Using Social Media to Position Yourself as a Leader

I recently read an article from Mashable on “social media experts”. (You can read it here.) It talked about the ~15,740 social media experts on Twitter. (Amazing!) With that many “experts”, it’s hard to decipher who the actual experts might be.

We can take tips and insights from the plethora of experts and try to implement them ourselves. In order to decide who’s tips to take, it can be wise to look at others advocating for them as well, and to look at the quality and value of the tips they offer.

While I agree that people can in fact be experts, gurus, and specialists, I think it is more credible to hear that from others. Just like with advertising, tooting your own horn doesn’t do much, but to hear about you and to see you advocated by others, you may get a better response from consumers and the media. While you can call yourself an expert and you may get some positive responses from a few customers who believe what you say to be true, most will think of you as another one of the ~16,000 “experts” online. You can help to change their minds by offering value and giving quality tips that they can see work for you and other companies.

Having the value and quality content to offer is only half the battle, though. The other half is getting people to recognize you and to share your content with others. As a company, brand, or individual, you can share you content with others to start the cycle. Try to avoid calling yourself an expert, guru, or even “ninja”, as it is really hard to tell who, in fact, is an expert in a field that is ever changing. Let someone else give you the title, as it is easier to convince others of the expertise given to you by someone other than yourself.

In social media, it is hard to call yourself an expert; the industry is changing every day! Though your tips may be relevant for years to come, the tools, methods, and tactics are ever evolving. So again, try to avoid using the guru or expert title, and let your audience decide that for you. You will need to advertise yourself, but to an extent. Let PR work for you in social media.