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You’re likely here because you recently took my quiz, “What Type of Anti-Hero Social Media Marketer Are You?” and ended up resonating with The Honest Realist. (And if you haven’t taken the quiz yet, click that link to get started!)
In this post, we’re going to dig into what that means for you and your voice online. Because being The Honest Realist works very well on Social Media when harnessed properly.
The thing is, The Honest Realist anti-hero social media marketer can have a hard time posting online. Forget the polished perfection of other accounts, because this archetype often prefers to see the world how it IS, not how others wish it were.
But with that refreshing lack of fluff being posted online, The Honest Realist cuts through the noise with their commitment to genuine value. No BS, no sugar-coating. You don’t need to yell to be heard above the crowd because your transparency gives you the ability to build trust by showing up consistently online, just as you are.
Let’s dig into leveraging your archetype to gain traction online.
Inside The Mind Of The Honest Realist Anti-Hero Social Media Marketer
Have you ever been online and stumbled upon an Instagram Live session where someone is just putting on their makeup for the day and chatting with their followers?
That could easily be you.
As The Honest Realist, you are a grounded, calm place to pause the doom-scroll. While other people chase trends, you take a second to check in with yourself and ask: ‘Does this really matter to me? To my audience?’
You think in stories, honest conversations, sharing behind the scenes and believe firmly that content should connect before it converts.
It’s not about going viral for you. It’s about connecting with the right people at the right time. You’re online because you want to be real with your audience, not because you want to pitch your needs to them.
Your Natural Behaviours on Social Media:
You don’t post every day. (Who has time for that?) But when you do? It’s thoughtful and useful. Sometimes it’s hilariously blunt.
Like a Satirical Marketer, you hate clickbait and call out nonsense like bro marketing and fake scarcity. And when someone earns praise from you, the know they deserved it because you don’t just dole out the praise to make friends!
People are drawn to your honesty. Your no-frills power. Your “been there, done that, wrote the burnout blog” vibe. And if someone’s looking for Pinterest-level positivity or Canva quotes about manifesting millions? They’ll scroll on. And that’s fine.
You’re not here to be liked by everyone you’re here for those who crave substance over sparkle.
Your Strategic Edge
In a world where there is so much fakeness online, you are not performing for your feed. That is incredibly powerful! Instead of impressing people with an outwardly polished lifestyle, you’re showing them what is working for you and what doesn’t in real time.
That kind of openness is magnetic.
I identify with The Honest Realist myself. I’m all about keeping it real, and I’m not overly emotional or excitable when new things come along.
Recently I made a post about how I’d overworked myself, burned out, Depression set in, and I lost all my creativity and most of my interest in the business. But with the help of a great VA, I started untangling a nest of ideas, started posting again, and even wrote to her to say I was excited about my business for the first time in a long time.
The post was real and raw. And you know what happened? People paid attention. They replied and signed up for the newsletter. Not because I taught them something. Because I reminded them they weren’t alone.
That’s your edge. People don’t follow you because you’re perfect. They follow you because they see themselves in your process. And because when you say something works, they believe you.
Potential Pitfalls
That thoughtfulness? It can turn into overthinking because you want everything you share to feel meaningful…useful…of service.
When you want your words and your posts to feel honest and authentic all the time, you can easily become paralyzed. Especially when things are going consistently well in your business.
When you get so wrapped up in whether a post is right for your brand voice, you may feel like you can’t just hop on the latest trend for an easy post, like a Maverick would. You might feel like you have nothing worth posting at all if there is nothing for your audience to gain from it.
This holding back the story because it’s not quite finished, or ‘doesn’t have any value for my audience’, or worse, feels too raw, is the biggest potential pitfall for The Honest Realist.
If burnout hits, you vanish. Not because you’re dramatic, but because showing up starts to feel pointless. You convince yourself no one needs your take. Or that telling another story isn’t going to make a bit of difference to anyone.
But that’s exactly when your stories matter most. The imperfect ones. The messy middles. The drafts.
Your audience doesn’t need or want perfection. They need your perspective. Even if it’s messy. ESPECIALLY when it’s messy. You don’t have to wrap every post with a bow. Sometimes, saying “I’m figuring this out” is the most honest and valuable thing you can share.
Your Social Media Strategy, Anti-Hero Style
Your best content comes from telling the truth about your day. You shine when you share the real, messy middle. The behind-the-scenes moments where things didn’t go according to plan, or you changed your mind, or a client asked a great question that made you think differently. (I’ve been telling you for YEARS that client questions are a GOLD MINE!)
- Photo dumps of your month, with some commentary on how it went. Other than cropping to the right size, no further polish necessary.
- Storytime about your day. Record it in the car, as a caption with some photos snapped during your adventures, however feels best for you. But make sure you’re regularly sharing what you’ve been up to.
- Day in the life vlogs or reels that shows how you run your business.
- Screenshots from conversations you’ve had.
- Unedited brainstorm notes.
- Sharing a story of you sobbing in the parking lot after a particularly grueling day of running between appointments for your kids while balancing your work load. (Yeah, this one feels pretty specific but you get what I mean.)
Whatever sharing your open honesty means for you, make it work for your social media.
Try This Tactic: Low Effort, High Impact
Next time something real happens with a client or customer, good, bad, awkward, or unexpectedly human, grab your phone and record a quick car (or office) confessional.
Sit in your car. No script. No editing. Just talk for 60–90 seconds about what happened, what it reminded you of, or what you’re still thinking about.
It doesn’t need a lesson. Just let people into your process and show up on their feed as authentically yourself.
Tactics vs. Strategy
While the tactics of each of the 8 Anti-Hero Archetypes are different, one thing that stays the same is the strategy behind your social media accounts. Tactics (or ‘content ideas’ as they’re often referred to) will change every season, for every launch, for every time you pivot your business. But your underlying strategy doesn’t change.
Now that you understand a bit more about yourself and what tactics will work for you, it’s time to make sure you have a strong social media strategy behind the tactics you’re using online.
If you’re posting without a strategy, The Social Media Strategy for Anti-Heroes Course is for you. To give you a strong foundation to build from, to make sure your time and energy never goes to waste.
