Leverage
I’m mighty impressed with my client, Naomi Oakley, from U-NOME Security Services.
When she got on national television the other week, she chased up the footage and got her IT boffin to put it front and centre on her website.
Though the word ‘leverage’ has been done to death, this is its true meaning: taking something you’ve already done and making the most of it.
Now I’m leveraging Naomi’s content further, by putting it in this blog post. She’s bound to get more visitor traffic, brand recognition and business as a result.
Show Up!
Whether you appear on radio, in a newspaper or at a school, Rotary meeting or anywhere else, be sure to capture your performance.
Then, use it every way you can to stamp credibility all over your brand.
People prefer you to ‘show’ rather than ‘tell’ what you can do. It’s far more believable.
I have my best media performances in my home page too.
Each time you re-use high quality content, it’s money for jam.
So go for it!
And if you haven’t appeared in the media yet, you should jolly well get out there!
Channel Surf
Most media channels are crying out for good content.
You just have to ask the right people the right way.
For instance, when doing media (press) releases, I always ask the editors of target publications if they have submission guidelines. I then tweak my content to follow their rules.
When they get my piece, it ticks all their boxes and they don’t have to change a word. Good for them, me and my client.
Keeping in touch with (especially local) newspapers is a great way to find out if they have ‘holes’ in a particular issue.
If someone pulls a big ad, or a story doesn’t make deadline, your ready-to-rock, half-page editorial could do them a favour. Saving you thousands.
Being topical is vital. Add specific expertise and you have a killer combo.
For years, whenever a teen got injured by gate crashers or alcohol-fuelled violence, Naomi offered her perspective to various media channels.
Now, because she’s such a recognised expert in her field, media channels contact her for comment.
She’s gone from local rags, to state-wide newspapers, to regional radio, to national radio to TV. Now she’s on the internet, and global gigs can’t be far away.
Naomi started with nothing but hard-earned knowledge and a burning desire to champion change.
This means we can all do likewise in our areas.
For free.
More is More
Since we’re talking leveraging, I suppose I should turn this blog post into a Squidoo Lens.
And while I’m at it, let’s bung it on my Practical Social Media Tips blog.
And it just occurred to me that we should add it to Naomi’s Secure in the Knowledge blog. (I must get onto that … )
Get the picture?
Make something once, use it many times, and let these various iterations connect with their respective communities while you sleep.
Lever & Kitchen guarantee it!*
So how are you tracking on the big screen: good, bad or ugly?
* Just kidding; I thought it sounded good.
Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire
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You should aim to milk it for all it’s worth. With the constant churn of old content it is best to try and hold on to any valuable content for as long as possible, and sure, it adds to your credibility.
Good Luck
Brendan
Many thanks, Brendan. I couldn’t agree more! Naomi has just set up her own YouTube channel. I have too.
You can rest assured we’ll both be stuffing these with relevant content the instant it comes to hand.
I just had another thought, Naomi (Oakley). You know that PowerPoint presentation we did with the out-of-control party news headlines and photos?
Can your IT guy turn that into a YouTube video for your channel? I tried to do it a few times, but it was out of my realm. Something about having to embed the sound track.
If it can be done, we should leverage that content too!
Hi Paul,
Good example. Could it be that we tend to look at each element separately rather than as a whole and only leverage or whatever term you like on an adhoc basis rather than as a deliberate plan.
It might mean that you have to tweak certain things to suit the medium but it allows you to extend your reach, engagement etc. I also think you need a home base, your website because you do want your customers to take some sort of action, such as buy or contact you etc.
Out of interest does your Squidoo lens link back to your website as I couldn’t see it?
So glad you’re here, Susan!
As my mantra is ‘every communication builds or erodes your brand’, I’m forever looking at the big picture – from email sign-offs to websites.
It’s very hard to get them all in sync. But when you do, WHAM!
I agree with you that a home base is vital. I used to send my traffic all over the place, but now everything I do online points to http://www.thefeistyempire.com
There are indeed links in that Squidoo lens. I put them towards the bottom, so people can read the content first. I don’t like to be too pushy.
Thanks very much for sharing your wisdom on this topic.
Good story and great thinking on Naomi’s part(and yours too Paul).
There’s an even better back story though Paul. Can you get the low down from Naomi on how she went about getting herself on that TV show… that’s the real achievement. Without that she wouldn’t have had any interview to record.
And how did you do it too?
Have a f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c day… Winno
Well you’ve done it again ol’ Bean…I always appreciate your candor and laconic gems fashioned from your years of experience. A fine demonstration of the fact that leverage does not need to equate to volume.
