How can you measure the impact of stakeholder engagement on your speaker brand?

Define clear engagement goals. Aim for visibility, credibility, loyalty, referrals, or revenue. Choose between long-term relationships or quick feedback. Position yourself as an expert, leader, mentor, or storyteller. Ensure SMART objectives. Take Tesla's example. Their stakeholder engagement aims to revolutionize, not just sell. It's about innovation, sustainability, and visionary leadership. Their brand embodies clean energy's future. Success isn't just sales but reshaping the market.

When my book #Values first came out, my goal was to create brand recognition, as my dissertation study was about leading with Values to create sustainable results and focus on the good of others. Today my name is trademarked, and I am know for leading with Values, creating sustainable results and focusing on "sprinkling goodness" into everything I do. This didn't happen by chance; it was a well thought-out approach, leading with courage and vulnerability and showing up real, as a human being focused on making an impact. If you see my posts, every single one is well thought-out, focused on: 1) Leading with values; 2) Permeating Values throughout, and 3) Focusing on the good of the whole. Simple!

It is important to get a feel of what is the current expectations of stakeholders and their buy-in. They come from different backgrounds and are fed with various research and studies. Thus a speaker must do a lot of research on the ground and be relevant.

One thing I found to be simple and successful, is picking others who lead with similar values, and bring similar messages to the general public, and re-posting their messages to reinforce mine. Also adding questions for engagement causes people to want to contribute, much like this article from LinkedIn causes us to contribute and bring the message alive with our experience. People appreciate when we give credit to others for doing a good job; their followers also appreciate hearing from other like-minded people. It takes longer to gain an engaged followership, but it's sustainable.

I personally like direct connections through networking or hosting my own events. It doesn't have to be big, 6 to 10 participants in your target audience can work wonders :) as far as engagement is concerned. online events such as webinars are also efficient. Your audience is always right :) Whatever method you choose, make sure it suits your audience, and ask them for feedback.

There are two billion reasons why I use WhatsApp as my chosen engagement method - because that's how many people use it. Full of some some of the world's leading experts, my dynamic 500 WhatsApp group ecosystem serves as a hub for bridging the digital and physical realms, unlocking boundless opportunities for connection and collaboration. It has been very rewarding witnessing people who met virtually during the pandemic share selfies of themselves meeting in real life when it receeded. Realty became virtual became real. We have gone full circle.

This is important! What gets tracked gets accomplished. I remember trying to get to 10,000 followers, my team and I tracked it bi-weekly, and we saw movement. Now we're close to 15,000 followers and it's exciting to know that we are truly making an impact. Like any goal, tracking your success is critical along the way. I've learned the type of posts that get the most engagement from my followers, as well as those that bring new people to my tribe. Very grateful for the opportunity to make an impact daily.

I have found that my personal posts showing how I bring balance in my life creates the most engagement. So from time to time I post pictures with my husband and make it personal. People want to know that we're human; personalizing my messages using my own experience with clear simple examples works best.

Giving credit to those who helped you get there is always a good practice. I call it "bringing others with me" and "elevating others." When I see someone who I know has worked hard to get to a certain milestone, I recognize them publicly. Doing this with integrity makes all the difference in gaining trust and leaving a legacy of gratitude and humility ????.

To whom much is given, much is expected. Taking the microphone is a big responsibility. Doing our homework and adding true value before, during and after a speaking engagement separate the professional speaker from others. Understanding that it’s never about us but the message, opening doors, elevating others, breaking down walls and building bridges with every step we take, and doing so responsibly. That’s what this work is truly about. ??????

Appreciating those who have supported and helped us in our journey is not only showing gratitude but also a recognition of the fact that we owe a lot to many known and unknown individuals for their invaluable contributions to our lives. Humility, mutual support and collaboration along with focus, hard work are passion are critical components to genuine growth and success.