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Twice weekly show providing social media updates, trend alerts, original content ideas, strategy session, industry guests, tutorials and more!
Welcome back to The Social Media Strategy. Thank you so much for being with me yet again. If you are a loyal listener and you're here with me every week, I am so grateful. And I love thinking about you listening and thinking of the things I want to share with you week to week. And I'm gonna start off, of course, with the unsponsored by segment.
Helen:I'm keeping it in the fashion zone because some of what I'm gonna talk about today is still loosely related to fashion. Fashion in a Jersey accent. I like to swing into it once in a while. But I'm going with a brand who which I now learned how to pronounce today because Julie and I went shopping together. And as we were walking in the store, she pronounced it.
Helen:And I said, there's no I in the beginning of it, so I wonder why it's why it's pronounced Viori. It must be wrong because it's v u o r I, and there's no I in the beginning. So why are we saying Viori? So we decided that we were gonna find out when we went in the store. So we asked one of the sales associates, and they said, Yes, it is Vee Ori.
Helen:So it's the letter V pronounced and then U O R I. Vee Ori. So we were saying it right all along, which is great. And the reason I'm mentioning this brand is that I typically don't buy pants from these types of stores because of one, because of my body shape, I don't think it it works with a lot of these sweatpancy type pants, so I avoid them usually, especially if they go in at the ankles. So I'm not a fan of that type of sweatpant.
Helen:And, typically, the athletic pants are also are tapered at the bottom, so they're they're giving more of a box of a I don't know. I I have a pear shaped body, which doesn't work well for when you're wearing skinny jeans and you're whatever. The shape isn't it's not flattering. I'll just leave it at that. And I've learned that about myself.
Helen:I have to accept that about myself. It is what it is. But I also try still to find things in the stores that I like. So I like their sweatshirts. I wear their thin jackets.
Helen:They're, thin the the thinner, I guess, would like hoodies. But they're the zip up hoodies, but they're thinner, and I like those. So love a lot of their tops, but I've never really delved into the pants. But today, Julie and I went in, and I said, oh, the pants. They're not short, like sometimes they're too cropped.
Helen:They're not tapered. Sometimes they're too thin at the ankle. They are more I don't even know. Like, they're like a nice dress pant almost, but they're in fabric that I'm having it right here. Of course, I'm bringing show and tell.
Helen:But they're in a fabric that is gentle but also can be dressed up. So lo and behold, I got myself what I normally would not get at a store like this. And the reason I'm telling you is if you are if you have that type type of feeling about pants from these athletic wear places, Right now, Viuri has departed into an area where I think you might not know that they have what you might need. So here's I'm gonna show them to you. They're they're pants that are I don't always get pleats either, by the way.
Helen:I avoid pleats, not a pleated girl, but it has one tiny little pleat in the front. It has pockets. And when it goes down hold on. I'm gonna hold them up. They don't taper way out like giant bell bottoms.
Helen:They're not too boxy, but they're somewhat straight, but they're still wider legged, which is fashionable right now. So you wanna go with a little bit of a wider leg right now unless that style just doesn't look good on you. But it is every time I wear the wider legged, Halara jeans, I get asked, where are those jeans from? Women stop me on the street. So I recommend go check out Fiori right now and see the pants selection, and they have this same pair in a high rise and a lower rise.
Helen:And you know I've talked about my low rise my high rise problems. So they have the ones in the lower rise, and that's what I was able to get. They're nice at the bottom, so they can almost be worn kinda dressy a little. I am so excited. And aside from that, I went for a pair of sweatpants because, also, their sweatpants are thin and wider legged, and they don't have the ankle sucking at the bottom again.
Helen:So yay to everything for today. I freaking nailed it at the store. I have two pair of cozy pants to take with me that are nice and dressy and a little more casual. Yay for travel clothes. Yippee.
Helen:So I'm happy. I'd scored big, and I want you to know that if you usually avoid those stores for pants, you might find something right now because they are in a different style. They have brought in a seat more styles that are slightly different from what they normally carry. So go check it out. Lorraine, if you're listening, I know that you are also a Viori customer because I think you one time you commented on one of my sweatshirts, you said I have the same one.
Helen:So, yeah, Viori. Go now. They have a whole different style of pants that they've never had before, at least as far as I have seen. Yay to that. Alright, now let's get into the topic for today, which is how to make a good first impression on social media.
