Fiona Birch, Founder of Pro Athletes Online
By Cheval John
December 27th, 2017
Today’s episode of What’s The Word? features Fiona Birch.
Fiona is the founder of Pro Athletes Online, a company which helps athletes to be aware of how they present themselves on social media the right way.
She has spoken at conferences including Social Media Marketing World 2016 and is set to speak there again next year.
Fiona has also given presentations for brands and business schools including Air Zealand.
The show was recorded on Blue Jeans Network and simulcast to Facebook Live
In this episode, you will hear:
-why she decided to found Pro Athletes Online
-why college athletes should take control of their brand
-the importance of social media
-the one hero she would spend one day with past or present
Snippet on Vallano Media TV
Full Episode on BlogTalkRadio
Website: www.proathleteonline.com
Twitter: @fi_birch
Quotes from Fiona Birch on:
FAILURE AND SUCCESS
We grow up with every cliche your can imagine.
One of my father’s cliche was “The world is your oyester.”
The other one was, “It’s easy to be the same as everybody else.”
One of the things that I ask people is “Are you scared of failure or are you scared of success because I think a lot of people assume that they are scared of messing up.
For me, I would say, “I’m probably more afraid of success than I am of failure.”
I’m very good at picking myself up the ground and just doing it again.
Sometimes when it’s all about to happen and you feel it and know it’s about to go crazy.
It’s all about really being honest about what it is that freaking you out at any point in time.
You have to go into the next unknown phase.
Sometimes we get so comfortable and it’s been a struggle and getting knocked back and hitting your head against the wall.
ATHLETES USING SOCIAL MEDIA
When it comes to social media and somebody is building a brand for themselves, “it’s do not do this, do not do that, do not be an idiot.”
If you are not building your brand, then the only two people who are building your brand are the media and the trolls.
They will come after you.
They are not looking for a good story at all.
So that’s one thing we face a lot with athletes is the agenda of other people.
LAS VEGAS KNIGHTS STANDING OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
What they have actually created is what I think is an amazing feat for branding.
What summed up from a brand point of view is who is going to take VEGAS seriously.
They never had a pro team before.
They were very honest of what they were.
They are a city of entertainment.
They are a city of secrets.
They are a city that sort of everybody visits and have fun.
They got a great sense of humor.
There is actually a sense of community in Vegas when you live there.
For the rest of us, the perception is not they had to create this community.
The person that runs the golden knights social media account is hilarious.
He kind of looked at what the Kings did.
The National Hockey League (NHL) was pretty robotic in how they handle digital media to say it lightly.
So the Kings are the first to sort of went out there.
But Vegas went a bit further.
Popups Are Spam
By Cheval John
When you think you have figured out a social media platform, all of a sudden, they change the algorithms.
Now your social media campaigns have very little impact for your business due to the pesky algorithms.
Your try to learn from experts on how to “beat” the algorithm so you can get back to the glory days of organic reach.
Social media are rented land.
If you are building your business solely there, you will have problems.
The old e-mail is still important despite the growing importance of social media because it is your real estate.
When you build your subscriber base through e-mail, you can withstand any algorithm change in social media.
Which lead to the dreaded pop ups.
Pops ups are like the annoying commercials which interrupts your show because the advertisers are trying to get their product out in front of the viewers.
You are reading a fantastic article on a blog when all of a sudden, a pop up appears in the middle of the article asking you to subscribe to their website.
Some believe popups works because they will get more e-mail address.
The tactic of using the popup is very bad and it shows a person or company are very desperate for e-mail address.
That is where the social listening comes into play because you can see what people are chatting about on a daily basis.
The social chatter can give you ideas of what you can write about on your blog.
When you write quality content consistently, your audience will feel inclined to subscribe to your blog.
Over time, you will grow your blog organically through building your e-mail lists.
Even more important is the same people will share your content on social media to their audience which will bring more traffic to your blog.
This is the boomerang effect of building your e-mail lists the correct way instead of using the lame tactic of the popup.
If you decide to go the route of using the popup, you will end up losing the prospective customer in the long run.
