How can you show off your online content creation skills?

To be elevated as a leader in your area of expertise, you must pick a lane to make a splash. Be known for something, by keeping content and commentary around a niche topic or industry to be known and respected by the right audience. If I trust you to help me with your door opening niche, I'm likely to seek help with related challenges or seek your recommendation. Niching build trust faster.

I recently contributed to a Collaborative Article on niching. Many people are afraid to do it, but the saying “The riches are in the niches” really does seem to be true. Even if you don’t have a niche, knowing who you are creating content for is important. You want to address their specific needs and interests.

Defining and prioritizing your top target buyer personas in a key to success for all areas of business and marketing. A creative portfolio should represent the target markets, industries, buyers and niches that you serve. It should be easy to create and pull together if your business is properly structured and you are serving the right audiences that best align with the unique and valuable services you offer.

For small business owners, you will have one overall niche audience (introverted service providers who want to attract more paying clients through social media). You also want to consider micro-niching your general audience for each specific offer. For example, my Content and Copy Inner Circle is for the segment of my niche who write their own content and copy and market their business organically on Facebook or LinkedIn.

I go as far as building out a persona who I am writing/producing for: naming her, giving her an age, interests and hobbies. This helps me pinpoint what people like her would be interested in. I’ve found when starting, it’s better to be more specific and targeted than trying to reach a ton of different people at once.

Working with leaders and PhD candidates who have a niche expertise, I guide them to build a strong profile, and produce and engage with content to support their expertise. But having a website to further support this is key. LinkedIn posts can be embeded, Topics turned into blogs and videos, and visuals can be created to support your career goals. If you don't have your name domain, get it, or something as close as possible. My kids have had theirs for years ready for when they needed them. Do you have yours?

Your website is key and should serve as your home base for everything. A simple Wordpress website using an easy to use reputable theme such as Avada or Elementor will make your lufe much easier. The website needs to be maintained and kept up to date visually, technically and optimized for user experience. Highlight your services, case studies and examples of work. Make it easy for a potential new client to navigate and quickly learn how you can help them. Be clear on who your target customer is so that your leads are as high with quality as possible.

In my experience, using a platform that is specifically made to display graphic and video content is essential in presenting your work at its best. Behance is a popular platform for showcasing and discovering creative work. Others include: 1. Dribbble: Dribbble is a self-promotion and social media platform similar to Behance. Here, you can share your work, find inspiration from other creatives, and view a job board 2. ArtStation: ArtStation is a go-to platform that provides its users with a simple, easy yet effective way to showcase their talent in art and takes it to the right players in the industry concerned. 3. Squarespace: Squarespace is a website builder that offers templates specifically designed for artists and creatives.

Learning from my own mistakes, I would highly suggest considering your website as important as your social media profiles. Your website is your first platform of brand identity, basically, it's your store where you sell your skills, thought, creativity, product or service. Start with who you are, what you do, how you do it and what sets you apart from the crowd. Always remember its "YOU" over "ME/I" The visitors want to know what they are getting and how you value them and it's not just you. Understand the visitor's behaviour while making your portfolio. Research what your competitors are doing and how you can do things differently to add an "oomph" factor to your website. Keep updating your website as often as you can.

A well-crafted content portfolio website serves as a dynamic representation of your skills, accomplishments, and the value you bring to the table. Whether you're a writer, designer, developer, marketer, or any other professional, this digital hub provides a centralized location for recruiters and peers to explore your projects, case studies, blog posts, and more. It's not just about sharing what you've done; it's about telling your professional story in an engaging and visually appealing manner.

Your LinkedIn profile is NOT your resume, it’s something better. You control the information you share and story you tell. Use all the real estate LinkedIn provides to show your exietiemce and personality, especially the headline, About section, Featured section, and background image.

My LinkedIn profile is an extremely important part of my online persona. It is essentially a constantly evolving version of my resume. It has my work history, but it has so much more; links to projects, podcasts that I have spoken on, articles that I have contributed to. It has recommendations and endorsements, and showcases my skills and things that I care about. The content that I put out here on LinkedIn is also huge part of my online creative persona.

I remember thinking that everything needed to be super buttoned up on LinkedIn because it’s a “professional setting.” One of my most helpful unlocks was realizing that it’s simply another extension of my brand and therefore, it’s important to be AUTHENTIC to my brand which is more relaxed and accessible (aka we don’t use “work-speak”)

LinkedIn presents a powerful opportunity to establish your professional personal brand and support your career, but it isn't a resume. It is difficult to tailor to a job as you can with a resume, instead it is a portfolio of your professional life, and should include content that supports your current goals. Tip - back up your profile, and save previous versions in a central document so if you are customising sections to match your goals, you can easily revert to an alternate focus when needed. What to customise? Headline About Featured Weblink Background image Skills - spotlight the most relevant 3 Focus on transferable skills and key achievements in Experience. Copy & Paste Duplicate and update Paste back to your Profile Repeat.

