One of the most common things we do when looking at a new way of doing things is to look at who is doing now and who is doing it well.

This is certainly true when it comes to working in social media in the UK.  Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and many others are inventions from the US and rightfully they were the first to fully understand its potential for businesses and then sport.

When I look at examples of best practice in the industry I will naturally look to people who are the foremost thinkers on social media + marketing are also based there such as Chris Brogan, Gary Vaynerchuk, Lewis Howes, Seth Godin and many more.

Why can this be a problem?  Well, take a step back for a moment and think about the differences in personality.  We see Americans as being brash, self confident and loud (sorry for the sweeping generalisation but just take it in the context of this post… it works I promise!).  Whilst we British are seen as being traditional, stiff-upper-lipped and more inhibited.

So when we see US athletes, thought leaders and businesses tweeting every few seconds, checking into everywhere they go and shouting from the roof tops what a great job they are doing, would we copy exactly what they do?

On the whole probably not.  We are nowhere near as good at self publicity when we are building up our on and off line profiles.  Social Media provide us with a massive opportunity to let people know we are experts in our field and make connections around the world.

To do this you have to put yourself up there and not be afraid to show that you know your topic and are confident enough to write, make podcasts or videos about it.  You need to do this regularly and consistently to let people know that you do what you do and that they should hire you.

There are examples of people making videos and websites devoted to getting them a job with a certain company… and it succeeding.  I am not saying we need to become American and copy everything they do and say.  But if you can let go of your inhibitions and shout from the roof top every once in a while, you will be amazed at how many people are listening.