“I just can’t do this. I haven’t got anything to say”.

I’ve heard this come out of many mouths when I’ve talked to them about social media. It can seem a very daunting task to put your thoughts out there, into the public sphere, and all of your fears about making mistakes and ‘looking bad’ do tend to rise to the surface. It’s a very common excuse, though – one of quite a few on this list but you’ll be pleased to know that it’s also very easy to overcome.

The value in using social tools as a business comes from demonstrating to readers/viewers that you know your stuff as the starting point. There is information in your head that you might think of as mundane and not of much interest to others, but this is the stuff that people will learn from and connect with. You’ve got to think about what kind of information will be useful to the reader, however dull it might seem to you. Whatever your trade or profession, there is information that you have in your head that might be hugely useful to others so think about how you can make this knowledge start to work for you.

Another angle that always reads well is your own personal experience. If you were to think back through the experiences that have defined your career and then document the path your career has taken through the years, you could come up with some interesting details. Think of the people who have had the biggest impression on your career and also the biggest changes in your sector through the years, plus how you and those around you have adapted. Try commenting on where you feel your industry is heading in line with the overall macroeconomic picture and the turbulent times we live in today – there is a lot of data available at places like this and this so think about how best you can turn this into useful information for your followers.

Once you’re delivering some good work and getting more comfortable with putting your thoughts online, it could then be interesting to start to ask for input from your readers and approach a few more controversial topics with an eye on encouraging some debate. Ask readers for their opinions and encourage comments to build some engagement, being sure to reply to all comments to let readers know you are listening. You don’t need to start any fires – they can be damaging and very, very tricky to put out when they get going – but think about hot topics in the press/media that have relevance to your subject area and decide on an angle to take that will polarise opinion and get the reactions you’re looking for.

If you’re still struggling after reading this far, give me a shout and i’ll see what I can do to help you.