CRANK THE 3RD: Exploring the entrepreneurial + creative side of life post 50

If you’re building a professional personal brand today, there’s probably a 95% chance you’re on LinkedIn.

You might not be as strategically active as you could be (that’s a story for another day!), but you at least have a personal profile and probably are publishing content on a regular/semi-regular basis.

If you’re running a business - even if you’re a solopreneur and the business is YOU! - LinkedIn becomes perhaps even more important, so you want to be able to get the most out of the platform.

If this sounds like you, keep reading (or just start listening to this episode!).

So, you have your personal profile buttoned down, but have you thought about setting up a LinkedIn COMPANY PAGE (aka LinkedIn Page, and LinkedIn Business Page)?

Wait ... whaaat?

Like many of us, you’re no doubt busy enough without adding what is effectively another social channel!

Hear me out. It might sound counter-intuitive, creating a Company Page if you run a personal brand-based business. I mean, shouldn’t the personal profile be your focus?

Well, yes ... and, no.

My guest for this episode - Michelle J. Raymond - puts forth a solid case as to why having a LinkedIn Company Page, alongside your personal profile, is a savvy marketing move.

Michelle is a B2B social selling consultant and LinkedIn strategist and trainer. She is founder of Good Trading Company, co-author of the book “Business Gold: Build Awareness, Authority and Advantage with LinkedIn Company Pages." - and host of the GOOD FOR BUSINESS show.

Indeed, Michelle is such a huge advocate for LinkedIn Company Pages that she operates three of them, along with her personal profile!

Want to know how she makes them all worth together? Check out this episode!

Topics covered in this conversation:

• Why it’s worth looking at Company Pages with “a fresh set of eyes”
• Why you should think of your LinkedIn Company Page as a "greatest hits album"
• Tips to grow your LinkedIn Company Page
• Producing LinkedIn Lives: personal profile, or Company Page?
• Michelle’s approach to LinkedIn (generally) and how much time she spends on the platform

We also touch on LinkedIn audio events and LinkedIn newsletter functionality

[ QUOTABLE QUOTE ] “Stop collecting Page followers, it’s not inspiring to anybody ... start building your B2B community, start being the go-to source for your industry.” - Michelle J. Raymond

Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn

Follow Good Trading Co on LinkedIn

THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY CREDIBLE AUTHORITY ACADEMY: It's your turn to profit from your ideas, your wisdom, and your experience.

In the last episode (#234) I chatted with Greg Burgoyne, founder of Course Creators Academy, about productising your knowledge and scaling your impact.

That episode - and this one too - is all about extracting the value from the profile and reputation you build, and is spot-on for knowledge entrepreneurs - speakers, coaches, mentors, teachers, consultants and advisors.

Even if you run a consulting firm or an agency, listen up folks :)

In this episode, content strategist and podcast producer, Brendan Keogh, and I recap the Greg Burgoyne interview, pulling out and discussing actionable insights that you can use!

Greg and I talked about:

Cohort-based courses, and the stages involved in launching and delivering them

Self-paced evergreen courses, with or without a community component, plus the hybrid variations (key message: there are lot of different ways to productise and sell your knowledge today!)

Delivering online training into enterprise-level organisations

The different types of delivery platforms e.g. Kajabi, Podia (all-in-one platforms) vs course hosting platforms such as Teachable, and Thinkific; marketplaces like Udemy (the “YouTube of paid courses”); WordPress plugin options, plus online community platforms such as Mighty Networks that house courses and training as well as community forums.

In turn, Brendan and I go deeper still, expanding on the points that Greg raised in the original interview.

Some key takeaways include:

• start small
• test and validate your idea
• get feedback and gain insights

... before committing to a the production of a full course.

ALSO: Suck up the marketing function. If you productise your knowledge, you need to also sell what you create!

Bottom line: The opportunities for expanding your knowledge business and scaling your impact are immense!

Bumper episode time folks!

As we draw closer to the 150th episode of the Reputation Revolution podcast, we thought we'd take this opportunity to dig into the vaults and bring to you some fantastic guests from our first one hundred shows.

This episode comes in three parts:

PART 1 - Unleashing the power of purpose

PART 2 - Capitalising on the myriad opportunities to build and connect with an audience

PART 3 - Hand-picked tips from global experts

I told you, bumper, right?

So we've dusted off some professional experts and thought leaders just for you, including:

• Richard Sauerman
• Lucy Whittington
• Karen Gunton
• Lisa Petrilli
• Darren Rowse
• Donna Papacosta
• David M. Hobson
• Simon Mossman
• Loren Bartley
• Joe Pulizzi
• Ann Handley
• Joanna Penn

Richard, Lucy, Karen and Lisa share their thoughts, ideas and stories around authenticity in personal branding and the importance of thought leaders being aligned to their purpose.

Darren, Donna, David, Simon and Loren cover blogging, podcasting, LinkedIn, media relations and Facebook.

And in the run home, Joe talks about the importance of focus, consistency and the power of "going all in"; Ann discusses the benefits of giving away your knowledge, and the importance of video in your content creation efforts; and Joanna chats about finding your voice, leaving digital breadcrumbs online, and the importance of having a book if you're a public speaker.

Monster episode with lots of gold! Hope you enjoy it!

When she's not searching for the latest pop-up restaurant or drinking coffee at her favourite Melbourne haunt, Kate Ware helps business owners create digital marketing strategies that sell their products and services and boosts their reputation online.

In this wide-ranging chat on all things social media, Kate and host Trevor Young cover such points as:

• The best social channels for thought leaders
• Why Twitter is complementary to LinkedIn
• The rise of private online communities
• Robust discussions a sign you're on the right social media path
• How Twitter has cleaned up its act & is now more user-friendly
• How to effectively use Twitter lists
• Why LinkedIn is the most exciting platform for thought leaders
• Maximising LinkedIn for all of its features
• Why direct messaging is the most powerful function of LinkedIn
• The power of micro-stories & raw 'in the now' video on LinkedIn
• The opportunity that comes with responding to comments on social media
• Don't be afraid to have a point of view, especially around topical issues relevant to your business
• How batch production of micro-content allows thought leaders to build their narrative efficiently on social channels
• Should you be on Instagram?

If you want to raise your profile but are a bit confused when it comes to the current state of social media, this episode is worth a listen!

CONNECT WITH KATE:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

‘Thought leadership’ can be quite a nebulous concept, says Trevor Young aka The PR Warrior: consultant, author, speaker and host of REPUTATION REVOLUTION.

In this solo riff, Trevor says simply telling people you’re a thought leader doesn’t necessarily make you one. That said, there’s certainly nothing wrong with aspiring to become a thought leader in your industry, profession, discipline or community.

Trevor says that to become a thought leader today, you don’t need to rely on the gatekeepers e.g. the media, or book publishers:

"You can become your own media channel, and you can publish your own books and distribute them globally," he says