Building Influence Through Content
Most of the people that I’ve come into contact with typically struggle with the idea of writing as a means of expression. Some feel they can’t write well enough, others don’t believe they should sell themselves so hard. But, there are a few who simply do not see the point in expressing themselves either because they see themselves as private people or because they see that there is a ton of hokey material out there which they don’t want to necessarily be associated with.
I’d like to address these two points here. I myself tend towards being more reserved in that I rarely post things on social platforms about what takes up my day. But, I post a variety of things on the topics or issues I associate myself with.
WHY BOTHER?
The idea here is that having an opinion about selected things does not make us more “public” because we are always in control. The platforms exist to support us in the endeavours we select — they are a means to an end. So, we’re free to choose how often and what kind of content we choose to post.
To which you may ask, why bother? Why take the time to write content on selected topics or share other content you find useful or interesting?
The job of being influential is something we all need to master and the quicker we do so, the quicker the gains. Every one of us wants to be heard. When we have issues close to our heart, ideas we feel strongly about or causes we believe in, we want to be effective about how we deliver these issues. Likewise, if we are in charge of projects or certain deliverables at work, our ability to influence is critical to our success. The deceivingly simple idea of being influential is having the capacity to have an effect on another — whether on their character, development, behaviour or thought.
LINES ARE BLURRED
If perceived as less relevant in our personal lives, the job of being influential is of growing significance in our work lives, which is becoming more integrated and blended than ever before. Everything is now more connected and more seamless as boundaries get blurred. Everything we do — our choices, our processes, our methodology — these all deserve review to establish how we need to move ahead. We simply cannot afford to view our work and our roles within the narrow confines of a time long since past.
So, what is our ultimate goal? To be in a situation that when people think of a specific issue or topic, we come to mind. Similarly, when people think of us, the topic or issue we advocate comes to mind. That’s clarity.
To build that level of influence, we start with having an opinion. Such an opinion must provide some degree of value which is typically done when it’s grounded in substance, goes beyond what is generally well known or introductory in nature and when it educates and inspires. Such an opinion must also be delivered consistently in order to be impactful.
CREATION VS CURATION VALUE IN BOTH
There are two ways content can be put together. The first is the more valuable — original content which we create. It’s unique, timely and relevant or at least, it should be. It takes time and effort to produce, however, which is why the second option is a good supplementary activity. Curated content is content belonging to others that we find of value and which we would like to amplify. We do this not only by sharing such pieces, but also adding to it briefly to make it unique.
A good positioning strategy combines both original and curated content to slowly build influence. We’re seen not only for having original thought in the niche of our choice, but we’re seen also as someone who knows others of value in the same space. And social media today is about distribution because content requires an audience to be effective. All social media involves some element of distribution and our unique value lies equally in the quality of our network.
THE NETWORK IS THE KEY
So, while there is a plethora of content being pumped out by everyone today, every one of us also has a tribe or a regular group of followers, people who are linked to us in different ways.
And that network is key to our ability to influence. It’s true, not everyone reads everything and the growing surge of data is staggering, which means we all become more selective about what we consume and when. Even more so, our network becomes key to our success.
One of the critical ideas to remember, however, is that we need to be fairly selective about what we post or write about. If we decide to have opinions about a host of wildly differing issues, it becomes hard to identify what we stand for. People need clarity about us to help them figure out whether they should stick around and listen. The clearer we are about who we are, what we do and how we do
A recent article from a well-known author I shan’t name drew reference to the wealth of advice being peddled on the internet, a plethora of “howtos” from “gurus”. The thrust of the article being that there are quite a few people out there professing to be experts in a range of fields but who are actually merely stockpiling and reassembling age-old wisdom — good packagers of information and expert communicators.
Yes, it’s true. There are quite a few gurus to be discovered as the playing field is levelled and everyone now begins to develop a voice. Yes, there are those who simply and artfully deceive, but there are also many, many more who provide real value.
You decide. You make this decision about who is to be believed, who should be heard and who you should be guided by. There’s no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. As much as there are hokey players out there, there are many who are here on a journey of discovery and willing to share what they’ve learnt.
Editor and Programme Director at VerticalDistinct.com, a media and learning organisation, Rowena Morais is an entrepreneur, communication and content specialist, editor and LinkedIn profile writer. She supports Human Resource and Technology professionals in their career development through articles, podcasts, interviews and a range of internationally accredited, in-demand technical and professional courses offered throughout Asia Pacific and the Middle East. A ghostwriter, you can also find out more about Rowena at rowenamorais.com. Rowena tweets at @rowenamorais.