Be A Trusted Voice of Reason

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With the COVID-19 crisis, more businesses are pulling themselves online.

This week, I’ve been on Zoom, Skype and Facebook Messenger, chatting to friends and colleagues. They feel worried and optimistic about the crisis. 

I’m on the optimistic side, actually, I see the opportunity.

There will be business who will crash during this time.

There will be others who will survive.

And many will thrive. 

Just like how we had a bushfire in Australia, we see more greenery. Life came back.

And yes, we’re in the middle of a pandemic.

But we’re in this together and we will pull through.

As a society, we’re stronger than a virus.

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In this article, I share two things:

?? Remote tools to help increase productivity, communication and collaboration

?? Why it’s important to develop online presence (with more content) 

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Becoming Remotely Resilient

More are using Slack (my startup is using Discord) for communications. More online telecommunications are being used (from Zoom to Google Hangouts). 

These telecommunications companies are supporting others to become remotely resilient. 

I’ve been working online for the last 7 years and I see more business switching quickly to remote work.

The great thing about the LinkedIn chain below is that in the comments others are sharing their home office and WFH environment.

Here are some tools to check out to help increase remote work and collaboration: 

• ?? Miro (online collaboration tool)
• ?? Trello, Notion, Basecamp (project management tools)
• ?? Zoom, Everzippy, Skype, Google Hangouts (online video calls)
• ?? Loom (records your screen, I love giving feedback using video)
• ?? Discord, Slack (online team collaboration tool)
• ?? Facebook Groups, Discord, Might Networks (community development) 
• ?? Google docs (collaboration word document) 
• ?? Canva (online graphics tool) 

All these tools focus on leveraging remote and collaboration. Plus provides accountability. 

What other collaborative and online tools are you using?

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Even if we are online, we should ingrain the habit of coffee breaks, it’s important to socialise. I love a good yarn with people.

There’s a reason why we people chit chat over the watercooler or the coffee machine.

We mentally need a break from work. Socialising provides that mental relief.

Being remote doesn’t mean we stop socialising.

It's a different way of communicating and engaging.

Reach out to your close ones, and say hi and have a good yarn with them.

Run your own “coffee chats” moments - use Skype, Zoom or your preferred communication tool. 

I’m setting up a monthly fried chicken meet up at 8AM AEST next Friday. It's going to weekly chill thing and my way to keep myself sane.

Put your name down here to participate.

You don’t have to bring fried chicken (but I love you more if you do). 

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Corona What!? Content Is still Relevantly Important 

If you’re a business.it’s time to think about how to increase (and not decrease) your online presence. 

I had an interesting chat via LinkedIn messenger, and they are surprised that my business is increasing and it’s business per usual for me.

That’s because I’ve set up my business to be remote and online for a few years.

The Trusted Voice, is about helping professionals and businesses build an online presence.

Part of our ethos is to prepare business for the future.

The future is online. 

Again, it’s about increasing your online presence via content. 

LinkedIn as a social platform has dynamically switched. It’s now a content-driven platform. It’s not about building a CV resume and going for jobs.

It’s now about showcasing your authority and expertise online.

Professionals and experts are becoming content creators.

They are upskilling their communications via content to: 

• ?? Attract business
• ?? Build partnerships
• ?? Build a personal brand
• ?? Build authority and credibility

They are developing and becoming a trusted voice in their industry.

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Are You Creating or Consuming?

The biggest advantage of creating content is that you’ll build an audience relevant to your industry. 

When you reach out to connect with like-minded folks, they are likely to respond positively as they see your digital footprint and credibility. 

A big no-no is to connect and message them with a sales pitch.

More than ever, many businesses are holding back on spending. 

Which means, this is also the time to build relationships and share value via content.

This is a time to create content of substance.

• ?? Share your expertise.
• ?? Provide value.
• ?? Be a voice.

If you feel like you want to be a better content creator via LinkedIn.

Feel free to check The Trusted Circle, we’re helping professionals stand out online. 

Content That Does The Best On LinkedIn 

To help kickstart your content journey, I will share what type of content that best resonates on LinkedIn:

Based on my own data set, these are the 4 posts that do the best in views:

Status Post Copy

No links, pure copy that makes it easy to read. It allows them to consume the key message. I suggest writing in 5th grade language, not because they are dumb but that it’s the best way to consume content and get your message across. 

Videos

It doesn’t need to be fancy, use your mobile. Our smartphone has a really good camera on it. Make sure it’s stabilised and you are surrounded by good light. 

People don’t watch a boogeyman. Another thing to be conscious of, video picks up energy so bring your best energy to the camera as others pick up on your frequency. 

I like video as it shows your expertise and confidence. People do business with people. 

PDF

Professionals love good slideshow with good visuals. Use the PDF as a Slideshare. Be visual, don't lean too much on being text-heavy documents. Use Canva to develop some clean and stunning PDF documents.

Comments

Super underrated, but commenting is content too. There are two approaches to commenting. You can comment and engage in conversations inside your posts. I noticed that people love to lurk and learn. 

The second approach is to comment on other people’s posts and show your expertise. This provides value and adds to the poster’s original post. It’s a great way to gain the poster’s attention too. 

Here's an example of great and relevant comment.

Content That Does The Worse On LinkedIn

Sharing Links

LinkedIn as a platform wants you to stay, not leave their platform. So, post original and native posts. 

Messages that pitches & does not provide value

Salespeople do this often. It often leaves a sour taste. Don’t pitch after you connect with others.