Linkedin/ #TLH – these are platforms that employers/ clients will utilise to search for you and people like you. How do you think you can stand out? Initially, you need to get your profiles focused in the right way – we covered this off within the ‘Your Sales Materials” session, secondly, you need to actively connect and build relationships with the people that meet your Ideal Avatar profile, thirdly, you need to post valuable articles/ comments/ questions on a regular basis and finally, you should have a systematic outreach to your ideal avatar with the objective of converting your ‘online’ relationship to ‘offline’ with introductory calls/ coffees etc.
Articles/ Blogs – get into the routine of writing articles/ blog post highlighting how you have delivered value to your employer/ client or how you have overcome challenges that you know others will be facing. A case study is always a good start, especially if the employer/ client is happy to contribute/ be quoted. Always look to write something that others will find interesting and write it in a way that talks about the situation (really emphasise this so that the reader can start to align with it), the considerations and actions that you took and the results that were delivered. If you don’t have a blog already, perhaps look to start one. Alternatively, there are many opportunities to write guest blogs for third party sites – #TLH for instance, as well as publishing your articles on Linkedin.
Write an article for a trade publication – if you are focused on specific sectors, identify relevant sector publications – these tend to welcome contributions from their readership, especially if they identify common issues/ challenges and explain what they have done to overcome these. Most trade publications have online platforms these days and need a constant flow of good material to share. Most will be happy to include your name/ photograph and ‘elevator’ pitch.
Organise a Round Table discussion/ or networking event. Round table discussions can be a great way to bring together a small group of people who share a common interest. Your role is to pose a core question(s) and then facilitate a discussion – in this way, you will demonstrate your capability/ experience through your discussion and questioning approach rather than by ‘telling’ people what you do – this is much more powerful and engaging way. Utilise the #TLH platform to publicise these events.
Launch a Podcast/ Videocast or become a guest on 3rd party podcasts – if you have a network of people who you could invite to get involved in a podcast/ videocast, you really need to consider this cost effective way to get you positioned as an authority in your chosen niche. Alternatively, actively search out Podcast/ Videocasts and approach their hosts and offer to get involved in upcoming episodes – you’ll need to develop your ‘pitch’ but again, if this is focused upon the ‘value’ that you have delivered, then hosts are always on the lookout for people to join them.
You may look at this list and your initial response could be “I can’t do that”. If that is the case, you need to set aside your fear/ uncertainty/ pride and start – immediately!
The sooner that you get in the game, the sooner you’ll start to rise to the top and you’ll be seen as the ‘go-to’ person. Developing these ideas will make it easy to find you online, it will also sharpen your abilities and reputation.