At the rate that social media functionality changes, its purpose in our lives are constantly evolving. Ever since the beginning of my career, I have understood that being a recognized thought leader was an important label to wear. I started Blair Kaplan Communications Inc., my PR company, in 2008. At that time, social media marketing wasn’t a profession. It was not a skill that you could learn. There weren’t any coaches, mentors or courses that taught you how to “do” social media.
As I was out and about networking my face off, I would often ask if I knew how to use social media as a marketing/communications tool. I always said yes, even if I didn’t know how, because I would figure it out. I applied traditional public relations principles to social media and claimed the space as one of the sources for social media marketing.
Everything I do is tried and tested. I know what works. I know what needs to be done on social media to stand out as a thought leader, attract publicity (and PR) opportunities and attract new business. I learned a lot of stuff the hard way, so you don’t have to. If you want to be known as a recognized leader in your industry, you need to make sure that you build out the Social Media Empowerment Pillars for Thought Leadership.
First, what the heck is a thought leader? A thought leader is a person whose thoughts and views are seen as influential and authoritative.
Each pillar of the Social Media Empowerment Pillars allows you the creative freedom to build them out as you wish (or with my help). These pillars spell out the word: EMPOWER.
Edutain. These are all the parts of your strategy related to your content.
Money. How much money do you want to make? How much money are you allocating to spend on social media advertising (since social media is mostly “pay for play”)?
Personas. Who is your ideal client? Close your eyes and picture the person who has spent the most money with you (and caused you the least amount of stress). You want to attract more clients like there, so create content to attract these clients.
Other Players. If someone isn’t spending money or time with you, where are they spending it? Check out these other players and note what they do well and where there is an opportunity for you.
Wins. This is the pillar where you celebrate your accomplishments (I call this peacocking). If you don’t show off what you can do (landing publicity, client wins, personal achievements, etc..), how can I/we celebrate you? How can the world know what you can do if you don’t share your wins? This is also the pillar where you build out a publicity plan based on the successes you desire to have,
Engagement. You never post and ghost on social media. You must always be a natural person behind the brand. Follow, comment, like, interact and be a real person. This is important for visibility and growth. And, yes, this requires some planning.
Realistic Goals. If you don’t know where you are going, how will you get there? It’s important to set personal, professional and health goals. These goals will impact how much money you want to make, how your business will evolve, and so much more. Your life is yours to design.
I created the Social Media Empowerment Pillars for Thought Leadership to empower you to be focused on what to create so that you stand out from your competition, make more money and make even more of an impact.
Are you interested in learning more from me? Ensure to subscribe to my newsletter at blairkaplan.ca and keep an eye out for free/paid workshops, courses and more.
