Beyond The Content: 3 Phases Of Growing Your Impact
How would you define your impact? Is it by your website or the colors in your brand, your 10-minute YouTube videos, or 15-second stories on Instagram? Or is it the level of conversations you have online & IRL? Or the topics you discuss in your content? Today I want to discuss what it means to create impact in the marketplace and how to build your signature strategy to create high impact for your brand.
What it means to create impact nowadays has been commodified; reduced and watered down to vanity metrics and one-time digital exchanges. It’s common to see people throw around titles or start new social media/viral trends as a way of leading with their expertise or wanting to create an impact. Social media platforms have forced average users into the rat race with their “you can go viral too” propaganda; you can post 5x/day, create and manage your 9-grid profile page, and share audio sounds that get people’s attention while scrolling. It’s all designed to keep you chasing after influence and attention, never worrying about the greater mission you’re pursuing.
It’s safe to say that this online space is not the same as when you started, whether 6+ months ago or 6 weeks ago. The tactics used then have already become outdated or have evolved into something more nuanced. Right now, the marketplace is filled with more convoluted messages & information than ever before. And even with the amount of “information” available, it’s easier to be more confused, stuck, and lacking direction.
So, what should a woman of faith, like you, do to establish her authority & identity around her work, fulfill her greater mission, and create a high impact?
First, recognize that this marketplace needs your unique perspective, not another cut-out template. Watered-down brands are running rampant across the Internet, and with the right lighting equipment, sound equipment, and aesthetically pleasing backdrop, you too can be considered an authority figure. Here’s the catch: we’re all experts in a particular area or subject matter, and all it takes is shedding light on our unique experiences and turning those experiences into guides and roadmaps for others to follow to achieve a transformation.
Secondly, there has to be a move to renounce the trends and tactics upheld by social platforms and the avatar-based creators/influencers that maintain them. And an emphasis must be placed on developing a system that rewards you for sharing your unique perspective, original concepts & frameworks, and delivering on the transformation you can provide.
Before moving forward, it’s best to go over a few disclaimers.
This isn’t a rant on why social media is horrendous and you shouldn’t use it.
This isn’t a space for “lackluster” advice and strategies.
This is a space for individuals on a mission to fulfill a greater purpose beyond their social media presence.
This is about developing a holistic approach to finding your fit in the marketplace, building on your authority, and creating high impact.
It’s time to unlock your impact…
The marketplace is saturated with three groups: people, profiles/pages, and personas. It’s common to see people perform tactics, share posts, and share stories to get other people’s attention. Profiles & pages exist to provide access to information/insight (good or bad). Personas can be fictional characters or influencers that share messaging & narratives that guide and inspire the action/inaction of others. With this being the makeup of the marketplace, it’s easy to blur the lines between what creates a lasting impact versus what produces a moment of influence.
The digital space has redefined & reduced impact down to a single data point. The need for individuals to build up curated profiles/pages is more of a priority than pursuing a greater mission and maintaining responsibility for creating a positive impact in the lives of others. It’s hard to become known for your value when you’re focused on vanity metrics. It’s hard to create a community when you’re chasing inconsistent trends. That’s why it’s time to reframe the conversation, refresh the approach, and rewire our minds to focus on high-level strategies that help us create high-value content and make an impact on the marketplace.
Mindset Shift #1: Impact comes before influence
What’s the difference between impact & influence? The two are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference; and knowing this distinction will guide your efforts in how you establish your authority in the marketplace, how you set yourself apart, and how your efforts will result in creating a high impact. In this microwaveable world, your impact is often associated with the # of social media content you have shared in a certain timeframe, the creativity of your video covers, the number of comments underneath your content, the number of likes you have received, and more. These vanity stats/metrics create a distorted approach to what impact is.
Your influence, however, is a series of one-time exchanges: a comment, a like, a share, a save, etc. One-time exchanges have replaced having a solid strategy for developing our ability to craft unique and personalized messages to share across media channels and IRL. No wonder more people are flocking to creating personas and focusing on growing their influence. 60-70% of people online between 18-60 would prefer an influencer or person with a relatable personality before receiving information from an expert. [1] So does this mean you should present yourself as an influencer to get people to take action or feel connected to your brand? No. It’s best to do the opposite and double down on three things: finding your fit aka your lane in the marketplace, building on your authority, and creating high impact. By doing so, you set yourself apart from all the templates, all the scripted captions and status updates, and the staged curated content.
So, if influence is focused on one-time exchanges then impact must be focused on a series of exchanges, right? Not necessarily. Impact requires intentional contact. The popular online tactic is to [aimlessly] post content on every single platform and with each post, convince others that you have the capabilities, the education, and the experience, that is valuable and necessary. Your ability to make a high impact is less about convincing and more about providing your unique proposition, proposing a unique approach, assertation, or conclusion about your industry and the type of work you do.
Think about some of the greatest leaders in the world; they adopted a unique proposition for the change or the transformation they wanted to create. Dr. MLK Jr.’s unique proposition was to fight against inequality and racial injustice through peaceful protesting. He followed this model after Gandhi, who was an example of a peaceful protester by choosing not to be violent and devoting his life to peace. Had Dr. MLK Jr fought violence with violence it would have jeopardized his entire movement. He still would have had a following and people walking with him but for a different reason. This is what makes influencing marketing so successful. An individual can make a claim and if they promote it well enough, people will eventually hop on the wagon - there’s a movement for all people.
