BETTER
A LinkedIn (^) Liv
e Series
with Dorie Clar
k
Thursdays at 1
2 p.m. ET
at newsweek.co
m/
linkedinlive
Image by ALEX SECRET NEWSWEEK.COM 17
Be compact, consistent
and creative: “Micro is
winning right now.”
were canceled [at the start of COVID],”
she recalls, “we did a macro topic of
‘what to do now that your trade show
has been canceled.’” She also created
a video and an article on that theme,
and then deployed her team to mine
them for tweets, a related Instagram
post and additional places to share the
video (such as LinkedIn and YouTube).
Play the Long Game
Since the dawn of social media, the
quest to “go viral” has become a cul-
tural obsession. But Hyder says that
shouldn’t be the goal. “What’s more
true is that [growing a following
is] much slower than that. It really
needs time to build. You have to look
at it as a long game.”
Viral hits are rare, Hyder notes,
and lasting success doesn’t stem from
a one-hit wonder. “If you’re really
looking to build something long
term—your business, your brand,
your career, whatever it is—you have
to realize that it’s not that one thing
that matters,” Hyder says. “It’s that
thing that you do every single day.”
Be Willing to Experiment
Not every piece of social content you
share is going to be a hit. So you have
to be willing to take chances and accept
that failure is part of the process.
At the enterprise level, for instance,
“You have to have leadership that’s
open and willing to experiment and
try new things,” says Hyder. As the
post-COVID economy shakes out and
employees start eyeing other oppor-
tunities, Hyder believes that the abil-
ity of companies to retain talent will
depend on their agility, flexibility
and willingness to say, ‘Hey, let’s do
it. We’re game.’”
The same holds true for us as
individuals experimenting with
social media. “There are times I put
something out there that I’m like,
‘Whew, best work ever, Hyder, great
job!’” she says. But the audience isn’t
always interested, so she learns from
it and moves on.
Most companies—and by now,
most professionals—recognize the
importance of building a strong
brand on social media to achieve their
business and career goals. Connecting
with engaged followers enables you
to gain valuable consumer insights,
recruit talent and sell your products
more quickly, and to have a bigger
impact in your field and beyond.
But as I describe in my book Stand
Out: How to Find Your Breakthrough
Idea and Build a Following Around It,
breaking through the noise is more
of a challenge than ever, as millions of
homebound professionals sit glued to
their computers, often creating con-
tent of their own. By following these
strategies, you’ll have a far better
chance of getting your ideas noticed
and heard in a crowded world.
Ơ Dorie Clark, author of entrepre-
neurial you and Duke University
Fuqua School of Business professor,
hosts newsweek’s weekly interview
series, better, on Thursdays at 12
p.m. ET/9 a.m, PT at newsweek.com/
linkedinlive. Sign up for updates at
G dorieclark.com.
ET
TY