You’re stuck in a waiting room. Not a physical one, but a metaphorical one. You’ve got a great video idea or a great video filmed, but it’s stuck in your drafts. It’s been sitting there for days, weeks, maybe even months, because you’re waiting for it to be perfect. You aren’t the first creator to think that, but many of those almost-perfect videos never see the light of day. But we’ll give you a social media tip to make sure that’s not you: stop waiting.

Get Out of the Waiting Room 🧠

Feeling like your content has to be perfect is normal! You want all your videos to be high quality and something you can be proud of.

But take a look at your favorite, big creator. They didn’t wait to feel “ready” or wait until everything was perfect. They made their own luck and just started. Sure, they may cringe at their old content, or the process was messy. However, they didn’t let that hold them back, and that makes all the difference.

The Three Gifts of Imperfect Content 🎁

If you never start, how can you stay consistent or create what you love or try new strategies? Forgetting perfection and just starting is the ultimate social media tip. That doesn’t make it any less scary. But your imperfect, messy content is actually a gift. Let’s unpack them and prove that you should post that almost perfect draft.

Gift One: Momentum 🏃

Even if that first post isn’t quite perfect, it’s movement. It starts the journey. And the more imperfect videos you post, the more you work your creative muscle.

Think of videos like a rep. One perfect video is two reps. Three “good enough” videos a week is six reps. Both are good and work your creative muscle, but the person doing more reps will get stronger or better, faster. If you keep posting your “good enough” videos, your creative process will get better over time. After a few months of posting, you won’t be worrying over perfection. Creating content will be second nature to you.

Gift Two: Focus 👓

You don’t find your voice and community in a vacuum. To figure out who you are and where you fit on social media, you have to actually post. Either your audience will show you what’s working, or you’ll figure it out on your own.

An imperfect video that gets real, engaging comments is way more valuable than a perfect post with a few likes. And even if they get the same engagement, several imperfect posts a week will stack up much faster than a single, perfect post each week. Sharing imperfect content helps you figure out what resonates with your audience.

Maybe you also planned to be part of a specific community. But once you start posting that niche’s content, it doesn’t perform or it’s not sustainable. You won’t know until you try.

Gift Three: Confidence 😎

Just like creativity, confidence is something you build and perfect over time. And it takes a good bit of confidence to be a content creator.

Why? Because you’re consistently putting yourself out there. Posting imperfect content gets you used to putting yourself out there. Following through and seeing that it actually performed will make you feel better about the next video. And the next video. And the next video, until eventually you don’t even think about it.

Not to mention, you’ll get more comfortable on camera the longer you post. Being natural and confident on camera takes some work, too. The more you post, the better you get at it.

See? That social media tip is actually pretty helpful! However, we know that doesn’t make it easier. You just have to push through that uncomfortable feeling…and we’ve got a way to do just that.

The One Scary Post Challenge 🫣

Your challenge is simple: every day for one week, post a piece of content that scares you a little. And no, we don’t mean a ghost story.

Post a video that makes you a little nervous. That might be a video with no filter, an imperfect day-in-my-life vlog, or a video essay about your favorite hobby. The key is to post something that feels imperfect or undone.

The goal is to get used to posting an imperfect video. You’ll work past that anxiety you get about your videos. Or, if it doesn’t go away, you’ll know that it doesn’t hold a candle to the feeling of posting a video. That feeling of accomplishment, of momentum, of relief? That’s what you should be chasing with your content, not perfection.

Done Is Better Than Perfect 🏆

Waiting won’t make you ready, and it won’t help your perfect audience find you. Your audience doesn’t even want you to be perfect! They want connection. They’re looking for fun content and a creator they resonate with.

All waiting does is make you more anxious. Don’t let the fear of not being perfect keep you from creating content you love.