Category: Connection

People Connect With People

Blog 4 of a ten blog mini series

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At the end of February (feels like a life time ago now) I travelled to Belfast to attend the Only Just media Summit.  This was just as Corona Virus was starting to become a ‘thing’, before Social Distancing had become a ‘thing’ and the week that Northern Ireland had just had their first case.

The event was a full day of speakers, all experts in their fields, talking to a room full of bloggers, Vloggers, content creators and brands.  My plan immediately after the event was to write some blogs on the speakers and my key takeouts.  Life then got in the way, CoronaVirus exploded and took up all my time at work and this idea got left in the notes section of my phone.  Until now.

Today is the blog four of ten where I want to outline my key take outs for the day.

Why?  To be honest it’s probably multipurpose (like that kind of cleaning product you but to clean the kitchen and bathroom if like me you are not a ‘Mrs. Hincher’.  Partly I think it will help me solidify the key points I took away from the day, because although I’ve not written about them here until now I have started to take action.  But also because I think you as the reader could also benefit from these takeouts.  You might not be interested in branding or social media or content creation but some of the ideas I took away could just be useful for your approach to your job or you life in general.

So introductions over today’s blog will focus on the talk given by the creator of the Only Just Media Summit and CEO of OnlyJustMedia, Lucy (OnlyJustLucy).

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Lucy put together this whole event.  So to convey an idea of how valuable her advice is maybe I could explain the event itself.  Held in the Odyssey, Belfast (if you aren’t from Belfast it’s a massive stadium type building with food outlets and a cinema within) there were some thirty sponsors, including massive brands such as The Body Shop, Coca Cola and Estee Lauder.  Upon waking in there were impressive displays by all the sponsors and an immense complimentary breakfast spread.  There were goodie bags with all kind of things inside, a variety of complimentary lunch options (I went for a quiet simply epic hot dog from Happy Dog but there were also burgers from Tribal Burger) and snacks throughout (I had cupcakes from Hollie Berrie Cakes, ice cream, Red Bull and more!) and the speakers were outstanding.

So when I say this is a woman you should listen to when she talks about branding and building a personal brand this is why.  The event showcased her knowledge.  More than that is showcased here, who she is.  It might sound odd but the look of the event mirrored her outfit choice which mirrored her image.  Lucy’s branding and Lucy are essentially the same thing.  This to me is why the event felt so successful, because it felt naturally authentic.

I made a lot of notes as she talked, but I want this blog to focus on the one big message I took away from her talk and that is vital for all of us who to remember when selling ourselves, be that personally or as a (fitness) brand.

People need to connect with you before they will buy from you.

Your logo, your adverts, your marketing do not sell for you.  For your brand to sell, people need to connect with it.  For most fitness professional, that means they need to connect with you.  For most people in the world of paid work, for that company to want to hire you they need to connect with you.

It doesn’t matter if you aren’t polished, are a bit different to others, have obvious imperfections.  How you connect with and make others feel.  The value and content and knowledge you can provide.  These are the things that can make you a strong brand.

I’ve written in the last three blogs about the importance of being authentic when you present yourself, whatever the platform may be and this blog is another variation of the same theme.

Because right now that theme is important for anyone in business.

I’ll give you one simple example.  Fitness instructors who have taken classes online during lockdown, and who are competing for their clients attention with the bigger names of people like Joe Wicks.  You are getting people wanting to do your classes because they value you.  The connection to you is worth more than Joe’s well known reputation.  If this doesn’t demonstrate to you the power of personal branding and being authentic and connecting with the people in your own ecosystem I’m not sure what will.

So my key message long term would be forget trying to ‘sell’.  Instead be the person people trust and want to buy from, then selling becomes a very different ball game, and your business becomes a lot more rewarding (not only financially but what you get out of emotionally).

 

 

 

 

 

Just Get Going

At the end of February (feels like a life time ago now) I travelled to Belfast to attend the Only Just media Summit.  This was just as Corona Virus was starting to become a ‘thing’, before Social Distancing had become a ‘thing’ and the week that Northern Ireland had just had their first case.

