This is YOUR best time EVER to SPEAK, POST AND make a PROFIT.

Social Media 101. Simple equation.

If you want to speak, you have to build a brand, if you want to build a brand you have to utilise social media, if you want to utilise social media, you will need to post strategically.
To post strategically you will need to know how to procure, produce, create and curate relevant content that people will want to see.
To learn to do this fastest, read the following article. 
Then people will book you.
Then they will pay you. 
Then others will notice and pay you more.
… Write this down.  

I know social media has been around forever, but not really utilised as a marketing tool for 99% of people who use it.
Coronavirus has given us several opportunities to reinvent and push forward the gig/ liquid/ remote economy. I won’t be mentioning more on that today, just about social media.
Let me begin by saying that having your OWN web TV show is the best marketing tool you will ever have.
Most aren’t ready for that, so let’s just start with social media marketing and personal brand development.
So many of my clients have suddenly realised that a lifetime in corporate gave them 3 things…

1. Job security/ insecurity (depending on your point of view).
2. Complacency about how to build a personal brand (why bother, the company did it all for you)?
3. A massive fear of getting things wrong in public (and the fall out afterwards).

This is fine when you retire with shares, pension and a yacht stacked with enough Covid-19 free sanitized goodies to sail off into the sunset, but terrible when you plan to start up your own business and finally go it alone into the big wide world... 

So how do you announce your thought leadership and obvious genius to your industry after a life-time being a small cog in a big wheel? 

I suggest... As quickly as you can. 

AND as carefully as you can. 

Here’s the key problems…

1. Younger influencers ALREADY dominate social media and their constantly evolving and trending content is almost impossible to emulate. For example, the biggest earner on You Tube is Ryan Kaji who’s 9 years old with about 30 million subscribers and 45 BILLION video views. He also earns about 26 million USD per year.
   Where do you EVEN start if you planned to catch up?
2. Your audience might be on LinkedIn and MAY still have a presence on Facebook but by and large they are still text messaging, email sending and watching terrestrial Network TV. So how are you going to reach them? Pay for ads between episodes of ‘Friends’?
3. PLUS whatever niche you choose to champion may…

• Already exist in a crowded market.
• Have no monetizable market at all (sock collecting anybody).
• Generate no desire for people to pay you for it.

Feeling deflated and disheartened yet?
Don’t worry, solutions and strategies are coming in this article… 

In fact, let’s start with the Golden rule of public speaking… 

Think BEFORE you speak.

This means getting your head in the game. 

It means having your arguments and points thought out before you take them public.
When I say public I mean online, offline, onstage AND offstage. 

This is actually how you get gigs and also how you post and grow your following. 

Steps?

• Work out your internal identity first.
• Work out your target audience’s identity (avatar – they may have several).
• Work out WHERE your audience is (social media platform, economic bracket, country, time zone etc)
• Create a personal brand as a vehicle for reaching and engaging your audience.
• Develop a content strategy for engaging them (based initially on observing others who are connecting to the same target audience).
• Produce, polish and post.
• Rinse and repeat. 

Easy so far?
Good (of course, I know it’s not).

Now let’s add the essential areas you will need to become aware of and eventually master before you will be comfortable posting and going LIVE across social media. 

Please let me mention some personal experience insights and observations before I share your to-do list…  

1. Jump and grow wings on the way down.
2. You will NEVER make it 100% perfect. 80% and out there is fine.
3. Everyone has to go through the same processes as you, if they want to make an impact.
4. Take the time and understand this is a part of your learning curve.
5. Never ask for permission, apologise immediately and retract (if you have to) instead.
6. Enjoy the ride… 

Got it? Cool. 

Now let’s examine the terrain ahead.  

Remember to view this ENTIRE list with the following question… 

 ‘What’s in it for me?’ (WIIFM)

… which would be asked on behalf of your target audience, sponsor, collaborator or event organiser. 

You should also probably Google anything that doesn’t make you nod in familiar agreement…

1. Influence.
   How persuasive are you from your comments, positioning, branding and responses from others? Are you a thought leader who can start a trend, reverse a policy or inspire social change?
   
   
2. Social proof.
   What evidence do you have that you are in fact an industry expert or at least competent to make the kind of statements or observations you are doing? Do you have a website, videos, testimonials, projects, images or any other ROI that I can share with a third party?
   
   
3. Experience.
   If you are that good prove it. When did you last do something like this and what were the tangible results that I can check before investing my attention or even my finances into you?
   
   
4. Respect.
   What do others say or think about you behind your back? Will I find someone with a bad word to say about you? If so, who and what will they say? Is it enough to prevent me and others from working with you in the near future?
   
   
5. Recognition.
   Can I Google you? Will your peers know your name, your reputation or something you have done in the past that has relevance to how I need you for the future?
   
   
6. Relevance.
   Will whatever you provide translate to my own special needs and objectives or will I be constantly compensating for your misgiving and apologising to my customer and clients for missed opportunities and wasted time.
   
   
7. Connectedness.
   What kind of clout do you generate amongst your peers, potential sponsors and employers? Do you have a large responsive network, a tribe or a meet up group that will follow you over a cliff when asked? Will they do it all for free because of the existing relationship and association.
   
   
8. Resources.
   What have you produced, been a part of or got access to? Is it available online as a video, coaching course, PDF series or book? Will it entice others to become interested? Can it be bought, if so how much and where? What will it do for those who get access to it?
   
   
9. Successes.
   Show me what you have done in the past so that I can see what you can do for me tomorrow. What’s your range of successes? Who did you work with? What were the stakes? How big was the risk of failure? How did you cope with all those challenges and STILL get a favourable result?
   
   
10. Likeability.
    Do I like you enough to want to work with you and to recommend you to others afterwards? What is it that makes you so friendly to me? How you speak, how you act or what you do?
    
    
11. Trustworthiness.
    Will I feel comfortable leaving everything up to you? Can I guarantee my investment will pay off and I will get things done the way we agreed? Do I have faith in you?
    
    
12. Assets.
    What else have you built in your business empire? Magazines? Coaching courses? Staff? Ongoing contracts with big players? What’s all that worth and can I buy them and use them too?
    
    
13. Certainty.
    Ultimately. THIS is what people are buying from you. The guarantee that you have got your act together enough and ALWAYS have to make a win and get a result whatever may happen to hijack or challenge that from happening. Each element in this list contributes to your hire-ability for every client past, present and future.
    
    
14. Legacy.
    This is down to you. What will you create and leave behind for others to learn from, earn from and use as evidence to hold you in the highest possible regard?

In summary, once you have mastered all these factors, check out the competition, get some help and start posting. 

Here’s a checklist for getting started… 

1. Like, share and comment on others posts. Get used to the feedback.
2. Tag too to show up on THEIR radars.
3. Start posting text statements.
4. Progress to image and memes.
5. Make videos.
6. World domination. 

Come on in, the internet is LOVELY and warm this morning… 

So, who else wants to be an industry icon? 

I can help. 

P.S: I regularly get asked to write articles on my expertise for online magazines. This is written for the February 2021 issue for Authority 5.0 .