Why you should be taking the time out to play
Life and business can get a little hectic at times, especially when you’re drowning in emails and messages and feel like you can't take a breath.
It leaves you feeling rundown, burnt out and as if work is consuming every part of your life. Even though it may seem impossible, taking a break and ‘playing’ is essential for you business and a healthy mind.
When you’re leading a busy life you can struggle with creativity or get stuck, having this play time can enhance your creativity and imagination, problem-solving abilities and your mental wellbeing.
These five reasons are why you should be having some play time.
1. Say ‘bye!’ to stress
Play is fun and can trigger the release of endorphins. The constant email notifications and deadlines can be very stressful so engaging in relaxing and enjoyable activities lowers the ‘stress hormone’. Having a hobby where you can sit down for a few hours and block out the constant noise of society can work wonders for your mental health and stress levels.
2. Make work more fun
Too often successful people close their minds and hearts to the concept of slowing down but become very fond of burning themselves out. Play at work encourages us to take more creative risks and think more innovatively. I know from personal experience that it increases energy and prevents burnout. It helps you see problems in new ways.
3. Feel youthful
As we grow old, we not only ignore play but yearn to be young again. Play is not only essential for children; adults need it just as much. Playing can boost your energy and vitality, improving your resistance to disease. Picking up a craft may give you a sense of nostalgia of your childhood, when you did crafts in primary school.
4. Activate your mind
Engaging in slow and creative activities has been proven to benefit the brain by working both hemispheres. We need to actively tap into logic and problem solving, but also the creative and imaginative side of our minds.
5. Reconnect to the world around you
Play helps with reconnecting to moments in time. We are so disconnected from nature in this digital world that we’re barely pay attention to what’s around us. Moments are missed because we are more concerned with the iPhone in our hand, than simple moments of joy.
It is important to find an outlet when you're feeling stressed. It can give you a break from all of the work and can even push you to go places you’ve never been before with your company. It can help you overcome challenges and become a stronger person.
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Sydney Public Relations Agency, CP Communications provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that get amazing results. Contact us today. For more great tips visit our website www.cpcommunications.com.au.
How to start a blog
If you want to be seen as an industry expert or thought leader, a great way to boost your profile is to write a blog. Blogs are the best way of demonstrating your expertise online, controlling your message and building your reputation.
However, getting started can be overwhelming. I’ve come up with some ways that can help you get thinking more clearly about starting your own blog.
Research
To start off, it’s important that you do some research. Look at other blogs in your area of expertise or industry, blogs from other leaders you admire and blogs you enjoy reading. Get inspiration on the type of posts that stand out and get interaction from readers.
Type of blog
You will have to choose between the many different blogging platforms available and whether you want a free blog or to pay for your blog. Remember that if your blog is free, your content is being hosted on someone else’s web property and they can delete it any time. There are benefits to paying for your own blog and it is not as expensive as you may be expecting. Owning your own blog means you will have total creative freedom over how and when your content is viewed by others.
Style and format
One way to keep readers interested in your blog is to change the format up by using different types of blog posts. For instance:
• How to/tutorial posts – These blog posts educates the reader and gives them practical information about a topic.
• List posts – Share lists of tips, strategies or tools that will be helpful to your readers. For example, top 5 business books to read.
• Case studies – As a business leader or expert in your field you may be able to share case studies that illustrate how your knowledge or area of expertise has helped a client or organisation you have worked with.
• Problem and solution – These types of posts allow you to pose a problem that you think is faced by your readers and solve that problem using your expertise.
• Stories – These are more personal blog posts where you share personal experiences to convey a point or message.
• Curate news – By curating or commenting on breaking news you can build your reputation as an expert.
Content
When the time comes for you to write your first blog post keep in mind that writing for online is very different to writing for print. You may need to adapt your writing style to suit online reading. Blog posts should be a readable length, with short paragraphs and sub-headings so the content is easy to scan. Having a good understanding of your audience is essential so that you can write content that will appeal to them. Avoid spelling and grammar mistakes as these can discredit your blog by making it seem unprofessional. Lastly, include hyperlinks in your post to other online content, such as your website or social media channels.
Starting a blog may seem daunting at first, but once you have done the research and taken time to plan your blog, you will be well on your way to writing excellent content for your readers.
