Social Media – Transparency for Consultants, Experts, Speakers and Thought Leaders

What makes blog and social media content good? As a consultant or thought leader, how do you judge whether your blogs, tweets and posts are worthy and valuable? There may be a lot of different answers to those questions. However what I see time and again is the magic behind being real. Completely and utterly real. For many this could be writing a blog post based on their original thoughts, musings and ideas.

When I started writing my blog six years ago, I did so to share my thoughts with “the world”, to vent occasional frustrations, and for the sheer love of writing. March 30, 2008 at 7:44 p.m. was the date and time of my first blog. How can I possibly remember that?  Easy. I have always written my own blogs, so it’s kind of like keeping track of your diary. If you write your own blogs, you likely know the approximate date you started.

No one has ever asked me whether I’ve written my own material. In particular, written my own blogs. Note, I have. And I guess I’ve been fortunate that writing and posting my thoughts has always come natural to me. I feel physically better when I write and share—just as I’m doing today with this blog. The content just needs to come out, otherwise it makes me uncomfortable and restless. Weird? Maybe, but it’s true.

So how do you judge who is truly an expert or a thought leader—or not?  If judgements are to be made, I think they should be based on authenticity and truth. How can you judge someone if they aren’t who their content and assumed original works say they are? Is their expertise considered less valuable if it’s not their own original work?

Regardless, I’m proud to say my blog posts shown as written by me are in fact my own, personal works.  When you talk to me on Facebook, my personal profile and my business page, my Twitter account and my Google Plus, it’s me you are hearing and talking with.  If that ever changes, I will fully disclose it.

In this day and age of transparency, when our dental clients are forced to manage practices within glass houses, don’t we as consultants, speakers, thought leaders and advisors owe our clients the same?  I’m proud to work with many ethical, transparent and authentic colleagues—who I know present themselves with nothing less than the highest integrity.

In preaching to my clients the importance of being authentic, showing some personality, and letting your values guide your social media, I am compelled to walk this talk.

And while it may still be okay to have a ghost writer for certain projects, ask yourself if your ghost writer is hiding behind your face on your blog, or other thought leadership content. If that’s the case then I hope this article shines a new perspective. Authenticity rules.

When meeting planners hire speakers, I would think they’d like to know the expert hired to speak is the one who personally thought the thought leadership. When dental clients hire us, I would think they’d like to know the bloggers voice they’re drawn to is who it really says it is. What do you think?

Here are just a few great examples of authentic, dental bloggers, thought leaders, experts, mentors, and social media community leaders:

Katherine Eitel: bit.ly/1eNJTLt

Dr. Marc Cooper: http://www.masterycompanyblog.com/

Teresa Duncan: http://www.odysseymgmt.com/articles.php

Dr. Barry Polansky: http://taoofdentistry.com/blog/

Janice Hurley-Trailor  https://www.facebook.com/JaniceHurleyTrailor

Dr. Brett Kessler:  http://tcdodenver.blogspot.com/

Rachel Wall, RDH and her Inspired Hygiene Team: http://inspiredhygiene.com/blog/

Ginny Hegarty: http://blog.ginnyhegarty.com/

Kim McGuire and Deanna Goodrich, RDH, Fortune Management of Colorado: http://www.fortuneofcolorado.com/2013/12/508/

I’m sure there are many many more names to add to this list of authentic bloggers. So, my transparent colleagues and friends, experts, speakers, writers and thought leaders, feel free to give yourself a shout out in the comments below and cheers to you 🙂