5 Ways Social Media Can Accelerate Your Success

By J.J. Peller

Whether you’re on the fence about using social media to accelerate your success or you’ve started to dip your toe into the water to see if it’s warm enough to dive in, you’d likely agree social media is a powerful platform that can be leveraged for your business success.

Most people don’t convince themselves of the amazing opportunity social media offers and, therefore, don’t dive into it fully.

To help you get over that fence and dive into the pool, here are five ways social media can accelerate your success.

1. Become Known

You don’t have to aspire to be a social media influencer for social media to make sense for you. But to grow your business faster, you definitely need to become known by more of the right people. Whether we think it makes rational sense or not, when we see people on social media who have thousands or tens of thousands of followers, we tend to perceive them as successful (even if they aren’t).

This has been termed “The Bandwagon Effect” – you might also have heard it called “social proof.” When we see other people following someone or working with someone, we tend to view them as the “right choice.”

If you truly believe in the value you can add to the lives of your clients, you must do whatever you can to reach more people. How can you reach more people? Become known!

2. Deepen Client Relationships

It’s important to connect on social media with the people you already work with. I’m surprised by how often I ask my coaching clients if they’re connected with all of their clients on LinkedIn, and they don’t have any idea. Your best sources for meeting new clients are your existing clients, who know, like (love?) and trust you. It’s important to be connected with them on social media so they can get to know you better.

As you post new content on social media, your clients will see your name and hear from you more often. The more often someone sees your name, the more comfortable they’ll become with you. Our brains are amazing creations for keeping us alive.

The more familiar we are with someone, the more we become comfortable with him or her, because the repetition of seeing that person helps our brains to be convinced they won’t hurt us. Quite primitive, yes. Nonetheless, this is how our brains still operate today. Leverage this fact to deepen relationships with the people who can introduce you to more potential clients.

3. Attract New Clients

This ties back to the first point, “Become Known.” Social media platforms have a way of putting your content in front of people you may have never met before. Specifically, on LinkedIn, if someone you know and are connected with “likes” or comments on your post, the LinkedIn algorithm might put your post in the feed of a second-degree connection. If you can create content that catches the eyes and attention of someone you’ve never met, that’s one new connection you weren’t previously connected to.

Social media provides an opportunity to scale your ability to get in front of more people. You create one post, and multiple people can see it without you needing to send it to people individually. This saves you time AND allows you to reach more people. You never know who will see your content. Quite possibly, they could be your next great client.

4. Build Your Authority

As more and more people see your great content and follow you, you’ll build your authority. And, as more people follow you and you’re viewed as an authority in your area of expertise, people will believe you know what you’re doing. And they’ll tend to listen to you and trust you more.

As you build your perceived authority, keep in mind the Peter Parker (Spider-Man) Principle: With great power there must also come great responsibility. Ensure you’re continually learning and improving your own knowledge and skills to truly serve your clients in their best interest.

5. Know Yourself Better

How often do you deeply reflect on your thoughts? Most of us rush through our days without slowing down enough to think about what we’re thinking about (also called metacognition). When you create content for social media, you’re forced to slow down and think.

By slowing down to more deeply think about your ideas and philosophies of life and business, you can better understand your own worldview, which will enable you to more effectively and confidently communicate your message to your prospects, clients and centers of influence. Self-reflection is a vital use of time for anyone who wants to accelerate success. Use social media content creation as an excuse to spend time in self-reflection.

Your Next Step: Go Create!

Make the decision to create your first piece of content for social media today. Decide to start now. If you’re now convinced that social media can help you reach more of the right people and grow your business faster, do not hesitate or wait for the “right time.” The right time is now! Your decision today will determine how fast and how far you go. Will you begin?

About the Author
J.J. Peller is an Executive Business Coach with Carson Coaching. He is an Associate Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation. J.J. offers services to help financial advisors unleash their full potential and accelerate growth and success.