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Sydney Public Relations Agency, CP Communications provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that get amazing results. Contact us today. For more PR tips see www.PublicRelationsSydney.com.au
How to become the media’s first point of contact
Have you ever wanted to be quoted in the media as an expert in your field? To be the person interviewed on TV when journalists need an expert? It takes time and effort to become recognised in the media as an expert in your field, but if you do it right the media will be asking for that quote of yours in no time.
Here’s how you can increase the likelihood of being contacted by the media.
Sign up to media enquiry services
To build up that initial relationship with the media you must first contact them and prove you know your field of expertise. Websites like HARO (Help A Reporter Out) are great for making that initial impression as it is a free site that helps reporters find experts to comment on stories they are writing.
Don’t underestimate the power of social media
Do you know a lot of information about a current event in your field? Go on Twitter. Using hashtags relevant to a story and identifying media influencers will help get you noticed. Follow industry leaders and journalists to stay up to date with your field, and to have potential people ready to pitch to when a relevant story presents itself.
Make sure your social media platforms have up to date contact details for you and are updated regularly. Many journalists use Twitter and LinkedIn to look for people to talk to when a crisis happens, so keeping yours up to date and full of relevant content is highly important.
Set up a Google alert
Set up a Google alert for any key words relevant to your field of expertise for immediate updates the second something happens in your industry. Found an article you know you have a lot to contribute to? Contact the journalist that wrote it and let them know. You might be just the kind of expert they were looking for.
Pitch to a journalist
Find journalists that are interested in your industry and contact them. Don’t be shy. Do your research, know your audience and make sure your message is newsworthy. Learn more about pitching newsworthy content here.
Give the media exactly what they want
Journalists are bombarded with pitches all day long. Make yours stand out amongst the crowd by knowing what the journalist wants. Be visual, and create pitch videos and pictures that stand out amongst all the clutter. Upload them to your social media platforms as well and get them shared. The more people see your message the more likely journalists are to take note of what you have to say. Learn more on giving the media what they want here.
Being the expert the journalists contact takes time to build but once you achieve it your phone will be ringing constantly. Put in the hard work now, keep your social media up to date and make those connections. They will make a world of difference when the media needs an expert, make it you.
Want to start building your own PR strategy? Download this FREE Public Relations Strategy Checklist:
Sydney Public Relations Agency, CP Communications provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that get amazing results. Contact us today. For more PR tips see www.PublicRelationsSydney.com.au
5 golden rules for successful public speaking
Presentations and public speaking can sometimes be daunting and nerve-wracking. Your nerves may cause you to jumble your words, forget parts of your speech or even sweat. Mistakes happen so there is always room to learn and improve.
I’ve stuffed up a speech, despite having done hundreds of talks, presentations, seminars, even a TEDx in front of thousands of people. The talk was for the opening of my solo exhibition and I’m not sure what happened but I do know that I was exhausted and didn’t follow my golden rules.
As you may know, stepping into the spotlight takes a lot of courage. To make sure you shine, I have developed five key steps to improving your public speaking skills and reduce that nervousness.
Study your audience
Before any speaking opportunity find out information about the audience. This will help you to tailor your speech to their needs and level of knowledge.
Practice really does make perfect
The more prepared I am, the less nervous I am. Research your topic thoroughly and prepare your speech and then practice, practice, practice.
Speak more often
Trust me, the more you practice public speaking, the more successful you will be. Start by speaking at small events and then build up to bigger ones. Say yes as much as possible to every speaking opportunity.
Relax and be yourself
Try to overcome your nerves. This was the hardest thing for me to do, but it’s important to relax and be yourself. You can use relaxation techniques such as controlled breathing to calm your nerves and make sure you are prepared.
Find and rely on your lighthouses
My friend and speaking coach, Mariette Rups-Donnelly taught me this, and I use it every single time. Find the lighthouses in the room. They are the people that are engaged and listening to you. Speak to them and they will feed you energy. It works every time.
The fear of public speaking is something many of us experience, but with enough preparation and practice it can be overcome. If you do mess it up, don’t beat yourself up about it. You must learn to let go of failures – treat them as learning opportunities.
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Sydney Public Relations Agency, CP Communications provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that get amazing results. Contact us today. For more great tips visit our website www.cpcommunications.com.au.
