Learn more from Valerie at https://tinterocreative.com

Give First To Grow Your Brand

Who is Scott Colby?

Scott Colby is the founder of Say It With Gratitude and a consultant.  Say It With Gratitude offers services, products, and speaking to help businesses incorporate gratitude into their daily culture.  Scott is also the author of The Grateful Entrepreneur.

Key Takeaways:  

• Be aware of where you’re at.  Change your mindset and be aware of your mindset when you’re complaining.  How can you flip it?  Can you find the good in it?
• Make gratitude part of your daily routine, from the start of the day.  Make a conscious point to have this in the morning.  Scott can tell a difference when he doesn’t have these in his mornings.  
• Come from a place of truly wanting to help people and sharing their content.  Focus on truly connecting with people!  Go into relationships with the intention of how you can truly help them first, rather than what you might be able to get out of the relationship.  If you come in too intense and selfish at first, you will repel the other person.  Be genuine to build relationships to build trust and friendship.  
• Think about a time when YOU felt like a transaction?  How did you feel?  What did they do?  What could have made that experience better?  Learn from these experiences and how you might be able to truly build relationships and not treat people like transactions.  
• Interviews are a great way to build influence and build new relationships as you grow your business.  It’s a great strategy to feature their expertise and grow your reach within their audience.  
• Build relational equity with people over time.  Show them love and support.  Start conversations and engage back with people consistently.  When you need help, your friends will be glad to help you with your request!
• Stop giving into comparison syndrome.  Use other people around you to elevate you and your goals, rather than let them discourage you by their success.
• Find five things you could share that someone else created. 
• Send thank you notes (handwritten!) whenever you can.  Write them religiously.  Most people don’t do that, so you will stand out from the crowd.  

Zig When Others Zag!

Get to know Brian Fanzo!  

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:

BrianFanzo.com

Just Try This Podcast

Instagram/Twitter:  @ISOCIALFANZ

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Wisdom As We Share Our Message

Michael Hidalgo is a pastor, author, podcaster, parent, and husband.  He currently is one of the pastors at Denver Community Church.  Michael has built an online platform over the years in various ways, many of which, as a pastor, have been very natural.  I know you’ll learn a lot from this interview with Michael to help you share your own message with the world.  

Golden Nuggets From Our Conversation:

Is this message something that is shaping me or changing me?  Is this something that is keeping me awake at night?  Is it changing the way I live my life.  “Until I get to that place, I don’t say anything.”  Ask these questions before speaking up.  

The greatest threat to the community is not heresy, but hypocrisy.  Study in community!  

Nothing goes out the door without going past multiple individuals.  

“I believe we need more voices.”  

“I want to hear what people are talking about, so that when I’m speaking I can speak into the places they are and do so in a way where hopefully they can take the next step.” 

Dealing with Disagreement or Criticism:  

Recognize that we live in a time where there are a lot of haters out there.  You could go on Facebook and only post about rainbows and kittens, and someone who hates kittens will still be upset.  I stopped saying people are angry; I think people are lonely. 

I surround myself with people who love me enough to challenge me.  When we invite that into our lives, then when the criticism comes through, I can view it with perspective.

The mute button and block button are okay to use.  When people come after you and accusing you of your motives and calling you names, you don’t need to engage. Is this meant to help me and my work grow, or just to blow things up?  “Any criticism that is meant to assault your character is not worth listening to.” 

How do we get our message out in a wise and kind way?

Ask yourself, "are we handling this like adults?”  Telling people they are wrong and terrible is typically the wrong way to convince them.  

Ask questions or start conversations that get at the heart of the problem and allow both sides.  Can we all just admit that…”  “This is something I’m learning…”

“Facts don’t change minds.  Stories have the power to change.”  What stories do we have around our message?  It’s really difficult to argue with someone’s story.  

Be willing to listen in return.

How do we listen better?

1.  The world is lonely.  Be a gift to others by being present and listening to them.

2.  Weighing my words before I speak is all tied to how slow I am allowing myself to go.  Allow yourself time to have space to meditate, pray, and orient your day.  It sets up your whole day and whole week.  

“People can tell within 90 feet and within 90 seconds if you believe what you’re saying or not.”  If you’re not willing to die for what you’re saying, they’re done.  

Always ask yourself who the one individual is you are sharing this information with?  Write down a full biography of the person you are speaking to.  If you aim for everybody, you will speak to nobody.  If you aim for somebody, you will speak to everybody.  

If you liked this podcast, please leave a review on iTunes!  If you found value in this episode, help a friend out and share this episode on Social Media.  

Are you one of the many people wondering is YouTube a social media or not? This unique platform often gets associated with social media platforms, but often behaves like a search engine. Join me today as I break down what YouTube actually is and how you can use that information to find success on the platform.  

Building Authority and Influence with the Help of Story

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:

EricScofield.com

Young Life 

Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt

Learn how to increase engagement with your social media audience with a few simple changes in perspective and tactics.  Learn more from Valerie at tinterocreative.com

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.  

Learn more from Valerie at www.tinterocreative.com

Building Authority With LinkedIn

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:

Vengreso  – Vengreso teaches, consults and practices modern selling strategies anchored in the requirement that marketing and sales must be aligned.

LinkedIn: 101 Ways To Rock Your Personal Brand: Grow your network and build your business!

LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour a Day

Building Online (And Offline) Authority With The Help Of Tribes

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:

Social Media Aspirin

Instagram:  @socialmediamelody

Twitter @socmediamelody

Stories Gathered at the Kitchen Table: A Collection of Women’s Memoirs

Colorado Women in Social Media

Build a Culture of Abundance & Confidence

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:

The Collaborative Team

If you liked this podcast, please leave a review on iTunes! Click HERE to discover the iTunes page. If you found value in this episode, help a friend out and share this episode on Social Media.