Written by: Deborah Lynch, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Pretty much everyone on the planet regularly tunes into the online world these days. So, it is blatantly obvious that any would-be entrepreneur is well-advised to grow an irresistible social media presence. In fact, it is practically vital to do so if you want to succeed in business.
The keys to a successful web presence are authenticity, clarity, and confidence. Get these elements right and you’re onto a winner.
A sustainable social media presence should authentically represent who you are while clarifying your vision, mission, beliefs, and principles. Fake this, and the gig won’t last: full stop.
Sidney B. Simon’s book Values Clarification is a valuable resource in this regard. Reading it will help to clarify both your value system and what’s important to you. This will enable you to create your vision and mission statements based on your key values.
For example, Miriam runs an online business advising people how to find their ideal job. After identifying her values (knowledge, authenticity, and helping others), Miriam identified dual goals that formed the core of her vision and mission statement which is:
To help as many people as possible find the satisfying job they deserve
To show her customers how to achieve a higher salary through negotiation and persuasion
Those hard-earned bullet points emphasise Miriam’s primary belief: that everyone should make a living doing something they truly enjoy.
Build your confidence
As the spokesperson for your brand, you must be absolutely sure of your confidence and your personal presence.
An audience’s perception of you comes chiefly from your posture alone. Therefore, a confident posture is vital when on a stage or in front of a camera. Good posture helps to properly convey your message. Whereas poor posture doesn’t stand a chance, no matter what you say.
Since external confidence significantly influences internal confidence, you could start by consulting a stylist for solid fashion advice — so you always know what to wear in front of a camera. Likewise, a portfolio of professional photos covering you and your business would ensure a plentiful supply of sophisticated marketing materials for your social media pages.
Paying attention to the elements mentioned above will positively improve your screen/stage presence. Wearing nice clothes, looking good, standing tall, and having good backup material automatically give you confidence when delivering marketing messages to your clientele.
The art of storytelling
It is human nature to love a good story… and really good stories are memorable. Who doesn’t recall moments from their favourite movies… novels… TV series? It, therefore, stands to reason that weaving the art of storytelling into your online offering will help your audience retain your core messages.
Before you begin, you must choose your method of communication. Ask yourself if you prefer writing or talking, as there are only three types of online content.
—Written text
If you are a confident writer, your ideal storytelling platform should be somewhere you can publish written texts (e.g., Medium.com)
—Video
If you are a fluent and confident speaker, you could tell your stories to a camera and present the resulting videos on YouTube
—Audio file
If you absolutely can’t stand a camera lens relentlessly focusing on you, you could produce a podcast
Whichever medium you choose, strive to be clear and concise at all times. Using plain and simple English will help make your ideas easily understandable by all generations, from teenagers to pensioners.
Use ‘influences’ to your advantage
‘Stealing and building’ is a well-kept secret in the online world. Few talk about it, but almost every successful PR agency employs this strategy, as do many other enterprises.
‘Stealing and building’ isn’t simply copying and pasting someone else’s content. (that would be wrong on many levels). What I’m talking about is using your ‘influences’ intelligently and to your advantage. Perhaps admiring a successful competitor’s work, subtly taking on board what you have learned from it, and using it in your own way to improve your online presence.
Here are a couple of examples: Tim is a newbie in the online business world. He is starting an online outlet selling fitness and nutrition products. Like every wannabe entrepreneur, he studies the successes in his field. He learns from a successful, well-established competitor, Ben, who is obviously a master of social media marketing tactics. Tim has noted, for instance, that Ben regularly publishes his most important content on Facebook at precisely 8:30 pm every Sunday. That’s when most people sit on the couch and catch up with their Facebook accounts. Seeing sense in Ben’s approach, Tim starts doing likewise — ultimately achieving a more positive cash flow by adopting the successful strategy.
Carrie started an online business selling clothes to mature women. Since she doesn’t have enough experience in the industry, she studies a successful online competitor. Along the way, she notes that this competitor uses a lot of white space on their social media pages, meaning they aren’t at all cluttered. It seems to Carrie that mature women prefer this more sophisticated look. So, she begins implementing similar layouts and is soon seeing much-improved engagement from her own customers.
