Being an introvert means you're most comfortable when you're alone or with an extremely small group of people. Either way, you love thinking and being by yourself.
If this is the case, participating in social media may be difficult for you, but you should try more. Why should you give social media a serious thought? The answer is, the world needs to hear your voice.
Barack Obama, Warren Buffett, Hillary Clinton, Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi and Bill Gates are all self-described introverts just to name a few. How would the world we live in be different if they hadn't expressed themselves? Your thoughts can help people. Social media can help you get these thoughts out to the world.
Here are 3 suggestions to make you more comfortable with social media.
Step 1: Find a conversation you care about and say something.
Chances are if you're an introvert you love to learn about random things. If you're in the mood to find out about real time events, the news, or more information, skip the Google search and go straight to Twitter. The information you find might be more relevant and timely. Maybe you're a visual person, if this is the case search Instagram to see photography and videos about an interesting topic.
If what you found is interesting, make sure to share it with others or comment on it. If you're an introvert you probably see things in a unique way and notice things others don't.
Step 2: Find your tribe, there's one for everyone.
Introverts are typically quiet when in front of large groups, but if the right person comes along that they really click with, you won't be able to shut them up! This is the clue you've found a fellow tribe member, someone just like you.
Social media is great for connecting with your tribe. Facebook, for instance has millions of groups. One of my tribes consists of people who love flowers as much as I do. So I joined the "Flower Fanatics" Facebook group. I also belong to groups of fellow entrepreneurs and consultants, because it's a closed environment where like-minded people can provide support to me.
If you'd like an extra bonus, ask who in your online group lives in your local area. You can form a small in- person meet up of people you would naturally get along with.
Step 3: Create your own tribe.
From business and career, to passions and love, you can create a group about almost anything and social media makes it easy. Even if your chosen topic already exists (and with a billion users worldwide, it probably does in one form or another), remember that you have your own perspective to offer, which has its own inherent value. If you're strapped for an idea, create a group for introverts. There are many, but remember most introverts in the group don't speak if it's beyond a certain capacity. So for us, smaller is better.
No matter what you do, know that social media isn't as hard as it seems. If you feel any anxiety about what you've posted, always keep in mind the average shelf life of a social media post is about 2 hours! So, don't be nervous, go out there and make your voice heard. The world needs to hear from you!