Leadership is all about building trust and in today’s world social media plays an important role.
Times have really changed, gone are the days when we set up a meeting and get our first impression face to face. Most people have researched a prospective contact long before the first introduction meeting takes place.
We need to make sure we are putting our best foot forward when the initial contact takes place.If we view social media as a way to communicate with people we would like to do business with, it will be very clear why leaders need to embrace it and build a strong profile both personally and for our business.
There are now many social media platforms; LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Periscope, the list goes on. It is important to understand your peers and ideal clients, which platform do they prefer? Where are they spending time?
Most people will immediately go to Google when they hear of a new contact. When people look you up they are looking for what we call ‘social proof’. Who are you? What have you been doing? What can they find learn about you? Usually the top three Google responses will include your LinkedIn profile, that’s often where they will go first. What first impression are you giving people?
Without a doubt, LinkedIn is the chosen platform for professionals and a great option to present yourself and your business in a positive light. It has many tools for you to share the vision and mission of your company, as well as introduce yourself in a professional manner.
As CEO of Vidotto group I see my leadership role as one that keeps up to date with what is happening in the marketplace, sharing this knowledge with my team. I have made a point of learning about Social Media and how it can benefit our business. How can I reach out to the community, present Vidotto Group and share who we are and what we do? I started with Twitter, a few courses and concerted effort later I had built a solid 8000+ following and made some great contacts, some of them resulting in professional engagement. I wrote an article for the Australian Business Women’s Blog to share what I’d learned: Twitter Tips from a Newbie.
Recently I’ve been focusing on LinkedIn to make the most of what it has to offer. It is a wonderful platform that gives great access to the professional community. With specific targeted groups you can join and its own publishing platform – Pulse – there really is no reason why a Leader wouldn’t be communicating and building trust with the community.
Like most things in Leadership, it begins with the self. Initially I focused on my profile and what first impression I was making. From there I went on to join groups that put me in contact with those I was interested in meeting and recently I have been publishing Leadership articles on the Pulse platform.
How is your LinkedIn profile looking? Are you happy with the first impression you are making? I have put together a small eBook to share how I reached ‘All Star Status’ with my profile. Click here to download it. Have a read through and check you have all bases covered.
You can connect with me on LinkedIn or join our company page for more leadership articles and updates.