Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2013 and was updated in September 2026 to reflect my perspective today.
There’s an uncomfortable expectation that comes with being known for something professionally: people assume you must be good at it all the time.
When your business is social media, that expectation can become especially visible. If I tell other people how important it is to communicate consistently, build relationships and show up online, shouldn’t I be doing all of those things perfectly myself?
I used to put a lot of pressure on myself because I wasn’t.
I would look at the things I thought I should be doing and notice all the places where I fell short. I wasn’t everywhere. I didn’t always respond as quickly as I wanted to. I couldn’t keep up with every platform or every change. There were parts of social media that came naturally to me and others that required much more effort.
At the time, some of that felt like a contradiction. How could I build a business around social media while struggling with parts of it myself?
I see that differently now.
The longer I’ve done this work, the less I believe expertise means having mastered every part of it. Social media has changed too much for that to be realistic. Platforms come and go. Features change. Audiences behave differently. What worked a few years ago may not work now, and something I understand well today may require me to rethink it tomorrow.
My own role has changed, too.
I started Strella Social Media doing nearly everything myself. As the company grew, I built a team of people with strengths that are different from mine. There are people on my team who know certain platforms better than I do. There are people who are better at design, video, analytics or spotting a trend before I would ever notice it.
There was probably a time when admitting that would have made me uncomfortable. If I was the person whose name was attached to the company, I thought I was supposed to be the expert on all of it.
I don’t feel that way anymore.
What I bring to this work is not knowing every feature on every platform. It’s the experience to recognize what matters, ask the right questions, understand how the pieces fit together and know when someone else has more expertise than I do.
That last part has become more important to me, not less.
I still have moments when I feel the pressure to know something because this is what I do for a living. I still occasionally see a new feature or development and wonder how I missed it. The difference is that I don’t automatically interpret that as evidence that I’m somehow failing at my profession.
There will always be more to know than any one person can know.
I wrote the original version of this article because I wanted people to know that being a social media professional didn’t mean I was perfect at social media. All these years later, I think I was trying to give myself permission to admit that, too.
I don’t need that permission as much anymore.
Your posts are amusing the daylights out of me. 🙂 Yes, I can absolutely relate. And I find myself posting a lot of "fluff" sometimes, which ends up making me crazy, but I guess I'm more of a private person than some who air themselves on Twitter, etc.
That's funny! Guess it's human nature!
I feel that! Try going to the grocery store as a pilates insturctor...next thing you know that client is not talking to you but taking stock of grocery cart 😉
Hey Beverly,
I am SO glad I've inspired you. I used to get down on myself because I didn't think I was professional 'enough' than I realized that the world itself is not perfect. What's great about the world we live in now, is that it's OK to be human. In fact, that's what makes social media so great. We can be who we are.
I think many people feel the way we do in the corporate world, but it takes a huge leap of faith to strike it out on your own. I am so glad I did, though. I can't imagine trying to fit the mold of the corporate image.
Thank you for this feedback. It made me smile.
Hugs!
Rachel
Rach -
I'm so happy to read the human-ness in your blogs! It's refreshing! Coming from 20+ years of working in Corporate America where no one really cares for the human aspect of our lives, you've definitely impacted this gal to bring back the human-ness in my life! My core nature is relationship-building. I "thought" I could be myself in my past career lives - but nope! This gal was a fish out of water and didn't know it! Corporate America "preaches" that they are family-friendly, but ummmmm when it's Quarter-End and the Stockholders aren't happy...do ya think I was able to drop everything to make my nieces play, nope! I was slaving away in my gray, cookie-cutter cubilcle till the numbers were PERFECT! Nowadays in my life, I'll close up shop in a heartbeat to make that all important date! I say this to say...go ahead and tell me what you ate at the diner for breakfast; it's good to know what the competition is doing; I call myself a 'dork' everyday for the silly things I say; posting something in error for a client - well, ask for forgiveness is a great start - we all make mistakes; and lastly...I couldn't imagine having to read up on all the SM changes that you do! You've got that aspect covered in spades as far as I'm concerned:-)
Give yourself an atta-gal - you've impressed the heck out of me!
Thanks for being my friend,
Beverly
By far your best post! I have the same fears. Frankly, whether your client understands this or not is major in social media management: I am not perfect! I will make mistakes. My job is to minimize those mistakes and be as close to perfect as possible. My professionalism, knowledge, attitude and drive (not perfection) is what I offer.