Be a Social Media Leader and Influence the Marketplace

Be a Social Media Leader and Influence the MarketplaceBe a Social Media Leader and Influence the MarketplaceBe a Social Media Leader and Influence the Marketplace ChaneyIn 2006, well-known Web usability expert Jakob Nielsen developed the Community Participation Pyramid, otherwise known as the 9091 Principle. Nielsens findings, whichremain prescient about social media behavior to this day, state the following90 percent of users are lurkers (i.e., read or observe, but dont contribute).9 percent of users contribute from time to time, but other priorities dominate their time.1 percent of users participate a lot and account for most contributions.I fall into that one percent bracket and tend to think everyone else either does (or should) as well. They dont and, according to Nielsen, they wont.Rather than be dismayed at the lack of participation, perhaps those of us who are assiduous creators of content should view this as a blessing in disguise, in that it gives us the opportunity to beco me all the more influential.The Relevance of Social Media Personally, I did elend get into blogging and social media just to have a bully pulpit. While I enjoy sharing my points of view, my chief goal has always been to start conversations.Ive long held the view espoused by www pioneer Dave Winer, who once said, in regard to blogs, that comments left by readers are often more insightful than the post itself. True conversational marketing nirvana is achieved when conversations within the comment thread take on a life of their own. The original post becomes nothing more than tinder to start a fire. Still, in spite of the promise social media holds for allowing everyone to be proactive contributors, the fact is, most wont.What are the implications of this trend as it pertains to content creators? We have the opportunity to become a center of influence using social media. Being a member of the one-per center club means there are 99 percent that we have the ability to influence.Becoming a center of influence via social mediais easier now than ever. Perhaps the real promise of social media is not that everyone participates equally, but that those who choose to take up the mantle of one-percentership have the opportunity to do so with fewer obstacles. We can become tribal leaders. Think of the ways that social media could benefit your business.Theres an explosion of new tools available to help lead the tribes were forming, said Seth Godin in his book Tribes. There are literally thousands of ways to coordinate and connect groups of people that just didnt exist a generation ago. All of it is worthless if you dont decide to lead.With influence comes responsibility. We cannot take this issue of leadership lightly. We have a responsibility to use our influence not for selfish motives but to benefit the community as a whole, and those who take this responsibility seriously will be rewarded by those very same communities.Here are some ways you can use social media to exert influenceExpress servant leadership. Lead by example and have a do unto others attitude. Thats the mindset I believe an influencer needs to have. In other words, be a mentor and a mensch.Provide valuable content. Value is subjective of course. One persons trash is another ones treasure. Nonetheless, I think there are some common sense principles that can be applied to content creation.Think in terms of what will benefit the community. Face it, most people dont really care what you or I have to say unless it benefits them in some way. You have to win the right to be heard. Think of the example of Jesus feeding the 5,000. Only when he had met his followers felt needs could he go on to meet their real ones (think Maslows Hierarchy of Needs).I dont mean to imply that people are selfish by nature, but one thing is for sure, we are strapped for time. We only have time to consume the information that will provide most benefit. If your aim is to become an influencer, be the person who serve s that function.Dont take it personally. While social media is a personal medium, people will tend to value your content before they value you. For example, if Im in the market to purchase a home, Im probably going to search for properties before I search for a realtor.One of the people who best exemplifies the highest and best of this leadership ethic is new media marketing consultant Chris Brogan. Even he said via a Twitter message that sometimes he feels more like a service than a human. It goes with the territory and is one of the hazards of the job.Research, research, research. There welches a time when creating content for the Web was much easier than it is now. For example, on average a given blog post may take as much as two hours to write. (Two hours And some take much longer than that, believe it or not.) That may be in part because Im getting older and not as fast on my feet as I once was, but I think largely its due to the fact I try to substantiate my commentary with ap propriate documentation and cite a number of other resources. Its a far cry from the pithy, anecdotal rants and raves of days gone by.There is more I could say, but you get the point. If Nielsens numbers are valid, and experience tells me they are, a great opportunity lays at your feet to become an influencer, the leader of a tribe.Excerpted with permission of the publisher John Wiley and Sons from The Digital Handshake Seven Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business Using Social Media.Copyright (c) 2009 by Paul Chaney.Author BioPaul Chaney is the president of International Blogging and New Media Association (IBNMA), a non-profit trade association dedicated to the advance of new media as an industry. In less than 1 year, it has become one of the leading resources on social networking, offering information, conferences, and networking opportunities for thought leaders in the industry. Paul also serves as Marketing Director for Bizzuka, a Web content management software company.