Building, Branding, and Following
Everyone wants to matter. Everyone wants to be part of something bigger than themselves. And in today’s social media craze, many have been able to get their name out into the world and be “known” for something spectacular.
We have bloggers and vloggers on almost any and every topic you can imagine. We have content on just about any subject at our fingertips. To be honest, most of it is very helpful information. I followed a girl the other day that had videos on some pretty amazing workout routines for women in their forties. I also like following another girl just because she loves Jesus and she is so inspiring.
Social media isn’t bad. It’s what you use it for.
Most people are using it today to get their content out into the world which is awesome. Never before have we had this amazing platform to market our products to anyone anywhere In the world. The ability to build an online brand is incredible.
There are a few things to consider when building your brand.
1. Determine whether you are building God’s glory or your own.
This can be tricky since our stories are His stories. And as we post on social media we are telling our stories through our very lives. So you may see posts from me about being a boy mom, my dogs, my husband, decor, hospitality, etc.
One rule of thumb when I post is to evaluate my content...I always ask “is this promoting ‘self’ or is it promoting God?” I have deleted many of my posts within seconds of going up on my feed because I reread it and it just didn’t feel right.
It doesn't mean that you can't promote the great things God is doing in and through you. Just remember who gave you the gift.
2. Who are you following?
I’m not talking about the number of people you follow or even who they are. I am talking about who are you patterning your posts after?!
I can honestly tell you that I have struggled in this area. I start looking at what everyone else is doing and think that I need to start doing exactly what they do. Ideas for posts, yes. But totally becoming like them, no! That’s basically cheating. You become someone else instead of doing the hard work of determining your own gifts, talents, and story.
Follow Jesus. He is the only one who can tell you who you are and reveal your unique brand and content for displaying His glory to the world.
3. Am I providing value and serving others?
Never should it become all about “self.” It should always be about creating content that actually makes the world a better place. From the beginning we were called to use all the resources God has given us to help the people God has placed in your path to help them grow, thrive and flourish.
“Whenever we bring order out of chaos, whenever we bring out creative potential, whenever we elaborate and “unfold” creation beyond where it was when we found it, we are following God’s pattern of creative cultural development.” - Tim Keller
Building, Branding and Following Jesus. That is my hearts desire. Remembering how all our sweet gifts work together and who has gifted them "from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." (Ephesians. 4:16)
So whether you are using social media to just simply post about your life, or using it to get valuable content out, remember to build for the kingdom, brand yourself in a way that utilizes the sweet gifts God has given you, and follow Jesus' example of serving others.
Some of you have sweet gifts to share but are afraid to. But did you know that by holding back you could be robbing the world of a message God wants to use you to get out into the world. Whether you are a momma strategically planning meals for her family, part of a team creating a cure for cancer, or in the remotest part of the world helping a community get clean water, your gifts matter and what you do matters. Because as we do our part we are reflecting back the glory of God. Tim Keller says this about being image bearers in his book, The Every Good Endeavor, "It is creative and assertive. It is rearranging the raw material of God's creation in such a way that it helps the world in general, and people in particular, thrive and flourish."
This is the goal...using all the resources God has given us to create image bearers and create order out of chaos.
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