Have you ever noticed that the most confident, alluring people-and-success-magnets have a certain je ne sais quoi about them?
Often they aren’t the people with the most “flawless” appearance or perfectly styled hair, makeup, or wardrobe.
But they exude a quality that makes people (and things, and opportunities) gravitate toward them.
That quality?
It’s that they are fully themselves.
But it’s not just their appearance that differentiates these people, or makes them magnetic to others.
It’s the fact that they simply ooze their own personal brand of “ME-I-Love-To-Be”-ness.
(Not the “Me” others want them to be.)
They’re unapologetically themselves, in all their flawed, fascinating glory.
And they’re not letting anyone else’s opinion or expectations prevent them from being out there, going after and getting what they want in life.
Ten years ago, you could get away with not fully showing up as yourself, and you could construct an “alter ego” on your social media feed by having a carefully selected set of branded photos that may or may not have represented the real you at all.
Today, with video taking over social media, anyone whose personal brand doesn’t line up with the “persona” they’ve created on their Instagram feed is going to be left behind.
(Or worse, they’ll be afraid to put herself out there to begin with!)
For example, if you look like Gwen Stefani in your brand photos, but you show up on a live video looking a lot more like Gwyneth Paltrow, there’ll be a huge disconnect for the people in your orbit.
Both of these ladies are undeniably gorgeous––and they couldn’t be more different in terms of their personal brand.
Neither is better or worse. Each of them is simply being fully herself.
This is what a personal brand does.
It reflects the TRUE you.
No one who really looks, acts, lives and loves like Gwyneth Paltrow is going to be happy trying to force herself to be like Gwen Stefani. And vice versa.
A personal brand LIBERATES you.
It gives you…
Permission to be as good as you know you are.
Permission to live the life you know you want to live.
Permission to do things the way you know you want to do them.
And it allows you to get out there and be SEEN in the world.
I’m not talking about dancing and pointing on Instagram.
Although if that’s your thing, then that’s exactly what I’m talking about!
In my own personal brand, I was terrified that potential clients wouldn’t take me seriously if they knew about my stripper past.
But I never felt comfortable living a lie. And it held me back.
It wasn’t until I broke out of the mold of a “prim, proper, and professional” coach… Everything changed for me.
Being fully self-expressed has brought me a life unknown to my former self.
You must own your power to be exactly who you want to be, personally and professionally––so you can create your life exactly the way you want it to look.
Cultivate your true personality in every area of your life.
Define who you want to be and consistently show up in your life as that person.
Have the confidence, courage and commitment to be fully, unapologetically, unforgettably self-expressed.
Do all of this in a systematic and consistent way––and watch as the world gravitates towards you.
A few weeks ago someone emailed me Rachel Pedersen’s 2023 Marketing & Social Media Predictions. I thought it would be fun to share it with you AND add in my two cents.
Hold on to your hats, it’s a long one––but worth it.
+ RACHEL’S PREDICTION: Instagram will officially be out and winding down in a big way.
ERIKA’S TWO CENTS: Agreed. However, IG remains a valuable place to consistently connect to your existing audience. But you have to be intentional with how you use it. It no longer works to create hodgepodge content and still get tons of likes & followers like you could in 2015.
Unlike other social media platforms, the Instagram grid shows a quick snapshot of what you’re all about and can serve as a beautiful portfolio for your physical products. (Or if you’re a service-based business and don’t want to blog anymore, it’s a great place to spread your message and share your expertise.)
Also IG ads are still working to get your offering in front of the right audience.
Plus their DM feature is the best! It’s especially useful when you’re trying to connect with someone you don’t know. It feels more casual and friendly than sending an email. Like getting a text message from a bestie.
+ RACHEL’S PREDICTION: Hype and clickbait will wind down in popularity.
ERIKA’S TWO CENTS: Because I’m a sucker for a great subject line, I believe hype and clickbait will always be on trend. However, if there’s nothing of value on the other side of the link, then Rachel’s spot on. It’s definitely on its way out.
Pssst. The secret to creating high-value content is to keep your ideas as simple and pointed as possible. Be ruthless with editing out the fluff. No one has time for that.
By creating content that’s laser-focused on helping your customers solve their pain points, you can avoid the hype and clickbait trap. You’ll be able to provide real value to your readers and cultivate a true connection with them over time—without relying on gimmicks or tricks.
+ RACHEL’S PREDICTION: The best way to effectively reach your ideal audience is to intimately know what problems and pains they experience. Creating content around this will be a game-changer in 2023 and moving forward.
ERIKA’S TWO CENTS:For sure.
And I know you’re not putting out crappy content, so keep doing what you’re doing.
Where I sometimes see entrepreneurs get stuck, though, is that the bigger they get… the less they take the time to connect with her audience. And the essence of their brand becomes diluted and lackluster.
No matter where you are in your business you gotta stay in the trenches with the problems you solve for your customers. Don’t hide behind your marketing team. Get out there and have real conversations.
