You Don't Have To Be An Influencer To Influence: 10 Ideas from LinkedIn Profiles That Taught Me How To Engage, Learn, and Network.

Today, Millennials, Generation Z, and others can't imagine life without social media. Everything we do is bound to social media. It has transformed our personal as well as professional lifestyles, affected economies, gave birth to multi-billion dollar industries, and most importantly, gave a new definition to identity, particularly online Influence/Influencers. 

Learning, exploring, and following a number of self-made influencers or those who had the potential to become an influencer in a variety of industries -- including sales, social media, Blockchain, high-tech, and others -- are obvious ways anyone with competence and expertise could utilize existing digital media, social media, and API integration tools to have their voice heard.

One of the latest and most sensational examples is 21-year-old Kylie Jenner, who achieved a fortune of $1 billion dollars through social media and a well-orchestrated strategy, despite her natural beauty. An interesting articles worthy of reading is written by Gaby Del Valle, titled "How Kylie became the wealthiest member of the Kardashian-Jenner family".  

Brad Parscale orchestrated the digital influence of Donald Trump, which potentially made him a social media sensation and probably the first U. S. president to effectively leverage a social media strategy in the history of a presidency. Here is his story written by Holly Ellyatt, How I helped get Trump elected: The president’s digital guru.

Yet, the concept of “Influencer” is subjective, because the social media industry has no qualifications of any kind. Technically, anyone can be an Influencer. Without formal boundaries, anyone can be Influencer to dozens, hundreds, and even millions. Some are commercially motivated; others have values that naturally make them Influencers. Still others just have interesting content to share.

Just like Tim Denning said, “Influencers like anything in this world can be manufactured. Don’t be deceived.”  However, in this article, I explored some LinkedIn users that successfully utilize their expertise by bringing value to their network of followers.

Using LinkedIn has allowed me to learn from leading experts from a variety of industries. It has also allowed me to deepen my knowledge and promote my activities. One of my previous articles, 5+ Tips on How LinkedIn Can Help, explores how leveraging LinkedIn helps me to engage, promote, and network. This article is considered the continuation of my thoughts. Though the article above was initially designed for Blockchain enthusiasts, its content is universally applicable for anyone.

Getting your voice heard isn’t easy, but it’s possible. There are different ways of achieving the goal, and in this article I share a list of some of those who do it well among a variety of topics. Some are LinkedIn Influencers, some are experts, and others are great networkers with a meaningful value proposition.

Emotional Intelligence

I never had an interest in Emotional Intelligence until I ran into Daniel Goleman`s works and talks. He is a psychologist, former science journalist for the New York Times, and Co-Director of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. One of my favorite books by Daniel Goleman is The Brain and Emotional Intelligence: New Insights. More of his works can be seen here.

I also have to publicly recognize Lina Bartuseviciute who suggested that I experience Vipassana Yoga for 10 days. I`ll talk about it more in the near future, but the result of it made me calmer, more focused, proactive rather than reactive, emotionally intelligent, and more productive.

Networking Redefined

Networking is one of the must-have skills, regardless of the industry you are in. Following, talking, and engaging with dozens of people on a daily basis, I could not skip mentioning Oleg Vishnepolsky. I have been following his activities from the start. His value, recommendations, and insights made him one of the greatest examples of networking and thought leadership. If you are new on LinkedIn and would like to explore the art of networking, bringing value, and engaging with your audience, connect with Oleg.

The Art of Managing (Personal) Investment

The idea of investment is broad and multidisciplinary. One can use $100 in many different forms of investment -- some buy cryptos, while others invest in bonds or crowdfunding campaigns. A video by Ray Dalio that I once watched on YouTube related to principles to success was eye opening. The video’s simple, clear, and to the point guidelines got imprinted in my memory. When someone like Ray Dalio, who is a Co-Chief Investment Officer and Co-Chairman of Bridgewater Associates, which is a global macro investment firm with the world’s largest hedge fund, shares his advice free of charge, it is a must have in your arsenal to make it big. While the video may not cover investment-related issues directly, it gives broader perspectives that one could apply towards personal and professional investment.

Digital Guru

Today over 50% of the world has an access to the internet. In one of my previous articles: The State of Digital, or Future of Everything?, I discuss which global digital snapshots are included and describe internet accessibility according to regions and countries. The Internet, digital tools, and API integrations have opened many doors for entrepreneurs, SMEs, and anyone interested in taking their business online. Neil Patel is a must read. I personally enjoy reading his blog and localizing some of the information I’ve learned for the Chinese market.

China Expertise

It's no secret that China has become one of the dominating powers in the 21st century. Some of my revelations were described in two recent articles: Ten Things to Know about (Digital) China and Beyond, and How China is taking over the World or 5 Tips before working in China.

None of my expertise would be possible without directly engaging with professionals that are based in China. One favorite that I follow and enjoy reading is Gordon Orr, who has been to China, APAC since the 1980s, shares hands-on articles and ideas, and is a member of multi-billion dollar companies in China and beyond.

Jeffrey Towson is another thought leader on China, based in Beijing and a professor at the University of Peking. For those interested in China, these are great sources that I enjoy reading and talking to. Of course, there are dozens of others that I enjoy, and I’ll mention them later in this article.

