When pitching an idea to high-level influencers he doesn’t know personally, Alan See, the chief marketing officer of CMO Temps, has found that two things will happen before he hears a “yes” or “no.” “The influencer is not going to investigate your solution,” says See. “At this point, they don’t care what you’re selling.” Instead, they’re going to look you up on social media to see “if there is a danger in not calling you back,” says See.

The 2015 American Marketing Association Content Marketer of the Year, See is continuously surprised by how many of the C-level executives he advises lack a social media presence. That can kill a potential networking opportunity before it even lifts off the ground, explains See.  

“There are still a lot of Senior Executives who believe that they don’t need social media,” he says. “They think that since they have already arrived at a certain level, that social capital isn’t something to worry about.” When these executives eventually realize they need social capital to make key connections or land a new job, they’ve often missed their opening. See likens it to the parable of Noah’s Arc. Once it starts raining, it’s too late to start building a ship.

See, a lifelong salesman and marketer, dominates on Twitter. He has 83,200 followers because he follows a whopping 55,5000 people. Since there is no playbook on how to obtain such a large social media following, See has written his own by taking the initiative. “I don’t wait for people to follow me,” he says. “I go out and proactively follow them first.” If that person doesn’t follow him back, See says they are likely unwilling to have a one-to-one engagement. He will ultimately unfollow them.

To keep his feed current, he Tweets 4-8 times a day, often linking back to his own marketing videos and blog post. See works hard to ensure his Tweets don’t come across as product shilling. “That is very much a turn off,” he says. “I try to make people aware of content that will help them.”

Creating and maintaining an active online presence is a necessary part of doing business in this digital age since we’re all now viewed as individual brands. See takes advantage of every channel he can to expand his brand reach and recognition. He has 4,000 Linkedin followers, leads the Google search results for his name and has created a dotCEO landing page to highlight his top-level business acumen and achievements.

“I need to own my name,” he stresses.