You don’t have to broadcast everything
India More Nisbett and Morra Aarons-Mele on expertise, visibility and finding the people you want to reach.
In this archive conversation, Morra and I discussed the pressure to present yourself in a particular way online, and the different forms professional influence can take.
India
You’ve described yourself as a ‘hermit entrepreneur’. How does that work when everything is so broadcast?
Morra
If being an influencer is not who you are, you can still find a way to have an impact online. It’s just different.
You may not have 10,000 followers on Instagram and a beautiful feed, but you might write really thoughtful articles in your chosen field of expertise. You might have a LinkedIn presence that is dynamic and influential. That might be for you.
India
I think you can feel slightly judged when you’re not able to broadcast yourself in a certain way. There’s this feeling that you’re behind the times, that you’re not cool enough or you don’t understand it.
Morra
You don’t have to broadcast. You can narrowcast.
Influence can be very narrow. When I worked on political issues, I didn’t care about broadcasting. I cared about reaching the ten staffers who could actually move a bill forward.
When people want to say something but aren’t convinced they can make people interested in their content, I ask them to think more specifically. You may not be Kim Kardashian, but you could certainly have a voice in your field of interest.
Originally recorded for On the Sofa, The Williamson Institute. Edited for length and clarity.