Beyond being in the biggest digital transformation of the century we are also likely to be in the single biggest human behavioural change event in living memory. This is a great time to help build some long-lasting positive habits across our lives. 

This post looks at how you can do that.  

Staying close to customers and sharing online is so critical to the way firms must adapt. However it is a bit like the creation of any beneficial habit, we know we should, but we still struggle too. So how do we create long last behaviours like creating expert-led, authentic and timely content for our clients? Below I leverage the excellent work by BJ Fogg (professor at Stanford University) to bring this to life...

It is important to remember from the outset that habits wire in when you feel successful. So if you start small, set the bar low, then you are much more likely to succeed. This way you can form the habit faster because you are setting yourself up for success and that feeling is crucial to building a long-lasting habit.

I'd recommend watching the video below. To summarise it, 3 things have to happen to cause a new habit/behaviour: 

1. Some level of motivation 

2. Ability to do it 

3. A trigger 

As mentioned above, it is also crucial that success drives a habit, NOT repetition. Which means if you are looking to create a habit then make sure you have a feedback loop set up to showcase success (I explain that here). 

So what does this look like as an outline for an expert to create the habit of creating content?

1. Some level of motivation - Understand that this will be beneficial to drive business. This needs to be explained with a good example of what success will look like (I have plenty available to share!)

2. Ability to do it - Make it easy, no lengthy approval processes or awkward processes to upload content

3. A trigger - if you are the expert think about connecting this to another action/habit like a client call or once you have read a relevant article in the morning. If you support an expert perhaps send something of inspiration or build it into their plan.

Above all, make this tiny, to begin with. The good news is research shows us that your clients want digestible content

When you combine all the above a habit forms. It is also important to note that in order to do something very hard you need high levels of motivation. However to do something very easy you don't need much motivation. But you also need a trigger - BJ explains this needs to be done after an existing behaviour or habit.

And do not forget to measure and celebrate your success! 

(This graph is explained at minute 10:20 below)