So what, are there one or two things that you do on Instagram that are different to other people that you’re happy to share as well?
I don’t actually think I do. I mean, I don’t know if I do anything different? And I don’t know what that is then. I mean, I guess I’m just myself. And I’ve stopped overthinking my content, I guess. And like thinking, what image does this portray is this professional, that was a big hang up, you know, you’re going to, you’re going to if you’re going to censor yourself every time you go on video. So for example, I say it like a lot. And that’s just me. So the first few times I went on video, I was just like a robot. And I hated it. So I guess maybe what I do differently is I’m just myself and I. But I hope that other people do that, too.
So you raise a really good point there, which is the professionalism aspect, because I’ve thought about it too. And I’ve talked about it with other people, like when I put out certain content on the web, that won’t appeal to everybody, it may take the shine off of a level of professionalism. But it’s really at the end of the day. And like I said earlier, you do a really good job with some of your videos, not the ones where you’re sitting down and providing tips, but the ones where you’re kind of making light hearted fun at yourself, whether it’s a filter where you’ve got kind of a clown face on, that stuff matters.
So are you able to dive into it anymore? Tell us how you managed to get over the kind of thoughts on professionalism?
Yeah, I mean, I started questioning what is what is being professional? Because if you so for example, why being professional, you do it so that you could potentially do business with someone, right? I questioned why would I do business with someone? It’s because I know them and because I relate to them and I have a connection with them. It’s not because they’re wearing a suit, and they look really corporate, especially in what we do, you know, when we’re self employed, we’re business owners, we don’t have that whole persona that we have to have.
So yeah, I just questioned, what is professionalism, like, by being professional, I’m actually removing all of the stuff that people were gonna connect with. And, yeah, and at the same time was when I started building my brand, and I realised actually, I can create my own brand, it can be whatever I want it to be, I don’t have to be this person that I think I need to be in order to speak at events and, you know, get opportunities. And I was just like, fuck it. And you know, it’s worked really well because we’re all people at the end of the day. So yeah, people are going to connect to you if you if you show them warts and all, which isn’t easy. I’m again, not saying any of this is easy. Like I sometimes still, when I share something, I’m always like, Oh, that’s a bit weird. But it’s just me. So it is still what you wear. It’s what you bring us. That’s one thing.
That’s a great sign. Because I’m a big believer that I wear hoodies almost every single day. I have zero interest in wearing suits. Yeah, and I, I feel like I’m more interested in substance and style and Instagram, for a long time, I think got perceived as just style because of all the filters and everything was glamorous and it was definitely a shift change.
Change that I saw was probably during lockdown when people were sick of seeing the same stuff. And people can openly call it out say like, that’s not really your helicopter. That’s not your boat. What are you talking about? And now everything seems to have gone over to the very real side where people want to know the good and the bad, right? I think that’s a breath of fresh air. And me personally, that’s what I’m about. Like, I think it’s healthy to share the negative stuff as well as the positive.
But I think you’re right, Instagram was known for sexy pictures, you know, looking your best and yeah, buy the yacht, buy the Lambo, all that stuff. And I genuinely think Instagram itself has shifted, don’t get me wrong, that stuff’s still there. And there’s always going to be a place for it. But I think it has moved on a little bit where being real is more valuable to people than the fakeness or the fake stuff or whatever it is.
The marine says not to be too deep and it’s that the mirror of society doesn’t like people who are sick of anything that isn’t fair now and fair is very subjective. But people were very happy to Call it out as well, which then maybe goes back to the negative comments that sometimes people put out there. People wouldn’t say that stuff to people’s faces. So they probably shouldn’t say online, but certainly gives an indication that people want reality, which is what you’re kind of talking about here, which is, be yourself, promote yourself, however weird that might be.
And you’ll get the audience that’s right for you, rather than just a very generic audience.
Who doesn’t care anyway? Is there? Is there a certain level for coming to you for any kind of advice? Or your services? Where would you say, you’re probably not in the right place to come to me for those services?
Is there any particular stage you want somebody to be at before they come to you? And say, no, look, I’m looking for some help. Can you help me?
As I said, like, I’ve just wished I’d started on Instagram sooner than I did. But I had all these mindset blocks, like, I need to know everything. I need to actually, you know, be doing the things I’m talking about.
I work with people that either have or want to have a business, primarily built on social media. So if you want to build your brand, and attract clients online, then I can help you do that. I think it’s a great thing to start at the beginning of your business. And it’s a really great way to get your first few clients. And that’s exactly what I did. So you know, no, if you haven’t started yet, then I would absolutely love to work with you. Because, you know, we can get your first few clients in your business. I guess, if you really don’t know how to use Instagram, or a computer, then that’s not me. Because my approach is like, you can find that on YouTube or Google, you shouldn’t really be paying for that advice. Like you can find that for free online.
I mean, you’re basically talking to my mom, is what you’re doing.
On Instagram, you don’t have to use a computer, apart from cat memes, then probably don’t come to me actually find that elsewhere. That’s, that’s fancy the reality of it, right?
The short answer is focus your efforts. I think one of the biggest bad pieces of advice that I hear is you need to be creating loads of content, and you need to be on loads of platforms. And it’s what causes people to just stop social media altogether, because it all just gets too much. I think if you are a full time content creator, then of course, like go and be on all platforms. But for the majority of people here, like you have properties, you have businesses, you have other things to do. And therefore it’s going to be really hard to I’m going to put it out there beyond even two platforms at once. Unless you have a team. So my advice is always to pick one platform to really master it and be consistent on it.
Like for me, that was Instagram, like I’ve just, I’ve done everything on here. And only as of a few months ago, am I now branching out to YouTube because I now have a team. And I can actually do that. Versus if I try to do all things at once, I probably wouldn’t have got any results. And that’s what I find is like people are just trying to create content on all these different platforms and getting me to mediocre results on all of them.
So yeah, my answer would be focus. And when you are actually seeing results from one platform, then go to another platform. And when you build an audience somewhere, it’s a lot easier to transfer that audience and to just get them to find you on another platform versus trying to build it from scratch.
Like don’t spread your net so wide that you can’t really focus and get good at one thing, do one thing really well and then look to scale up from there or transfer that skill set into another kind of property Avenue.
Where can people get in contact with you?
On Instagram? @inabakalova
I do lots of free content that I believe is really valuable. So definitely find me on there. And I’m always like engaging and seeing what you guys want for me. And also, if you’re looking for like, I guess a little bit content that goes a little bit deeper. There’s also YouTube @inabakalova where I do kind of mini trainings and tutorials. So hit me up on either there or down below here:
Online Business Educator 
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