We live in a culture of sharing.
This is one of the greatest shifts in technology in the last decade. Nearly everyone has some social media page or presence online with friends, family, and followers. As much as your mom loves to see you are doing well, that one girl you suffered through broadcasting class with is reading your thoughts and viewing your pictures too.
By sharing your baby bump photos, what you ate for lunch, the new trick you taught your puppy, and your late night adventures, you are allowing people to see the intimate details of your life. And you haven’t spoken to some of them in person since third grade. I could tell you how to lock down your Facebook privacy settings or how to put your closest friends into a different group, but we both know you’re not going to weed through 753 names anytime soon.
So what if we stop rolling our eyes at our distant relative’s political rants and start sharing positive thoughts and knowledge? Instead of sharing the most recent celebrity couple split (*cough T. Swift and Calvin Harris cough*), try some of these:
Share your expertise.
Offer relevant and useful advice to those who pose a question. There are a variety of Twitter chats you can join in on a variety of topics where you will not only get to share your knowledge, but also get to read other professionals advice.
Share your network.
You haven’t talked to your friend from broadcasting class in years, but her status says she’s looking for a job. Look through your network and help her connect to someone in the industry, or even someone who might know someone. (80% of all jobs are found through networking.)
Share your recommendations.
Did you just have the best service at the local auto shop? Let everyone know! You will not only help someone else who may have been looking for the same thing, but you get to promote local businesses. I was recently looking for a new credit card, posted the question to my friends and got such good feedback. I got the perfect credit card and information that I can share with others.
Share your encouragement.
When everything seems to be going right in your life, remember that isn’t the case for every one of your friends. Support a friend’s decision to break up with their significant other, offer some inspiration for the loss of a loved one, and reassure anyone who recently lost a job. Condolences and support can shift their perspective (and yours).
Share your ideas.
Do you have the next great invention stewing in your head, but just need some help to get it down on paper? Since you have supported your friends with encouragement and expert advice, now they can return the favor by looking into their own networks. Or who knows? They might be the business partner you’re looking for.
We have the power to promote positivity on our social profiles that relates to our audience. It might sound more business and less casual, but sharing content that relates to your audience is a great way to get the conversation going about things that matter to you. Does your ex-best friend’s cousin really care about the sad, sad salad you ate for lunch? Do you?
The next time you go for that share button, stop and consider the value behind what you’re about to share. Try it for a week, for a month, just to see what happens to your own self talk and knee jerk negativity. I’ll bet you see a difference in your social feeds!