Creativity changed my life - and my business
Everyone is creative in their own way. Whether it is music, engineering, or salsa dancing, there is a medium for everyone to flex their creative muscles. I have always had a talent for thinking out of the box, which saw me thrive in creative pursuits like writing and art.
When I started my business, I was constantly looking for ways to succeed. But I felt like I was burning out.
Running my business was absolutely consuming my entire life. It was my entire life. I assumed that putting all of my energy into my business would yield success, but I was very wrong.
If someone had told me creativity was the key 15 years ago when I started my business, I wouldn’t have believed them, but rather laughed. But that’s exactly what has happened.
Creativity enhances your business
I conduct weaving workshops with my team, my office is overflowing with my sculptures, and I hold my own exhibitions.
And my business is better for it. There are still challenges, things don’t always go to plan, but how I respond to these situations is heightened with creativity and innovation. Rather than feel inundated and paralysed, I see the opportunities that are only limited by my imagination and creativity.
Find an outlet
I went through a process of reflection on what I wanted out of my business and my life, as the two were inextricably linked. I realised my ability to cope with change was being impaired; my creativity was being sapped. I needed to figure out a way to slow down and allow myself the space to problem solve and be innovative in responding to challenges.
I needed to find an outlet for my creativity that was tactile and not about perfection but more about exploration and play. I wanted to think in new ways and use creativity to gain new insights and perspectives.
Looking back now, I found an outlet that was opposite to my world as a business owner. I discovered the art of sculptural basketry – an art form that goes back to our primal roots and hasn’t changed for thousands of years. It was feminine, introverted, meditative and nature-based; compared to my entrepreneur life which was masculine, extroverted, technological and fast-paced.
Changing for the better
I began responding to change in new and unexpected ways. I wrote a book; I launched an online, productised side to my business. I started to work with my team in different ways so the business could leverage the collective strength of our ideas. The business became more stable, but more importantly, I felt more in control of where I wanted to take the business and what its purpose in my life was.
Through art, I was able to change how I saw things. It helped me to overcome business challenges and appreciate risk and potential in different ways.
There are a plethora of creative platforms at your fingertips, and the benefits are yet to be discovered. This is my experience with my creative outlet and my business. If you try a more creative approach to life, you will discover the advantages for yourself.
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Sydney Public Relations Agency, CP Communications provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that get amazing results. Contact us today. For more great tips visit our website www.cpcommunications.com.au.
Increase your social media influence through Twitter
Twitter has been used by many businesses and influencers as a platform to increase their social media influence. Twitter is easy to use, but can be at times difficult to gain a following.
You can increase your social media influence through Twitter by doing the following things:
1. Engage with media
Many journalists use Twitter and the platform offers a great way to connect and engage with them. You can do this by following them, commenting on and sharing their stories.
2. Keep informed
Search out others in the same, or similar, fields and follow and interact with them. Comment on relevant issues, stories or new topics. This approach helps to place you as a leader or expert in your own field and it can even create some surprising and possibly lucrative partnership opportunities.
3. Know your audience
In your social media strategy discover who your audience is and their interests, share information you think will entertain this. Think about the type of content you want share, your tone and the type of audience you want to connect with and influence.
4. Interact with your followers
There are two sides to communication and the most important part is listening. Interact with your followers, follow them back and respond to their comments.
5. Repeat the message
It is important to schedule a tweet more than once. Because people dip in and out of Twitter, they can very easily miss your tweet. So, if you have something important to share, schedule it multiple times. A scheduling tool like Buffer can help.
6. Monitor what is being said about you
By monitoring your mentions on Twitter you can also deal with any negative issues relating to your brand. Customer complaints on Twitter can be damaging, but monitoring for these (and having a strong presence on Twitter) allows you to respond quickly.
7. Have fun with it
Experiment and play a little with Twitter (and all social media platforms). Try different tactics; if they don’t work then try something else. That's the beauty of social media; it gives you the opportunity to constantly test approaches.
8. Showcase your personality in real time
Each Tweet may only be 280 characters long but your Twitter feed is a live, real-time autobiography. Personality on Twitter really counts and simply trying to sell or promote doesn't work effectively.
If used effectively, Twitter is a beneficial platform for increasing your influence, and being viewed as an industry leader. It takes time and patience to be seen as an expert, but the rewards are worth it.
