How to be a digital leader? This
was the question answered in a seminar entitled Digital Leaders Bootcamp held on
July 26, 2014 at BEST WESTERN PLUS Antel Hotel located at Makati Avenue. It was organized by the
digitalfilipino.com and a project of Sherlane Fortunado, a blogger and a
student of Mrs. Janet Toral who served as a speaker of this seminar. It
happened through the sponsorship of AIR 21, one of the leading courier companies
in the country.
Digital Leaders Bootcamp is full of
fun and learning. It was attended by people who have different backgrounds;
from bloggers to online sellers and from other professions. The seminar was not
about the technical aspect of the digital world; but it was focused on the
characteristics of being a digital leader. The first thing you should do is be
a relevant to your costumers. Post only relevant posts to your websites. If they
need it, then they may get it. It is also important that you have always
empathy and just always keep in touch with them. You should also have a passion
from what you’re doing. Then, your purpose and intention is clear; that is to
serve and to help them. The speaker also emphasized that you have them from the
start to finish. So, they will feel your sincerity and you can their trust and
loyalty.
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| Janet Toral |
Mrs. Toral tackled also the different
ways on how to influence others. Not by manipulating them, nor by harassing
someone; but is all about sincerity and through better communications. As a
leader, you should know how to negotiate, to enlist, to inquire and to listen.
If you know all of these aspects, you will know the concerns of your costumers.
Aside from these, you know also how to be attuned or to identify yourself to
others. Try to put their shoes to understand their situation. Then, you should
know how to facilitate and you can pursue your ideas through other individuals
by finding the right person who can support you. Mrs. Toral gave a good
example: once, she approached former Senator Ramon Magsaysay to ask a support
from her advocacy- to protect the digital marketers in the Philippines. She
explained very well to the Senator her purpose. Then, the conversations led
into action until the E-Commerce Law had been created and passed by the
Congress.
You can also gain influence from
being a part of a group. This is very important to extend your network or
connection. If you love debate, these are also effective, but remember that
when you’re debating online; you’re not referring to your opponents. You’re not
doing this to embarrass them, but to win the crowd. If you’re not an
argumentative of a person, use the style of being disengaged. You can respond
to others in privately like sending them private messages on Facebook and
e-mail.
To be more interactive, Mrs. Toral
asked the participation of the audience by asking them several questions and
from reading a few lines from the module. The participants also took different
personality tests to know better about themselves. By the way, the whole discussions
guided by the thoughts of John Maxwell, a very popular American book author and
motivational speaker.
On the other side, the
representatives of Air 21 had also given a chance to promote about their new
service. Now, you can book online with them. According to them, it is easy to
do it just log on to their site. Then, just book, pay and they will pick up to
the address that you stated and they will ship it. To avail this service, you
need to reach their minimum price which is 350 pesos. But it has no minimum
weight. As for now, you can pay them through your bank account. Soon, they would
also use Paypal for your transaction. .jpg)