5 Reasons You Need Stop Posting Hype on Social Media

Don’t join all the social media hype clutter and damage your brand. Take a quality and less is more strategy to stand out.

Author: Luis Congdon / Source: Entrepreneur

Customers are wising up to the over-exaggerated lifestyles they see online.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

I’m sure you’ve seen the fancy cars, houses and wads of cash that social media influencers love to flaunt. In hopes of attracting fans, these influencers like to use hype and fake followers, and for a long time it helped bring in sucker customers.

As social media use has risen, I’m not surprised that reports show a growing trend among millennials to trust influencers less and less. The hype, bragging and self-aggrandizing make it hard for any of us to believe it’s authentic. While there’s no harm in a little bragging, Harvard Business Review reports that too much of it or the wrong type of bragging can hurt your chances of getting a job, being trusted or being liked by strangers.

It’s time for entrepreneurs and business owners to stop posting hype — and instead get real with us.

If you’re wondering why boasting on social hurts you and your brand, here are five reasons.

1. Hype is hard to keep up with.

After a while the the grandiosity becomes too much, and you have to lie to keep the hype sounding great. And as you already know, one lie can quickly snowball into more lies … and then it’s not just one lie you’ve told but many.

Many people have used hype to help sell their courses — and in turn have become widely known for being scammers, con artists and frauds. As much as I love money, I know that my reputation is everything and I’d prefer to stay away from the hype, verging on lying or embellishing and instead treating my fans with authenticity and honesty.

Related: Why Authenticity Is a Key Ingredient to Entrepreneurial Success, and How to Make Sure You Have It

2. Post too much hype and you will be hard to trust.

One of the quintessential tales of hyping and bragging gone wrong is in the story of formerly iconic actor Charlie Sheen. After going on a tirade of blowing up his value by posting online about how he was #winning, Sheen became a laughingstock in Hollywood and across the world.

While Sheen is one of the more memorable culprits of over-using hype, he’s not alone. I’m sure if you take a moment you’ll easily…

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