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Sydney Public Relations Agency, CP Communications provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that get amazing results. Contact us today. For more great tips visit our website www.cpcommunications.com.au.
Five ways to improve your social media presence
Social media is an innovative, creative, and interactive way of engaging with your customers. Providing excellent service on social media will help grow your customer base, and assist in creating better brand loyalty.
Providing high quality customer service on social media creates a number of opportunities, for instance it allows your business to receive feedback which can influence your future customer service approaches. Social media can also elevate your brand’s reputation through word-of-mouth marketing, and building stronger relationships with your customers.
Here are five ways to increase your engagement and build your social media presence.
Respond in a timely matter
It’s always important to respond to customers that are posting on your social media accounts. Failing to respond to a question or complaint could result in a larger issue down the line.
Stay on brand
Make sure the majority of your posts relate to your business and industry. Research conducted by Facebook found that speaking about subjects related to your brand is the best way to generate engagement. When people ‘like’ your page, they are obviously interested in your business and want to receive information about you and your niche. If you start posting content on other topics, your followers will lose interest and unfollow you.
Initiate conversations
Reaching out to your audience is a great way to start conversations. Try asking your audience some questions about their experience with the brand. Not only will it give them the opportunity to express their opinion, it’s also a great way for you to get some insight.
Communicate with your audience
You can’t just sit and wait for people to comment on your social media platform if you haven’t bothered to post any interesting content. Get active on social media and interact with other users by posting engaging content and sharing others’ content. The more you communicate with others, the more likely they are to communicate with you.
Create shareable content
You can measure engagement by analysing how many times your content is shared by others. However, for this to happen you need to provide content that’s worth sharing in the first place. Pictures are a great way to kick-start this because they are easy for users to consume and can draw attention easily.
Providing excellent customer service through social media is increasingly important as it allows you to build a relationship with your customers. It helps to grow your customer base, gain vital feedback, and navigate your future customer service approaches.
Get more tips in this FREE ebook:
Sydney Public Relations Agency, CP Communications provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that get amazing results. Contact us today. For more great tips visit our website www.cpcommunications.com.au.
5 ways to bounce back from work or life rejection
Everyone experiences rejection at some point in their lives. Sometimes the disappointment and frustration from rejection can make us forget that it happens and that it isn’t always in our control. It’s simply a part of life.
It could be not getting that call back after a fun date you had last weekend or that promotion you were working hard towards. Sometimes rejection is okay as it encourages us to not only move on with life but makes us emotionally stronger.
Everyone deals with rejection differently. However, how you choose to deal with rejection can make a big difference in how you bounce back.
Here are some useful tips on how to face rejection and get back on your feet:
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Life carries on
Don’t allow the rejection to stop you moving forward and trying again. Although it can be hard, see it as a way to make you stronger and more focused. And don’t allow it to define you.
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Take rejection with a grain of salt
This can be hard, but sit with how the rejection makes you feel and face it. It’s OK to feel sad or disappointed. Try not to respond with negative self-talk, but with true compassion for yourself and the situation.
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Look elsewhere
A rejection may mean it’s an opportunity to do something different. You are surrounded by new opportunities every day, but it’s possible you’re not seeing them. Take a moment to reflect and consider what else is possible for you right now.
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Talk to friends
I know I have certain friends that are on speed dial when I’m dealing with rejection. When you are challenging the status quo or reaching for that goal, reach out for support when you’re pushing through a ‘no’ to help you get to the next level.
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Be a go-getter
Learn from the situation and then with new growth and wisdom, take action. When it comes down to it, you have to take action to achieve success. Sometimes you have to face the fear and do it anyway.
I believe rejection means that you’re living outside your comfort zone. It means you are brave enough to take risks and have new experiences. And that is a good thing because you are experiencing life completely.
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Sydney Social Media and Public Relations Agency, CP Communications blends cutting edge offline and online PR and social media to help you gain a competitive advantage. Contact us today. For more great tips visit our website www.cpcommunications.com.au.
Manage your social media strategy with content calendars
With the ever-changing and fast-paced environment of the social media world, efficiently managing content for your business’ social media channels can become a disheartening struggle.
From the 1.9 billion monthly users of Facebook to 328 million users on Twitter and the 500 million professionals on LinkedIn, there is an incredible amount of people on social media platforms your business can reach. However, it can be difficult for many businesses to produce and publish engaging content and keep up with the fast-pace of various social media platforms.
