Let’s re-frame Value. It’s tripping up too many of us trying to use social media to establish our personal brand. So if you’re obsessed with “adding value” or constantly asking your followers if you add value then I hope this helps.

Start by wiping value from your mind.

Focus on being you and sharing what interests you.

That means be entertaining, funny, silly, curious, knowledgeable, bold, daring, insightful, droll…. What I mean is

replace the noun “value” with any adjective you like.

Do that and your voice, your contribution and even your content will be easier to share. I say let you out because your unique POV is your benefit to me and others.

As you replace value from your vocabulary also stop looking at how many people viewed your idea/post/words/etc. Views alone are a useless metric. A view is 3 seconds for Facebook and Instagram videos and a split second on Snapchat. In other words,

Views don’t equal your value.

I’ll take 2 comments/chats over 200 views any day. Why, because a response means a connection. Something I did made an impact. Views won’t be part of our obsession with value if we don’t give them so much weight.

Is my argument still not working for you? Still desperate to define your value? Well, make it easier on yourself — replace “add value” with “make friends.” You already know how to do that, it’s in your DNA.

A good way to make friends and meet people is to turn the camera off, put the pen down and just react. Spend time watching, listening and getting involved in other people’s trials and triumphs. Be human and you’ll naturally be providing comfort, support and expertise (aka value) without even thinking about it.

That’s a real benefit and you don’t have to work hard to do it. Invest time making friends and your audience will grow organically. Let others fret about value, you just let you show through.

Cheers.