This week I had the pleasure to interview one of the top 50 social marketing/content marketing influencers in the world! We had a lively conversation about marketing and how it's been completely resurrected with social, and how it's still just the beginning! One of the most passionate and interesting moments happened when we were talking about an epic moment in time where social marketing truly changed their lives! We started to talk about the power of content, and how it can lead to creating the influence we've always dreamed about, and aspired to attain.
We have all heard this before but I'm truly a bigger believer than ever that content is the most valuable skill in marketing & advertising today! The power of creating influence happens when you take your time to write a blog that matters, produce a video with genuine story-telling, or developing a podcast series that will bring value to people's lives!
I will have to say for myself, that for years I didn't take content serious and then in May of 2014, I started writing a blog in partnership with the amazing Social Media Today platform. It started out slow, but I still will never forget that first blog that was published. Since then I've taken time out of my weekly schedule to make sure I'm writing my thoughts, experiences, and insights in social business. The value of building your influence is a two part effort.
- FOR YOU! Blogging makes you better - The process of putting yourself in a place to write, will make you better at the artful craft of blogging. I'm now over 80+ blogs in and I feel that it's easier for me to sit down and write a blog than ever before! The fear is gone, I know now how long it takes, and I know the value it brings to my life and others, which gives me the motivation each time. To be honest, I've been lagging all week on my blogs due to my newest effort, my podcast show. But when I woke up this morning, I said time to write, and here we are! The biggest barrier is yourself, and I believe we all have expertise, insights, and wisdom that needs to be shared with the world
- FOR OTHERS! Blogging positions you as a thought leader in your industry, and gives you the credibility as people see a consistent track record. Also I've found that if people like your insights, they will go back and re-read almost every blog starting from the beginning, just like a good book or TV show! The most vital part of building your influence is planting seeds for the future of your business and personal brand. This influence will last forever as most blogs, videos, and podcasts will live on the internet forever; therefore you have the opportunity to influence generations
After you start to build your influence, you will find that the people you've always admired will start taking you serious, giving you the chance to meet them, interview, do business, partner on a project, or one of the best endorsements is to see your blog being shared by major social influencers weekly! I have a blog that I wrote in June that gets retweeted by a super powerful social influencer at least 2-3x per week. This implied endorsement is priceless and it can't happen via extra advertising budgets, it happens when you start to realize that your influence matters. Take time today, write a short blog, do a video, or work to create a podcast series, the rewards will last a LIFETIME!
Photo Credit ( boscoanthony.com ,vanseodesign.com, sitepronews.com)