One of my favorite unicorns-and-rainbows myths to pick on is the dog-eared “don’t call yourself a guru.” I’ve heard said a bunch of different ways, and it’s present anytime someone maligns the term “social media expert” or suggests there is no such thing.
It turns out though, that when you pull the rainbow-colored wool from your eyes and look at actual data, Twitter accounts that use the word “guru” tend to have 100 more followers than the average Twitter account.
Now, I don’t think the takeaway here should be to call yourself a guru at every opportunity, but if you look at the rest of the words on the list, you should realize that you need to identify yourself authoritatively. People like to follow “official” accounts, and they want to know if you’re an “author,” “expert,” or “founder.”
It’s yet another way social media is like a cocktail party. I always find myself looking at nametags at networking events, because I want to know who the person I’m talking to is and what they do.
So don’t be afraid to introduce yourself and tell us why we should listen to you.