The event was a full day of speakers, all experts in their fields, talking to a room full of bloggers, Vloggers, content creators and brands.  My plan immediately after the event was to write some blogs on the speakers and my key takeouts.  Life then got in the way, CoronaVirus exploded and took up all my time at work and this idea got left in the notes section of my phone.  Until now.

Today is the first blog of ten where I want to outline my key take outs for the day.

Why?  To be honest it’s probably multipurpose (like that kind of cleaning product you but to clean the kitchen and bathroom if like me you are not a ‘Mrs. Hincher’.  Partly I think it will help me solidify the key points I took away from the day, because although I’ve not written about them here until now I have started to take action.  But also because I think you as the reader could also benefit from these takeouts.  You might not be interested in branding or social media or content creation but some of the ideas I took away could just be useful for your approach to your job or you life in general.

So introductions over today’s blog will focus on the talk given by Cody Wanner, a YouTube content creator for Pennsylvania, USA.

Cody talked about how he got started with Vlogging and creating a YouTube channel and providing lots of tips for budding Vloggers, but for me they were not only relevant for Vlogging, they are key mindset tips for whatever project your are currently working on or about to start.

Lesson 1 – If you have an idea – Just Get Started

This goes for everything.  You have a business idea, a hobby you want to try, a fitness goal to work towards.  You could wait forever, for the perfect time, perfect conditions, this to happen, that to happen, to have spare cash, to get Christmas out the way, the list goes on.  But the sooner you start the nearer to that goal you.  It doesn’t have to be the perfect plan, things could go wrong or change along the way, but ideas themselves do nothing.  Successful people are the ones with the most creative ideas, they are the ones who act upon their ideas.  Which leads me to lesson two.

Lesson 2 – Let go of perfect

You don’t need to have the perfect conditions or be super polished.  You can get started and let things evolve.   See what works and build on that, see what doesn’t and learn from it.  This blog wasn’t like this at the start, I wrote about different things and as I learnt, I changed my content, but had I kept my writing unpublished at the start it would never have evolved, I needed the feedback, the ideas, to know what people liked to read about.  Same with my podcast.  I’m much newer to Podcasting than blogging.  My podcast is still very rough around the edges, but only by publishing it can I learn to make it better each time and find my style.  Waiting for the right time or when you think you’ll do something well reduces the chance that you will ever do it well, because it’s the practice that helps make perfect right?  By the way this includes your fitness goals.  Are you planning on doing that class once you’ve lost a few pounds?  Waiting to be a certain size or shape to do something that would actively help you get to that size or shape is utterly bonkers when you think about it logically.  Stop waiting for the right conditions and just get started whatever that looks like right now/.

Lesson 3- Consistency is better than perfection, in all walks of life.

So from lesson two, if we aren’t looking for perfect what are you looking for?  Consistency.  One amazing blog, post, podcast, Vlog will not establish you in your field or as an expert or the go to person. Consistently useful content can. One excellent result at work won’t establish you as a vital part of the team.  Consistent good work will.  People like people they can rely on and trust, in all walks of life.  So be the person who produces consistent results or content with a consistent message.  Do that and it won’t matter if sometimes you have a technical hitch.  Content really is more important than what it’s wrapped up in.  Beyond social media, think about your fitness goals or diet.  Maintaining your routine most of the time will always produce better results than being perfect for a few days then going spectacularly off the rails.

Lesson 4 – Focus on connection and engagement

An amazing piece of content is all well and good but people will lose interest if you never engage with them.  We naturally interact more with people we feel connected to, who share our ideas and views or engage in debate.  So whatever job you have, whether you want to grow a brand online or just be more effective in the office, focus on the quality of your engagement with people, how you make people feel and what you can offer them instead of take and you should see an improvement in the outcome of your interactions.

Lesson 5 – Authenticity is important

Finally, be you.  You can shift and shape how you convey your message depending on who you are talking to to help it sit better with that audience, but your overall message should always sit within your values and be comfortable for you, it will come across more effectively.

So in summary my take out from this talk was, to improve your success in whatever field you are thinking about:  Take action however messy it may be to start with, be consistent and be you.