In the previous episode, I talked about showcasing yourself as a speaker on your website. If you haven’t listened to it yet, here’s a spoiler alert: I told y’all to start with the marketing assets you have and upgrade or add more as you continue speaking.

Having a speaker website is definitely important. But how do you get people to find that website? That’s where social media comes in. Showcasing yourself as a speaker through social media content is just as important, if not more important, than having a great speaker page.

If you loved this episode, I’d love for you to leave a review on iTunes and tell me about your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of you listening on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @jessicarasdall.

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RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Showcasing yourself when you’re just starting out

In a recent workshop, I was asked, “What should we do if we don’t have up-to-date video of us speaking on a stage? How do we share video samples if we haven’t done a talk yet?”

These are great questions, and I’m sure many of y’all are wondering the same thing. Essentially, these questions are asking, “How do I start showing up if I don’t have the marketing assets to look like a pro speaker yet?”

I have a two-part answer for you:

Hit pause or stop reading for a second, and listen to last week’s episode. Remember, you have to start with where you are.
Take a deep breath and know that you can still show up as a speaker on social media without perfectly polished or professional marketing assets.

Let’s talk about how to do that.

Define your speaker brand

First up, I want you to figure out who you are as a speaker. Consider questions like:

What’s your brand?
What’s your speaking style? Inspirational, casual, educational?
What kind of energy are you bringing to the room when you speak? Is it calming or exciting?
Who are you speaking to? What’s your niche?
What impact are you making on your audience?
What’s your ultimate goal?

That’s a lot to think about, so take it one step at a time. If it helps, you can think of what you aren’t to define what you are.

It’s important that you get clear on the experience you’re offering from the stage so that you can create a similar experience on your social platforms. Consistency is key! If you’re inconsistent, you’ll confuse — and possibly mislead — your audience.

Collect your assets

Next up, gather any marketing materials that you have. As you speak on more stages, collect more and newer assets to use on social media (and your speaker website). But you have to remember to ask for those assets after every opportunity!

Here’s what you can begin collecting for social media

Photos of you speaking
Video clips of you on stage, whether they’re virtual or in-person
Positive testimonials
Quotes from your talks
Teasers for upcoming talks
Photos or videos of you preparing for a presentation
Logos from events or places you’ve spoken

This is where you can have fun being creative with your marketing materials for social media. Think of multiple ways to use one asset so you can get the most content out of it.

A quote from your talk, for example, can be shared as a graphic on Pinterest, a caption accompanying a picture of you, a carousel of images on Instagram…see what I mean here? You can get a lot of mileage from one piece of content.

Leave a trail of breadcrumbs

Okay, you’ve got a collection of marketing assets now. Rather than dump all of the videos and photos and graphics on all of your platforms at once, share them one by one.

Always leave a trail of breadcrumbs for your followers to find. Spread out your marketing materials and use them to remind people that you’re a speaker. If you share them all at once, people will lose interest in what you have to say.

And don’t forget about two very important parts of sharing assets on social media: your captions and your links. If you share a photo of yourself on Instagram speaking at an event and just say “Here I am on stage speaking” then you’re wasting an opportunity to connect with your followers!

Be purposeful with the captions. Offer value by sharing parts of your talk. Encourage people to book you with a call-to-action. Incite conversation by asking your followers for referrals or speaking opportunities.

And always, always share where you’re speaking or have spoken so people can find you elsewhere. Podcasts you’re on, summits you’ve joined, interviews you’ve done — no matter how big or small, share it!

Do the “new follower” check

Wanna make sure your social media accounts are always inviting to new followers (who can eventually become audience members and paying customers)?

Do the “new follower” check. Look at your content from the perspective of someone who just stumbled across your account. Can they tell you’re a speaker? Do they know how to book you, find samples of your talk, or get tickets for your next event?

It helps to curate your speaker content on your platform if you can. On Instagram, for example, save your “breadcrumbs” to a Highlight that people can easily access. It may be a board on Pinterest or a playlist on YouTube. Make it as easy as possible for people to find your content.

Oh, and because I know someone out there is wondering: there’s no “best” platform that all speakers should be on. It depends on your audience, your mission, and the opportunities you’re taking. If hosts and organizers are on Instagram, go there. If they’re using Twitter and LinkedIn, be on there. It will all depend on your business and your speaking strategy.

Show up on social media as you are

Social media is all about connection and communication. To use social media as a tool for speaking, you gotta connect with your audience and keep that conversation going. To do that, remember to:

Stay true to your speaker brand. Whoever you are onstage should match your online persona.
Share the assets you have little by little. Remind your followers that you’re a speaker.
Give people the info they need to find you elsewhere online. Tell people how to book you, find your speaker page, join your next event, or talk to you.

If you think you’re not good at using social media for speaking, trust me — you’re not alone! I’ve been getting a lot of questions about showcasing yourself on social media. In fact, I’ve been working on a new resource that I think will help a lot of people: the Speaker Social Media Guide + Visibility Plan!

This brand new product will be released soon, so if you want to be one of the first to get your hands on it (and at a discounted rate) pre-order Speaker Social Media Guide + Visibility Plan now!