We're All Ears

Brian Fanzo is a digital marketer and speaker who tells it how it is. He is unapologetically himself and encourages others to do the same. Join me in a really interesting discussion on how he creates content that help him elevate his authority and make an impression with the world online.

Key Takeaways:

• Lean into what works. Be willing to pivot and focus your energy on what is working. Don't stick with things that aren't working or isn't what you want to be doing.
• How do you create so much content at once? If you want to be successful, you have to work smart, not hard.  He upcycles his content. 6 pieces of content a week are based on one core piece of content. He records a live video podcast on social media, exports the audio content for a podcast episode, and then turn it into blogs, social posts, and other pieces. 
• Great content is determined by the audience. 
• You have to bring your content to where your audience is. If you prefer audio, you can listen to his podcast. If you prefer video, you can watch his video. Everyone learns and consumes content differently, so why aren't we creating content in all of those various forms? Brian creates content and then exports it out in different ways to fit different people and their style. 
• Set timers for yourself as you're building/creating content. 
• "I like to zig when everyone is zagging." He likes to observe what other people are doing and see where he can stand out.  Be willing to adjust and adapt.
• Schedule time to engage with your audience on social media! Relationships that come beyond the content are magic! 
• "If you treat marketing like a billboard, you will get billboard results." Stop talking at people and talk WITH people instead!
• Spend time setting up the notifications you want on your devices so that you don't get distracted, BUT you get the info you need!

Recommended Links:

We’ve been told time and time again that story is vital to success.  But, what does that actually mean?  Today, we have Brian Summerall here to help us understand how story can transform how you talk about your brand, whether you are in a nonprofit, ministry, or even for-profit business.

Who is Eric Scofield?

Eric Scofield is the Chief Development Officer at Young Life and has a longstanding history working within this ministry.  He has a unique gift of building relationships and building a platform to share

What Did We Chat About?

• How Young Life ministry principles can help anyone learn how to share their message
• The power of relationship 
• Organic growth of online platforms

Golden Nuggets From Our Conversation:

• Earn the right to be heard.  This was first said by Jim Rayburn, founder of Young Life.  We focus on caring more about the person than sharing our message.  Only once we have a relationship and have earned the right, can we share and open up with our message.  We want to work our way in and earn the right to be heard, rather than standing and shouting on a street corner.  
• Relationship is everything!  It’s not just important or strategic, but is everything!
• Jesus went WITH people.  We have to go WITH people in order to share our message with them.  We were designed for relationship.  
• Collect friends.  Eric shares this quote on his blog, but he originally heard it from his friend, Morris Dierks.  Some people collect coins, some people collect rocks, but I collect relationships.  
• You don’t always know what content is going to “catch.”  Some content has a life of its own and it’s scratching where people are itching.  
• Social media can be an amazing tool.  It can act like a trampoline.  You feel like you can jump higher and farther and it’s so much easier.  I can jump more if I share things on social media.
• “We need to have a lot of bobbers in the water.  Why fish with one pole, when technology has given you the ability to fish with multiple poles in the water?”  

Recommended Links:

Want to get noticed?  Want more opens on your emails? Want people to come to your sessions at a conference? This simple trick will help you write better hooks.  

So much of building a brand is about how much people see us online.  Today, we have Viveka Von Rosen sharing her insights about increasing visibility online and through LinkedIn.  

Who is Viveka?

Viveka is the Chief Visibility Officer at Vengreso and a keynote speaker on LinkedIn marketing strategies.  She has seen LinkedIn and sales tactics change over the past decade and has amazing insights into what people need to do to position themselves strategically to attract the right audience.  Vengreso is a company that helps B2B salespeople create more sales conversations with qualified buyers.

Key Takeaways:

• Video is a powerful tool to position you as a thought leader and get visibility on LinkedIn.  
• If who you know isn’t who you want to know, then go out and craft your LinkedIn network to be the people you want to connect with to get to the next level. 
• Find mentors who can help you get to the next level.
• Create good content to put your best foot forward to your network. 
• Own your expertise!  Be confident in your skills and go after it!  Be committed to making it.  
• People will give you their time if you are providing them value and if they are feeling a connection to you.  

Recommended Links:

Learn how you can leverage small, mastermind-size groups to expand your audience and increase your reach.  Melody Jones shares with us how she did it with the help of a handful of peers and a willingness to go deep!

Who is Melody Jones?

Melody Jones is a social media expert who works primarily with authors and speakers.  She has an online community called Social Media Aspirin, to help provide value and decrease pain for authors and writers in social media education.  Melody is also the founder of Colorado Women in Social Media and is a speaker and consultant.  

What Did We Chat About?

• Social media tips for authors and writers
• Challenges and growing pains of a new tribe
• How to set guidelines and “rules” for your tribe
• Basic principles for building online growth with social media

Golden Nuggets From Our Conversation:

• Groups provide subtle accountability to keep moving toward your goals.
• Meeting regularly is vital for any group or tribe.  
• Vulnerability and the willingness to share struggles allows a group to truly grow.
• There’s strength in numbers.  It gives you a confidence boost to go after a goal or task as a group.
• Open communication is vital for a tribe to succeed.  Fight the urge to give into passive aggressive or simply passive communication.  “It’s easy to let technology stand in the way of true connection.”
• “Groups are about helping people build courage.” – Valerie Morris
• Be consistent AND persistent in social media.  It’s a marathon, not a sprint.  
• Don’t be afraid to be your authentic self online.  People can tell when you’re not being genuine!  “The energy you put out is the energy you’ll get back.”
• To build online authority, you need to be building off-line authority.  Show up at events, speak at conferences, and meet up with people live.  

Recommended Links:

Christina Rowe is the founder of The Collaborative Team.  She provides leadership and team development for small to medium businesses through a positive strengths based approach of coaching.  She is an expert in helping people understand how to improve their group dynamics.  She shares many of her insights on group dynamics and tribe building in our conversation today! 

Key Takeaways From Our Discussion:

• In order to get to high functioning trust in a group, you must first start with understanding people’s strengths and their values.  
• Foster a culture of abundance, rather than scarcity, creates a more successful trust being built naturally rather than competition.  
• Giving first matters even more in situations where there is a traditional hierarchy of team roles.  Don’t be afraid of being surpassed.  Set others up for success.  You never know when that is going to have a boomerang effect on you.  
• Slow down and listen to what people need information on.  Pay attention to how people are experiencing their projects and goals.  Be mindful and thoughtful in how you approach it.  Let people feel heard and understood.  Slow down and find out what people actually need.  
• “We live in a culture that is afraid to pause.  Sometimes people just need the moment to be heard.”
• “Avoidance rarely solves anything.”
• “My biggest regret as an entrepreneur is not playing my “newbie card” more when I was just starting out.”
• Ask people where they see your content or pay attention to it most.  Ask them during face to face conversations!  
• Leverage any speaking engagement you have on social media!  People are paying attention to these posts, and often they are people you least expect!

Recommended Links:

One of the secrets to success is surrounding yourself with people who are moving in the same direction.  Krystal Covington understands that full well as she has built up a successful women's professional group in Denver.  In the process, she's seen herself change and grow as well.  Can't wait to share with your our discussion! 

Who is Krystal Covington?

Krystal is a visionary leader based in Denver, Colorado.  After moving to Denver, she formed Women of Denver, a professional networking group for women from all walks of life.  Krystal is a PR expert and has grown a great personal brand as well.  She has a lot of great insights to share about building a tribe and growing community.  

What Did We Chat About?

• How people can grow using a group like Women of Denver
• Tips for personal branding

Golden Nuggets From Our Conversation:

• People are looking for a place where they can find people like themselves.  People want to develop and grow. 
• The deepest connections happen in person, but if you're active and intentional you can nurture relationships on social media.  Use personal messages to deepen relationships.  
• Branding is about being visible on a regular basis and to a growing number of people.  That could be live in-person conversations or a discussion on an online group.
• Share your expertise and tag others to help grow your reach.
• Building your own platform allows you instant leadership and visibility.  Many doors open by organizing and building your own network - even if most of the events are not featuring you.  "Great opportunities come from creating community."
• Consistency is key to building influence.  It takes time to truly build a strong and powerful brand that gets you the results you want. Consistency ultimately means continuous visibility.

Recommended Links:

I had the distinct honor of sitting down with my friend, Ian Simkins and talking about sharing your message to the masses. Ian doesn’t realize it, but he’s influencing people every single day to change the way they think or the way they think about their beliefs. I LOVED chatting with him and hearing right from him about his journey to sharing a message with the world that he cares about deeply. 

Golden Nuggets From Our Conversation: 

How do we find beauty in commonly shared spaces? Instead of trying to convince people, we’re inviting. “Beauty isn’t about convincing; it’s about inviting.” 

The early church involved five main components: Word, Meal, Time, Song, Prayer. Beauty in the Common invites people to write narratives that follow these same five components. They have people from all types of Christian backgrounds contributing to this project. When was the last time you truly pondered beauty?

“We try to hard to commodify beauty, but it’s the one thing that can’t be commodified. Beauty doesn’t make real sense, but when we see it, it changes people.” The team for Beauty in the Common has pushed for the idea to move forward. The team helps him dream bigger and what the next phase could be. 

“Talking about things that push the limit is really a dance.” Confirmation bias is such a strong influence of our opinions. Be careful of this on social media because the algorithms will. 

“World views are like glasses. I don’t think about the fact that I’m looking through a lens most of the time, but we are all looking through a lens. It’s not until the lens fogs up, do I notice it and think about what I’m looking through.” 

Jesus had so many opportunities to say something directly, but instead he told stories. If we were to take our cues from him, we would do well to get imaginative about how we engage. Build relational equity with people with thoughtful questions, engagement, grace, and kindness. 

“I’m perpetually open to the possibility that I am way wrong.” I believe that other people may be very right. I try to post things as questions. “Is it possible that…” “Could we consider that…?” “Has anyone thought about…?” 

How do you deal with criticism: Play drums, go for a run, and physically process criticism. See the humanity of the person criticizing first before their comment.

Social media allows us a space where we can take a big deep breath in and a big breath out before you respond. Find mentors who are 20-30 years ahead of you in life. They can help provide you great perspective. How can we listen well? 

“We need to listen to understand, not to respond.” At the core, when we fail to really listen to people, it’s coming from a belief that what we have to say is more important than the other person. Be ready to be surprised by people! Pay attention because you might be surprised. 

“Creativity and wisdom doesn’t follow a chain of command.” 

Be endlessly curious about people. Look for the unique narrative in each human being. Every human being is made in the Imago Dei – what can be more interesting to discover than that?! 

Don’t be a one-dimensional character online. People can sniff out if you aren’t being real and only sharing about one thing all the time. Share about your real life instead so that people can see the full picture of who you are. “People resonate with humanity and people who are being themselves.” 

Whatever the reason, when you pivot into something new, you need to build up authority in a strategic way.  The world may know you for one topic of expertise, and now you need to be known for something new.  How do you go about building that and changing directions in a smart way?  Pat Flynn joined me for a great discussion on some tactics and mindsets that have worked well for him.  

Who is Pat Flynn?

Pat is a podcaster, passive income expert, educator, speaker, author, and one of the most humble guys in the digital marketing space I’ve seen so far.  He made a big pivot in 2008 when he got laid off from his architecture position.  Since 2008, he has shared his journey to earn money with passive income streams through his blog and his podcast.  He has also shared many of his journey to entrepreneurship in the process.  Pat is one of those guys who is always learning, building, growing, and innovating.  Best of all, he loves sharing his knowledge and is an educator at heart.  

Golden Nuggets From Our Conversation:

• How has architecture helped you in entrepreneurship:
  • “I had a lot of advantages coming from a design background in the world of online business.  A lot of it was based on work ethic.  As an architect, you have to spent a little bit of time upfront planning something before you execute on it.”  Experience in planning is a great experience to have in business.  
  • Knowing that a project might be massive, and knowing how to break projects up into smaller milestones was a great application from the architecture world to business.  
  • Learn to break projects into smaller chunks and milestones to approach larger projects. 
  • Design skills you learn in architecture allow you the ability to design and create many of the artwork and digital graphics yourself.  
  • Knowing how to function on very little sleep was one very important skill that architecture taught him!
• “Stick to one thing and master that.”  You may need to try a few things, but once you find the thing that brings you results, go all in with that.  You may see people who are doing “all the things,” who have been in business much longer and have had time to build up to that level.  You need to be realistic about what you can do with where you are at in your business.  
• There’s less competition when you niche down and get specific.  
• Get rid of FOMO, and instead focus on JOMO (Joy of missing out)!  
• How do you change gears and build thought leadership in a brand new topic?
  • Realize what got me here, won’t necessarily get me there.  Be willing to change as you need to.
  • No matter what you do, realize what your superpower is.  Put that superpower into whatever you do, even if it’s in a completely new area.  
  • What is the end goal?  Who are you serving?  What kind of lifestyle do you really want to live?  “Sometimes we don’t realize how great a pivot can be until later down the road.”  Be open to change.  

Recommended Links:

Want to instantly position yourself as an expert?  Writing a book and publishing a podcast opens up more doors than you would ever imagine.  Laura Petersen has amazing experience using both of these tools to help thought leaders elevate their visibility and brands.  Take a listen to our conversation today and learn from this amazing expert!

What Did We Chat About?

• How does a book help position you as a thought leader
• How you can leverage podcasts and published books together
• Why do we share things?  

Golden Nuggets From Our Conversation:

• The common denominator with big speakers and influencers was that they have published a book.  
• Your podcast and your published book can work together to help promote each other.  
• Start where you are more comfortable.  If you like speaking better, start with a podcast. If you like writing, start with your book and get the ball rolling.  
• "The only way you can fail is by doing nothing.  Taking action anytime is a good thing."
• A book is a lot of up front work that you can leverage forever.  A podcast is something with less work at the beginning, but can provide regular activity.  
• Publishing a book gives people a natural confidence that can't help but come out.  Internal self confidence comes out.  
• There's magic around publishing a book.  Take advantage of that psychologically!  
• Published books are credibility indicators to the public!
• Ask for video testimonials from people or screenshots!  

Recommended Links:

Who is Jemimah Ashleigh?