As the great Aretha Franklin once sang with gusto: R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
Respect.
It’s a word I refer to often, and one which I think is more important than ever in today’s digital-first world for what it represents.
Respect for our audience.
Respect for our peers and our broader network.
Respect for ourselves.
Let’s face it, today’s online world is awash with self-serving braggarts, grandstanders, wannabes, hucksters and quick-hit merchants.
Unfortunately these individuals manage to get under our guard on a regular basis.
They show up uninvited into our world from every imaginable digital crevice, telling us in no uncertain terms how great they are and, in more extreme cases, promising us riches if only we follow their “proven system”.
Luckily, we’re becoming smart and are starting to block them from our field of vision best we can, but like a demented game of digital ‘whack-a-mole’, they keep bobbing up!
The increased prevalence of bro’ marketers and self-proclaimed experts and thought leaders is having a two-fold negative knock-on effect for the genuine business owners among us. This ugly trend:
- turns up the volume of digital noise that credible business owners have to contend with in order to simply cut through with their intended audience, and
- ensures that over time, we (the public) become super-cynical of any ‘entrepreneur’ or ‘expert’ creating content and trying to build an audience for their insights, expertise and ideas – in other words, people are looking twice at all PR and marketing efforts, not just those from the aforementioned braggarts, grandstanders, wannabes, hucksters and quick-hit merchants.
Which, of course, continues to make life difficult for credible entrepreneurs and knowledge leaders who have to compete for the attention of a time-poor and overly cynical public.
So much so, sometimes it becomes all too hard and they just give up. Gah!
The genuine players – those individuals who have got a lot to give (and who we want to hear from) – go back into their shells.
They shun the online spotlight.
They withdraw into their work.
And, we’re all the poorer for it.
I’ve said it once, and will continue to say it: True leaders and experts – those with depth of knowledge and expertise, demonstrable runs on the board, and a huge reservoir of wisdom inside of them – these are the people we want to hear from.
Not some 22-year-old ‘life coach’ who spouts meaningless platitudes, or the toxic hustler who uses manipulative marketing tactics to disempower customers in order to make a sale.
So, what’s the answer?
For starters, over-index on respect.
Respect for our audience – see them, hear them, acknowledge them, be one of them … create content that’s relevant for your peers, your professional network, and of course, your desired audience more broadly; create content that delivers value, solves a problem, motivates an action, provokes thought, ignites debate, starts a conversation, changes the way we think about a topic or issue.
And, respect for ourselves – live up to your principles and values; freely share your knowledge and expertise without the expectation of getting anything in return; communicate in a way that’s open and authentic; bring people along for the journey; run your own race; eschew clickbait headlines and quick hacks that might generate a short-term result (dopamine hit) but may also damage your reputation in the process.
Critically, don’t over-hype – over-promise and under-deliver – or barrage people with incessant emails pitching your products and services.
In other words: Self-respecting founders and solopreneurs understand – and remain true to – themselves. They:
- communicate with an open heart,
- publish content that delivers value with an intended audience in mind,
- are part of other people’s communities (and are active in shining the spotlight on others), and
- are relationships driven versus transactional by nature.
Maybe another way to look at it is:
Whatever the braggarts, grandstanders, wannabes, hucksters and quick-hit merchants do – do the opposite 🙂
Work out what you don’t like online, and use that behaviour as a benchmark of what not to do.
Potentially, you’ll find over the journey – as you become more active with your PR, content and digital communications efforts – that you will become tested on this front. Maybe you’ll push the boundary a bit, and that’s okay – at least you know where the boundary is!
Know your values, know your purpose, know your boundaries and respect your audience: You can’t go wrong 🚀
Thank you Trevor. I’ve been posting more often on LinkedIn. Some of the advice I’ve had leans too far into the bro marketing for my comfort. So this is perfectly timed for me.
I hear you Joss. Thank you for swinging by!