Building What Matters

What matters to you?

Everyone involved in social media is attempting to leave their social footprint of influence by building a strong and consistent message. This message must be genuine and must resonate with others. Building your brand is a time consuming and difficult process. You must consistently be on message and make certain that you are heard on multiple platforms.

An influencer – in my opinion – does not simply rely on amassing thousands of Twitter followers and Facebook fans. She makes certain that the message being delivered is helpful and simple to digest. An influencer must also understand the criticality of listening. We must listen not only to learn but to understand. This is the only way to truly connect with others. We must understand the needs of others and be able to help them solve issues. This level of engagement helps you to establish yourself not only as an authority but as an influencer in the space.

Building an online presence or brand is an integral part of creating an image that resonates with the social web. Focusing on what matters should be about building a positive persona that is reliable, personable and most importantly, engaging.

Thinking about ways to engage and be trusted by peers is an integral part of becoming an influencer in any space. I believe that becoming an influencer entails three important factors that shouldn’t be disregarded when on the journey of building that positive online reputation.

Choosing quantity over quality

If content is king then SEO is queen and should be the main focus on brand building.  While many say posting frequently will get you ranked higher, it does not necessarily mean that you will gain readership.  If your content doesn’t serve some kind of purpose, it won’t get you too far.

My advice: just keep it simple. Create a schedule that works for you, stick to it and be consistent.

Not engaging

If you are up to your eyeballs in analytic tools and plug-ins while neglecting to interact and make a concerted effort to show your human side by joining in on the conversation, then I think being a part of the social web is pointless. You must take part of the conversation in order to be a part of the conversation.

Not listening

If your idea of connecting is taking to social networks for self-promotion, spamming and making it all about you, then clearly the point of listening is being missed.  It is very important to take note that consumers trust peer recommendations more than ever and will not easily fall for the catchy jingles and slogans anymore.  Not listening to those who define your market could be costly.

With so many ways to take part in the social web, it is very important to always stay true to who you are, your purpose and clearly identify what matters to you.