The Personal Agenda: It’s Only A Bad Thing If You’re Not Promoting It Correctly.

But the one thing they have in common, is that the people displaying these patterns are, either consciously or subconsciously, promoting an agenda or two.

Is Less Really More?

In my opinion, a lot of people on social media are pushing their agendas so quietly sometimes that you hardly notice it. I’m not sure this is a good thing. It certainly doesn’t synch up with my own modus operandi. But then again, you might argue that my agenda (see below) is fairly aggressive.

There’s always the adage 'to each his own' to fall back on. But, in my opinion, less, on social media, is not always more. Less gets lost in the clutter. Less is a whisper in a world of shouting. Less can make you look less confident in a world where people need to see that you are anything but.

Yes Virginia, I Have An Agenda Of My Own

This is where I spell out my personal agenda, If nothing else, it should give you some ideas about how to structure yours. In terms of results, I have been very satisfied. I have enough engagement to keep me encouraged, but not so much that it has become an intellectual burden keeping up with.

My personal agenda is fourfold.

1. To Be Opinionated: Passive participation in social media is a form of selfishness. If you have something that’s on your mind, it’s important to say it. I have lots of things and talk about them all.
If I see something that I think is interesting, I tell people about it. I also tell them why I think it’s interesting, because without that dimension (call it an agenda item), people have no frame of reference. This is particularly important to remember when you are writing blog posts. It’s one thing to have an opinion and quite another to let your readers know exactly how you arrived there. This way, their understanding of you will deepen, as will, theoretically, their interest in what you have to say.

2. To Be Helpful: Having a great deal of high end experience at anything gives you knowledge and insight that can be helpful to other people. Communicating that knowledge without any expectation of personal gain is, paradoxically, one of the most effective ways to attract people to you and your business.
Someone once told me that the process of becoming successful in social media of any kind is to first understand that this is a marathon and not a sprint. So if you’re not in it with a ‘long haul’ attitude, you will run out of gas (patience, energy etc.) very quickly. That long haul attitude defines the difference between success and anything less.

3. To Be Self-Aware: The key words in the phrase ‘building your business in social media’ are ‘building your business’.
Unlike conventional media, where the emphasis is totally on your business, the emphasis here is on simply making sure that people understand who you are and what you do, and that you have sponsored whatever knowledge or insight you might be transmitting.
This creates a direct appreciation link between your knowledge and insight and you, as the creator/sponsor of that knowledge and or insight. What this translates into in your posting is making sure that people know how to get hold of you.

4. To Be Respectful Of History: A while ago in a conversation with my friend Bill Lower, he played back to me one of the basic tenets that all marketing people who have been on both sides of the digital revolution never forget. That is quite simply this: The basics of communication have not changed since the advent of mass media. Only the tools are different. This means that an important part of my agenda is to always keep that top-of-mind when I am writing anything substantial.

If you don’t know these basics, it’s important that you learn them. A lot of the poor communication going on today is a direct result of people forgetting this, or worse, never having learned the basics of communication at all.

I hope this have given you insight into some of the ways that you can improve your communication skills, by sharping your focus.

The bigger point here is that the agendas everyone comes equipped with are good things, (unless they are pushing hatred in any form). Your personal agendas are the keys to being understood in the world. And heaven knows we can never get enough understanding.

So stay true to those agendas, sharpen them, and embrace the agendas of others you encounter. if you do, then your trip here will have been worth the time and effort.

Jim Murray is a highly experienced advertising and marketing professional. He is a communication strategist, op/ed blogger, writer, art director and broadcast producer.

He is also a partner at Bullet Proof Consulting. www.bulletproofconsulting.ca

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