Most professionals have been well trained in their vocations. They are expert:
- lawyers
- accountants
- engineers
- health practitioners
They stay up to date with their vocation, and they do their jobs well.
But there's a nagging feeling that many professionals have. It's the feeling that they don't quite know what to do to get themselves set up.
They know that they need a website, but they're not sure how to make it “good” and don't have the time to investigate every option.
They know that they need to write articles, but they're not sure how to do it well, and are worried that nobody will read.
They know that social media isn't going away any time soon, but don't want to sink hours of precious time into developing an effective social media platform.
The Modern Professional is the person who is tired of these frustrations, and has decided to do something about it.
It's Not about Now – It's about Later
One of the most common things I hear from people is this: why bother, I'm doing fine as I am?
It's closely followed by “I'm too busy to do all that”.
Let's deal with the first – busy is a separate problem.
The problem with “if it ain't broke don't fix it” is that it ignores the concept of maintenance.
Sure – your business might be doing fine just now. You might be able to capture clients, do the work, invoice it well – and you haven't needed to change in years.
But your car needs servicing – not because it's broken, but because it's preventative.
So does your profession.
The taxi industry was “going fine” until Uber came along.
Kodak was doing fine until it dropped the ball with digital.
The fact is – these things weren't broken. But they didn't respond and prepare. They weren't nimble enough to survive.
Becoming a modern professional is not about what's happening now, although for some of you it might be. It's about what's going to happen in 5, 10 or 15 years in the future.
The Law Firm Example
Law Firms are notoriously slow adopters of everything new, and Facebook was no example.
Arrogant, mammoth law firms with huge marketing budgets were possibly the last in the world to properly embrace social media, and Facebook in particular.
Now that Facebook is saturated, law firms are slowly, and badly, testing the waters.
The problem is that they have waited so long, that the results, the impact, and the methods they are using are poor.
If these firms who are just now making their Facebook pages and seeing rubbish results had taken a fairly small risk on Facebook in the early days (let's say – 10 years ago) the results they would have seen would have been exponentially greater.
Instead – they took the “if it ain't broke don't fix it” approach. And now they are paying the price. They're paying tonnes for Facebook ads. They're seeing limited growth. They're seeing saturation.
The same thing happened with websites – there are STILL law firms who don't have mobile responsive websites, despite mobile traffic hitting 50% or so of most article based sites these days. The same thing will happen with Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, LinkedIn and much more.
But It's Not About Firms
The Modern Professional isn't all about the firm brand. It's about the individual.
Individuals now have huge opportunities and low barriers to entry. A modern professional can create a website, have a social presence, and develop huge audiences – with limited to no investment.
If you have a phone – you can make a video.
If you have a computer – you can post an article.
If you have a profession – you need to prepare for the next 10 years.
What's it Look Like?
There are three core components to the platform that a Modern Professional will use to develop and solidify their place in the market, and to capture and retain clients:
- A home base – this is going to be a website. Modern, clean, responsive, and effective for delivering your message.
- A content strategy – podcasts, articles, videos, images, quotes, social – you need a strategy of content creation centered around your core message, not just a random series of articles that don't help anyone do anything. Your content should be generous, effective, compelling, and shareable.
- An engagement strategy – this could be anything – speaking, networking, social media or much more. You need a way to get in front of the right people, at the right time, for the right reason.
Each of these three areas builds on the others and feeds back into the process. Your website houses your content. Your content feeds your engagement. Your engagement feeds back to your website.
Are you Ready?
Are you ready to be a modern professional? What do you want to learn about? What's holding you back?
Let me know in the comments!