Africa

Africa has been on my team`s radar for the past two years. Africa's average population is the youngest among all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7 when the worldwide median age was 30.4. According to Wikipedia, business opportunities and investment flow by Chinese businesses is taking over African countries by storm. The World Economic Forum has been a great source to understand and tap into emerging opportunities in Africa. Stephen Yeboah has published more than 100 articles on migration, aid, agriculture, energy and climate, mining, and oil and gas.

WeChat (China`s N-1 App)

Those who are in China are aware that WeChat has become a need. To be exact, it is a lifestyle. No one could imagine working in China without WeChat. As a China digital consultant learning more about the ecosystem, I dedicated a number of articles related to WeChat, some of which are:

• Nobody Can Imagine That This Happens In China Every 60 Seconds,
• God created the World and everything else is made in China, or how China is redefining the Future of Digital and beyond?
• How to make money on WeChat

I have to give credit to WalktheChat`s Thomas Graziani and Jenny Chen, whose educational articles, reports, and practical case studies have been a great source of self-development, and successful adoption for my team’s China strategy since the inception.

Jurisprudence

Doing business in China is not easy, especially when engaging in M&A. Exit Dealing with Chinese investments, whether private or state, reading Dan Harris and his experiences in which he showcases mistakes that were committed by others is a useful source. Here is his blog to check out. I strongly recommend it. I have made a number of mistakes and reading Dan`s blog has prevented me from making more mistakes.

Cultural Engagement in China

Guanxi is probably the most famous cliche in China. On my very first visit, I was told to understand and give some thought to the statement.

Meeting Emily Zhang has been one of the most important moments in my life. Emily is the owner of a creative and styling events business for domestic and international companies, designed to connect team members across a variety of departments by removing corporate attitude and simply connecting human to human bonds. I was personally invited to some of her events. The more she spoke, the more notes I took. Briefly, this is what I learned from her:

1. Forget logic, go with the flow.
2. Guanxi is the beginning of the beginning.
3. God created the world; everything else is possible in China and made in China.
4. Tolerance is the virtue and path to success when doing business in China.
5. Maybe is the maybe in China, it depends on your intuition and interpretation abilities.
6. "Yes" is not necessarily agreement or confirmation, it could be the fact saying (understand).
7. "You don't understand equals "the beginning of disagreement".
8. No problem could easily mean a BIG problem.
9. Signing a contract means the beginning of the real negotiation.
10. Face is more important than a million dollar bill.

Organizational Psychology

Marla Gottschalk offers expertise today deeply missing in many tech companies. Working with tech professionals, having tight deadlines, and feeling the pressure has direct and indirect implications. Organizational psychology is my latest fascination. Working in multi-diverse teams, communities, and cultures where team members are bound to one another, understood, and communicated is an essential part of organizational psychology.

I believe in these Influencers and their insights, not because they have massive number of followers, but because of the value they bring in their industry – in particular, the meaningful content, interaction, creative and results-oriented actions, and intention to be less commercial and more value driven. What excites me most in following and engaging these Influencers is their shared insight, camaraderie, empathy, and support.

Social media and the idea of being an Influencer or thought leader have many pros and cons, ranging from being helpful to revealing mistakes. But if you let your imagination go wild and wonder what the world would be like to engage online with renowned people like Kant, Avicenna, Machiavelli, Al-Khwarizmi, Confucius, Socrates, Plato, and millions of others, your personal and professional outlook on life and work might be different based upon their philosophies, visions, and foresight.

Most importantly, you do not need to be an Influencer to influence. By engaging, learning, and networking with others, within and outside of your interests and industry, you convey your ideas and knowledge with others just as much as you take in from them. Everyone’s ideas, expertise, and accomplishments are different, yet they are all valuable. And the possibilities that may result by engaging, learning, and networking with others are endless.

I do enjoy reading stories both on LinkedIn and other mediums. If you read this piece, you will hopefully find the following list to be some useful and interesting readings, as well:

• Influencer Reach Doesn’t Matter Anymore by Frank Danna
• Enjoy The Great Influencer Marketing Takedown While You Can by David Armano
• It’s time to address the elephant in the room: Influencers don’t really influence anything or anyone. By Elinore Cohen
• How Blockchain and Smart Contracts Are Going to Change Influencer Marketing by Creator AI
• How to Become an Instagram Influencer and Start Earning Money Now by Shane Barker
• How I Make Six-Figures in Passive Income as a Writer and Social Media Influencer by John LeFevre
• Under the Influence: The Power of Social Media Influencers by Jelle Fastenau
• How an $800M Company Grows through Influencers and Content by Susan Su
• The Influencer’s Dilemma by Nir Kabessa
• How I’ve Averaged $500+ a Month on Medium Without Being a Superstar or Influencer by Shannon Ashley
• 1,000,000 Monthly Views: How I Moved From Development To Thought Leadership on Quora and Beyond by Brian Schuster
• Monetizing Thought Leadership: How Benjamin Hardy Earned $90K In 7 Days by Cheryl Snapp Conner
• Using Your Positioning, Thought Leadership and Results by Benjamin Joffe