Rule of 5 | Balance Personal with Professional

My personal story as I started, my business turned tragic, and I was scared that it would be too sad to help me grow.

I was 5 and 1/2 months pregnant when I was told that my fourth daughter did not have a heartbeat, and that was just two weeks before the skincare company I joined was set to open in my country. I had worked pre-building the market for a year leading up to that moment, and I went from ready to launch to can’t get out of bed. My mom was diagnosed with stage four cancer just four months later, and then five months later, I had an early miscarriage and was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.

Well, my story was sad. The reality was that my business saved me from drowning in the tragedy of it all. My business gave me something positive to focus on. My business gave me a team of women and a few good men who were there to support me and lift me up when times were too dark to go on alone. This business saved me, and for that, I will be eternally grateful.

So how do you post strategically on social media in a way that tells your story? First, figure out your three to five pillars. These are three to five topics that you will cycle through posting.

So ask yourself what interests you? What are you good at? What can you teach or inspire others to do? Your business is not who you are. It’s a part of your life and what you do. So make sure to put a spotlight on it, but not so much that it overwhelms every aspect of your social platforms.

A good rule of thumb is for every five posts, make one about your business, your products or your service. Hence, the five pillars so mine are in the kitchen. I love cooking and baking. Building and renovating my family, my kids and my dogs. And of course, my business. And then important things in the world that I think people should care about.

Now that last one is where there are some different approaches. I’ve been told in the past by uplines that I shouldn’t rock the boat, that I shouldn’t talk about anything controversial, but here’s how I see it. I know where my heart is and I know what’s right and wrong. And if there’s something happening that I think I could use my platform to shine a spotlight on and create awareness around without vilifying or hurting innocent people. I do think that it should be talked about.

I won’t keep quiet about what sets me on fire to get sales, so to speak. But there are 7 billion people on the planet. Not everyone is for you. And in my opinion, you shouldn’t want to be for everyone by being genuinely and authentically you. You will attract your people. I try my best to throw in funny memes and posts as an offset to the sometimes quite serious tone, but I follow a storyline as I post to keep my followers engaged.

Now, some may disagree and refuse to post anything that could be viewed as polarizing. But I believe that if you’re posting from your heart and it’s important to you without hurting others, then you should post it. Having said that? Be aware that everything you post, everything you say, everything you do will be read in the tone of the reader or the viewer’s mindset and mood at the time. So if you post something that is offensive or upsetting, you may have to answer to that. It could result in you losing followers instead of creating a connection.