Who are YOU Influencing in YOUR Professional Network?
LinkedIn launched in May 2003 and I became a member on Valentine’s Day 2007. I’d like to consider myself an “early” adopter of the platform. While I feel I am a pretty strong networker I have not truly discovered what my focus should be to help influence others on LinkedIn. Up until now I have been mainly working to build and maintain a strong network all the while not considering who I may be influencing along the way.
As some background…
When I joined LinkedIn…I had recently relocated to the United States from Canada with a Global Application Outsourcing firm, Keane. I initially viewed it as a way to build and track my network not only in the United States but also those I had left behind in Canada. It had also been announced the week before that a company called Caritor was acquiring Keane and I strongly suspected that things would not end well for me. Sure enough…a few months later I found myself a casualty of a Work Force Reduction (WFR) and on the job hunt in a new country. The rolling start I had building my network quickly transitioned to searching for job postings, hiring managers, and recruiters.
Luckily…even though my network was pretty shallow in the United States at the time…it came through and I landed a job in the nick of time…just before the housing crisis of 2008. The whole experience left an indelible mark on me which has resulted in building and maintaining a strong network ever since.
Over the past 13+ years, I would say I have been an almost daily contributor to growing my network, sharing…liking or commenting on content as well as writing my own articles. Here are some fast facts as of today:
2418 1st Connections
650k 1st & 2nd Connections
3253 Followers
84 Original Articles Published
84 Current Social Selling Index (SSI)
I don’t think my story is vastly different from a lot of others. We either jumped in due to a need or were coached to join because it would be a good idea for our career. It has been wonderful experience of learning, growing and building connection within an incredible network of people that I am not sure I otherwise would know or interact with.
Why does this come to top of mind this week? I’m glad YOU asked!
I have been doing some soul searching recently about the difference between being a networker and exerting influence over your network. Also understanding the WHY of what you are doing and WHO you are trying to reach.
Where I began is not necessarily where I want to go from here.
As an example…with COVID-19 more and more of us are working from home so our digital presence and social selling has now taken on new meaning. Those that were used to and good at showing up in person at meetings, conferences and offices are now transitioning to maintaining and growing their business in a digital world.
As part of that shift to digital selling, we may see a surge in need to influence, boost content/messaging and add credibility to our Business to Business (B2B) motions. Influencer marketing has been growing in the Business to Consumer (B2C) space at a rapid rate over the past 10 years through YouTube and Instagram with seemingly little focus or need in the B2B space. My opinion is that we have been set in our ways and slow to move because we felt what we were doing was working and we could not have anticipated the world we now find ourselves in.
My AHA moment from all of this is…YOU can have a strong network but not be considered an Influencer. The question is “how can you maximize your influence over your network now that you have it?” You spent all this time building it and just because you know and interact with a lot of people doesn’t mean you are considered an Influencer.
So where does one go to answer this question? Well…fortunately…both my girls have grown up with Influencer marketing with my oldest going so far as to making it part of her career. She is a source of great knowledge and inspiration for me in this space. She recently did a workshop with a group of 20 somethings to guide them through a Social Media Health Check. I thought this would be a great place to start and have her try it on me as it applies to my B2B Social Selling aspirations.
In an act of bravery…or some might call stupidity…we are going to take Part II of this topic to a podcast format. The idea is for her to walk me through the health check…provide some constructive feedback and challenge my current views on my influence over my network and the influence I wish to exert. In return I will try and push her to think about how this applies specifically to the B2B space.
If you want to play along here is your homework…
1. Check out my daughter’s blog post and follow along the worksheet featured in my LinkedIn profile. Next week when we post the podcast pull your answers out and work through the health check with us to improve your overall approach to Social Selling.
2. Submit any questions you have for us and we will try to answer them along the way.
Who knows…if this works out we can make it a series to build on tips & tricks to maximize your B2B influence and social selling capabilities!
Leadership Questions of the Week for YOU?
Do you consider yourself to be solely a networker or do you feel you’re maximizing your influence over your network through your content and messaging?
How are you feeling about the transition to the digital world of social selling? What are you doing differently that is pushing you out of your comfort zone?
What are your thoughts around the need for B2B Influencers? How do you find them…interact with them or become one?
What advice would YOU give to others about exerting influence over their network? Do you have any suggestions of who we should all be following?
Thanks for reading….and remember…YOU make a difference!
Please continue the conversation by liking…commenting or sharing this article. You can also follow me on twitter @marciedwhite
