Orthopedic friends, I haven’t shared this story with you yet.
In 2006 I got fired.
I was the Senior Director in a growing orthopedic company, performing well. It wasn’t my fault. The new CEO wanted to bring in his own team – a common move. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I was blindsided. I immediately started the job search, a very stressful time for me and my family.
That day, I vowed to never struggle to find my next job.
I vowed to become a super-connector so I could quickly transition into a new job in the future, if needed. I devoured the best selling networking book of the year, Never Eat Alone. I went to all the Ortho conferences. I jumped into LinkedIn and Twitter in a big way early. When traveling, I pinged contacts before I arrived. I met with anyone anywhere. In a quiet corner of Starbucks, I tried to help my contact solve his/her problem without asking for anything in return.
It worked. Fast forward to 2012. I became a master networker, a super-connector, or influencer, in the very narrow Medical Device field that we call Orthopedics. Today I personally know thousands of people in Orthopedics.
Why am I telling you this?
Because you are about to get blindsided also.
The world has completely changed since 2006. In 2006, I met people in person. Your physical “You” was who you were.
In 2020, you will have to meet people online. Your physical “You” is insignificant. Your online “You” is who you are now. If you are not online today, then you are totally INVISIBLE. Let me say that again.
“If you are not online today, then you are totally INVISIBLE.”
This is your career wakeup call. In the 2020s, you will have to have an online presence and a personal brand in order to move your career forward. The online persona that you project will actually become more important than your face-to-face relationships. Your online “You” will be more important than your physical “You” to move your career forward. You may not believe me today, but you will thank me in the future.
How to create “You“?
It is simple. You will become a one-person media company. You will “productize yourself”. You will create your online persona by telling the world who you are and what you know. If you are a sales person, then share how you sell each day. If you are an Engineer then share how you solve technical problems each day. And so on. Document your craft. It may seem routine and boring to you, but it’s not. Show how your sausage is being made, and you will create micro-fame to boost your career.
What content to create?
There are three basic types of content – text, audio and video. You can create this by writing, speaking, or videoing. Most people are not good at all three, so pick your strong areas. For me, writing and speaking are more natural, not video. So, I naturally have a blog and podcast. Start small and create content each day.
Where to share your content?
If you are in the Orthopedics industry which is mostly a Business-to-Business market, then you must put your content where it will be the most effective for B2B. Here are the 8 most influential platforms today for Orthopedic professionals (ranked best to worst).
#1 LinkedIn – here is my example
#2 Personal Website or Blog – here is a simple example from an MD
#3 Podcasts – here is my example from “Inside Orthopedics”
#4 Twitter – here is my example
#5 Youtube – here is an MD example, Sales rep example
#6 Medium – here is my example
#7 Instagram – here is a sales rep example
#8 Resume – here is a multi-media example with embedded video
If you only want to focus your content on a few channels, then focus on the top three – LinkedIn, a Website, and a Podcast, then you will be off to a great start.
And by the way, don’t worry about Snapchat, IGTV, Pinterest, TikTok, WhatsApp, Twitch as these are less suitable for business professionals.
Good luck creating You for your career.
