Know your stuff? Don't be scared. Your insights matter more than you think
Rita Zonius??SCMP??
Communications Director I Executive Coach | Championing Gender Equality & Inclusive Leadership | Strategic Communication Management Professional? I Social Media & Digital Engagement I McKinsey & Company Alum ??
We all happily pass on our knowledge, insights and advice to friends, family and people we work with, yet many of us hesitate to share our thinking via social media platforms. Why?
Perhaps it's because we believe we’re not senior enough or that no one will be interested in what we think; that what we know isn’t very exciting or helpful. Or we may worry that we’ll come across as a show-off. After all, social media makes our thinking available for anyone to critique or cut down.
While laying our insights and opinions bare for anyone to see can be a scary thing, there is plenty of upside.?
Meaningful participation in social media begins with identifying the core topics or 'pillars' of knowledge and insights that you want to share. I suggest you narrow it down to 3-4 themes. To help identify these, ask:
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People who are successful in sharing their insights in social media consistently share knowledge, opinion and advice related to their core topics.?Importantly, platforms like LinkedIn are increasingly prioritising these posts over the empty, humble brag.
No matter what your job role is, or how senior or junior you may be, what you know will be valued by others.
There is a ready audience interested in what you know. There are people out there who will benefit from your insights. Sit down and figure out what those areas of interest will be for you.?What do you want to be known for?
If you’re absent from social media or your profile is unprofessional, how does this reflect on your value proposition and personal brand? If you’d like to build your credibility as a socially engaged leader, get in touch.
Corporate Affairs/Crisis, Issues, Communications Strategy/Governance at Holmesglen/Pride Centre Board Member/IABC Vic Immediate Past President
1 年Great advice, I agree. Part of the problem I find on social media (and this platform especially) is that glib, clearly ghost written motherhood statements, humble brags packaged as expertise and banal insights often rate quite well. Plenty of people will like whatever their boss or best friend has said which sadly can be encouraging of insincerity and can clog up newsfeeds. Authentic insights delivered well can be such a tonic. But sadly some of the work we do for good can, if done in bad faith, facilitate shite.
Strategic Communications ?? Change & Transformation ?? Internal Comms, Engagement & Storytelling ??Open to Interim & Permanent Roles ?? Simplifying Complexity with Clarity & Impact ?? Data Driven Insights with Empathy
1 年This post couldn’t have better timing for me. I’ve been wondering for years whether my personal insights would be of interest to others. I haven’t posted for fear of what others might think. Today I took the plunge and wrote my first article on LinkedIn and I’ve got a plan for future posts. It’s exciting as I’m writing what I’m interested about! I figure it’s about time to start doing my own talking instead of only writing for others ????
Global Marketing Communications Director | Thought Leadership | Campaigns | Brand | Content | Reputation | McKinsey & Company | Freshfields | Linklaters
1 年Thanks for publishing this advice Rita. Really useful recommendations for anyone in any sector. Using your interests, expertise, and learnings as the basis of posts will give them credibility and authority. Great to see (as you point out) LinkedIn are increasingly prioritising these style of posts over humble brags and the highly personal “lifestyle” experiences that were understandably so often written about during the pandemic.?
stakeholder engagement | leadership | strategy | corporate communications | reputation risk management | media relations | DE&I | social impact
1 年Thanks, Rita Zonius??SCMP??. Anyone working in comms these days will likely have many examples of the cool connections that can come from doing exactly what you are advocating. It's great to see hesitant - sometimes even cynical - colleagues who've been encouraged and supported to share their insights and knowledge in here, enjoy making connections, being contacted about and discussing topics they care deeply about, and even being approached about speaking engagements or to provide comment for media articles.
Helping Leaders get the best from their people, brands and businesses ? Alignment Strategist ? Brand and Communication Strategist ? Coach ? Mentor ? CEO Artis Advisory ? Co-Founder The Alignment People ? Director
1 年Valuable tips Rita (as always). I think it's also important to understand who you're writing for - know your audience - and the message. Do you agree?