Social media often is thought of as a marketer’s tool. But social influence is not just for marketing departments or sales professionals looking to promote brands or make the next sale. The future of work demands that individuals embrace digital transformation at every stage of their careers to gain access to opportunity, contribute to innovative ideas and share their own thought leadership.
In the end, “unseen is unsold” and when professionals looking to advance their careers understand they themselves are the product, a mindset shift occurs. Opportunities both within companies and within entire industries are largely shared with people who are “top of mind” and putting one’s head down and “soldiering on” at your current position practically guarantees your name will not surface along with these new opportunities.
Acknowledging this truth can be the foundation of a plan to build a recognizable brand, increase a network, deliver content that showcases skills, and wields social influence to be seen and be heard.
Carefully crafting a personal brand is the first step to taking control of the trajectory of your career. Personal brands are not just for celebrities. On the contrary, every professional needs clarity to present a cohesive narrative about their natural genius. A clear account of skills and accomplishments helps others know when and how to activate relevant conversations for perspective or collaboration.
The largest misconception about personal branding is that it is about self-promotion. When done correctly, it is almost the opposite. A great personal brand is built in the service of others and provides easy “on ramps” that invite connection.
“I had no idea how powerful my profile could be in starting significant professional conversations. I’ve clarified my personal brand and in return, I’ve attracted the kind of connections and type of work I most want to do. Besides clarifying my expertise, these changes significantly increased my approachability online and therefore the ease in making new career-changing connections.
Principal Researcher and Founder,
Outrageous Impact
Networking is the single most powerful thing a professional can do to advance their career. And yet, almost no institution of higher learning includes it in the curriculum.
Contrary to popular belief, networking is not just about getting connected to a larger group of people. It is about making meaningful and diverse connections that can sustain your career through a myriad of situations. It is also about finding a group where you can significantly contribute your genius and create a foundation of understanding about your skillset and unique value.
Most importantly, it is not about finding that one person who can give you the next job or opportunity. If done correctly, you won’t have to approach your network for your next need, but your network approaches you.
A bonus deliverable during this module includes the Leadership Lab’s Top 50 Networking Tips. These can be categorized for maximum success.
Vice President,
Chadwick Martin and Bailey
“Through content and networking, we’re creating a next reality, one that is ‘location independent’ and inclusive of marketing & insights veterans and newbies. The Leadership Lab is the best place to get started.”
At Little Bird Marketing we truly believe that
writing great content starts with an intimate knowledge of the targeted audience.
We’ve long promoted the need for teams to tackle persona development before creating content. With our extensive work in the market research industry, the irony has not been lost on us that persona development is often the first thing completed before fieldwork can be done, but few companies do persona work for themselves. Likewise, we find individual professionals seem to forget this truth when considering the personal content they publish online.
If social media is to be used effectively for sharing ideas and increasing opportunities for career advancement, consideration must be made about the most ideal audience for the content. Knowing the intended audience sharpens the focus on topics and is the foundation for creating content that informs, inspires, delights, and moves people toward action. Ideally, this happens while also showcasing the author’s authority and expertise on the subject matter.
In a world with a deluge of content, hitting an inflection point of creating, publishing and distributing enough content to be seen and heard is a monumental task. With the right systems in place and proper habits, professionals can gain a significant share of voice over a topic over time and become a sought out voice on the subject.
Sr. Director, Foresight, Innovation and Growth Strategies at Mars Wrigley
“As a leader in the Insights industry, I believe it is my responsibility to provide thought leadership both internally with my company AND externally in the industry by contributing to a bigger conversation about how we can innovate, challenge our methodologies, become more inclusive, and help the next generation move beyond limitations.”
“There is no more cost-effective or immediate way to accomplish this at scale than the proper use of social media. When it comes to sharing best practices for insights I found the digital transformation and social influence training from the Little Bird Marketing team to be invaluable. Priscilla and team make it both fun and approachable to work with them to quickly learn and see results.”
It’s not just for purchases that people seek peer validation, it’s for career choices too. Often people reach out to their networks first before posting a new position or creating a new team. When people openly strategize about clear next steps, it is the social influencers who are having a say in who is tapped for opportunities. These potentially career-changing opportunities are largely discussed in private conversations and are won by those who have managed to be seen as an authority on a particular subject or who comes “top of mind”.
Social influence is the currency of the modern professional. Learning how to accumulate it and spend it wisely is worth the time required for mastery.
Creating engaging videos is a skill that can be used in many ways throughout your career. The audience could be a potential employer, the head of an internal department, or one’s own boss. Showcasing future potential and past accomplishments is easily done once you narrow the focus of the purpose of the video.
Starting with the end in mind, we teach the process necessary to craft a great script that considers the audience. We add knowledge about the right tools from lighting to teleprompter; editing to subtitles. Then we consider the best place for posting or sharing to achieve the desired outcome.
Video can capture an audience on many levels. The nuance of body language and tone helps deliver a message that can more deeply resonate and elicit action. Video can be used in a casual way, or it can be scripted, edited, and therefore more formal. The intended purpose should make sense with the amount of time and effort put into each project.
“Publishing that first video seemed like it might possibly end the world. But with the right training, I was able to overcome the intimidation factor and put my thoughts and leadership skills out in the world in a dynamic and personal way. The amount of positive feedback has been overwhelming, but the real benefit has come through the significant connections made which have directly created an uptick in business for our brand. What I appreciate the most was the effect this had on our overall brand as our excellent team members are now approached with opportunities as they are seen as go-to leaders within the industry at large.”
Senior Vice President,
Fieldwork
We’ve said it once, and we’ll say it again, “Collaboration is the new competition.”
An open-minded approach to growing the diversity of voices to participate in overcoming challenges is the only way to truly innovate. Learning to create meaningful opportunities for colleagues and even competitors to come together requires finesse and focus. Mature leaders understand that the best solutions come from many voices, perspectives, and apporches. Whether creating a panel, guest blogging, scheduling joint podcast interviews, or a myriad of other options, advancing your career often times means advancing the career of others. Skills can be taught which creates the proverbial rising tide that lifts all boats.
In a world with a deluge of content, hitting an inflection point of creating, publishing, and distributing enough content to be seen and heard is a monumental task.
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