A content calendar can be the answer to your struggle of scrambling for content at the last minute. Content calendars can be a big helping hand when dealing with your business’ social media strategy as it is a schedule of what you will post and when you will post it.
A content calendar is a holistic view of your online strategy, where you can strategically plan out when, what and where you will post in order to boost online interaction. There are a range of free and paid content calendars out in the market that can help make your content distribution more effective such as Tweetdeck, Edgar and Hootsuite. You can also formulate a content calendar on a spreadsheet or Google calendar.
Here are a few benefits to developing regular content calendars for your social media strategy.
Engaging and creative content
A content calendar is a great way to avoid repeating the same message too frequently or posting incorrect information. Planning your activities and updates will enable you to share fresh content and ideas with your audience.
So take the leap and block out time to plan your content to make sure you are taking full advantage of your social media channels.
Strategic and efficient
Planning ahead allows you the time to optimise content to align with business goals and current trends while still targeting the right audience.
It also provides you with an opportunity to identify key business events (i.e. conferences, launches) and post about the events in the lead up or to source available resources such as images, videos and blog posts to share.
Trying to come up with ideas and write content on the day of posting can often lead to writers’ block or procrastination which can result in missed deadlines. With a content calendar, you know exactly what to post on any given day.
Time saving
Blocking out one day each week or month to create a content calendar will ultimately save you time. This will allow you to shift your focus to monitoring, interacting with online audiences and measuring to better optimise your social media content and strategies.
Content calendars can help you create social media strategies that are simple and organised. Check out some content calendar systems or templates online or maybe create your own for your social media channels.
Get more tips in this FREE ebook:
Sydney Social Media and Public Relations Agency, CP Communications blends cutting edge offline and online PR and social media to help you gain a competitive advantage. Contact us today. For more great tips visit our website www.cpcommunications.com.au.
5 business leaders who have developed amazing personal brands
Understanding your personal brand means you understand your value and quality as an individual and business leader.
As a leader and influencer you need to be capable of defining and building your personal brand to accentuate your uniqueness and make you stand out from competitors. Communicating a clear and compelling personal brand to the world can also strengthen your leadership identity as well as reputation.
See how these five well-known business leaders developed incredible personal brands for themselves.
Janine Allis – Founder of Boost Juice
Since founding Boost Juice, Janine Allis has gone on to become a board member of Retail Zoo and Michael Hill Jeweller. She has also appeared on the TV show Shark Tank and written her own book.
Allis has developed a reputation as an advocate for a number of causes, including becoming a voice for working mothers and the difficulties they face. She has also spoken out in support of small businesses and issues related to mental health, which she shares regularly with her 49,000 followers on Twitter.
Janine has created an image for herself that depicts her as a strong business woman that is dedicated and willing to speak out against a number of issues that she would like to see resolved. Furthermore, her appearance as a cast member on Shark Tank highlights her support towards small businesses.
Richard Branson – Founder of Virgin Airlines
It’s hard to not include Richard Branson in a list dedicated to successful business leaders. As the founder of the Virgin Group, Branson has achieved great success in his business ventures over the course of his career. During this time, he has also managed to develop a powerful reputation for himself.
Branson is known for putting great effort towards the Virgin brand in order to generate publicity. He has participated in a variety of stunts in order to achieve this, such as dressing up like a flight attendant to honour a bet, and to earn money for charity. He also has a reputation for being a sincere and accommodating person. Branson has been protective of the rights of reporters during a crisis. Additionally, he also travels to the site of airline issues in order to comfort passengers and express gratitude to his staff.
Over the course of his career, Branson has managed to build a personal brand that portrays him as a fun-loving but caring individual. While he has received criticism in the past, his success far outweighs his failures.
Logan Green – Lyft Co-Founder
Logan Green is a co-founder and current CEO of transportation network company Lyft. While he hasn’t written a book, and currently only has just under 9,000 followers on Twitter, this hasn’t stopped him from voicing his opinions and creating a reputation for himself.
Donald Trump’s immigration ban has affected a number of individuals from seven predominantly Muslim countries, with hundreds of thousands of foreign visas being revoked. This has sparked widespread controversy, with many known leaders speaking out against the decision. This includes Green, who slammed the executive order in support of the diverse and conscientious community that has been built at Lyft.
