I was thinking about marketing the other day when I heard an "expert" say that the only effective way to market anything is to get on camera & talk directly to your audience. I do agree that showing more of yourself helps people connect with you, but I don't believe that getting on camera is the only way.
I've been on a long & winding health journey for quite a while and anytime a specialist talks to me, my first question is always the same~ what is the root cause? You won't be able to sell me on a potential cure unless you can explain what the root cause is & how your result will address that.
This tactic applies to just about every area of my life now. I've talked in previous blogs about how I like to deconstruct something to learn how to create it myself. And I always get back to the same place, the roots.
I'm going to break apart two different root causes here- the ones where we're drawn to people who show themselves on camera and the ones where a large majority of us don't want to do that.
“In order to grow, we need to know ourselves. To understand what triggers certain behavior, we need to identify the root cause.” -Adiela Akoo
The phrase that "people buy from people" hypothesizes that by showing your face, you're building trust, emotional connection, & vulnerability. I can tell you from seeing lots of inauthentic people showing their face that this isn't always the case. And yet, I follow several people that I am endeared to who show their face.
I also think curiosity is a driving factor a lot of time~ I mean, I know I get curious about people. I bet most of you would say with certainty that you can tell a lot about a person just by seeing their face. Are they rich or poor, are they successful or struggling, are they conservative or republican (I promise not to talk politics on here, just using it as an example because I bet you just pictured someone.) I can also usually tell if they are sincere or fake. And now we're starting to get to the roots. We want to connect with someone that we can trust. Does seeing someone's face tell you if they are trustworthy? Not usually without more context. The person has to tell a story, then another one, and another and the trust becomes woven in through individual strands without you even realizing it was happening.
So let's switch to the people (me) that don't like being on camera. I've always been the wallflower, most content standing on the sidelines letting other people take center stage. I won't pretend to talk for all introverts, as we are all different. But for me, a large part of it is fear. What if I misspeak or say something wrong & the whole room knows I made a mistake? What if I speak up and everyone disagrees with me? What if the attention is on me & people start to notice my flaws? It's safer on the sidelines.
“Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are our own fears.” -Rudyard Kipling
I would bet there are some underlying reasons you don't want to show your face. But can you show up & grow a faithful audience without doing so? Have you seen those reels that people do usually in January where they're declaring their theme of the year, sometimes by taking a screenshot of scrolling topics & whichever one you stop on is supposed to be indicative of your theme? I secretly like them and yet know that there's no value other than entertainment. I've always said that when God wants me to listen, he repeats Himself to me. This year, the theme that keeps repeating is "Show up, and you will find your voice."
I've had one experience after another forcing me out of my comfort zone to just show who I am and I am slowly but surely finding my voice.
Your voice has value. When you're too afraid to be in front of a camera, record your voice... when you don't want to record your voice, write a blog... when you're not comfortable writing your thoughts, post a phrase on social media. Do the things that feel slightly uncomfortable until you feel comfortable doing the next bigger thing. Eventually, none of it will scare you~ even if you still prefer to not be on camera. :)
"In life, finding a voice is speaking and living the truth. Each of you is an original. Each of you has a distinctive voice. When you find it, your story will be told. You will be heard." -John Grisham
Find what you're comfortable with to just get started. It gets easier the more action you take.
Warmest regards,
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