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Writer's pictureKrešimir Sočković

How to be seen and heard?

From anonymity to ubiquity, there are two paths. The fast one in which you do something extraordinary, almost impossible, and imposing in a short period and thereby draw attention to yourself, be it bad or good, or the other - slowly working step by step and thanks to the effort and many years of work you will be recognized among those who deal your work.


Foto: Piscila du Prez/Unsplash


Timing is crucial


But thanks to social networks, there is also a third way, which allows you to be recognized as an expert in less than ten years. By sharing content on the Internet, it is possible to build your personality on it, which shows your views on the world and represents your professional skills. Even if they only use social media occasionally, the content you create, share, or your reactions to other people's content shows how you see the world. On the other hand, the way you behave online will affect your life outside of it.


Creating a personal brand on social networks is not easy. It requires a lot of thought and research on how to do it successfully. It's not about your appearance or your lifestyle, it's about what you stand for and what people can expect from what you post. Think long term and write down what works and what doesn't and adjust accordingly.

The results of that work can mean an opportunity for your new job or help you make new connections with people who need your services or can help you get ahead.

But to be able to do that, it is important to take several steps.


Few steps to success


The first and most important thing is to fill your social networks with data. Choose which networks are most interesting to you for your promotion, and ensure that the information on them is accurate and complete. It is also convenient to remove some content of questionable value, which could affect how people see you. While it may seem nice to have party photos from two years ago, if they show you under the influence of opiates, and such photos are repeated, potential clients or partners are more likely to think that you are prone to addictions than that you are a person who "loves" life. and with whom it would be fun to hang out.


Recognize what you are good at. Each of us is an expert in at least one area - he knows everything about his favorite series, movie, or book, pours out football statistics, or knows which restaurants are the best in town. It's an opportunity to experiment and see what kind of content gets the most reactions from your followers, and if you can create new content like that. The more special you are about it and the more people you can attract to participate in the content you create, the sooner they will begin to perceive you as a leader in the field you are engaged in.


Use technologies to market your content faster and easier. There are several apps to help you design and set them up, and many of them like Sprout, Hootsuite, and Buffer allow you to share content on different social networks. At the same time, they take care of what can often present us with a problem - security and remembering your passwords.


Share content regularly. In the beginning, social networks tied the reach to the amount of published content, but now, because the amount of content that is created every day is huge, too much setting bothers and irritates many people. Since you want to leave open opportunities for communicating with your audience, but you don't want to "drown" them, it's good to post content three to four times a week. Data analysis tools that all social networks have can help you with the amount and what the audience is looking for more.


Create and maintain content that will motivate your audience. It's fine to upload or share content that you didn't create yourself, but it's just as important to create content that shows how knowledgeable you are about what's happening in the world as well as the ever-changing business. The content you create can include your achievements, and occasionally you shouldn't shy away from content that talks about your personal life - your hobbies, travels, or interests. In this way, your audience gets content that shows that you are also "people of flesh and blood". But even in this, you need to be careful, because too much personality will turn the content into a story about you.


Stick to what you are. Your voice, opinion, appearance, and tone should be consistent. We all know how we want others to see us and changing positions often does not bring confidence. Likewise, your ideas and the way you tell them must remain similar to be memorable and convincing.


Also, ask if the company you work for allows information sharing about what you do. Although the new trend in corporations is the so-called employer branding - promoting the company through what the employees themselves write and share about it, it is good to know or at least ask people in human resources what is acceptable and what is not.


Enter all your contacts among those on social networks. There are probably dozens or even hundreds of people you know well and with whom you communicate regularly. Transfer their contacts to your social networks from your phone, from your Gmail, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or Twitter accounts to other networks.


Be positive because nobody likes crybabies. The content you share can be knowledgeable and the content excellent, but if it's not positive, people will avoid it and you. Topics like religious, racial, sexual, and national issues always end up with a lot of conflicting comments. Often, the mere political classification in one camp can be offensive for some.


If you want to have your say on every issue, it's better to do it on a private account, because on it you can write about anything you want and from any position. Then keep your friends family and people you trust among your contacts, and seriously nurture your professional account with which you build new contacts and opportunities for career development.


Find the right groups to participate in and create new content. LinkedIn and Facebook are full of groups that are focused on specific issues or specific business opportunities. By using content from them, and participating in their creation, you can create authority around your brand.


Such groups can also help motivate you and be challenging enough to get you to your goals. They can make you a person who can be counted on, you can get new ideas and receive feedback on yours, you can also get security, strengthen your skills, test your knowledge, and develop leadership skills. In such groups you can help others, do good things, make new friends, and develop new business opportunities.


Do not be afraid to participate in dialogue in such groups, give your different opinions, and discuss interesting topics.


Follow what influencers are doing. Cooperation and connection with influencers is a good way to introduce your brand to others, but it takes a lot of time. Before they recognize the expert in you, you will need time to develop relationships.


Experts in a field that interests you have their way of working. Analyze their network, and posting policies, as well as their content, and think about what you could do better. Watch how their followers react to their posts and learn best practices from those who are good at it.


And be persistent, because miracles happen overnight. Only that night lasts as it does at the poles of the earth.

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