You know… Social Media is a lot like deodorant. You know you need it, you know it helps people want to be around you more often, and you don’t fully realize the impact it has until you go a day without it!
Yeah, yeah, yeah… Most people don’t necessarily equate “deodorant” to something like social media… Social Media is a fun time waster… A great promotional tool… And an amazing way to stay in touch with people you haven’t seen in a thousand years (but, ummm yeah – deodorant???).
I’m here to tell you that pageant contestants should realize social media can be used for much more than just “keeping in touch” or tagging your sponsors in your latest photos. The truth is…
Social media creates awesome pageant contestants.
Personally, I call it the “Social Media Super Cycle” – and here’s how it goes…
YOU CREATE A FOLLOWING
When you’re good at social media, people can’t wait to see what you post next! They wanna know what you’re going to post tomorrow. They begin to identify your posts simply by looking at the photo (before they ever see your name). They’re drawn to you – and they don’t want to miss anything that comes from YOU!
Likewise – When you’re bad at social media – It’s easy to forget you, or worse yet – it’s easy for people to un-friend you, because you’re wasting their time (ugh).
Not to state the obvious – But, if people are constantly un-friending you, I’m afraid you’re not very good at social media. Soooooooo – what’s the best way to create a following???
Post Frequently.
You can’t create a following if you’re only posting every once in a while! The best way to increase your following is to post regularly… However – be sure to post stuff that matters (not just what you ate today… or how sweaty you are after your workout today… )
Why not create your own content? Maybe a blog or a podcast? You can create your own hashtag (for your platform or for something you post regularly about). Make an effort to create your own campaign that draws people to you. I promise – The more you to do it, the better you’ll get. And the better you get – the bigger your following will become!
Once you create a following, something else inevitably happens…
YOU BECOME FAMILIAR
Think about your favorite celebrity’s social media account. Chances are, you kinda feel like you “know” them… That’s why people make creeper comments like, “I swear, Taylor Swift and I would be total besties if she only knew me!!!” 🙂
When you’re good at social media, people will begin to solidify their following of you, because you’ll be familiar. It will seem like you’re friends – even though you may have only met once (or maybe never at all!). In fact, don’t be surprised if random strangers come running up to you in the grocery store and wanna have a conversation about your life! What makes someone do that? Comfort and Familiarity through social media. 🙂
Here’s the good news – Becoming familiar to your audience is a HUGE plus! You show that your life isn’t perfect. You’re not a plastic figure with a crown. In fact, you’re no different than anyone else… You’re not up on a pedestal – You are fully accessible… touchable… and utterly familiar (in the digital sense). 🙂
When you master the art of familiarity on social media, this is when the cycle gets good! The more familiar you are, the more your following will increase. And once that happens…
NOW, YOU’RE THE FAVORED CHOICE
Anybody can get appearances because they wear a crown.
But if you want to speak in front of organizations that matter and connect with people who can help you make a real difference – Then you need to get good at social media.
Let’s be honest here. People usually choose to interact with someone they know. Rarely does anyone get hired from a flyer or without any recommendations whatsoever. Why? Because people want to know you’re not a wacko! I’m sure you’re a lovely person – but nobody wants to be the one who booked a wacko… And one way for me to determine if you are in fact, a wacko, is through your blog/website/podcast/social media.
So – Wanna book more appearances? Then get good at social media.
That way, people will see who you are before they ever meet you! They’ll read your blog and ask you to come speak (trust me – it happens!). They’ll see your tweets about articles that are important to you (aka – become familiar). They’ll see your website and learn how it aligns with the goals and values for the organization they represent (which usually means, “not a wacko”).
If you want to expand your networking base – and get appearances that matter – people need to know who you are. They can’t know who you are if you’re not frequently posting on social media. They can’t trust you if the last blog update you wrote was 4 months ago. And I’m sorry – but they won’t even consider booking you if they’re even slightly unsure about what you might say (*cough – wacko*).
But once you start becoming the favored choice – Do you know what happens?
THE CYCLE CONTINUES…
Yup! Once you get the chance to speak, then you’ll gain more people who want to follow you! And once more people start following you – then you’ll become more and more familiar to them! And once you become more and more familiar – You’ll become their favored choice to be at an event or speak to a group of people! 🙂
Lather, Rinse, Repeat (to continue our hygiene analogy).
In summary, the “Social Media Super Cycle” isn’t just a tool… Social Media really does create AWESOME pageant contestants!
Just like deodorant. 🙂
So, do yourself (and the rest of us) a big favor… Make sure you don’t forget either one of them, today!!! 🙂
#BigJunkieLove
Carrie Lakey
If you’d like to read more Thursday BlogDay posts like this one, just click here…

Carrie Lakey is kind of obsessed with Miss America…
So are 15,000 of her closest friends.
As an avid fan of the Miss America Organization, Carrie began
publicly predicting pageant winners over 10 years ago.
Now, she’s galvanizing an online movement of fans
known as “Pageant Junkies”.
Learn more about the Junkie Nation
by clicking here.
Oh, my, and I just thought I was writing….who knew I was applying deodorant!