Green’s support of immigrants and refugees has not only helped to strengthen his personal brand, but it has also benefitted Lyft. Due to Green’s supportive comments and Uber’s own mistakes, Lyft was able to overtake its rival in app store downloads for the first time ever.
Michelle Obama – Former First Lady of the United States, Lawyer, Writer
During her tenure as the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama dedicated her time to a number of causes, for example, her efforts to support healthy eating and physical activity in order to reduce childhood obesity. This initiative was known as ‘Let’s Move!’, and through it Obama was able to update school nutrition standards, develop programs to support kids and families leading healthier lives, and leverage the power of marketing for healthier options.
Obama has also supported other causes. Similarly to Sheryl Sandberg and Janine Allis, she has been an advocate for working mothers who struggle to balance their career and family. Obama has strongly supported military families and spouses, which was a personal mission of hers. She has also promoted the arts and arts education, and has shared her support for LGBT rights.
Michelle Obama has managed to build a strong fan base that features a wide variety of individuals. The views that she shares, and the initiative that she has taken shows that she is a genuine and caring person that wants the best for everyone. With the personal brand that she has perfectly crafted, it is no surprise that she has become a role model for many people.
Sheryl Sandberg – COO of Facebook
Sheryl Sandberg has been working at Facebook since March of 2008, and since then she has made quite the impact. Sandberg has been credited as the individual that is responsible for making Facebook profitable, and she is also the first female board member of Facebook, having been appointed in 2012.
Sandberg portrays herself as a strong advocate for women. She is responsible for writing the book ‘Lean In’ which highlights the struggles she has faced while trying to balance motherhood and work, breaking through the glass ceiling, her feminist values, and how the feminist movement has stalled.
Sandberg is an excellent example of a business leader with an effective personal brand. She has built a reputation as a supporter of strong women in the workplace.
To have an excellent personal brand, it requires time and effort such as what these five individuals have achieved throughout their time as a leader. Let them inspire you to develop your own unique identity and don’t be afraid to brand yourself differently from others.
Want to learn how to craft the perfect personal brand? Download this free Personal Branding Action Sheet:
Sydney Social Media and Public Relations Agency, CP Communications blends cutting edge offline and online PR and social media to help you gain a competitive advantage. Contact us today. For more great tips visit our website www.cpcommunications.com.au.
Find new opportunities with a stronger reputation
Your reputation is the most important asset of any business professional. Opportunities present themselves to you if you’ve developed a strong reputation, and a negative reputation can make it almost impossible to achieve success.
Your reputation measures your level of credibility, as well as the trust and influence that you have over others. It opens up the door to be recognised by more people, which can lead to more sales and referrals, along with career opportunities, such as a board position.
It takes time to build up a good reputation, but all that hard work could be lost in the blink of an eye if you make the wrong move. Today’s 24 hour news cycle along with the pervasive immediacy of social media can damage ones reputation within minutes.
There are a number of tactics that you can use to strengthen your reputation like the media, blogging, social media, and networking. Through these channels you deliver your thought leadership and expertise.
Building your reputation is a journey, so why not try out my three tips so you can uncover new opportunities?
Your personal brand
When people think of you, you want them to think of you in a certain way. This is your personal brand and you need to be very intentional about how it’s created otherwise others will create it for you. Do some thinking about who you are what you stand for and the value you offer.
From this, develop key messages that can form the basis of how you describe yourself, the commentary you make to media and what you post on social media. These messages allow you to deliver consistent communication and create a uniform perception of your brand in the marketplace.
Build relationships
Most successful entrepreneurs will tell you relationships are essential to business success and the strongest relationships are made when there is an emotional connection. This emotional connection can only be built with honesty, where two people are brave enough to share their stories of failure and success.
Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable. Being vulnerable in business doesn’t mean you need to bare your soul and your deepest, darkest secrets. But it does mean you no longer have to pretend that everything in your business is fantastic, that you can (and should) share with others your challenges, failures, struggles and on the flip side your successes, delight and excitement.
Share your thoughts and ideas
Successful thought leaders will tell you sharing useful and interesting information can be powerful in building a positive reputation and solid credibility.
I genuinely believe the world would be a better place if more people shared their ideas, opinions and expertise. But this requires more people to step forward and share their stories with the purpose of helping others.