Helen:And I really first started thinking about this because I have a viral video right now. I've talked about this before. It's at 5,000,000 plus views right now, 5,600,000 I think. I have monetized that. It's over $600 right now that I've made on that one video.
Helen:To me, that's not a lot for having almost 6,000,000 views, but hey, you know, it's $600 I didn't have if I didn't post the video. So there you have it. But I have this very viral video. Why was I talking about that? Oh, because so many people in the comments are like, where have you been my whole TikTok life?
Helen:And I'm thinking, right here. Like, right here. And somehow, I think I've gotten like 20,000 new followers from this video, and they're all like, oh my god. I'm so glad I found you. So I have made a first impression on a whole slew of new people five years later in my social media journey.
Helen:So I wanna make sure that I'm being clear that if you are already have been on social media for one year, two year, or one month, or one week, or whatever, and you think, I blew it. I can't make a first impression anymore. I've already put myself out there. I'm here to tell you, think again. You can make a first impression with every freaking video you put out there.
Helen:It's crazy if you really think about it. Because sometimes I look at Rita's comments, I'm like, how have I not been in this person's feed if they're trying to find out how to do how to learn this or how to do that? Why is the algorithm keeping me from people that could use my my knowledge? And I don't know the answer to that. I don't know the answer.
Helen:So what I learned from it is that I can always make a first impression. So even even if I say, oh my gosh, just think about how I started on social media and baking and dancing in my kitchen a lot of times in holiday goofy pajamas or whatever. And I think, woah. That was so dumb. I'm I'm a fool.
Helen:I made a fool out of myself. Okay. I could think the same thing now. This morning, I was with Julie. I was on the subway, and I said, oh, I'm gonna make one of those tube girl videos where you, like, swing the phone and do the whole thing in the point five lens.
Helen:And I I'm out there, and I'm like, someone is gonna see that video, and that's gonna be their first impression of me. Someone's gonna see a tutorial, and that's gonna be their first impression. Someone else is going to see me dancing on the street with a stranger, and that's going to be their first impression. So every video is an opportunity to make a first impression. Wrap your head around that for a second, because it's kind of insane.
Helen:Okay? So now let's talk about what that means. That people notice details, even if you don't want them to. And first I thought, wow, this is awful when I first put myself on social media. I'm like, people are gonna probably make comments that I should go get Botox injections or, you know, the things that I'm by.
Helen:I don't even want to call them out. The things, if you're watching. But anyway, that's just reality. Like, you think that people are gonna notice those things. And in fact, they'll probably notice something like what the flowers are that are sitting next to me or that my when I'm doing a tutorial that my screen is dusty on my phone.
Helen:They're not even gonna think of the things you're thinking about. They're gonna notice other details. So I'm saying to you people notice details, but that doesn't mean they're gonna pick apart your face. So if you're stressing about your appearance and how somebody's gonna judge you, it's usually not even the things that you're you're personally worried about. It's usually something completely else.
Helen:So let's talk about the details besides. Okay. So it's tiny the tiny details they might notice happens right in the beginning. So it's usually the first five I like to say three seconds, but let's give ourselves a couple more seconds, you know, five, seven, ten seconds where you're gonna make an impression on someone. That's gonna be your posture, your tone, your expression, your energy.
Helen:I always get told, I love your energy. So people are seeing your energies coming through the screen. Yay. So you always have an opportunity to share that energy and make a good first impression. So I'm gonna talk about five ways to leave a good impression first, and I put it in the newsletter.
Helen:And so if you've read it, you kind of know what they are, but I'm gonna elaborate on them here. The first one is to be authentic. And that seems so easy for someone like me who can pick up my phone and just do what I do here, just like as if I was talking to you in the room and you walked into a meeting, it would be exactly the same as you're getting right here. I'm not doing my performance self, and then I someone else walks in and I'm doing another character. This is me.
Helen:Hello. Hello for the person who walks in the room. Same. A lot of people have trouble with that. The minute they put the camera up, they're acting.
Helen:They feel like they're someone else. They're reading. They feel they have to present in a way. It is so helpful if you can find a way by recording enough that you do become yourself in your videos. That is the first one, but it's the hardest one, truly.
