Lessons Learned: How to survive as an Introverted Digital Marketer

I hope none of my clients see this but here’s the truth, I genuinely hate social media. Perhaps hate might be a strong word but yes, I dislike the entire concept of it. Sometimes I wonder what life would have been like if I was born some centuries ago but then again, I doubt I would have been able to survive slavery or war. If you can’t already tell by the title of this post, I am an introvert…an introverted introvert who is more introverted than an introvert..and there’s not a single lie in this statement. The mere thought of interaction sends bumps down my spine yet every day I wake up, I have to connect with people in the world, send messages, post pictures, and interact with strangers virtually and in real life because that’s the industry I decided to thrive in. It is amusingly ironic that I somehow became a marketer, working in a space that deals so much with people and selling things to them when I could barely ask my classmates for a pen in secondary school. I am certain I am not the only one with this struggle and so how did I do it…or better yet, how does one who is inherently introverted take charge of a space that is opposite of their very existence. I don’t have the magic keys to solving this problem but I’ll share how I worked through mine. So the first step is hard to do but the best thing there is…and that is, ‘accept your fate’. You need to survive whether you hate humans or not and if you are lucky to work in a space that requires you to sit alone, disconnected from the world then I am happy for you but if you are not that lucky and you somehow became the Marketing team lead then by all means, accept your fate. It won't be easy. I hated working in the first few months of being in this space. I would open up clients' social media pages and nearly start shedding tears. Sometimes the mere thought of having to post a picture, share it with people, and then get them to engage would send me into a state of depression and work paralysis. It sounds untrue but I don’t joke when I say I am an introverted introvert. My shyness and lack of social skills go beyond just meeting people in real life, it reaches the virtual world as well..but once I told myself that this is what I need to do to survive, I ended up just doing it. I enjoyed everything that came before the talking to people part. Researching, creating the copy, making the designs, and drawing up plans were always great but when it came down to actually meeting people, I died inside multiple times. This brings us to the next point, find the parts about it that you enjoy and take advantage of them…I hate the entire social media work but I loved what came before it so I let that joy help me through. Use the parts you love to power through the parts you hate and that’s the magic principle. When Marc Anthony said ‘if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life’ He wasn’t completely bluffing…not everyone gets the chance to do what they love so the best bet is to find something you love about what you do…and if you find that there is absolutely nothing to love about what you do then perhaps you need to be considering changing your job. Life is already too stressful to add working a job that you absolutely hate. And unto the next part, harness your strength as an introvert. I read an article once when I was figuring out how to survive in this field and it said ‘Introverts make great marketers’ I was really curious to see how the writer was going to prove this and so I read it. Whilst I may or may not have agreed with what had been written, one thing I gained from reading that article was finding my strength and tailoring my work around it. Rather than wish to be extroverted, I make my introversion work for me. Find marketing strategies that are easy for you to use and that encourage you to do more of the things you like and are good at. When it comes to marketing, introverts have distinctive traits that can become advantages. Introverts often make great listeners, and observers, are more creative, and are able to build deep relationships better than others. All of these are essential traits needed in marketing today so if you think about it, the qualities you think limit you are things that make you a better marketer. As an introvert, you won’t post before thinking; you’ll take time to think about what you put out there and avoid making mistakes you have to make up for and because you speak less in social situations, you are able to read your social environment and accurately pick up on social cues that others may miss. The final way I survived was by figuring out how to match my introversion to different platforms and scheduling things ahead of time. Once I understood my own brand of introversion, I studied different platforms and worked out how to use them to my advantage. For example, posting thought-provoking Tweets would require conversations with the audience and I am the type of introvert that can’t keep up with this, so I maximize other channels. Facebook is great for larger conversations, LinkedIn works well to connect with specific people, Twitter offers space for quick-fire interactions, and Instagram is all about images…I work well with Instagram because I enjoy creating images, I still struggle with making videos and so I cover that up by harnessing email marketing and the LinkedIn space. There is nothing wrong with spending more time on the platform that most closely matches your working style since it will make you more effective. It is important to note that even with your best efforts, you will occasionally feel overwhelmed, and there is nothing wrong with it. There is no getting around the fact that you will always find social media stressful. Despite this, it is still a useful weapon and with the appropriate strategy, it is possible to strike a balance between developing a public presence and safeguarding your private life. The smartest move is to determine your top posting medium and topics and make sure to take regular breaks. Strive to improve, but keep in mind that being introverted is not a problem that has to be solved, but rather a different strategy that allows you to develop more intimate, one-on-one relationships. Until next time!

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