When you start telling your stories and sharing your expertise to help people and you will be amazed with the emotional connection that you start building with people. Your stories can be personal stories, professional stories or stories that let people know who you are, what you do and what you stand for.
If you want to build a lasting reputation, be relentless, be of service and above all, be authentic.
Want to build a strong personal brand? Download this free action sheet today!
Sydney Social Media and Public Relations Agency, CP Communications blends cutting edge offline and online PR and social media to help you gain a competitive advantage. Contact us today. For more great tips visit our website www.cpcommunications.com.au.
5 awesome Instagram accounts that deserve your attention
Originally released in 2010, Instagram has experienced massive growth, making it one of the largest social media networks. Boasting over 750 million users, Instagram has developed a user base containing individuals of various age groups, background and interests.
The app is dedicated to sharing videos and images, and so it allows users to create, post and share their own content with their followers. This reach can be extended through the use of hashtags and connecting to other social networks, such as Facebook or Twitter. Instagram has also recently added a live video feature, which allows users to share real-time moments as they occur.
Instagram is the perfect place for users to share engaging content in meaningful ways. One such an example of this is our very own Catriona Pollard.
Here are another five awesome Instagram accounts that you should consider following.
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Beyoncé
One could argue that Beyoncé is the biggest female performer in the music industry, but if that is not enough, she also holds the title of having one of the biggest Instagram followings in the world. Sitting at a respectable 103 million followers (as of June 2017), Beyoncé currently holds the fourth most followed Instagram account.
Beyoncé also knows exactly how to use Instagram to her advantage. If one were to browse her posts, you will find that most contain a personal element, such as photos with her daughter Ivy Blue Carter, and her husband Jay-Z. It is these kinds of photos that get an overwhelming amount of reactions from her followers. As a matter-of-fact, Beyoncé now holds the record for the most liked photo on Instagram, as the announcement that she was expecting twins has generated over 11 million likes. Personal photos such as this allow fans to see a deeper aspect of her life, while also making her more relatable to the general public.
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CD Studios
Photography and drone technology fanatics will find CDStudiosPerth to be a fitting profile to check out. Based in Western Australia, this Instagram account focuses on capturing the beautiful locations in Western Australia, while also sneaking in some shots from their travels around the globe.
The account features various photos and videos of varying subjects, including the beautiful ocean and beaches, the wildlife, and some of the world’s most famous landmarks, such as the Sydney Opera House.
CD Studios has created a page that feels personal. Followers are able to engage with the content in a meaningful way. They might have visited one of these locations in the past, and seeing an image could reignite fond memories that they have for that place. Alternatively, coming across artistic depictions of locations such as the photos presented could provide future travel inspiration for followers.
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The Design Files
The Design Files is Australia’s most popular design blog. With a total of 254,000 followers, it’s clear that they have developed a large, dedicated following of users. The Design Files profile posts a variety of content, including posts related to interior design, art, food, and spotlight posts on creative individuals.
It is these spotlight posts that truly separate The Design Files from other Instagram accounts. The spotlights not only provide a focus on individuals that are deserving of such coverage, but they also provide the opportunity for Instagram users to follow the artist after seeing The Design Files’ spotlight, thus increasing their audience.
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Okka Wikka
Okka Wikka is a group of remote Australian visual artists, who aim to reimagine designs and practices from their ancestral landscape. Okka Wikka has a small but dedicated following on its Instagram page, where the group shares their work and creations in progress with Indigenous members of the community.
It is through this sense of community where Okka Wikka excel. Sharing the works of individuals and their interactions with each other highlights the aboriginal culture that remains a large part in the lives of these individuals and also provides the opportunity to teach people about the various art forms that are present within Aboriginal history.
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The Sydney Morning Herald
With around 95,000 followers, the official account of The Sydney Morning Herald regularly posts photos and images related to trending topics in the news each day.
Every Thursday, The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) takes an interesting approach with the content that it shares to Instagram. In contribution to the throwback Thursday hashtag, once a week older images of Sydney are posted to the profile, which highlights how much the location has changed as years have passed by. Although, it also shows how long The Sydney Morning Herald and Fairfax Media have been a part of our lives. The paper’s longevity indicates a consistent level of quality that the paper has maintained in order to please consumers for such a long period of time.
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