepreneur networking events tactics 21: What are ADHD superpowers? How you can use them to your advantage! 16: ADHD and social media marketing 13: ADHD and social media: staying visible! 5: ADHD and RSD (rejection sensitive dysphoria treatment tips!)Like something? Dislike something? We wanna know!
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