Who are the top brand strategy influencers and how can you connect with them?

Best way to connect with them through social media, attending industry events, or reaching out via email. Building genuine connections and engaging with their content is key!

Remember the days before Google Maps? If you were driving for a meeting to a new place, and you were confused at a fork to go left or right, you'd ask a passerby which way to head. That passerby was an influencer. And he assisted you in going from where you were stuck to where you wanted to reach. That was strategy. You arriving for your meeting on or before time and not late defined you as the brand. In the LinkedIn Landscape, a brand strategy influencer would pretty much guide you to your desired career or business destination. Not only that, this is the easiest way to climb two rungs of the ladder at a time by helping you learn faster. How? Follow these 3 steps. 1. Observe their strategies 2. Extract the principle 3. Apply to your page

For Brand strategists, it is important to view the 360-degree picture rather than having a tunel vision. Following Brand strategy influencers of several schools of thought broaden the mindset and support out-of-box thinking. Also, it is important to view different perspectives, yet come up with creative and novel ideas rather than blindly following. Further exchange of best practices makes the job of a Brand strategist much easier.

Simon Sinek - Known for "Start With Why," focuses on brand purpose. Gary Vaynerchuk (GaryVee) - CEO of VaynerMedia, expert in digital branding. Scott Galloway - NYU Stern professor, specializes in tech brand strategy. Rory Sutherland - Ogilvy UK Vice Chairman, applies behavioral economics to branding. Chris Brogan - CEO of Owner Media Group, expert in community building. Brian Solis - Digital analyst, focuses on emerging tech's impact on brands. Ann Handley - Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs, pioneer in digital marketing. Dorie Clark - Consultant and author, specializes in personal branding. Laura Ries - Co-author of "The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding." Shep Hyken - Customer service expert, valuable for improving customer touchpoints

Okoye Chinelo- Best in Business& Product Branding. Justin Welsh- #1 Solopreneur Coach, founder of the Saturday Solopreneur newsletter. LinkedIn Creator- #1 in LinkedIn personal branding with posts. Lara Acosta- #1 UK LinkedIn personality. Built one of the biggest audiences on LinkedIn along side… Jasmin Alic- #1 Bostonian LinkedIn personality. And… Nelly (NBC Trade fair)- Africa’s Largest trade fair host. The others I forget to mention 😪

Comment, like, share and make valuable contributions to their posts too. If possible, be the first to like and comment on posts to increase your visibility, before they get swamped with other messages. You could also send Direct DMs to let them know when something they said deeply resonates with you. You may or may not get a response, but you never know.

One thing I have found extremely useful especially when you are starting out is commenting with intention. That means commenting with your target audience which can be in the form of influencers, potential collaborators or clients. It is a sure way to raise your profile by providing valuable insights, develop your confidence muscel especially is you are a newbie or emerging personal brand on linkedin and it helps you build your community. This can be done consistently before you do your first post.

Create a compelling personal brand that embodies your expertise and values. Consistently produce high-quality content—blogs, podcasts, webinars, or even courses—that not only showcases your knowledge but also solves real problems for your audience. Use social media strategically; don't just broadcast, engage. Networking is key; build genuine relationships with other influencers and industry leaders through collaborations or guest contributions. Always be learning; stay updated with the latest trends and tools, and don't hesitate to share your learnings. Measure your impact through analytics and feedback, and iterate your strategy accordingly. Your influence grows as you add value.

Authenticity sells. Mistakes have market value too. Your strategy could be as simple as helping others navigate the waters you've passed by sharing your candid stories and overcoming history. Your strategy could also be to help others build their empire through your knowledge and advice on how you enabled them achieve such. In the end, to be an influencer, you have to show substance, grit, understanding, knowledge and most of resilience in how you too have embarked on your journey. Don't tell me about it, if you haven't already done it. Build your credibility first, have social proof, bring your receipts. That's how to influence!

I just found out Amazon has a great influencer program too that functions like its own mini-Instagram account (if you're an amazon seller and meet all the criteria) It allows you interact with top influences for your specific niche and all you have to do is send them products, which they will review and generate content for. It's seemingly cheaper than running a celebrity campaign which appeals to a broader audience but no monitor-able impact. You can also extend your visibility by using their ad centre tools to piggyback off high visibility posts / campaigns (ensuring you get shown on "suggested products" or "customers who also bought A") Very interesting stuff.