When people say "You're so..."

Approachable. Normal. Friendly. Wise. Creative. Calm.

All things I've been called in the last 24hrs. I know.

I was surprised too ??

In fact, I'm always surprised how people's perception of me can be SO different to the one I have of myself.

Is perception what's holding you back?

I've read lots of content from people who avoid posting because of what other people might think of them.

I understand, we all do.

The truth is, you're only a business owner because you:

1. Have experience
2. Have a track record of previous success
3. Are the type of person that people will buy from

But NO ONE will buy from you without knowing something about you first.

So, just for a laugh, here's a list of steps on "How to become a person on LinkedIn", according to recent content I've come across on my daily scrolls.

Of course, I could have mentioned creating a carousel with some of your hottest tips, add in a pet and repurpose a TikTok, but I think you get the general idea.

Joking aside, the most important person that you need to try and be on LinkedIn is YOU.

1. Demonstrate that you understand your target audience (once you know who that is)
2. Show through testimonials that your clients are happy with your service
3. Be honest about your journey and ask for help when appropriate
4. Tell us something about you that helps us to get a sense of who you are and what you might be like to work with

Understand the value to your audience before hitting "publish".

Audience? What audience? ??

In my live show earlier today with James West , we talked about the importance of building quality connections with those around you (you can catch up here)

I say this very tongue and cheek but my principle argument has always been: Jesus only needed 12.

Instead of worrying about how many people are interacting with/ignoring your content, consider asking whether you've been reaching out or accepting requests from the right people. It's far better to speak to a small number of the right people, than to speak to hundreds of people who are never likely to do business with you.

So trade in the vanity metrics for something more real.

Most, if not all of the business owners who have appeared as guests on my show would agree to the power of reciprocity, networking and being authentic on LinkedIn.

Next week on Talk the Talk, I'm joined by Ben Slater - make sure you join us at 11.30am on 1st March (the event will be set up later this week)

So, what are you going to talk about???

Instead of leaving things to chance and inspiration, a worthwhile exercise to help you stay consistent with the value you're adding is to decide just what you want to talk about.

1. Values.
2. Products/Services.
3. Family.
4. Everyday experiences.
5. Professional experience.
6. Testimonials.

These are topics that can be discussed over and over again but from different angles, different pathways and different points of view to start generating conversations.

On a day when the well is empty, these topics will help you stay focused.

REMEMBER : It's NOT about you. It's about your audience.

Something else that stood out from a conversation this week...

Be APPRECIATIVE, but not GRATEFUL. Thanks Odette Mould for this one.

I didn't think there was much of a difference between the two. Here's where Super Google came into help.

Appreciate (verb): recognize the full worth of.

Grateful (adjective): feeling or showing an appreciation for something done or received.

??

For a long time, I have been grateful to have the opportunity of becoming self employed presented to me, despite the traumatic nature of that experience.

This new mindset shift means that I recognise the value of it, but I no longer feel the need to act on it and reinforce those feelings of appreciation.

Choosing the right words is fundamental to what I do for my clients EVERY DAY.

Have you been using the wrong words in your business communications? Has this potentially stunted your ability to move forward? Maybe you were assigning gratitude to the wrong place?

If you're on a similar journey with imposter syndrome or even just a loss of direction, let me know if this mindset shift worked for you too.

Have you checked your pension?

I had my first year summary conversation with Paul Swales DipPFS this week, and it reminded me of the importance of re-evaluating the decisions I'd been making at the start of my self employment journey, now that I'm a little older and a little wiser ??

Maybe you need to look at getting your own pension, or maybe you can use this as a prompt to start writing about the things you've learnt in your time as a business owner?

Could you talk about how things have changed in your sector and how you've learned to adapt?

Can you relate an experience that is relevant to your audience?

...Or maybe you just really want to talk to Paul about your pension.

Need that brain unblocking?

I've already had some incredible unblocking sessions with business owners looking to market their businesses on LinkedIn, but struggling with the creativity to do so.

Is this you?

If you're struggling with strategy or just need to understand how to get things going, let's have a chat! It's a part of my skillset that I really enjoy sharing, so please set me the challenge of making your industry irresistible. You can book a call here. It's a great way of getting support before deciding whether or not you need a ghost/content writer to help with your content.

And finally...

To all those content writers, specialists and wizards - if you're telling everyone to write about the problem they can solve, aren't you assuming that the audience knows that they have a problem?

And doesn't that make a very repetitive and negative feed for LinkedIn?

Just saying...

Be you, stay safe and have fun.