Content Marketing: The Only Way to Effectively Market in Today’s Digital AgeLet’s begin this lesson with a foundation for effective marketing. I don’t want you thinking about book promotion as a tedious task. Instead, I want you to see how the right marketing can actually be enjoyable, rewarding, and profitable. To accomplish this, however, you must engage in what the online business space calls “content marketing.” Simply put, content marketing is the creation of digital marketing materials that help sell a paid product or service. There are numerous types of content marketing strategies such as video marketing, blogging, podcasting, and interviews. You can create webinars, virtual summits, online Bible studies, and more. Using these media, you deliver engaging, entertaining, and enlightening materials to a specific audience. And through that delivery, you seamlessly interject your paid product or service. Now, here’s an example of how this plays out: Let’s say you want to sell your fiction book. Depending on the content of your work (i.e. the plot, the storyline, the characters), you may decide to target a specific audience that would enjoy your book. Once you find that audience, you can invite the readers to an online event where you:
By creating content (i.e. the online event), you present readers an opportunity to learn more about your paid product (i.e. the book). And once you’ve developed rapport with the audience, you can easily sell the book. This is how content marketing works. And you can begin your own marketing plans by leveraging Twitter/X to promote your leadership platform, brand, and core message. Twitter and How the App Functions If you don’t have a Twitter account, I encourage you to get one. It’s simple and FREE to set up; and during this next section, I will teach you why this app delivers so much bang for your buck. Twitter is like a text-messaging social site that allows its users to send bite-size thoughts with the TwitterSphere. There are various communities on Twitter, and each of them have their own unique Twitter culture. Today, Twitter also allows you to share long-form posts, like what we do on Facebook, if you wanted to share chapters of your book, blog posts, and long-form videos. At its original core, Twitter forces you to convey concise posts that give audiences what they need or want to read. There are multiple ways you can use this app to share the amazing content you have on your main site. For example, if you wrote a new blog post, and you want readers to consume it, you can share the blog headline on Twitter (along with the link), and readers will be redirected to your website. You can also initiate discussions and debates on your platform, which always generate engagement. Twitter is unique simply because of how fast information travels on this site. While the typical lifespan for one tweet is less than a post on Pinterest or Facebook, it’s easier to go viral on Twitter than anywhere else. How Should Leaders Use Twitter? Quite often, when new leaders enter the social media scene, their first inclination is to ask people to financially support their endeavors. They make this process about them instead of the audience or reader. Now that they have a new book, they want people to immediately purchase it. But that’s not how you want to present yourself, especially if you’re trying to build a leadership platform around your authorship. Publishing your book — while a major accomplishment for you — is not some major task the general public will celebrate for your sake. Your book must be seen as a product that is needed or desired in the market. So, when promoting on social media, you need to share your book with the people who will benefit mostly from it. When you venture into TwitterSphere, you want to begin sharing your book, not by asking for a sale, but by initiating conversations related to your book’s topic. The more you engage with the public here, the more people will be attracted to your message — that is, the RIGHT people. If you consider my Twitter platform, for example, you will discover that roughly 90% of my following is Conservative. My platform is spiritual and political. And any time you discuss politics, you are bound to receive instant attention. For this reason, I was able to grow (and maintain) my audience of 20,000+ followers. So, when I promote my book, which focuses on authentic Black Conservatism and the Conservative Movement, the material immediately resonates with my audience. It’s not a struggle to get them to purchase. So, when thinking about Twitter as a viable social media option, it’s important to build your audience firstly before trying to sell to it. You don’t have to share random quotations from your book to get a purchase. You don’t need to share your book cover just to get a like. No, ENGAGE with your audience, no matter how small or large it is. When you begin to sow into your seed audience, your seed audience will organically cause your platform to increase. A great way to see how it’s done is by following my Twitter Class. 10 Steps to Getting Started with Twitter Marketing I want to preface this section with this disclaimer. I do not proclaim myself to be an expert at Twitter Marketing. My lane focuses on helping you write books and create the structure for your leadership platform. So, when I do teach you about different elements related to online entrepreneurship, I give you just enough information to get your started. From there, I encourage you to find other experts who specialize in effective marketing so you learn more about each unique platform. For now, this article will give you a general breakdown of how best to leverage Twitter. Step 1: Before jumping on any social media platform, consider the overall message and mission you have. In other words, how do you want the online space to remember you? What will be your online contribution or legacy? Your mission statement ought to align with your overall vision. And your message should be a clear and concise one. Let’s say you are interested in empowering women. Think about how you want to empower them. Think about what you want to empower them to do. Think about the outcomes you want to see once people start connecting with your message. Once you have this, then it becomes easier to craft quick tweets that relate to your message. Step 2: Fill out your Twitter profile, and be creative with your Twitter banner. Your profile is a great way for you to show up in Twitter’s search. Your profile can also have a link to your website or book landing page. Use all the characters allotted to you, and don’t be afraid to shine. In your profile, consider adding the mission of your work. Step 3: Identify people in your industry who are “Thought Leaders.” Now, let me clarify what I mean by that term. A “Thought Leader” is simply a fancy word for an Influencer. It’s someone who has extensive reach in a particular space. It’s someone whom the general public sees as a go-to expert in the industry. When looking for Thought Leaders to follow, focus only on the ones who have a similar message as you. You can also follow leaders who help the same audience as you. This strategy will prove MOST EFFECTIVE in