Being influenced in this way doesn’t change who you are or what you want to express. You are still growing your social media presence authentically. You are still doing your own thing. You just don’t want to miss out on a potential ‘fast track to social media success.
‘Stealing and building’ means keeping a regular eye on successful rivals, seeing what they are up to, and gauging whether similar tactics would suit your business. Don’t forget that successful competitors became successful for a reason!
The difference between engagement and likes
Q: What has more value 3,000 likes or 1,500 likes and 3,500 saves?
A: 1,500 likes and 3,500 saves. More saves = more engagement = more attention = more acknowledgement = a higher conversion rate = more revenue. In other words, something someone likes isn’t necessarily something they would pay for.
Paramount numbers are often statistics that no one sees. In this case, they show that you don’t need a large social media following, since having thousands of followers doesn’t always result in making lots of money. Suppose someone discovers you on social media but doesn’t follow you — that’s OK. As long as this person pays attention to your content by frequently visiting your social media page, they don’t have to become a follower. But they might well become a real customer.
Never forget your Call to Action
Authenticity — being true to yourself — shouldn’t imply that your principles could become a barrier to selling to your audience. If what you are offering is good value, then you deserve to be paid for what you do. So, always remember to add a Call to Action to some of your social media posts. For example, at the end of a value-adding post, mention your product or service to remind the audience that they can buy from you via your social media platform.
Sell authentically
The purpose of having a social media presence is to sell something to your audience. We build a such a presence simply because such platforms have a built-in audience.
Often a successful business owner becomes successful because he or she is a brilliant salesperson. And, of course, having great products or services also helps. But at the end of the day, it is this person’s sales and marketing skills that change the game.
The phrase ‘end of the day is also important in another context. Your quieter periods should be reserved for the preparation and administration of your offerings. This leaves the majority of your time for the all-important task of selling your products and services. In other words, the ability to sell your offering is every bit as important as the offering itself, perhaps even more so. Depending on how well (or badly) things are going, it could be the most vital factor of all.
Note that good products and services are everywhere, yet outstanding salespeople are rare. Without sales and marketing skills, all the technical skills in the world will not work. End of story.
Deborah Lynch, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Deborah Lynch is THE global expert on embodying your personal presence (both online and offline) to achieve your dreams, influence hundreds of thousands of people, and achieve self-actualization.
Her mission is to help you build a thriving personal Presence that helps you succeed in business, in relationships, and in every area of your life easily – almost effortlessly!
She has built a successful speaking business, a successful coaching company, a successful Youtube channel, and a successful eCommerce store, and specializes in helping entrepreneurs succeed in today’s presence-driven online landscape.
Deborah’s Story
Deborah’s story is one of overcoming poverty to achieving triumph – and it is still evolving to this day! If she can do it, anyone can – including you!
At one point in her life, Deborah even found herself homeless, with nothing but a can of carrots to eat. At that point, she found a mentor who trained her on a specific set of skills and began her journey to success.
Deborah learned how to become a success both as an entrepreneur and in the corporate world, and eventually discovered the great power of Presence, which she used to become a professional speaker and present for over 150,000 people in 70 countries for 48 different luxury brands, including Dolce & Gabbana, Hugo Boss, and Gucci.
Upon reaching the height of her career, she realized she wanted something more. She wanted to use her Presence as a way to help others in every area of their lives – from personal to professional, and beyond.
That’s when Instant Wings was born, and along with it her Youtube channel Instant Wings1, where she now has over 51,000 views and over 5,000 hours of playtime (and counting!)
Today
Now, Deborah has turned her attention to helping you discover your presence. Because people with a powerful, magnetic Presence – and a message that turns their adversities into a superpower – can experience nearly overnight success in almost endeavour.
Your powerful personal presence can be used to transform your business, your relationships, your results, your health, and your happiness. Because all of these things depend on how you show up. And that’s exactly what Deborah is here to teach you.
Ready to master your Presence?
