An ‘Influencer’ is someone who as per the Cambridge English dictionary is defined as ‘a person or group that has the ability to influence the behaviour or opinions of others’. Nowadays the most popular type of influencer (known as ‘Social Media Influencer’) is found in numerous social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc., where they wield tremendous influence over the lifestyle and purchase choices of their numerous followers.
In comparison ‘Leadership Influencer’ is a term which may not be as commonly heard but nonetheless holds equal significance in today’s world. It refers to a person who has extensive knowledge in a particular industry and has scaled the heights of success in that industry and who by sharing (via numerous mediums including social media platforms) their expertise and experiences also serve as a source of inspiration for others to do the same.
The most popular leadership influencers have written numerous books; presented TED talks, podcasts, radio and television shows and of course interacted on social media platforms. Let us take a page out of their book and look at what is required to become a true leadership influencer.
- Start Communicating
It is natural to be unsure on when and where to start your journey to becoming a leadership influencer. The best way would be to start small and then work your way up as you gain more confidence and insight into how a true leadership influencer works.
The one aspect that should be clear from the start is the power of communication. As a leader you have had your own unique experiences and insights that have shaped you over the course of your journey and helped you become a leader in your own right. However for your wealth of knowledge to be a source of inspiration to others it needs to be communicated to the world at large via a suitable medium. Starting off on social media platforms is a good idea, for not only is it a medium you are familiar (to varying degrees) with but also where you are most likely to garner maximum reader involvement. Of all the available social media platforms, the ones like LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, where you can write down your flow of thoughts as they happen and which don’t involve direct face-to-face interactions work as the perfect stepping stone.
- Present Value Based Content
Your journey is unique, so document that by writing about people who inspired you, challenges you faced along the way, funny anecdotes from your interactions with clients and vendors etc. This will help readers connect with you as an individual and make them feel truly invested in your growth story.
- Be Regular
The one constant about social media is that people’s preferences and loyalty are ever changing. So it is essential that while your content is original and value based it also has to be posted at regular intervals. Having a fixed schedule as to when you will post your content will be a good idea as it not only helps you maintain a consistent pattern but also ensures you don’t lose the momentum. Being consistent and original helps strengthen your personal connection with your existing social media followers while also helping you gain more followers.
- Grow from Strength to Strength
Once you have gained confidence and are able to put across your inspiring messages to your legions of followers on social media, it is time to take the next steps to becoming a true leadership influencer.- From written content, the natural progression can be podcasts where you can take the first step in becoming a public speaker without having to face an audience.
- This will help you progress to the next step which is public speaking (you can start with a smaller audience).
- It will only be a matter of time before you can move on to doing TED talks, seminars etc.
- Publishing leadership books, journals in business magazines etc will definitely help establish you as a notable influencer in the business world.
This path you take to becoming a true leadership influencer will have a positive impact on not only the people around you but on yourself as well.