Helen:Because from there, I'm gonna tell you they they get easier. But the first one is the hardest, and it's you've gotta find your little way of working around it, whether it's, as I've told people in my studio, if you feel comfortable doing Zoom meetings, practice doing Zoom meetings, and edit them and put them on social media. Start getting yourself your real self on your social media. If you're happy if you're more comfortable doing lives, take your live, download it, and put a clip on social media. Start getting to people to see who you are, where you are at your most comfortable.
Helen:This is important because once those videos are on your page and people are commenting on them and they're seeing the real you, you will then be able to record videos like that because you're gonna get used to seeing yourself on your videos when you're scrolling on your page and answering the comments. You're gonna go, oh, they see, I was just myself there, and they all like that. So okay. That's my little tip on that. If there's something where you are comfortable, use that footage in as your videos at first so that you can start to get a sense of who you should be on your social media, how to get your real self out there.
Helen:The other thing is that, I hate to say it, but it's my other favorite thing, is editing. Right? Good editing. You can record a shit ton of footage, and it can be if you watch it through, boring as hell, ten minutes of you yada yada yada on and on. If you just take the clips and cut out the in between stuff, bam, bam, bam.
Helen:Your energy is gonna be there for people to see. Even if you are stressed recording it and you cut out those bits in the middle, you're gonna sound good. You're gonna sound, I guess, put together, and you're going to it's going to make your videos better. So I did recently post a video, how to edit your speaking videos, and if you have not watched that tutorial, that is important. I'm going to link it in the newsletter.
Helen:Let me write it down so I don't forget How to edit your speaking videos. I want to make sure that everybody watches that because it's so simple. I have watched a lot, especially in the studio, I've watched a lot of new members come in, and I'm looking at their videos, and I'm like, oh my god, I'm counting. One, two, three, before the person even starts talking. That is like, you've lost your audience already if you're staring into screen and not talking in the first three seconds of your video.
Helen:Goodbye. I would scroll. Boom. So editing, editing, editing. Okay?
Helen:Choppy editing is distracting editing, not great, but you can edit concisely and and make some jump cuts and get yourself into a better a more energized end result in your video. Making sure that all of your audio matches is helpful. If you have, like if you're far away from the microphone for some shots and close-up to the microphone back and forth, that's gonna be annoying, and your viewer is gonna scroll. So things that are just editing tips that we're teaching in the studio, those are the things that you actually want to make sure that you're doing on your videos. Bringing positive energy sounds cliche, but nobody wants to be around a Debbie Downer.
Helen:It might go viral for a minute, but I guarantee it gets old. Like, yawn, you're out. The worst thing oh my god. I hate this too. And I have a lot of creators that I've been following that have big followings that do this.
Helen:They're the they're the, ones who are most guilty of doing it, is big creators whose views are low. Because there's one guy. I think I've talked about him before. Not gonna say who. But he comes on, and he's like, oh, man.
Helen:I don't know why I'm making this video because only, like, 200 people are gonna see it. And, like, he's such a downer. Oh my god. I'm like, damn, dude. I scroll the minute I see it.
Helen:Oh, our views are really go are your views low? I mean, you know, I guess I shouldn't even bother making a video. I mean, dude, goodbye. I don't wanna listen to the moaning and the groaning. I don't need it.
Helen:You know? Bring me some good vibes. I want the good juju. That's what I'm watching. I want fun, maybe puppies at this point, dog owners.
Helen:I want good vibes, people that are spreading good energy, doing funny things, saying funny things, we do not care club, hilarious, whatever it is. Bring me funny. Bring me happy. Bring me good energy. And then I'm sticking with the video.
Helen:I am not gonna listen to someone bitch about moan about views. I'm just not. Views, engagement, wah wah wah. I don't even like to listen to people that are like, if you're trying to get more views on your video, listen to this video. I might you know what I wanna say?
Helen:I'm not even gonna do the hand gesture. I'm not even gonna say it, but you can imagine what I'm thinking. Goodbye. I'm not listening to that because this person's lying, and they only want you to watch their video and do all the things which are only gonna help their video, not your video. So poo poo.
Helen:Don't listen to that stuff. Alright. And then also with positive energy, the same goes for commenting. And a lot of times, I will want to make a snarky comment back to someone who makes one to me, or I see a video and the person is doing that. Like, that type of video where if you wanna go viral, engage from the bottom up on this video.
