Know your stuff? Don’t be scared. Your insights matter more than you think
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.
Sharing what we know over time builds our impact and influence.
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:
What are you most interested in? Think about what excites you, both in and outside of work.
What are you good at? Others will be keen to know how you built this expertise and will be interested in your tips and insights.
What experiences and lessons can you share? The things you have learnt can be helpful to others starting out.
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.
