Online Influence

How to Develop Your Own Unique Online Persona

If you have expert knowledge and experience that's in demand, plus you've already produced a compelling narrative that describes your 'lessons learned', then your next professional development task is to gain market exposure for your ideas and thereby connect with your target constituency.

The Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT) market has a significant upside opportunity for meaningful and substantive thought leadership (opinion-leading ideas) that are offered by skilled practitioners. But where do you go if you want to discover how to become a 'recognized' subject matter expert online?

You can’t learn it by going back to school. There is no webinar, nor a book with practical examples that you can follow. No worries, here is a proven approach.

My ten-point list, for your value creation plan of action

Your developmental journey will likely be more like a marathon, not a sprint. Be prepared to invest the time and effort to master the required skills to succeed. Set aside time every week, to build momentum. Eventually, you too can aspire to become a Digital Polymath.

The following is an overview of the 10 steps required to help you create an online presence that will make you more valuable to your employer and significantly enhance your marketability as a professional digital business growth practitioner.

Think of yourself as a Multimedia Content Producer. Better yet, imagine that you’re like the Associated Press – your content is so highly valued that it’s propagated across multiple sites.
Become a practitioner of Commercial Storytelling. Apply proven principles to be a recognized storyteller – transforming information into meaningful components of an overarching narrative.
Aspire to learn basic Search Engine Optimization. For most of our stakeholders, Search is the starting point for discovery during their quest for guidance. Begin by reading the Google Primer.
Outline and describe your own specific Personal Brand identity. Distill the description with a few essential keywords that you will use in all your online site profiles. These key topics will define your value proposition – note, it’s not about your employer or job description. My Example
Create a Gravatar to help establish an online identity. You will use it to verify your global online professional persona. Other websites may use it to enable you to post comments. My Example
Consider creating a Wordpress blog that’s just about you. Even if you don’t intend to write stories, use this presence to connect your Gravatar and other Verified Services. My Example
Complete all key sections of your Profile on LinkedIn. People who want to learn more about you will likely use Google Search to find the details. LinkedIn will be the first source. Don't focus on your 'responsibilities. Instead, describe the 'value' you offer. My Example
Research and follow the most insightful thought leaders. Observe the key market trends online; create digests from subscribed RSS news feeds; start the day by scanning headlines; use Feedly reader.
Gain the confidence to contribute substantive comments. Weekly, offer meaningful insights to complement the content of others; use the email address in your Gravatar; backlink to the primary website. Over time, become a known influencer of an ongoing dialogue on your key topics.
Consider creating a Professional Portfolio to feature your work. Include long-form biographical content -- beyond the short profiles – and links to other examples of your thought leadership that is propagated throughout the web. Google Sites is free and easy to use.

There are a lot of ideas and information to consider in this list. If you have questions about how to apply these steps or would like to learn more about becoming a recognized online influencer, then reach out to me for guidance.

Bonus Tips

Become certified for Digital Credentials, then add your 'badge' accomplishments. Here's my identity on the Credly site.

Aspire to be ranked as a top thought leader and influencer in your areas of expertise. Here's my profile on Thinkers360 which targets global brands. I'm recognized for Design Thinking, Cloud Computing, Fintech, and Blockchain thought leadership. Here's my Influencer interview with Onalytica.

Growing Demand for TMT Consulting Talent

The booming Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) sector already play a critical role in the global networked economy, with Amazon, Google, and Apple usurping industrial titans atop stock market indices. According to a Korn Ferry study, by 2030 the TMT sector is expected to account for almost 10 percent of the U.S. economy, and massive growth is forecast across all the world’s markets.

This isn’t the full story, of course, because tech already impacts every other sector of the economy. Innovations in artificial intelligence and machine learning are driving automation, and the people-tech partnership promises enhanced productivity across every industry.

The United States is currently the world’s tech leader, but if its TMT talent deficit is left unaddressed, the country is due to experience the greatest unrealized output of any market in the study. This sum will reach $162.25 billion by 2030, more than a third of the total unrealized output across all countries analyzed.

Savvy Talent Drives Digital Transformation

“The United States is so far failing to equip the next generation with the new skills that are needed to fill large numbers of high-tech roles,” says Werner Penk, president, Global Technology Market, Korn Ferry. “As with many economies, the onus falls on companies to train workers, and also to encourage governments to rethink education programs to generate the talent pipelines the industry will require.”

Technology underpins all other sectors of the global economy, but its advancement could be stalled by serious talent problems. Such deficits are already evident and Korn Ferry research forecasts that by 2030 the labor-skills shortage will reach 4.3 million workers. This is equivalent to 59 times the number of employees of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. While the digital revolution often seems unstoppable, it could be about to hit a wall.

Marketing Communications On-Demand Talent

BTG’s Skills Index, which ranks the 10 most in-demand consulting skills across all industries, the top 3 by industry, and the top 10 fastest-growing, points to notable trends shaping the global skills economy at large: Marketing Communications’ jump to the top of the fastest-growing list (+750% YoY) reflects the importance of 'brand positioning' and 'storytelling' to bring new products to market in today’s complex media landscape.

“Our proprietary data shows the F1000 increasing its usage of highly skilled on-demand talent across a wider—and deeper—set of industries, business functions, and project types than ever before,” said Jody Greenstone Miller, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Business Talent Group (a Heidrick & Struggles company). “Leaders at the world’s top companies are embracing on-demand talent as a powerful way to acquire the skills, insights, and expertise they need to complete their most important work.”

Resources:

GeoNetworker - my empirical research about the quest for commercial domain subject matter experts.