Which 3 Trends I'll Invest in 2022

Newsletter Highlights

1. Tend to Yo' Trends - personal story
2. My Top 3 Trends of 2022
3. Dropping my first NFT
4. Bobby's Besties (shout-outs to 3 biggest Trend Friends)

Tend to Yo' Trends

Thought Leaders need to stay on top of trends. They need to learn which ones to invest in and which ones are not aligned. If the trend aligns with your brand, then it's important to stay on top of things, to listen, learn and understand so that you can be the one driving the conversation about them with authority.

Personal Story - The Power of Three

In 2016, one of the smartest guys I know named Ameer was on Facebook talking about cryptocurrencies and how awesome they were. This was the start of an onslaught of people in my network talking about them like they were awesome or they were crap. What's amusing is that those who talk badly about trendy topics haven't really done their research.

I'd heard about cryptocurrencies, but didn't understand and had no idea whether it would pass or not. Then my friend Izzy took me out for lunch and talked about Bitcoin. He was a closer friend and colleague who was moving fast in the space. He said he acquired Bitcoin two year ago and already it was worth $20k. That certainly got my attention.

At my annual holiday party, Louis-Eric, one of the smartest guys I know and a friend for over 30 years, said 'Bobby you need to get into this'. He suggested a mix of various ones, but Bitcoin and Ethereum were solid bets. I was cash flow poor then, but I decided to invest a small amount of $100. Louis-Eric was like "C'mon Bobby, a little bit more if you can". So a month later, I put in $150. That $250 eventually turned into $5,000.

?????? ?????????? ???? ?????????? for me means that when 3 people I admire, trust, and are among the the smartest in my network suggest something, I take it VERY seriously.

There are countless examples of how the Power of Three has benefited me greatly, but here are just two of them.

1. In the corporate world, three different colleagues in three different departments told me I should leave the corporate world, that I didn't fit in, or that the company was squeezing me out. I left, I never went back and I don't regret it.
2. In 2020, three friends recommended Clubhouse, so I gave it a try. Most of you know the rest of the story: 13k followers, started Thought Leadership Branding Club which now has 23k members and 50 in our inner circle community, and I learned how to monetize it.

More recently, I've seen Gary Vaynerchuk talk about NFTs on Twitter and in his email newsletter I got. But this was further fuelled by personal friends I admire like LIAM DARMODY, String Nguyen and Andy Storch. That power of three was enough to get me started. Then I saw others like Joshua B. Lee and Gary Henderson talk about it on CH. So I said count me in.

The past three months, I've been asked by literally 100 individuals in the NFT space to collaborate. But i went slowly, listening and learning. After building relationships, I'm happy to partner with three different people and projects. There's the power of three again!

Which 2022 Trends am I Investing in?

What are the biggest trends that I'm investing in? There are two that I'm definitely doubling down on that I see becoming BIG.

1. Social Audio

2. NFTs in the Crypto space

Let's discuss them below.

1. Social Audio events such as Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces and now LinkedIn Audio

I already shared above my Clubhouse growth. But I've also been building a weekly Twitter Space since August. Each platform has their advantages, but the big thing is how great Social Audio in these two places are for building deeper, more trusting relationships quickly, creating strong aligned communities and most of all, a culture that is easier to monetize.

Social Audio is the power of democratized podcasts. Podcasts are easily digestible so you can listen to them while driving, running, or doing the dishes. But they are a one-way medium. Social Audio allows everyone to come onstage and have a voice. Combine those two benefits with the power of the authentic audible voice and you truly have something worth investing time into.

Here Comes LIA (LinkedIn Audio)

Now LinkedIn Audio has launched (see image below) and we are seeing some great traction for our businesses and brands that we work with. Right now is the chance to get ahead of the curve and be one of the first adopters.

