I was chatting with a friend of mine about the content on his LinkedIn profile. He told me he was trying to avoid being like the squawking parrot. That reference made me laugh as I’d never heard it before. I asked him where he’d heard that mentioned. “From you, man! You said it in a presentation years ago when I was in your audience. I’ve never forgotten it and always try to avoid being that darn parrot when I’m posting to social.”
Funny how certain things we say stick with people. I don’t recall ever using that analogy, but let’s go with it!
The squawking parrot is loud, annoying, and anguish on the ears. It’s a great deterrent for any house guest that overstays their welcome. It leaves most people running for the nearest exit.
Would your audience liken your social media content to the sounds of the squawking parrot?
What would make people compare our content to such a cringe-worthy cacophony of sounds?
- Lack of value?
- Over promotion?
- Too frequent?
- Too long?
- Boring?
I would say yes to all or most of the above. So how do we avoid being the squawking parrot and, instead, be more like the…Wise Owl??? (Still working on the 2nd part of this analogy)
Always. Add. Value.
- What problems can we help solve?
- What information can we pass along that will truly benefit others?
- How can we put a smile on our followers’ faces?
- How can we inspire? Entertain? Educate?
- Is our content serving us or serving them?
Let’s keep these two beautiful birds atop our proverbial shoulders as a constant reminder to always be striving to serve our audience instead of serving ourselves.
And finally, I leave you with a little levity from this crazy virtual world we all continue to try to navigate. Laughter is, indeed, the best medicine. Enjoy this video:
