Connections, Coffee & Confidence

We're all working on our reputation, whether we know it or not, every day. You can't get around it. But you can be intentional with how you create your reputation and this episode introduces one tip for doing that effectively: storytelling.

• Why you want people to talk about you (2:14)
• Practical Exercise: Brainstorm Session (4:12)
• Stories in Action (6:16)
• Social Media Strategy (8:26)

**Hey, are you wondering how to use social media so it helps you reach your goals instead of kill time? Let me show you the exact steps I use to make sure my client’s social media is strategic and cohesive so that you can use the socials to support your business without wasting time and getting frustrated.

I’m releasing my masterclass on my strategic social media content method on August 18, 2021.

By the time it’s over:

• you’ll have 30 days worth of strategic content ready to be created,
• you’ll know how to create your own messaging to ensure each post or live is pushing you towards ticking off your goals,
• the four foundations of creating the visual,
• and a few little tips of my own to keep you rocking.

I work you through a live example so you can see exactly what I mean and how the method works in real life, not just theoretically. Go to https://www.janicefogarty.com/create-your-social-media-content-strategy to learn more. (If you're on my email list you've been notified of your special pricing on my offerings!)

My Products:

• Don't Waste Your Breath guide on creating your own strategic messaging, based on your business goals. Get this download and learn how to speak clearly and with purpose about your business. (https://janicefogarty.podia.com/dont-waste-your-breath-get-your-best-message-across)
• Thinking about taking advantage of all the podcasts as opportunities to get your message out? You need my one page download on How to be an Amazing Podcast Guest checklist (https://www.janicefogarty.com/how-to-be-an-amazing-podcast-guest)
• Wondering how to get incredible PR to grow awareness of your business but can't afford a PR agency? You need 10 Places to get Publicity, Even with Zero Budget (https://www.janicefogarty.com/discover-10-places-to-get-free-publicity-even-though-you-have-zero-budget)

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Well hello and welcome to this episode of Connections, Coffee & Confidence with me, Janice Fogarty. I don’t know if you know this or not, but people talk. They might even talk about you. But what are they saying? Is it what you want them to say? And, more importantly, can you influence what they’re saying?

Essentially what I'm talking about here is reputation management, traditionally something you needed to hire a PR professional to do for you. But these days we’re all creating and managing our own reputations, whether we realize it or not. 

So what can you do to start being intentional about it? That’s today’s topic.

INTRO

Reputation management. It’s a massive topic, really detailed and nuanced and so much fun to work through. Unless, of course, you’ve made a massive slip and are in damage control mode. Then it’s less fun. That’s when you’re grateful you had the foresight to establish a good reputation to work to save and it’s probably the time to hire a professional. But for your regular day-to-day, there are some things you can do yourself to get people talking about you and influence what they’re saying.

Let me just check in with you first - are you squirming a bit? Even a little at the idea of having people talk about you? Because I get it. Many of us create logos and brands and put those things out there to represent our business. Many of us do things like talk about our offerings until the cows come home but never talk about ourselves. Because it’s much more comfortable to talk about the things we do because we believe in them, but talk about us? Shock and horror. No thank you!

Allow me to make a case for doing just that. 

When you talk about yourself, you naturally draw attention to your services, your business. And usually you can do it without looking like an advertisement. When you talk about yourself you stir up a bit of good old human curiosity, sometimes referred to as nosiness. But we want to encourage that to a degree and in a controlled fashion, we want to draw attention to your business. Talking about yourself also allows you the opportunity to discuss your expertise, again drawing people back to your business. Discussing your services, your capabilities, that’s building and enhancing your reputation. There’s no craziness involved, it’s just talking about you and what you do. 

And the nice thing about being an entrepreneur involved in this aspect of the business is actually being the expert - not just in your business but about yourself. There’s no one who knows you like you do. 

So essentially what I'm saying is that talking about yourself in your business is good for business. But what does this mean in practical terms? Oh, I love the practical stuff.

Ok. Grab some paper and let’s have a wee brainstorm session. Think about your experiences and your background. Think of the funny things that have happened in your business, that time you attempted to speak to your client in their native language to create relationship and you goofed. Or the time you saved the event by knowing the correct angles to take the pictures that would look amazing but not show the massive red wine spill on the dress. Or the time you got a lovely email from someone about how they love a specific product of yours for the way it makes their child or mother or themselves feel and why you created that product, how the email made you feel, how it inspired you to create a new product line. What about a funny story about what happened while you were studying for your degree or certification? Something that kept you up at night, something you aced, something you discovered you loved. Tell a client story, how you met them, how you help them, why you like working with them. What can you talk about that illustrates your experience and expertise, your personality or character? Write all of those down.

Now have a look at those ideas. Which could you comfortably make public? Obviously, if you were the one who spilled the wine on the dress you had to take the pictures of, that’s not a story you tell. But think about the stories that will really create a connection between you and the person you want to do business with. Which of these stories will appeal to them? Which will paint a picture of you as a person and a business woman?

So great, now you have a few stories to tell that will help increase your reputation. But what do you do with them? Oh, my love, what do you not do with them?! This is the fun part, and you need to start with the things that are fun or else you’ll talk yourself right out of doing them. Start with your favorite story. Your best one. Probably one you’ve told before and gotten a great response to, why not? 

Now run with it. Elizabeth Arden once said, “Repetition makes reputation and reputation makes customers.”  Oh, and she’s Canadian too, eh. Just a little tidbit for you. But she intuitively knew about creating and managing a reputation, she did a fantastic job of it for herself and her company until she grew her company so large that she took on professional help, of course. So take with her advice, and mine, and run with your stories. Often. On repeat. These are the anecdotes you tell when you speak to the media. The stories that warm up your audience the next time you give a talk or a presentation or webinar. They break the ice on your next podcast interview. These stories go on your website, peppered throughout - wherever relevant - to make your point about a product or yourself. Heck, these stories are prime material for an About Me page if you have one. And if you don’t, here’s the beginnings of one for you.

If you take a step back and look at the stories as a collection, what do they tell you? Is there a theme? A common thread that runs through many of them? Or something that stands out as particularly descriptive or indicative of you, your business? Something that can become or even inspires a motto or a tagline? A tagline that you pepper everywhere. Even on a tshirt, your twitter or Instagram bio?

Which leads us to using social media to humanize your brand, build your reputation. If you’re interested in learning more about how to use social media to grow your business, as a tool to effectively reach your business goals; if you need a better strategy than only to batch create when the stars align and your hair is amazing but you’re scrambling for things to say; if you’ve been trying to use social media for your business but just aren’t seeing the results you want; I have something for you. I’ve created a half hour masterclass where I teach you my method for creating strategic messaging and using it in my clients’ social media to move them towards their business goals. It’s exactly what I do and I include my four foundations for each post and even walk you through a real Facebook post, breaking it down so you see each element in action. The strategy works for all platforms and businesses, and you finish it not only knowing my exact method but also with 30 strategic post topics, designed by you to push your business forward. There’s more information on my website at janicefogarty.com and I’ll link to it in the shownotes.

And you know what? Stories like the ones you’ve brainstormed fit perfectly in this scenario, when you have stories designed to showcase a particular part of your personality, your expertise, your experience, social media can be the perfect place to tell them. Go live. Write a post. Take a picture. And repeat. Because remember Elizabeth Arden, repetition creates reputation and reputation creates customers.

Another brilliant person to quote is Oscar Wilde, the Irish tend to be incredibly quotable, it’s part of their charm. But he once said, “There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” You can influence whether people are talking about you and your business, and you can have a hand in deciding what they say by putting material out there for them to discuss. Pick what you want them to know, to talk about, and share that wherever you can. If you need help getting this process started, mapping out the strategy, send me an email at janice@janicefogarty.com because this is something I love helping people with. And if you want to learn how to work social media as a tool instead of as a looking glass into everyone else’s life and business, check out my website at janicefogarty.com and get my masterclass. Of course the link will be in the shownotes.

Thank you for spending your precious time with me today. But now I want you to take ten minutes and actually do that brainstorm ok? This stuff here is a quick and easy win and who doesn’t need that today? I’ll talk to you again next week. Until then, my friend.