A recent posting on Linked In resonated with me. It was by a Linked In trainer who works with entrepreneurs – Lea Turner. The posting was about people on social media who go on there regularly and never, or rarely, post anything. That is totally me. The article points out how you are missing out on opportunities to network with and build relationships with people who want the skills that you have and who might be interested in what you have to say about your industry.
Lea says these people are lurkers – and that is me!

Lea’s article points out that many people are nervous about posting on social media and contrasts that reluctance to get involved with the kind of advice we would give to our children. We would encourage them to have a go – pointing out that everyone is a bit rubbish when they start something and the only way to get better is to get started and then stick with it. And not to worry about criticism from a small number of people. It is advice I should take on board and act on.

It’s no secret that I write these posts to improve my website SEO because I believe Google likes new, fresh, relevant content and boosts you in searches if that’s what your website presents. As such I don’t actually expect the posts to be widely read but I know from experience regular blog posts increase website traffic and lead to new clients finding me and getting in touch with voice work. The same logic would seem to apply to Linked In and Facebook posts – if it did them – but somehow so far I have not taken the plunge!

Interestingly one of the comments under Lea’s post was from a former presenter colleague from my radio days – Rob Birnie (now a motion graphics designer) – who points out that his experience of lurkers is that they make great clients. By the time they get in touch they have sussed you out and decided you are definitely the person they want to work with. But of course to get “sussed out” by a client you need to be posting and commenting.

For what it’s worth Rob also says he has great respect for people who don’t spend ages on social media – unfortunately agreeing with him on that is probably going to undermine my resolve to get more visible isn’t it?

Chris Radley – Voice Over