building your NETWORK. Step 4: Begin sharing engaging content on your Twitter platform. To begin this process, start by sharing some of your blog posts. Add links to your Twitter posts so your audience can immediately take a look. To help gain traction, use appropriate hashtags that help new users find your content. Next, you can start discussion questions related to your book’s topic. For example, whenever I’m on Twitter, I ask my Beloveds about our outreach efforts to Black voters. If you read my book, The Fifteen 20 Rise, you know this is the theme of the work. So, as I engage with the audience around this discussion, I can then share a link to my book to enhance their development. You can use this same strategy to engage users with your platform. Step 5: Don’t be afraid to tackle controversial issues related to your industry. If you are writing a book about helping authors succeed in their venture, find a way to throw some fire back of your Twitter posts. Users respond to emotional tweets, whether those tweets anger or excite them. Take a look at my Twitter Class, and you will notice the tweets that go viral (the ones with the most likes and retweets) are typically the ones that anger Conservatives. I do this deliberately so I can capture their attention. And once I have it, then I share the solutions with them, solutions that I discuss in my book. The idea is to add fire and emotion to your content. People will not respond to your cute book cover and suddenly think, “I must buy that book!” They respond to fire. They respond to humor. They respond to any emotion, which ultimately transmits into fandom. Step 6: Be prepared to create fans and a tribe. In the marketing space, people do not always purchase products or services because they are the best in the market. People will purchase from you because they are your fans. A lot of times, people ONLY purchase because they believe a purchase will get them noticed by their favorite influencer or celebrity. Sometimes, buyers purchase products because it makes them feel connected to your brand. Notice in each case, buyers are looking for a connection and reason to be associated with you. But until you create the atmosphere where they are your fans, then selling books to them will remain challenging. Step 7: Nurture your Twitter seed audience. You will hear me speak about this often. Do not expect thousands of people to follow you if you have not learned to treat the first 20 followers with respect. Your seed audience is crucial to your online presence, for the people have the power to bring you before others. If your seed audience loves your tweets, they will like and retweet. These “shares” help expand your reach. And when your reach is vast, so is your influence. My seed audience on Twitter began with a couple hundred followers. Today, my Twitter Class boasts of 20,000+ followers. And according to Twitter statistics, platforms that have over 1,000 followers are rare (only 0.06%). So, any time users see an account with so many followers, they trust that platform and want to be a part of the tribe. Therefore, you can see why it's important to nurture your seed audience. Step 8: Never rely on scheduling tools for posting tweets. Be active manually. Quite often, we are looking for shortcuts to our growth. But when you’re trying to build an online platform, you must be present in the virtual space every day. Right now, there are several social media scheduling tools that allow you to pre-post content and share it at certain times. But the accounts that generate the most growth are the ones that have ongoing activity from a LIVE account. While it’s OK to use a scheduling tool to share evergreen content, like some of your blog posts, don’t rely on these tools to build your audience. The people want to see the influencers — which you are! — in real time. They want the chance to talk to you or tweet with you. They don’t want to engage with a machine. So, don’t rely on the scheduling tools to help your Author’s Platform grow. Engage. And in real time. Step 9: Know when to ask for the dollar. Now that you have built trust among your audience, you have to decide how you want to hard sell your book. This really depends on your audience. So, you will need to decide when it’s best to hard sell. Step 10: Always evaluate your progress. The more you engage on Twitter, the more you will see which content works for your audience. At some point, Twitter will become second nature to your online work. Pushing out the right tweet can take seconds. And before long, you will find yourself engaging in healthy discussions with your audience. But as you do this, remember to evaluate what is working. Set aside what isn’t working. And scale on the content that delivers the most fire. Now that you have a better idea of how to start your Twitter campaigns, try out the strategies I shared with you. In Conclusion ...Thought leadership is a powerful method for elevating your platform and bringing your message to millions of people nationwide. But to be most effective, you will need proper training from an expert coach who has delivered the kind of results you desire. Beloved, in this new era, I want to teach you how to tap into your God-given abilities so you thrive as one of His leaders in the earth. Whether your vision focuses on the social, political, or economic spheres, you can fulfill God's calling on your life when you have the right spiritual and practical training to make it a reality. Today, I invite you to join our growing rank of leaders who are learning to do things God's way so we get His results. Your training is crucial to this development, and at The Felecia Killings Foundation, we've crafted a dynamic leadership program and event just for you. Register for Our Bi-Annual CCM Leadership Convention | Build Your Thought Leadership in the Social, Political, or Economic Sphere Join Coach Felecia Killings and her guest speakers for our annual 3-day event hosted in Atlanta, GA.
Sponsored by The Felecia Killings Foundation, The CCM Leadership Convention will help rising leaders like you establish powerful thought leadership in the social, political, and economic spheres. During our intensive training, you will learn key principles that will help you bring your ideas to the national forefront. Event topics include:
Don't miss this exciting time to receive our in-person training. Our Convention Schedule Day 1 — Establishing Powerful Thought Leadership in the Social, Political, or Economic Spheres
Day 2 — Packaging Your Thought Leadership in Books
Day 3 — Packaging Your Thought Leadership in Online Courses and Coaching Programs
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AuthorFelecia Killings is the Founder and CEO of The Felecia Killings Foundation, a Conscious Conservative think tank and coaching organization that trains rising leaders for full activation in the social, political, and economic spheres. Through her training hosted on her website, her podcast, her leadership network, her social media platforms, her books, and her annual leadership convention, she equips leaders with spiritual and practical tools that help them bring revival and reformation to the communities they serve. |