How Sharing Can Transform Your Company -- And Your Life Sharing allows deeper relationships to develop, inspires change and can support personal development.

By Dorie Clark Edited by Dan Bova

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

MeSamong | Shutterstock

Bryan Kramer had a problem. He co-owned a digital agency with his wife, and he wanted to quit. By the traditional measures of money, headcount and clients, he and the company were doing well. "But I had managed to delegate almost every bit of my responsibility away, and I didn't feel like I was valuable to the company," he tells me. He just wasn't happy.

Looking for a creative outlet, he started blogging. As he describes in his new book Shareology: How Sharing is Powering the Human Economy, that changed everything for him. He began interviewing other authors and business leaders, eventually moving to a video format. "I was learning at the same time as I was interviewing them, and great content was being shared, and we were getting thousands of views."

That was a big change from his early forays into social media. "I was probably saying things that were much more carefully crafted to make sure that I wasn't upsetting anyone…it was boring." Sharing your honest thoughts and perspective is enormously powerful, Kramer learned. "The thing most people ask me about when I'm speaking is, "How do I get more likes or more comments?' And most of the time [the reason you're not] is because you're not sharing something that's authentically you."

Related: 4 Ways Your Company Benefits From Giving Back

He likes to think of his social sharing these days "like a photographer looks at a photo. When they take a photo, the most interesting photos are the ones with something off center; they call it "shooting in the thirds.' That's a way more interesting shot than if you center every shot, and before I was [metaphorically] centering every shot around what I shared, and it was boring." Now he tries to share a mixture of posts, with "a third about interesting news or tips or tricks, along with my opinion or thoughts; a third about other people – something they did, highlighting them, or giving them kudos; then a third about myself or my company."

The format is flexible, he says. "I'm a huge, strong believer in blogging. It changed my life and career, but I don't think blogging has to come in one flavor. You can do video blogging, an interview format…Instagram, Meerkat and Periscope, Google Hangouts, Blab.fm. There are different slices of things you can take part in, from video to writing to interviews. I'd say pick one and try it – pick the one that's closest to your own comfort level, and once you get that going, you'll start to see how you can integrate it with other [social channels]."

Related: The Power of Giving Back: How Community Involvement Can Boost Your Bottom Line

His new ethos of sharing has transformed his business. "I don't want to leave my company anymore," he says. "I'm having a blast, and that's the most significant change." In fact, he's expanded his business ventures into several new areas, launching a book publishing company, an e-learning company, and doing significantly more writing and speaking beyond his role as CEO of Pure Matter, his digital agency.

But the biggest value, he says, has been the relationships he's cultivated. "At the end of the day, the whole thing is about meeting new people. All of Shareology boils down to one purpose, and that's connection. People want to connect with other people; that's why we share. If you don't share, you can't connect."

Related: Tony Hawk on Giving Back and Inspiring Change

Dorie Clark

Speaker, Marketing Strategist, Professor

Dorie Clark is a marketing strategist and speaker who teaches at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. She is the author of Reinventing You. 

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Living

9 Ways to Attract Good Energy Today and Every Day

Good energy can boost our feelings of well-being, dissolve feelings of anxiety and improve communication.

Business News

'I Love Doing Product Reviews': Bill Gates Stepped Down from Microsoft in 2020, But Admits He Still Spends 15% of His Time Working at the Company

In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, Gates also said he is still close with Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

Elon Musk's DOGE Is Hiring People Eager to 'Work Long Hours' to Eliminate 'Waste, Fraud and Abuse' in the Government. Here's How to Apply.

The Department of Government Efficiency is hiring U.S. citizens to help cut spending and headcounts in the federal government.

Business News

'Everyone Can Profit From It': What Is DeepSeek? China's 'Cheap' to Make AI Chatbot Climbs to the Top of Apple, Google U.S. App Stores

DeepSeek researchers claim it was developed for less than $6 million, a contrast to the $100 million it takes U.S. tech startups to create AI.

Business News

Uber's CEO Says Drivers Have About 10 Years Left Before They Will Be Replaced

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says the jobs of human drivers are safe for the next decade, but after that, another type of driver will take over.