From Concept to Connection: How to Give the Audience What They Want

TIME IS SHORT. DO IT NOW.

This is the theme that was slapped into me this past week like Will Smith's hand across Chris Rock's face. (Is this getting old yet?)

My mom is turning 80 this month, and we were planning a family reunion birthday party for her. I invited my business partner, Toby, a professional photographer/videographer along with me to capture photos and record a legacy interview with her and her sister. Then last week she had a neurological episode and ended up in the ICU. We canceled the party to give her time to recover and hope to try again in a month or two.

A client of ours who has had two heart attacks in the past had a third and died last week. We were working on a deal with him we were all enthusiastic about. We first started talking about it last October, but things always take longer than you think they will. Partly because we believe we have plenty of time and we'll get to it ma?ana.

I live in New Mexico. It's known as the Land of Enchantment but also the Land of Ma?ana. As in "I'll get to it ma?ana."

My husband decided it is time for him to retire. He was planning to go through his cancer treatment and then return to work for another 2 or 3 years. But when you get an idea in your mind and it takes shape, then you get excited about it, why wait?

The second theme that has been dancing around in my mind is authentic connections that create a support system. That kind of support system you can rely upon when your family is having medical issues, for instance.

We have been interviewing digital marketing experts on our livestream podcast and asking them the same questions.

What have you learned about digital marketing in the last two years?

What do you think will be effective for marketing in the coming year?

How do you get more leads and conversions?

Every answer from every expert fits the theme of connection. People want authentic conversations with real human emotions and understanding. They want to feel like they belong and they matter.

That's not news, and it isn't because of the pandemic. That's what people have always wanted. Perhaps we need to turn the question around.

How do we provide authentic conversations and connections?

How can we help people feel they belong, and they matter?

Here is a brief excerpt from last week's show with Dr. Barbra Portzline that illustrates my point.

Toby: We as world members of humanity have spent the last two years dealing with a lot of different things. As a result, it's changed our perspective on a lot of different things from personal to business to family life.

What have you learned about digital marketing in the past two years?

Barbra: What I have learned is that people are craving connection. I don't know if it's just through the pandemic. Everything has shifted so much. But right now people are craving connection and they are ignoring the noise.

When you talk about digital marketing, I think a lot of times in the past, people have just been putting their stuff out there, Buy my crap!?

All of us are now saying I don't want to hear about you and your crap anymore!?

People want connection. They want value. They want someone that cares. They don't need someone perfect with that severe haircut and nice suit who looks great on social media but has no substance.

People are poking now to find out Are you the real deal or just a shell?

Toby: People are considering one of their values is the ability for connection, they're not looking for a connection with McDonald's.

They're looking for a connection with another individual who can provide them value. That's a great opportunity for solopreneurs to start evolving from “I worked for a corporation” to “I have my own business.” I think that's a very positive effect of what we've been dealing with in the past few years.

I was listening to the radio in the car while driving my husband home after radiation treatment. There was a man and woman doing a radio show between the music and they were talking about the price of gas and their opinions about Will Smith's actions. I wanted to contribute to the conversation, but it was not possible, so I turned to my husband and shared my thoughts with him and he responded. Their conversation sparked our conversation.

That got me thinking about doing the same for my audience. We used to have a weekly and sometimes twice-weekly show about the Forrest Fenn treasure hunt. Once the treasure was recovered, we changed our show format. Now we talk about content creation and digital marketing and we moved our live show from nights to days. People who used to show up for our live shows no longer do. But several of them still reach out to say they miss us.

They missed the connection and belonging. They miss the conversations and stories.

We published a book on Amazon today. It's called Livecast Life; The Content Creator Lifestyle. Part of that lifestyle is finding a way to give your audience what they want.

We decided to bring back conversations, stories, discussions of hot topics, and life's magical moments. We would love to give our audience the connection and belonging they want from a live show when they want it - Saturday nights. Saturday Night Live has been around for decades for a very good reason. We're programmed to get together with friends on Saturday nights and have fun to make it easier to go back to work on Monday with enjoyable memories to get us through the work week.

So if you would like to generate some fun connections while sparking up a friendly conversation, join us live on Saturday Night Conversations to chat with friends. We'll meet you on YouTube on the Messages and Methods channel at 7 pm MDT.

Remember, time is short. Make it count by making connections whenever possible.