Today on Life, Styled we talked all about how you can support your friends in their creative and career endeavors and why it is so important. I think this topic is so incredibly valuable that I wanted to come share it here to.
A few months ago I posted an episode of FIVE over on IGTV. This episode was called 5 Ways You Can Support Your Content Creator Friends. It was back when I had just launched the website, was getting ready to launch the podcast and just wanted to let people know how they could help me with this! The five ways were:
Share their content
Respond to their call-to-actions
Subscribe/Follow everywhere
Get involved
Take what they are doing seriously
I felt like these were the five easiest things people could do and that people had done for me in the past. I share this video every few months because I think it is always relevant! Today, I want to dive a little deeper into each of these five things and how they truly impact your content creator friends, as well as other creatives and business owners who are on social media!
Share Their Content
This is by far the easiest one, but also for some reason the one that trips people up the most. I don't understand that. You share Buzzfeed articles, photos of models/celebrities, funny cat videos and recipes all the time on social media. Sharing your friends' content is no different! Let's think about some comparisons.
I post a lot of content that is similar to people like Zoella and Rachel Hollis. I see my friends sharing content from their accounts ALL THE TIME. So why would it be weird to share a post by someone you know that is saying similar things that you also agree with and support? SPOILER ALERT - IT ISN'T WEIRD AT ALL! No one will think it's weird. And it is so incredibly helpful to your friends to share their work with your friends. Here is why:
Every person has a unique circle of people that they know and that follow them on social media. My breakdown goes a little like this:
My family (parents, sisters, cousins, aunts/uncles, even grandparents!)
My hometown friends (elementary, middle and high school)
My college friends (in various subgroups: dance company, sorority, theater, Spanish department, Freshman dorm/seminars)
My work friends
My friends I made after college
My follower base (those who don't know me but found and like my content)
Now if you think about that, every single one of my followers has a similar breakdown in their followers. People who come from different parts of their life that don't know me at all! Take one of my sorority sisters for example. We probably share 100 of the same social connections, but say this sister has 1200 followers on Instagram - well there are 1100 people who don't know me who could be potential new followers! Then say one of those friends shares my post from that sorority sister that they knew from High School. They probably share 200 connections with my sister but have 800 followers, so there are 600 more! In two shares my content has now potentially reached 1700 new people it may not have before. That is the power of a share! Pretty dang cool right!
Sharing is so easy and one of the fastest ways to support your friends and spread their message/content/business like wildfire!
Respond to Their Call-To-Actions
A Call-To-Action is anytime a content creator or business asks you to engage with a post. This could be a question they want you to comment the answer to, a poll in their story, a question box, or a "if you made it this far comment a star emoji" in a YouTube video. This is another really easy way to show a friend you care about what they are doing and also help support their social reach.
It is proven that people are more likely to comment on a post if other people have already commented. Herd mentality is real folks. So if you answer your friends' question, even if it feels weird, that comment you posted may encourage someone else to comment. It is easier to comment on a friend's post than a stranger's so this should be an easy step!
Call-To-Actions also help creators and businesses plan and create. So when your friends ask for ideas, don't be afraid to give some! I take ideas from my friends just as seriously as from my other followers! My friends know me best, so if they think I would be good at something, I'm more inclined to believe them!
Subscribe Everywhere
We all have tons of social media accounts. Even if you don't use them frequently, make sure you are following/liking/subscribing to your friends'/their businesses' pages on all social media platforms you are on! Even if you may not be on to interact with their content there much, the follows still help!
Get Involved
This one varies from person to person obviously, but is so important. It could be simple as responding to CTAs or as complex as being a podcast guest. There are tons of ways to get involved in your friend's dreams! Here are a few ideas:
-Purchase from their shop (AT FULL PRICE)
-Commision an art piece (AT FULL PRICE)
-Share content
-Comment on a post
-Make them take a break on a day they are too deep into work
-Be okay with being in their vlogs
-Answer questions/be interviewed for a podcast, video or blog
-Give them ideas
-Tell them you are proud of them.
I bet all of you can do at least one thing on this list right now! Do it! Before you keep scrolling, reach out to a friend and get involved!
Take What They Are Doing Seriously
This is the absolute most important y'all. Starting a business or blog or YouTube channel or creative project or ANYTHING is scary. It's difficult to do and takes a lot of courage and confidence. Courage and confidence are depleted really quickly when your people, your support system, don't take you seriously. This is a conversation I've had to have with several people in my life, especially my family. I had to remind them that StyledByKaylaXO is as important to me as school, as my job and more than my other hobbies. I had to tell them that when they interrupt my work or laugh/complain/whine/get angry when I ask them to be quiet so I can film it really hurts and makes me think they don't care about what I'm doing or believe in me. Those aren't fun conversations. So avoid making your friends have them! Support them unconditionally and let them know you are proud and take them seriously!
This all may seem like a lot, but I promise you it means the world to your friends as they move forward with their dreams. Find the people who do this for you and do it for them in return. Love your people well and celebrate their successes!
I'm proud of you dreamers and am on your side!
xo,
Kayla
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