Here’s An Additional Article on Avoiding Popups:
4 Easy Ways to Get More Subscribers (Without Using Annoying Popup Boxes)-Julia McCoy, Founder of Express Writers and Contributor To Search Engine Journal
Lauri Nilo, Social Media Manager at Simply Measured
By Cheval John
Today’s episode features Lauri Nilo, social media manager for Simply Measured.
This interview was recorded months before Simply Measured got acquired by Sprout Social.
You will hear
-how Lauri’s entrepreneur mindset led her to start her blog
-how she helped grew the readership of the Gonzaga University Student Publications’ Bulldog Blog by 1,141 views
-the importance of studying abroad
-the one person she admires past or present who she would spend one day with
Snippet on Vallano Media TV
Full episode on BlogTalkRadio
Simply Measured’s website: www.simplymeasured.com
Lauri’s LinkedIn Page
Quotes from Lauri Nilo On
COLLEGE STUDENTS GETTING INTERNSHIPS
I think it’s really important for college students to have an internship before they graduate so that they can see what it’s like in the working world.
A lot of times what you learn in the classroom can be different from how things are actually implemented in the real world.
Let’s say for example, I anted to be a social media manager when I was in college and I thought that this is what being a social media manager meant and then I just went straight into this position and I found out like, “Oh no, this is not what I want to do.”
That’s why you need to have an internship before you graduate so that you have a better realization I guess of whatever it is you want to do.
STARTING THE TWITTER CHAT #SIMPLYCHAT
I started #simplychat because I really was looking into engaging the community that we have on twitter.
When I looked at the data, I found that impressions were not the roadblock for us, it was getting the people to engage back with us.
So I started asking questions in the tweets I posted and then I was like, “Okay, what can I do to really get this community together?”
Then I learned about twitter smarter and I was like, “Okay, how can I create a community like twitter smarter” because that’s an example of an amazing community.
I was like, “Well, why can’t simply measured start their own twitter chat?”
So I talked to my manager about it and wrote up this whole proposal of expected outcomes and why we should do this.
Together we decided to give it a try.
It’s going pretty well.
OVERCOMING DOUBTS
I think it’s natural for people to have doubts when they are taking a step in what they consider a risk.
So I definitely had some doubts but glad I took this opportunity at simply measured.
MENTORSHIP
My main mentor is actually my manager.
I remember talking to her about this during my interview process and she mentioned that it’s really important for her to not really be seen as a manager, but as a mentor.
So she is my biggest mentor right now.
There’s so much I can learn from her.
For example, anytime I write copy for twitter, sometimes I’ll mull over it for like 15-20 minutes and then I realize, “This is 120 characters, I probably should not be spending fifteen minutes on it.”
So I’ll send it over to her.
She’ll look at it and ten seconds later, it’s ten thousand times better.
FAVORITE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM
I like twitter in my role as a social media manager because it’s easy to learn from other people about building relationships on social media in general.
On a personal level, my favorite is definitely instagram because it really challenges people to present their best side which is a good thing and a bad thing.
I think it’s really fun to look at other people’s lives through this curated fashion.
Four Ways To Build A Community On LinkedIn
By Cheval John
Many thought they was no value in LinkedIn because it was not generating buzz like Facebook.
However, LinkedIn has grown quietly to 500 plus million active users with no signs of slowing down.
The recent addition of native video video to their platform gives business owners and jobs seekers more opportunities to build a strong network.
Here are four ways you (as a job seeker or business owner) can build a community on LinkedIn
1. Do Not Send A Generic Invitation
When you send a generic invitation, it comes across as disingenuous because you only want to connect with them only to get new business or get an intro if they are connected to a big name influencer.
What you need to do is send a personalized invitation because the majority are not doing it.
Which leads to number two.
2. Do Your Research
You need to do your research on the person who you are trying to connect with.
Let’s say you are looking for work and you want to connect with a key decision maker.
What you can do is look at their LinkedIn account and see what they accomplished in their careers.
You can also do a google search and see if they have made an appearance on their local media outlets or even major media.
From there, you send a personalized invitation to the key decision maker.
Nine times out of ten they will accept because they saw you went out of your way to know them.