Though I’m an advocate of ‘recycling’, I was just yesterday wondering how much more time we had before the Internet became so saturated with view-points, opinions and repetition that we, like the free-thinking individuals we’ve become, suddenly loose interest on-mass and lean back toward ‘word of actual mouth’, with Internet usage becoming less of a social milieu and more of a research and collaboration milieu? You know?..like teenage parties? I remember that being a teenager was all about social experimentation, testing limits and boundaries and ‘look what I can do’. I reckon our current fascination with the Internet is akin to this ‘look what I can do’ thing. The industrial revolution is another example…and we are finally beginning to learn, like teenagers who have been allowed the freedom to learn from their own experience, that along with a lot of really cool things, we were also able to wreck the planet with industrial strength efficiency and in record time. ‘More is more’ is great and necessary for teenagers, but isn’t ‘less is more’ a reasonable indicator of maturity? That value is not a function of volume? That consumption and inefficiency are not mutually exclusive? Is it not therefore reasonable to consider that our off-spring might grow-up if and/or when we do?
I really like how Naomi dresses for her TV appearance. She looks like an WWII SS Commandant…very scary.
I have my opinions about what she’s trying to do (alluded to above)… But I will say this about those brainless, undead, make-up encrusted morons on that TV Show who asked this question regarding youth – “why are they so filled with hatred?” And almost in the same breath they’re agreeing that parents should take responsibility for their off-spring’s parties by passing it on to various and multiple forms of constabulary? Question answered! Lets just keep tightening our grip and adding more layers of alienation, increasing fear and retribution and forcing them to play nice…that’ll fix the hatred! Geez! Is there a connection between chronic mindless stupidity, legalised intimidation and hatred? Hmmm! That’s a toughy!
You know we’re soaking in it…
Great post as always mate
Cheers
Stephen G
Sorry for the delay, chaps. I’ve been out pumping my sources for hot goss.
Winston, as usual, you make an excellent point. I’d assumed Naomi had been invited onto that program, but now I’m not so sure. I’ll see if I can get her to weigh in and expand.
With regard to my media triumphs, I was referred by a friend to Business Essentials. I cold called ABC Radio National because I wanted to be part of that excellent service.
I don’t think I would’ve had success with either channel, had I not established my credentials in lesser fields. Media seems to operate like a wedge. Once you do one thing, you can parlay that into ever larger things. Though you do need to weather a lot of knock-backs.
But if you keep at it, the sheer weight of persistence and prior successes can be sufficient to crush resistance.
Stephen, as usual, you are Lord of all that is seen and unseen. Thank you for being our Babelfish to life’s conundrums.
Several readers have contacted me privately to say they find Naomi’s outfit quite fetching. But that’s a matter for the courts.
Thank you both very much for commenting.
Great result Paul,
I also heard her on Triple M the other morning being interviewed by Eddie. He mentioned her business names several times and her advice was excellent. What a great advertisement for her company and that would be worth thousands as paid advertising!
I’m awfully glad you said that, Malcolm; thank you!
It just so happens I have the interview right here:
http://austereo.castmetrix.net/podcast/378302368699181391/1/TripleMsHo
Naomi’s IT guy is trimming it down for use on her website. But if anyone would like to hear it in context, they can.
As you intimate, I shudder to think what it would have cost U-NOME to pay for that kind of air time.
Thank you for commenting (and for handing me such explosive pukka gen for my next post). You rock!
Sorry for the late reply. The media contacts have been via friends of friends. I am a bit like a blood hound; I keep sniffing until I have the prize!!
I am supplying current information as it happens. Often, as I am in the cold face of many of these teenage parties, I have been able to say it as it is. Hopefully I can prevent a tragedy or save a life. I think a large precentage of the preventatives that are in place are a little out of touch
Thanks again for your support, Naomi
Thanks for joining us Naomi. One of the things I love about working with you is that you genuinely what to change our country for the better, while also running your business.
The stories you run past me when we’re doing your blog often chill my blood. I’m very glad it’s you out there, and not me!
There’s no doubt in my mind that Aussie kids are safer for your efforts. So all power to you! Best regards, P.
Im scared of Naomi, I reckon I would cop a right beat down. Certainly tougher than you Paul.
All jokes aside I am super impressed with her approach to business and for making the security process approachable. I would not have ever considered security for teenage party, now I won’t have one without it!
Mate, Naomi could rip both your arms from their sockets and club you to death with them without breaking a sweat. Proceed with caution!
Well done Naomi! So good to see you get some media coverage. Really grateful for you providing a safe environment for our teen home party last year!
H
x
Great to see you back, Helen. Thank YOU for referring such a fine client. Such favours are priceless!
BTW, folks, I forgot to add that my YouTube channel is still very much at the experimental stage. Hence the home videos of bats, birds, dogs and swimming pools.
The object of the game is for me to work out my camera and YouTube, then harness them both to my professional ends. I forsee a series of how-to videos for folk who like to watch and learn.
It’s a pretty steep learning curve though. That’s why I’ve linked to others who are way ahead of me. P.
The beauty of all of these services that you mention is that they are free way of getting mileage out of your work. In the past, you prepared a newsletter and issued it. Now you issue the newsletter, place some of it online, place some of it on your facebook page, issue snippets via twitter and then place it on various micro sites.
Fantastic idea.
You are spot on, Arthur; great point! I say a similar thing about emails: http://practicalsocialmediatips.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/your-emails-are-blog-posts/
It’s great to have you commenting on these posts. And your website adn services look very interesting. Many thanks! P.