You live and die by your ability to leverage one speaking opportunity into numerous additional bookings. It’s not enough to just be a great speaker, you also need to be an innovative marketer. The good news is your biggest potential marketing opportunity is your actual speeches.
There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about what social media marketing is and what it does out there. For a beginner (whether that’s a new business owner or someone who’s been in business for years) it can be overwhelming to the point of getting tossed into a back corner as “something I’ll look into later when I have the time and energy.”
I just read an article discussing how scammers – you know, those incredibly persistent and enthusiastic people who could probably be millionaires if they put their time and energy into something … I don’t know … legal – well they’ve now turned their attention to freelancers. The article details a growing trend of scammers stealing a real freelancer’s information using sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, websites, associations, etc. and then creating a bogus account on freelance sites like Upwork and Freelancer using that information (including a real picture of the freelancer they stole the information about). I don’t really understand how the scam works though. I know with Upwork a business can dispute if the actual work is not being done and not pay the scammer. The article doesn’t detail how the scam works, if the phony is just trying to get access to the business information and does their damage there or if they’re actually getting paid for work not done. Regardless, as a freelancer keep a close eye on your name/image and brand to make sure it has not been stolen. And for business owners looking to hire a freelancer, make sure you do your homework before hiring someone. […]
Public speaking is one of the best ways to position and brand yourself as the local “go-to” expert in your field, and it’s also an excellent low-cost marketing strategy. The value of becoming a key-note speaker at local group meetings extends far beyond the event itself.
Whether you have an established business, are an expert in your field, or just have a powerful personal message you want to share with the world, breaking into the arena of speaking opportunities can be overwhelming even if you already have some speaking engagements under your belt.
For most of us, it is relatively easy to get started with social media. Getting results in terms of growing your business is a whole different story. Not so simple. Like anything else in terms of sales, marketing and overall business development, getting results in social media requires consistent effort over a longer period of time.