“You can’t just show up one day and expect to be an influencer” ~ Gene Petrov

I couldn’t resist borrowing this great quote by my Twitter friend Gene Petrov of Gene Petrov // Leadership & Marketing Consulting.

I completely agree with Gene and yet, we keep seeing people who are trying shortcuts on social media (and also in their businesses) in order to get to the top faster. Most of the times that shortcut won’t help your career and stardom – Maybe for a while but not in the long run. Established brands have patiently gone through a long journey, and now they’re here to stay. People trust them and they do business with them comfortably.

You can't just show up one day and expect to be an #influencer - #creativeentrepreneurs Click To Tweet

As Gene said in his post on Instagram:

“There are so many people who expect to jump on social media, create a profile, and then get a million followers so they can cash in.

Here’s the harsh reality: If you want to build a brand online, be prepared to do copious amounts of work.

It will take time and energy and probably some money to be a content creator. You need to make the effort to build a viable and thriving community. You need to connect with industry peers. You need to invest in making strong relationships.

Only then will you be able to have people in your corner who will support your efforts. But it is a process. Patience is a virtue. It may be years in the making.

Slow and steady growth wins the race. Don’t succumb to the pressure to buy followers (they are useless bots anyway). Take time to build the relationships that will provide real value (a two way street).

Think long term. Think consistency. Think service first. Find ways to serve value to a community. Don’t focus on the quantity of followers but on the quality.

This is the path ahead for anybody who is striving to be an influencer in their industry.”

Such great points! It takes time to build your brand, to establish your reputation, to become influential in your industry. Patience and persistence are definitely two of my strongest skills, and I enjoy to see the progress based on quality connections (not quantity) every single day. 

I think one of the reasons why many people think overnight success is possible is because some “online experts” or “marketing gurus” say it’s possible and they sell programs to teach their secret. Beware of these programs, beware of these promises… Most of the times it’s only about the personality and charisma that a person has, NOT the strategies and the “likes” that you get. 

What are your thoughts? Have you experienced overnight stardom? Did you become an influencer in no time? Or, are you still patiently building your reputation, your brand?

Sabrina Cadini

Holistic Precision Life Coach, Brain Wellness Coach, and Life-Work Balance Strategist helping busy professionals and high achievers live and work better by prioritizing themselves. I use different modalities (epigenetics, neuroscience, chronobiology, and positive psychology) to implement effective lifestyle changes.