10 Keys for Creating Value through Social Media

Social Media is here to stay. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Snapchat and many other outlets are some of the best ways to consume and create the most information in a timely manner that I've found. Everyone is on these outlets these days. It's helpful, quick, informative, and aggregated in a way that is valuable to me. If you are wondering who to follow, or wondering why I follow who I follow, here are several reasons why I follow some on Twitter and not others. 

These points are created primarily with Twitter in mind, but also easily translate to Facebook, Instagram, Google +, Linkedin, and most other social media outlets.

Ultimately, here are 10 Keys for Creating Value for others on Social Media: 

1. You give me value. Provide me great content, and also a great link, a quote, a stat, new website, etc.

2. You don't constantly pimp yourself. Remain humble. Make it about others.

3. You are generous. I see lots of retweets from you and notice you seem to care about others and are willing to talk about others and want to help them.

4. You make me think. A link to a timely article on theology, a great quote, a phrase that encourages or challenges, a Scripture verse, etc.

5. You make me laugh. I simply need some humor and you provide it.

6. You keep me informed. I want to be ahead of the crowd when it comes to news and pertinent info. Trends, future, and innovation also fit here. 

7. You tweet in moderation. No overtweeting. A nice steady stream of tweets.

8. You provide a personal connection, And because of that, I actually want to meet you in person. Whether as an individual or organization.

9. You have a picture. Without out, no follow. Your account looks fake. Get rid of the bland egg!!

10. You are a friend. I still follow many friends who are not necessarily the greatest at Twitter. But I still follow them. That's what friends are for!

Young Influencers List, May Edition

Here you go, the May edition of the Young Influencers List. You can see all the past month's lists here. 

1. Nate Parker - actor, filmmaker, and producer, and working on exciting new fall film The Birth of a Nation.

2. Jamie Ivey - Austin based blogger, mother, writer and founder of uber popular podcast Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey. 

3. Tyrann Mathieu - known as the honey badger, NFL defensive back for the Phoenix Cardinals. 

4. Chad Bruegman - teaching pastor of Red Rocks Church in Denver, CO. 

5. Daniel Sih - Australian based business entrepreneur co founder of Spacemakers and co creator of Email Ninja. 

6. Andrew Draper - digital content curator at 12 Stone Church in Atlanta, and visionary behind the Elsie Project. 

7. Jenn Johnson - Redding, CA based singer, songwriter and artist with Bethel Church and  Bethel Music. 

10 Tips for Conducting a Great Interview

Here are a few tips for conducting a great interview. 

1. Do your homework. You would be amazed how many people show up to do an interview and have no clue about who they are interviewing, and just try to wing it. It shows. Believe me.

2. Ask the question behind the question. Get under the surface. Dig deeper. Not to uncover gossip or something that is not relevant, but because someone has probably already asked the question you are thinking about asking. So ask a better one.

3. Be curious. Curiosity allows you to push into the unknown and follow the trail. Move towards the areas that both are interesting to you and the person across from you. 

4. Shutup. No one wants to hear your answer to the question, otherwise the tables would be turned. Your job is to pull great content out of the interviewee, not to give your opinion.

5. Create a conversation, not just a serve and volley. When appropriate, give the sense to your listeners that you are sitting in a living room having coffee and catching up. Creating conversation is different than just giving your opinion or an answer to your question. Conversations require context, which means you have to have 20 or 30 questions ready to go for an interview that would usually be around 10 questions.

6. Don't interrupt unless you need to, keep your hands off the table, and save your "ums" and "uh-huhs" and "oh-yeahs" for after you're done. For audio or video purposes, your agreeing by saying something just muddies the water. It seems like the thing to do in person- giving your interviewee verbal feedback, but just stick with non-verbal. Sounds better when you don't respond. And hitting or tapping the table is picked up by microphones- seems obvious, but everyone forgets.....

7. Listen. Seems obvious, but great interviewers actually listen to an answer being given, instead of preparing for the next question and not actually hearing what the person is saying. Listening creates great follow up questions. And creates trust with the interviewee.

8. Provide your questions beforehand. Send your questions to the person you are interviewing before the interview so they can prepare.

9. Study the best. Watch Charlie Rose, Bob Costas, Barbara Walters, Oprah, etc. Learn from their style.

10. Ask permission. On the front and back end. Make sure you always have permission to post something, and of course if someone doesn't want an answer included, make sure to delete it. Your job is to make sure you don't break their trust. 

Be a Finisher

I love leaders who execute. Leaders who get it done.

Leaders who can take a project across the finish line.

Leaders who know how to finish. And are motivated towards completion. 

When it comes to hiring new employees, no other characteristic is more important than someone who can finish. It is the #1 trait related to work ethic that I look for in a new hire.

Anyone can come up with a new idea, a new concept, a new pithy word, a new organization, or a new perspective. "Ideators" and idea people are fairly easy to locate and include in your organizational process. What ultimately matters is whether you can take an idea from concept to completion. And to do that, you have to have finishers on your team.

The folks who are intrinsically wired to make things happen, and bulldog their way to the finish line. Those who find joy in checking things off the list. But not just a task machine. What matters is whether you can carry the ball all the way down the field and cross the finish line.

Take a moment and think about who that is on your team. If you don't have someone in this role, go find them immediately. This is incredibly important if you are the leader- you have to have someone on your team in whom you have ultimate confidence that if you hand them a project, they will get it done... and without your constant management of them. The answer can't constantly be "we're still working on it....". You're either moving forward or backwards.

Ultimately, my recommendation is that everyone on the team plays the finisher role. Now some have to more than others, but no one can or should only be the "idea" person. Everyone is required to execute and own projects from start to finish. It's a non-negotiable. As a team, take incredible pride in being able to take a concept and turn it into a finished project. Make it a distinctive part of your culture. Make it part of your DNA. 

Be a finisher.

Young Influencers List April Edition

Here you go, the April edition of the Young Influencers List. You can see all the past month's lists here. 

1. Tim Shirk- Washington DC managing director at Fox River Partners, and formerly private sector adviser to president of Malawi. 

2. Keri Fosse- co-founder of Lalabu, creating stylish and simple baby wear and accessories. 

3. Chris McClarney- Nashville based songwriter, artist and worship leader at Church of the City and quite often leading with Jesus Culture. 

4. Josh Turner- church planter and pastor of Celebration Church in Orlando. 

5. Lauren McAfee- NYC based director of Community Engagement for Museum of the Bible, opening November 2017 in Washington DC. 

6. Nishan Varatharajan- Sydney based entrepreneur and co-founder of social enterprise Bloodless and works with Foundation for Young Australians. 

7. Eugene Lee- San Mateo campus pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church.