A Thought Leader’s Blueprint To Online Visibility

In today's world, it is relatively easy to become the CEO of a company, author a new book, launch a podcast or start a Youtube channel. Everyone in this category considers themselves thought leaders or wants to be considered as such. The problem is often that many thought leaders are spending a great deal of energy and enthusiasm speaking to a small audience or no audience at all.

As George Nellist puts it, "The key to leadership is influence, and the key to influence is visibility." In today's social media world, all the tools are available to get the word out, but the strategy is where many people fall short.

George Nellist is a public relations and marketing specialist at a leading PR agency in California. In addition to helping build the 7-figure marketing agency, George has helped hundreds of thought leaders and budding entrepreneurs build their brand’s online visibility. In this article, George Nellist shares a few thoughts on attaining visibility in the competitive internet space.

1. Choose Your Channel; Where You Start Matters

The idea of spreading your message across the internet and social media may sound appealing initially, but the enthusiasm dies out rather quickly if not done right. The internet is a jungle with many camps; the audience on every platform determines to an extent how a message will be received.

Experts advise that simultaneously establishing a message on many platforms can lead to the leader overextending themselves and eventually losing focus. According to George Nellist, a "land-and-spread strategy" is the best bet.

In George Nellist's words, "To find a starting point, it's best to experiment with two or three channels at first. For instance, it might seem that LinkedIn is ideal for an entrepreneur or a CEO-type leader, but the uniqueness of their message or delivery may be more suited to a Facebook audience. Therefore, we experiment. It usually becomes clear what platforms are receiving the message more readily based on the algorithms and other factors.

“When we find the platforms that are working, we consolidate them. Then, we can expand to other platforms as visibility grows. It's not as easy as it sounds, but it works every time. Ascend Gives Back and Ascend Publishing Group is a perfect example of visibility starting from nothing and growing to where it is now.”

2. Share More Than Just Your Message

"On social media, people want to fall in love with the person first before they fall in love with the message. They can get information from a professor or a library." George Nellist explains. "To stand out on social media, your followers need to know who you are outside work; your interests, passions, and hobbies, and how they intersect with your brand. This is why I often advocate choosing the right content-delivery method."

Most experts agree that personality is key to engagement when it comes to building a social media following. Showcasing more personality is equivalent to casting a wider net. If people do not identify with the message at first, they can identify with something else about the leader. The key is to have as many eyes as possible on the brand.

3. The Power of Witnesses; Get Others Talking About You

Establishing your leadership and expertise is much easier if other leaders and thought leaders also recognize it. Talking a lot about yourself with no external evidence to back it up can quickly become off-putting, mainly because of the high rate of fraud and posturing on social media.

"When building a healthy social media presence, it's necessary to get others talking about you,” says Nellist, “whether it be appearing on a podcast or video with another reputable name, getting interviews, or getting articles written about you and your work in publications and papers. Your followers need to be able to verify your claims. Getting your message out is important but getting it out on the right platforms and getting the right people to shine the light on you is way more important and could be the difference between success and flaming out."

4. Secure Your Follower's Attention; The Power of Delivery

“It's one thing to say something very important but saying it in an interesting way is a totally different ball game," George Nellist explains, "A rule of thumb is to post only content that you would click on yourself. Most people on social media are distracted by a constant bombardment of content, so keeping their attention can be extremely difficult and cannot be done just by hurriedly typing out ideas of shoving a camera in your face once a day. I often advise clients to enlist the help of experts, content writers, video editors, or content strategists. In today's highly professional and competitive landscape, unplanned content is almost certain to be ineffective."

The different social media platforms emphasize different types of content, which often helps dictate the kind of content thought leaders should put out. However, in today's world, the delivery of that content is as powerful as the content itself. As with every other step, thought leaders need to experiment with content types and delivery styles for a while and zero in on what works best.

5. Track Your Growth

Scores of analytic tools are available to track social media performance and engagement. As with almost every form of leadership, social media leadership cannot be left to chance. Thought leaders and influencers often rely on analytic tools to help make content decisions. It might be challenging to separate your best-performing content from your preferred content, which can hinder achieving relevant visibility.

George Nellist puts it this way, "Sentiment can kill a great PR strategy; you can choose to stick to the ideas of what you want your brand to be, or you can choose to stick to what works. The key is to first establish a strong presence and followership before you can begin pandering to your preferences. Flying blind with social media content is an unwise decision, and it always shows in the results."

Social media is constantly attracting more attention and is gradually becoming more relevant than traditional television. The result of this massive growth is that visibility has become a very powerful commodity. Building a solid brand online is not easy, but with the right strategy, there is no reason thought leaders cannot get their message out there.