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As distrust of social media grows and all the anger subsides, it’s getting harder and harder to know who to consider and who to blow away.
But one activity still provides credibility and is not latest – it was founded in the 14th centuryp age.
Writing a book.
A book you say. Would not or not it’s much easier and simpler to publish content on social media?
Not likely. Just a few years ago, prioritizing social media made sense. But as time goes by, business owners turn into more focused on showing their authority.
“Social media fame can create so-called experts who will not be really experts,” says business strategist Maresa Friedman. “I went viral because I didn’t want to hand over my seat on the plane. I’m not an airplane seat expert, but now I’m known for it.” He adds: “The book gives you the opportunity to show that your knowledge exceeds a 90-second video shot by a guru who wasn’t even in the industry two years ago.”
Take a look at it this way: Would you be more willing to trust James Clear (#1 Recent York Times best-selling writer Atomic Habits, z over 5 million copies sold) or Tai Lopez (a person with 2.8 million Instagram followers who is famous for raving about how everyone should read when standing in front of a Lamborghini)?
In an age where someone can take summer classes at Harvard after which post on LinkedIn that they are a Harvard alumnus, the level of credibility provided by institutions has been razed to the ground.
Related: 5 explanation why writing a book is a smart move for entrepreneurs
Lack of trust makes us feel less secure
Influencers have been caught doing the whole lot from racial slurs to shilling mascara when in truth they were wearing false eyelashes. Yet entrepreneurs spend lots of of hundreds of dollars on social media marketing.
Given what we have experienced over the past few years, it is sensible that we’re prepared to prioritize real authorities over false authorities. “If you live in a society that considers individuals who will not be at all times educated in a subject to be ‘experts’, it makes us feel unsafe,” says dual-committee psychiatrist Dr. Josh Lichtman. “After surviving a pandemic, individuals are uninterested in feeling threatened, so that they turn to the real authorities for guidance.”
Books are the ultimate authority builders
“A book is like the best business card in the world. It gives you that current authority,” Nick Loper recently said on the show Podcast Write about now. “It signals what I do know because I wrote a book about it.”
Using a book to establish authority is nothing latest. Even before the time of the seven-second focus period, self-help books were a form of currency that gave the writer easy legitimacy. Finally, Robert Kiyosaki went from struggling entrepreneur to real estate investment expert when he was released Wealthy dad, poor dad in 1997.
Meanwhile, Tim Ferriss has transformed from a behind-the-scenes entrepreneur into someone who would likely surpass the “Does My Mom Know Who He Is” level of fame upon release 4 hour work week in 2007. While he appears to work not less than 400 hours a week, the book made him an authority at spending 4 hours doing absolutely anything (including cooking and exercising).
What does the book offer you
Most business owners aren’t going to skyrocket to the top podcasts, TV shows, and most read blog on the web.
But any founder or CEO who creates a book showing how he was able to construct his business will have the opportunity to enter the public discourse with a quality book.
“Each time event organizers select a published writer over someone who hasn’t written a book,” says trainer and writer Topher Morrison, “even when the other person is a higher speaker, has a higher presentation, and is more entertaining.”
The identical goes for traditional media. Once I published a humorous novel in 2007 about my recovery from addiction, I used to be immediately in the dark. Today To show and CNN as an authority.
I do not think trust in influencers will increase any time soon. And on condition that books have been constructing authority for nearly 600 years, I do not think that is going to drop anytime soon.