The key to finding your fit in this marketplace is embracing and owning your unique perspective. This gives you leverage. Having a personal, original approach puts you in a position to be a guide for others and is the shortcut to expanding your reach and growing your impact. You set the precedence for your brand and how people should interact and engage with you based on the proposition you consistently provide.
Your unique perspective is embodied within conversations you have with your audience and in what you create. This is why impact comes before influence. Without owning your unique proposition you end up adding to the noise of what’s happening around you, and not taking up space in the minds of the people you serve.
Mindset Shift #2: Impact is a two-folded experience
Unlike influence which is primarily external, impact is about transformation (intrinsically & externally). On one side, you are providing your unique proposition through your content, through the opportunity you offer in your work, conversations, and interactions. The result is you take up space in the minds of your audience, the people you serve through your work. When you have a place in someone’s mind, you influence their overall mindset. They began to think differently, do differently, and feel differently. On the other side, your impact is an external outcome or result. The outcome could be losing weight, helping someone gain clarity in their goals and plans, helping someone create a system for managing their household, resolving relationships, or landing their first high-paying job. This is the power of impact, it’s a two-folded experience. There’s a transformation that takes place mentally and then it guides their actions and overall feelings.
Mindset Shift #3: Your impact has levels to it
If influence is about expanding your reach and growing your following then impact is about going deeper to solidify your authority. The direct path to doing that is going beyond surface-level connections, conversations, and content to build equity around your brand. Think of the infamous iceberg visual. Above water, the iceberg doesn’t appear to be as huge, but the moment you go underwater, you realize how massive and deep it is. The same applies to your brand impact, on the surface level, most may only see the blog post, your last YouTube video, may have seen you speak one time or had a general interaction with your brand, but underneath all of that, sits more value.
The way to go deeper with your impact isn’t to offer more “stuff” and label it as value. Going deeper with your audience is about creating a more personalized journey. The one thing that traditional marketing did not account for was the evolution of that journey. It has become less & less predictable to know when someone is to “invest in an opportunity” or resource or be a part of a community. The reality is the pathway for investing in an opportunity has varied, yet, companies and brands are continuously pumping more money into paid content to get more “investments” and it's projected that by 2027 social media advertising will have increased to $247.30 billion; ideally a 4.53% growth from 2023. [2]
You’ve seen an increased number of ads/sponsored posts online or feel like this entire world is one big marketing campaign; sponsored marketing messages are placed in front of us whether we asked for them or not. Yet, this doesn’t mean you have to operate the same way. In a noisy, get it and go, marketplace, it’s best to do what aligns with your mission and not what makes you better. Too many individuals are trying to be better than the competition, leading to burnout, exhaustion, hospital intakes, or simply shutting down altogether. There’s a more strategic, simple, and sustainable way to grow your impact.
3 Levels Of Impact
Association
Anytime you get a small cut, and maybe you bleed, you immediately think of a Band-Aid. However, Band-Aid is the name of the company that supplies us with bandages to cover our skin cuts. Yet, because of all the years that Band-Aid has provided us with a quick solution for our skin cuts, we associate getting a cut on our skin with Band-Aid. The key to creating brand association is being clear on what you want to be known for. Band-Aid is known for helping you temporarily address your skin cuts not for bandages.
Brene Brown is commonly associated with discussing the topics of shame and vulnerability. Warren Buffet is associated with investing & money, and Gary Vee is associated with social media marketing. These are great examples of people who have dedicated their platform to a particular subject matter or area of expertise.
Sticking with the example of Band-Aid, the company is clear on the core issues/problems they want to align with and address. For Band-Aid, it’s to relieve temporary pain from cuts on the skin. If you can tie your expertise to a particular problem then your community will associate that problem and the solution with you.
Question: What core issues will you address or align with in your work?
Trust
How do you build brand trust in a marketplace filled with “AI” generation, paid testimonials, and sponsored posts? You do it through your signature impact framework. The truth is you don’t need a lot of followers or people to build trust. You need to show your community that you are the guide and the person who can deliver them a result or lead them to a transformation.
The goal of building brand trust is creating a structured signature framework that serves as a clear roadmap for your community. Let your unique experiences lead you in developing these frameworks, methods, and concepts that will be insightful and invaluable to your audience. Your signature, branded framework(s) would be your asset in building your authority in the marketplace.
Question: What common patterns do you see within your audience that keep them from reaching an outcome or experiencing a transformation? How can you lead them to their desired outcome?
Equity
The final level of impact is brand equity. It’s a combination of positive brand association and the perceived trust from your community. When you've achieved brand equity, it means your community has experienced a transformation of some sort and can comprehend that experience and share it with others. Not only that but you've become known for your ideas, your concepts, and your value. Let’s say you’re in a room (or not), and a person refers to you by the “value” you provide or the “work you do”, or you are surrounded by people who refer to you as a leading voice for the work you do - that’s brand equity. It creates loyalty within your community and supports your efforts in creating high impact.
Question: What is the impact you want to make in the marketplace?