Who wants to be an opinion leader?

Can you be an opinion leader? Standing in front of a group of reporters from newspapers, radio and television is a confronting thought for many advisers and executives. Yet for some professionals it’s a situation they’d love to find themselves in.

If that sounds like you, then read on…

Media and Social Media channels provide advisers with the opportunity to take their messages to more people and more quickly, than they could just by themselves. This is a particularly useful pursuit if you are seeking to enhance your own reputation and the reputation of your business to retain and attract new clients. Opinion leadership provides you with the opportunity to be seen by your community as the trusted expert.

At the present time, it could be argued that not enough advisers are using opinion leadership with the media to its full advantage. Certainly social media provides an accessible platform to take your ideas, opinions and message to your community.

This topic and how to be successful at it is addressed in a new book called ‘Mastering Media Interviews in the 21st Century’ by Steve Cropper, a leading Australian media trainer who has worked in television, radio, politics and public relations.

While we all communicate every day to family, friends and work colleagues, we don’t necessarily communicate as opinion leaders. Based on his experience, the author provides readers with a framework to understand the media, the role of a spokesperson and specific insights on how to craft and deliver messages more effectively.

Some tips from the book include:

• Being relevant to your audience
• Using plain English and avoiding the use of jargon
• Illustrating your points with examples

There is a lot more covered, so you will need to read the book if you’d like to learn more about how to be an opinion leader.

The book also notes that ‘Spin is dead’ as it doesn’t deliver anything of value to anyone. Certainly then some of our politicians could benefit from reading this book too! The book rightly says that the role of a spokesperson is to “engage with your most important audience, to sincerely present a case accurately and plainly.”

Mastering media interviews will be a useful read for any professional adviser or executive considering an opinion leader strategy as a part of their personal or business marketing strategy.

photo credit: joshhikes via photopin cc