Recently, I addressed the three questions keeping top leaders up at night, and the three elements that have disrupted the rules of influence.
*If you missed part 1, you can read it here.
Here are the top five new rules every leader must work to understand and then apply.
Do, Then Tell.
Telling people who you are and what you stand for isn’t going to be enough. You have to create an experience worthy of word of mouth AND then create the word of mouth around it. Neither happens organically, although the opportunities to respond may show up that way and you must be quick to act. See, Stanley’s response to a customer on TikTok.
For any launch, any go-to-market, any announcement whatsoever, you must ask two questions:
- Is this worth talking about?
- How are we going to talk about it?
- Think substance AND sizzle.
When we worked with Chase Business, they had just surveyed their customers and the number one need expressed, by far and large, was help with their marketing. What does a financial institution have to do with that? Everything. They are a savvy brand. They know helping their customers reach their goals helps them reach their own.
To address this need in a meaningful way, we created a literal bizmobile that was staffed with small business marketing advisors and traveled around the country meeting customers. Then, we did a press tour to make sure everyone knew about the activation.
(Interesting fact: there was no ATM on the mobiles or any pure banking play involved. It was powered by Chase Business but it was about the customers.)
This does require long-term thinking and having a vision, and for Chase this paid off in spades.
Be Present in your Absence
Old Advice: Be on the day 1 list.
New Advice: Be on the day ZERO list.
Bain did a study where they found that Buyers make a list of vendors for consideration before starting the search process.
Fully 80%–90% of respondents, depending on what they are buying, have a set of vendors in mind before they do any research.
Just as important, 90% of them will ultimately choose a vendor from the day one list.
This means you are most likely NOT in the room when the decision gets made.
You have to market at day zero. When they aren’t thinking about your service or product at all.
One important place to start is to ask yourself these questions.
- What do your buyers say when you aren’t in the room?
- Who speaks for you?
- Does your brand, your messaging, and your reputation precede you?
- How often do you get a seat at the table?
70% of B2B buyers cite company reputation as the most influential factor when choosing which company to do business with, and 63% of consumers need to hear company claims three to five times before they actually believe it (via Edelman Trust Barometer).
You have to find ways to enable your champions and your reputation must precede you. One immediate action is to ask your sales team: When they talk to prospects, what do they hear?
Do potential customers say they see you everywhere and know who you are or are they constantly in a position to explain who you are before they can share how they can help. Their answers are an important clue.
Aim for Consumption
Search engines with a massive agenda have convinced marketers and brands that views and impressions are simply “vanity metrics” but in truth they are the true value metrics. The truth is that consumption IS engagement.
The novelty of likes and comments is misleading. This is not the internet of yesteryear when consumers enjoyed leaving emojis and comments.
We may consume “media” publicly but we are “social” in private.This has massive ramifications for all your marketing and customer engagement strategies. It means that public show of engaging with your content is no longer a reliable metric of effectiveness.
Instead, just consuming your content is the true measure of its effectiveness.
The CEO of one particular client had a hard time with this concept, until he attended their annual industry conference. He was flabbergasted by how many clients and industry analysts brought up posts and ideas their company had been sharing on LinkedIn. These people had never so much as left as much as a digital footprint in the sand, but they clearly had been influenced heavily by the content.
How do you create more consumption? You have to create content WORTH consuming. Since the ROI here is better measured qualitatively than quantitatively, the more qualitative feedback you elicit from colleagues, customers, and more will reinforce that you are on the right track.
Don’t Confuse Credibility Channels for Distribution Channels
Historically, all earned media channels provided credibility and distribution. Landing in the New York Times for example provided a high dose of both. Even showing up in your local paper meant you could reach your target audience with the right intended message at scale.
Those days are over.
While landing earned media is still a badge of credibility in a world where that matters greatly, you have to provide your own channels for distribution. For example, an article trending on LinkedIn might provide greater distribution – and engagement! – than the platform where it was published itself.
You must have a plan for both – credibility and distribution for proper influence at scale.
For example, anytime a client of ours is on a podcast, we create 60-second multimedia snippets and amplify across social platforms. This creates an additional wave of targeted reach and distribution while the original content and platform provides credibility.
Embrace Experimentation as an Early Mover Advantage
The rise of AI makes one thing clear: experimentation is not a luxury, but a necessity. As machines take over the technical, the human ability to experiment, evaluate, curate and refine becomes your competitive edge.
Companies need to design structures and incentives that empower individuals to experiment and provide tools and training on how to spot and respond to trends is how we continue to be relevant in the age of AI.
When FDR was running for office in 1932, he had the unenviable task of bringing the country out of the Great Depression. He rallied people around the idea of “bold, persistent experimentation”. This was the first time America as a country ever had to fight an economic depression. There was no playbook. The only way out was to experiment and be willing to take bold measures.
Luckily, you aren’t FDR and we have a lot more tools at our disposal. For example, we often use a tools such as Glimpse which use Google Trends data to catch pre-trends before they really take off giving clients an early mover advantage.
And, yes, we use this successfully for both b2b and b2c clients.
This does require a mindset shift and a more playful attitude that sees experimentation and innovation as a proficiency – not as theater.
Now, you know five of the top new rules for influence. (There are more but I’ll save that for another day so make sure you are subscribed.)
Just by choosing to read this and trying to understand this new world and these new rules, it puts you light years ahead of others. For bonus points, think about how you can put one of these rules into action this quarter.
Shama Hyder is the Founder & CEO of Zen Media, an international keynote speaker, and a bestselling author.
Fast Company calls her a “millennial master of the universe” and a “zen master of marketing.”
She’s a Forbes and Inc. 30 under 30 alum, and LinkedIn has named her a Top Voice in Marketing four years in a row.
Hire Shama for your next meeting here.