Be sure to leverage all of the key features of LinkedIn to optimize and highlight your experience and showcase your work. For example you can keep your featured posts and articles pinned on the top of your profile. You can keep these fresh and swap them out on a weekly or monthly basis depending on your publishing schedule. Also you can add content for each position within the experience section. Use the header image to showcase your strengths, services and how you can help your clients.

Create content that your audience craves. Create resources and tools that help them solve their problems. Create a lead magnet which is a resource you can use that is of high value that your target audience will want it so bad they will be willing to share their email address with you. Share the content you create from your blog, podcasts, videos, etc to the social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Share content where your target audience is already changing out. Don’t waste time on platforms that are not high value to your target buyers. Less is more! Quality over quantity!

Content is king. It’s also queen. There is no better way to reach your audience than by sharing content with them. There are many platforms you can use and types of content that you can share. My favorite, of course, is posting on LinkedIn (and contributing to collaborative articles). Other formats that I enjoy include articles, blogs, and podcasts. Your audience wants to hear from you!

Publishing your own authority content helps your ideal clients will recognise your expertise. If coming up with ideas for consistent content is something you struggle with, then try this: Read or listen to something that is interesting to you. Does it spark an idea? Do you have a response to what they’re saying? Are you in agreement? Opposed? Write your response to them and publish it. My comment here is an example of this. I read the article and now I’m writing this in response. Then I’ll reuse it as content. If this makes it easier to write, you may be hard-wired to activate your best ideas (genius) in response. Connect with me to learn how marketing and copywriting in response will effortlessly improve your results.

Being a social media specialist for the last 7 years has taught me a thing or two about the importance of social media. The 3Ws - What, Why, Who are the most important questions to answer for every content piece that you create, whether it is for your personal brand, product or service. Instagram presence is now a "must-have" tool to start your social media presence, LinkedIn is an amazing tool to voice your opinion in the professional realm. While Facebook is said to be done and dusted, it honestly is not. At least 70% of social media users, scroll through their Facebook wall to stay connected with their friends, colleagues, and families and even interact with FMCG brands. There are many tools on each platform that are very useful.

Embrace the opportunity to connect, inspire, and engage with people who resonate with your work. Whether it's a thought-provoking article, a stunning visual, or a helpful how-to video, social media platforms provide the perfect stage to showcase your expertise. So, don't keep your brilliance to yourself – share it with the world and watch your impact grow exponentially. Your content deserves to be seen, liked, and shared!

Feedback can be collected via the Recommendations feature, but direction by asking specific questions to frame the answers make it easier and means you get somethign useful. Or summarise verbal praise and send as a starting point. Or create ways to gather the information through questions, and rework into the Recommendation request. BOOK A VIDEO MEETING Choose respected leaders Book a time to chat Send the calendar invite with meeting link Use Yoodli to capture the transcript Summarise key points to use in Recommendation request Let them know it is coming Follow up if required. Approve and publish. Say thanks.

Audience is the king, data is the new currency and therefore your biggest critics are them. Seek feedback, reviews, and testimonials from your audience, customers, teammates, employees, clients and experts. Their feedback matters and helps you improve your product, service and even your online image. It's easy to collect data from your engaged audience and work on getting your brand better and more interactive. When you seek honest opinions from your audience, they feel connected to your brand and get a sense of belonging to your brand. This will make them your biggest ambassadors over customers and mere audience.

Another option to capture the gold.... CREATE A QUESTIONNAIRE Craft 3-5 critical questions Create a Google Form Identify people to ask Craft brief message Contact via phone, email or DM Follow up with message and link. Review submission and rework Send request via LinkedIn. Let know to expect it Follow up if required. Approve and publish. Express thanks.

This is the aspect of content creation that many creators neglect to pay attention to - the never-ending evolution of ways to present your content. Some get stuck into a formula of producing a particular type of content and it eventually becomes obviously formulaic. Content loses its luster that way. Creators should constantly be asking, "What's a new way I can present my content? What is something I have never done before?" Variety is the spice of life, so mix it up with videos, pics, AI art creations, etc. And the more you improve editing skills - whether it is video editing, sound editing, copywriting and so on - the greater the possibilities still.

The world is an ever-evolving landscape, and the key to staying relevant and thriving is to acquire new knowledge and skills continuously. Embrace every opportunity to expand your horizons – through formal education, online courses, workshops, or even insightful conversations. Remember, growth happens outside of our comfort zones. By pushing yourself to learn, adapt, and improve, you're setting yourself up for success. Each new skill you acquire, and every lesson you learn, adds to your arsenal of capabilities, making you a more versatile and valuable individual.

"Brevity is the soul of wit." - Will Shakespeare Keep the prose on your content concise. People aren't on social media to read "War and Peace." Tell a good story, sure. But, tell it with precision, make your point/pitch, then stick a bow on it. Done.

In short, a few essential reminders: ? Hashtags: Utilize relevant hashtags to increase your content's discoverability on platforms like Instagram and Twitter. ?Storytelling: Craft compelling narratives to make your content more relatable and memorable. ?Value Addition: Ensure your content provides value, whether it's through education, entertainment, inspiration, or solving a problem. To your success!