Helen:I so badly wanna say, oh, really? And who's that gonna help? Just you. I you know, I then I just go, Helen, Helen, you are part of the problem if you drop this comment on that person's video. Bite your tongue and move on because I sometimes it gets me so mad that these creators are are duping new new creators on the app.
Helen:You know? They know what they're doing, and I just it gets my goat, and I feel like they're taking advantage of people. But I don't wanna be the one on there going like, because of course, that person will be that'll be the one comment somebody replies to when I look like the big old bitch, you know? Okay. So I'm not doing it.
Helen:But know that I think it. When I see it, and I'm like, really? Really? And you know what I do? Zip it and scroll on.
Helen:So if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. Even me. I have to fight it. Alright. The last thing is to dress in what makes you feel good.
Helen:And this is really what's all culminating to because, as you know, I am a part of the series, The Style Evolution, with my stylist, Alicia Lincoln, and she's got 12 experts total that are gonna be featured from a celebrity photographer to a a fashion designer, an award winning image consultant, a big influencer. She might be listening right now. Girl, can't wait to hear your interview. So we have experts that are gonna share how you can change your style and and join the style evolution to build more confidence in how you put your your fashion foot forward on your videos. So the idea is to think about dressing so that you feel good because then you'll feel better in your videos.
Helen:You'll perform better in your videos. When I'm out and about in the city and I'm doing a subway video, I have already put an outfit on that I feel that if someone films me or if I decide I want to randomly make a video, I look good to myself. Like, I'm in an outfit that will make me feel happy that I'm in a video and not like, oh, I shouldn't you know, put those pants on today. Like, I I think I'm explaining it, but it's not that you have to get dressed up. You just have to feel somewhat put together in your videos.
Helen:So that's what the style evolution is. It's a free online series. Free. Free. Free.
Helen:Free. I keep saying free because I don't want people to think I'm trying to sell you on this. This is like go and hear the experts. Figure out how to make strong and first impressions. Figure out how to ensure your image supports your professional goals.
Helen:You're gonna learn all the things, the small details that change how people see you and how you see yourself and how you feel. And I am around these people. I've one of them is a friend of mine. One of them the stylist is someone I've worked with, my colleague. I've worked with for years.
Helen:There's, photographers that are well, a colleague of I I know them through someone else. But everybody in it is in the world that I come from in production where they are sharing their expertise, so they're experts in their field. And I love to listen to other experts. I have learned so much from listening to experts. I listen to the expert Gina Bianchini.
Helen:I think we say her name like that. Gina Bianchini or Bianchini. She is the founder of the Mighty Network where the community is held, where it's hosted. And I am so intrigued by her and how she has built that community, how she has created a platform for communities. Brilliant woman.
Helen:I'll I listen to her podcast, and I listen to her master class because I want to learn how to be better at things. So when you have this opportunity and you don't have to pay for it, you don't have to buy a master class right here, you have the style evolution free. And Alicia is leading it. And I trust her because she is a friend, and she is really, really good at what she does. And she was on last week's podcast.
Helen:So if you missed that one, go back and listen to last week and sign up. The link is in the newsletter. The link is in the show notes, and come and see. Not only did I do a interview that is one of the 12 interviews, but I'm also going to be on her Facebook group live next week. So that's gonna be fun.
Helen:She knows I love to go live. So she's like, will you go? And I said, of course, I will I will go live. Like, you don't even have to ask me that one twice. So good times ahead.
Helen:Come and join us. Don't delay. You can always watch the things on the replay if you can't watch them in the moment live, or maybe you'll be able to attend the Facebook Live. It's in the middle of the day at lunchtime on the East Coast here. Alright.
Helen:So give it a try. And also, as I said, every bit of it is recorded. And if you sign up, you have access for a period of time. So it's not gonna be open access forever. So when you sign up, you get I think I forget.
Helen:I think it's two weeks to listen to all the interviews, something like that. Okay? That's it for this week. Have a fabulous weekend. I am going to be in the Catskills, seeing the fall leaves, embracing nature.
Helen:I'm an I'm I love the fall. I love the changing seasons. Today was so crispy and beautiful out, and just walking around when the temperature is in the sixties is just the best thing. The best thing. Sixties, maybe low seventies.
Helen:Not eighties. Not humid. No. I like it nice, cool, crispy. Fall.
Helen:Yay. So I'll be in the Catskills enjoying the fall. Hope you're having a great weekend yourself. Enjoy whatever you do, and I will see you next week.