+ RACHEL’S PREDICTION:YouTube is about to become the BIGGEST platform on a whole new level (those who create on YouTube consistently are going to thrive!).
ERIKA’S TWO CENTS:So happy about this! I have a paid YouTube subscription and watch a video there almost every day.
If you’ve already got a strong TikTok game, you need to leverage what you already have and post your TikToks to YouTube Shorts.
+ RACHEL’S PREDICTION: TikTok will be a close second with the platform reconfiguring a few things with their algorithm.
ERIKA’S TWO CENTS:Yes. Yes. Yes.
You know how much I love TikTok. It’s been a great place for me to build my video confidence, test out ideas for my serialized Think Like A Stripper podcast, and get new clients.
I love it so much, I created a TikTok course, Viral Impact Foundations, with my partner in crime, Christine Buzan. We are finishing up the first cycle and super impressed with what we’ve been able to help our clients with.
+ RACHEL’S PREDICTION: Overly edited content is making its way out.
ERIKA’S TWO CENTS:Amen :)
This is coming from the woman who lives to be editorial and make everything beautiful. I will happily spend a Saturday evening rearranging my closet––making sure that even the inside of my closet drawers are photo shoot ready.
What I love about this, though, is that this opens up the marketplace for expert-based entrepreneurs. (Which is the majority of my clients.)
Instead of fussing about your visuals, you can get to work on helping people solve their problems in a powerful way.
I think there will always be a place for beautiful, highly curated, photos and stuff. But now both lowbrow & highbrow content will perform. That’s how it should be.
+ RACHEL’S PREDICTION: People are not going to be interested in long (or even short) intros for your content unless it’s absolutely excellent. You are not the decider of what’s excellent – your drop off times in content/videos is.
ERIKA’S TWO CENTS: Preach it Rachel!
Creating that hook, or that perfect email subject line, is always a fun challenge. At least I think so. The easiest way to do this is to create content first––then develop the hook from the existing content.
+ RACHEL’S PREDICTION: Text message marketing will ramp up and wind down by the end of 2023.
ERIKA’S TWO CENTS: I’ve never done text message marketing. But I’ve definitely signed up to receive it from companies that I like. However, I haven’t seen anyone who does a good job with it. It’s always way too salesy and boring. If you have any examples of a brand that does it well, will you let me know?
+ RACHEL’S PREDICTION: Pinterest will also be a hidden gem for 2023, both organically and paid advertising.
ERIKA’S TWO CENTS:I absolutely love Pinterest and am there at least once a day feeding my interior design addiction & adding to my Daily Whip style boards. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for this platform. Let’s just say, if you’re not considering Pinterest as part of your digital marketing strategy, you’re missing out on a lot of potential growth opportunities – especially for product based companies.
+ RACHEL’S PREDICTION: Paid advertising costs on all platforms will decrease in 2023 – time to run lead gen campaigns.
ERIKA’S TWO CENTS:Yippee
PRO TIP: If you’re going to run lead generation campaigns, make sure that the opt-in you’re promoting is so good, you could charge for it.
If you know you’ve created a puff piece, toss that sucker into the Google Drive graveyard and craft an ad-worthy-opt-in that…
✔️Grabs attention
✔️Embodies your brilliant expertise
✔️Fills your sales pipeline
+ RACHEL’S PREDICTION: B Roll with overlaid words is going to reign supreme next year. Thank goodness it’s super easy to create.
ERIKA’S TWO CENTS:I’m here for this. And doing B roll is a great way to baby step your way into getting comfortable and being confident on video.
+ RACHEL’S PREDICTION: Marketing events will need to have actual value and community to continue working.
ERIKA’S TWO CENTS: Agreed. And the key to creating a marketing event with value is being so hyper-specific that everyone walks away with at least one guaranteed result.
Online marketing events (even Instagram Lives & TikTok Lives) are also super effective because they allow you to connect directly with your audience – without having to spend money on a physical event. And that opens up a lot of possibilities.
+ RACHEL’S PREDICTION: The value of free is making a comeback. While everyone else is pinching every last penny from their customers, try sharing massive value and transformation for free.
ERIKA’S TWO CENTS: I was introduced to this concept back when I was stripping in the 1990s. One of the clubs I worked at mandated an hourly Texas tease – a free 45 second lap dance that got customers in the mood to buy. 👀 And buy they did.
Bottom line? Everyone loves free. But it has to be as good as anything your customers would pay for.
___
Not mentioned in her trend report, but worth noting, is the rise of experts and the fall of influencers.
This is very good news for smarty pants––like you.
More and more brands are looking to partner with influencers who have “day jobs.” People who are experts in their field and have spent years developing their skills.
For example, skin care brands want to partner with influencers who are estheticians and dermatologists versus an attractive Gen Z influencer who’s hawking a new product every day.
In 2023, authenticity and expertise will push through the noise in the influencer world.
XXXO
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