When you have a clear strategy, it can be simple, straightforward and time effective to build a personal brand through content marketing.
However, initial conversations with many of our aspiring authors reveal that they’re concerned about feeding the social media machine; they often fear they’ll be under constant pressure to “say something” and end up giving away their best work for free.
The truth is that when you switch your focus to the three heavyweight types of content (books, blogs and podcasts) that have longevity, you’ll see that other types of content (for example social media or email campaigns) can adopt a supporting role. They will help your brand stay visible so that you reach a wider audience.
In this blog I’m going to share examples of personal brands that demonstrate the power of this strategy, and how you can leverage your content to accelerate business growth.
How to use your team to leverage your content
Guy Remond is an entrepreneur, an investor, and the author of several books. He uses content in a clever and modern way (including podcasts, blogs and other platforms) to build up and sell his first company, Cake Solutions, in a multi million pound deal (without a sales team!).
Guy encouraged his workforce to get involved; they presented at conferences, company events and set up a blog encouraging interested parties to follow their latest developments in software. It attracted tens of thousands of readers and supported them to become widely known in their sector. Guy and fellow entrepreneur Gary Fletcher now run investment company EHE Capital (which also has its own blogs and podcasts).
Guy: “Creating quality, consistent content doesn’t only have to come from you. Getting your team involved is great for three reasons:
- It’s great for the employee. A personal brand is great for the person concerned because they get the opportunity to talk about the stuff that they love doing, and they get recognition for it within that community.
- It’s great for the community. The community learns from that person.
- It’s great for your company. Your company benefits off the back of your employee’s reputation, which enhances your own reputation.
Along with personal branding, you can also encourage your clients to post their progress when using your products or services in exchange for providing feedback. That is a fantastic, fun way of generating content because it costs you nothing, they get your feedback and you get to promote your business.
Creating content doesn’t have to be a millstone around your neck. All you’ve got to do is create a culture within your company where there’s something in it for everybody. That way you really don’t have to work too hard for it to get done.”
How books, blogs and podcasts work together
While social media posts might disappear overnight your books, blogs and podcasts can reach millions of people the world over. You can also continue to unpack key themes in your blog or podcast so that you reach new people and your existing audience continues to benefit.
The written word is powerful, but when you podcast your crowd can also hear your voice, your tone, and get to know your sense of humour. Podcasts also support you to initiate conversations with prospective clients. You can turn your top podcasts into blogs or blogs into podcasts. Within three to six months of producing weekly content you may even have the material that you need to write a book, which will also reduce the time and financial commitment it takes if you start from scratch.
You effectively create what we refer to as a content triangle; each piece of content you share signposts the reader or listener to delve deeper into what you’ve shared, all of which drives them towards becoming a paying customer.
When you share high-value, high-impact content (books, blogs, podcasts), people buy into your passion, your vision, your values and who you are as a person. While each piece of heavyweight content works incredibly well in its own right, it gathers momentum when combined with the rest of the content triangle so you can take it even further!
How to optimise your content
You can share snippets of your blog or podcast onto the social media platforms that your crowd uses which then encourages new followers to dive into your books, blogs or podcasts. It’s a fantastic way to nurture and grow your audience. Depending on your subject matter you might create a cheat sheet or a 10 step guide that entices people to get on your mailing list (from where you can offer them your services or products).
How you can create an appetite for your book before it’s even published
Be More Kid: How to Escape the Grown Up Trap and Live Life to the Full! had a ready and waiting audience who were excited to grab a copy. Authors Ed James, Mark Taylor and Nicky Taylor proactively built their following through their podcast. They also wrote articles for publications, developed a high-level training package, were featured on TV and received celebrity endorsements; all of which supported their massive success.
The beauty of content marketing is that it’s a field of creativity that doesn’t really end.
If you would like help to decide what your business could look like with these content streams in place, click on this link and book a clarity call.