3. Share Other People’s Content.
You might think it is uncool to share your “competition’s” content on LinkedIn because they are vying for the same work position.
If your competition is sharing valuable content that your connections can benefit from, it does not make sense to withhold it from them.
What you are doing is robbing them of a solution that could help them take their careers to the next level.
Marcus Sheridan, who runs River Pools and Spas, wrote a blog post about the top pool builders in the Richmond, Virginia area.
Mr. Sheridan left himself off the list and still got business because of the willingness to recommend the competition.
Zain Asher, anchor at CNN International, shared during her “Trust The Struggle” TED Talk of how she coached her “competition” who was going for the same work position at a television station.
Video courtesy of TED Talks
Zain advised her on what to say during the interview process and how to present herself because she was the first to be interviewed by the executives at that station.
When you share your “competition’s” content, they will eventually become your biggest ally.
4. Use The LinkedIn Publishing Platform Wisely
You should not use the publishing platform just to advertise your latest book or events for your organization because it comes across as distasteful.
The platform should be used to share valuable content that solves a pain point that people are dealing with.
If you are a public relations major in college, you can use the publishing platform to write quality posts about the changing trends happening in the public relations field.
Or chronicle what you are learning during your time in a public relations practicum.
If you are consistent in cranking out quality post by the time you graduate, you will be way ahead of the competition when you are going for any entry level work in public relations because companies are now looking at google to find out more about potential hires.
Also, you can re-purpose your blog posts on the publishing platform to build brand awareness as well.
It takes a while to build your network on LinkedIn.
If you are consistent with all of these tips, you will have the right tribe which will serve you in the long term.
Do you agree or disagree with this post? You can share your comments below.
Progress Is Better Than Perfection
By Cheval John
As we are drawing closer to 2018, I want to leave you with some advice.
DO NOT COMPLAIN
When things are not going your way, the first thing you would do is complain.
It seems like the right move because you think you are voicing your concern.
The problem with complaining is it takes away your focus on being appreciative of the journey to your desired success.
Complainers will always find an excuse to why they can not succeed in their lives.
If you want to be at the next level in your career and business, do not complain.
ALWAYS HAVE AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
Having an attitude of gratitude helps you to see the blessings you already have despite the difficult times.
You might think it is the end of the world if your computer goes down because you need it to run your business.
If you have access to a computer at a local library and they have free wi-fi, you are rich because you can run your business from the library
When you see the blessings in the simple details, you can enjoy life and worry less.
AVOID THE COMPARISON TRAP
You might feel down on yourself because you are comparing yourself to someone who is further along in their business journey.
Or seeing photos on social media of people seemingly enjoying their lives and thinking “Why can’t I have a great life like theirs.”
You do not know the years of hard work that person did in order to be where they are at.
When you see them achieve a milestone like getting featured in a major media publication, celebrate their win.
They have shown you anything is possible to achieve your dreams of a better life.
So instead of comparing yourself to other people, focus on your own business
BE LIKE THE EAGLE
An eagle do not run away from the resistance of winds because they understand the wind helps them to fly further than anyone else.
When you are going to the next level, you are certain to get some resistance.
For example, if you want to start a business because it makes sense to you, family and friends will try to talk you out of it.
They do not understand why you would want to leave a “stable” company.
Though they mean well, you will have to leave them behind because they are comfortable in their lives.
When you pass the trials and tribulations in running your business, you know that you are an eagle because you see that you can handle any situation.
START SETTING SOME GOALS NOW
If you set specific goals on what you want to accomplish in your life and business in 2018, you are already ahead of your “competition” because many just wander aimlessly in life.
Some goes a bit further by creating a vision board of what they want to accomplish in the new year.
They would spend time writing out the end goal on the vision board first because it allows them to see what steps are needed to achieve that specific goal.
They also know to celebrate the small wins because it will boost their confidence and get them closer to achieving their end goal.
You have what it takes to succeed in your business and your lives.
While you might think you have not achieve anything this year, keep this in mind.
If you are putting in the effort and seeing some progress, you have already succeeded because you are way closer than you think in achieving your goals.
Progress is much better than perfection.
Do you agree or disagree with this post? You can leave your comment below
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