I'm investing in all 3 platforms weekly with

• 3 Twitter Spaces - Sat 11am (NFT Communities), Sun 3pm (LinkedIn Mastery), Mon 11am (Power of Connection)
• 2 LinkedIn Audio Events - Wed 1pm (Social Audio Strategies), Fri 9am (Content Strategies)
• 3 Clubhouse rooms. - Mon 4pm (LinkedIn Mastery - Mindset), Wed 10am (NFTs for Newbies), Wed 4pm (LinkedIn Mastery - Trends & Hot Topics with Judi Fox)

Want to join the conversations? Join us anytime.

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2. NFTs in the Cryto space

I know many of you either don't get it or are scared of it. I was the same. In fact, I still don't understand much of it. But when Gary Vaynerchuk identified this as a huge trend AND the Power of Three factored, it's imperative to start listening.

In the past 3 months, I've learned enough to understand the opportunity, know how to leverage the trends, and why it's critical to start forming relationships and partnerships. I recently met an incredible 11-year old kid from the Philippines named William who is already celebrating today how he sold all 80 of his NFTs for an average price of $200. (See image below). When I hosted a Twitter Space on this topic, the largest I had was over 2,000 people! Clearly there is a ton of excitement and support within this community.

So here's what I'm doing to invest in this trend.

1. Launching a weekly space to talk about this every Saturday 11am EST called "NFTs, Crypto and the Metaverse: Learn, grow and share with our Community". My #TLBClub teammate Heather Epstein is co-hosting.

2. Dropping my first ever NFT design, in collaboration with @Stigma_Fighters to support mental health initiatives. We'll release the piece and the story behind it during this Saturday's Twitter Space. I am SO excited and nervous. If interested, you can find it HERE.

3. Supporting young William and other artists with a weekly Clubhouse space Wednesdays at 10am EST.

4. Partnering with Nebula NFT to help them grow their awesome Discord Community. They are focused on answering even the most basic of questions for newbies. You can join 1,200 others HERE to learn.

Is there a THIRD thing?

Of course there are many trends to get behind this year. I'd love to hear from YOU what trends you are following, listening to, learning and investing in this year.

For me, my third is really helping businesses and brands leverage these 2 new trends.

If I can help you utilize Social Audio to grow your brand, your business, generate leads, build trusting communities and monetize, then that's exactly what the TLB Club is all about

If I can help you learn and understand what NFTs are, why they are important in the Crypto community and how you can build partnerships and opportunities to grow, then that's what those social audio rooms are for.

As you can see from this image below, there are a TON of people getting into these rooms and talking. I hope you can join me too in one of them.

Still not convinced? No worries, you can easily join our rooms and listen first. That's where I started.

Got questions? Just reply and ask away! Or ask in the rooms.

But I'd still love your support for ending the stigma around mental health. Watch the shares on Twitter this Saturday when we announce the new NFT in the space HERE. I'm pretty excited and nervous too.?

That's why trends are fun and exciting right?!

Bobby's Besties!

I love featuring a few 1st degree LinkedIn connections I love. Here are 3 awesome connections who are big with following new trends.

1. Heather Epstein: My TLB team member is also an NFT enthusiast, which is why she's co-hosting my Twitter SpaceMy clubhouse compadre and Social Audio advocate.
2. Joshua B. Lee: Another friend who got on the Clubhouse bandwagon, dove into LinkedIn Audio AND is doing the work to learn all about NFTs and Crypto.
3. Amber Mac: One of my favourite people to look for tech trends. She's always on media sharing the latest gadget or software to make my professional life and parenting life easier.

WHAT'S NEXT

I have only one ask today. Get exclusive access to my content by visiting my profile and RING THAT BELL! ??????????

Take care, Bobby

#ThoughtLeadership #Storytelling #Entrepreneurship #PersonalBranding #PowerOfConnection

P.S. Happy 20th anniversary to my life partner, best friend and amazing mommy of our two children Nyal and Ryah - Ananda Umar (see photo below) ??

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