A few weeks ago, I put out an Instagram story I thought was hilarious. My fans thought it was hilarious too and I felt awesome for being an Insta celeb genius.
I found out later that my hilarious story had offended some people. Some moms. And now there’s this group of parents who hate me.
Yes, yes, I hear you: “DON’T WORRY. THEY’RE NOT YOUR PEOPLE, MARGO!!”
Which is true, they weren’t. But it also didn’t solve the problem.
The problem was that I took a stand. I used my voice! I was being “real.” Telling the truth!! But deep down I was nervous that the WAY I took that stand was wrong.
It sucks to know that people talk shit behind your back. It sucks more when what they’re saying is true.
In my attempts to be “real” and “tell the truth,” I was actually being an asshole.
A huge, unequivocal mom-bullying asshole.
For some brands, that works. For me, it’s not who I am and it’s certainly not who I want to be.
Sometimes you have to violate your boundaries to figure out where they are.
And for me, shaming other people and acting like a bully is a line I never want to cross again. There are better ways to get your message across and have an impact.
But it begs the question:
What’s the line between having fun with your brand and going too far?
And how can you be yourself in your brand, knowing you might turn some people off?
That’s what we tackle in this week’s episode of “Hillary and Margo Yell at Websites,” #HAMYAW:
Learn what it really means to “be authentic,” where the line is between “standing for something” and “being a dick,” and how you can start showing up more like yourself in your work (without turning people off).
And yes, obviously we talk about cursing. I’m sorry mom. You did raise me better. I’m just not better.
Watch it, share it, comment, and let us know what you learned.
– Margo
PS: “They weren’t supposed to find out about it” is never a good alibi. Make shit you’re proud your haters hate. More on this on this week’s episode of #HAMYAW.
