Brad Powell’s Post

What's the real purpose of putting out content in the first place? There's a lot of people posting. They're doing selfies. They're showing, Here's what I had for breakfast. We see a lot of stuff being posted all over the place. It can be a real fire hose and it can be really mediocre and not very relevant to anything. If you're going to take on the job of putting out valuable information for your particular target audience you want to make sure that you're attracting your people. The whole point is that you're moving them closer to the sale So you want to be educating them and arming them with the kinds of information that help them learn that they're the ones who are the perfect fit for the thing that you offer for the problem that you solve.

Recently, I was on my way to one of these three day events. and I was feeling really gregarious, thinking: “Oh, I'm going to a conference. I'm gonna meet new people. This is gonna be great!" But, when I got to my seat on the plane, next to me was a young woman who was sitting there with her earbuds on and her ipad out. And on the whole flight she totally ignored me. But, the funny, weird thing that happened was after the conference. When I got on the plane to fly back home I ended up sitting next to the same person! But this time when I got there, she looked up and our eyes met 👀 and we both started laughing, and then we started talking. To me the lesson there is that she was able to start talking to me because I had become something familiar. In fact, I was the only familiar face on a plane full of strangers. This is how simple it can be. Even though you put stuff out there and it feels like, “Oh, no! No one's paying any attention and no one's listening and no one liked my last post” or any of that stuff. You'd be surprised at who saw it and what will happen the next time.

One of my favorite interviews this year so far, was this one with Francisco Mahfuz (Bonus!! This clip has never-before-seen behind-the-scenes view of Francisco busting out some of his best moves during the show's intro). Here's my takeaways from our conversation: 1. Stories can be very simple. You can start with a real life example that makes a single point. 2. There's many methods for coming up with story ideas, but there are just two approaches The first approach is to look for a story when you need it. Think about the point you want to make and then go find a story that will help you make that point. The 2nd approach is to collect stories so that you have a collection you can choose from for when want to tell a story. Start a daily practice of paying attention to the stories that happen around you. at the end of the day, sit down and ask yourself the question, "If I had to tell a story from today, What would it be?" Do this day after day, you're going to end up with a list of story ideas longer than you'll have ever time to tell all those stories. 3. How do you tell a story and make sure that it's condensed in a short enough form that it's consumable for social media? Francisco's suggestion is start your story as close to the moment of change as possible. The reason that you're telling a story is because there's some transformation that happens and you want to begin the story close to the moment of transformation. Listen to our whole conversation right here on LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/exq3ce4a

Ever found yourself scrolling endlessly through social media, only to be captivated by a story that stopped you in your tracks? Everyone's had the experience of being hooked by a good story. We simply can't help ourselves. However, while the effects of good storytelling haven't changed, the mediums that we're using to tell stories have. Social media (and fast scrolling attention spans) demands that we share our stories in micro moments. But how do we do that? What are the ways to tell a story that grabs attention the moment someone takes out their phone and starts scrolling through various social platforms? If you're posting an Instagram reel or a Youtube short, how do you build in the elements that make for a gripping narrative that will keep people's attention - and do it in under a minute? Well, to help explore this new realm of social media storytelling, I invited master storyteller, Francisco Mahfuz onto the Standout Business Show. Francisco's the author of “Bare: A Guide to Brutally Honest Public Speaking,” the host of The Storypowers Podcast & the author of some super entertaining storytelling that I've been binging here on LinkedIn.

How do you promote your work without coming off like some kind of sales y weirdo? The first step is to focus less on marketing and more on meaning. So, instead of saying “buy my offer” say, “here's a story from one of my clients” Instead of saying, “I was on this great podcast” say, “Here's an insight I shared on this podcast” Instead of saying “subscribe to my newsletter” say, “here's a step by step technique you'll learn in this week's newsletter” Here's the key: When you share value in the moment people want more of those moments.

There's a lot of nuance in how how you start your video... Pay attention to your opening statement to get people to stay and watch to the kind of stories you tell to the kind of messaging that you want to deliver all the way to the kind of call to action you give at the end of your video so you're getting more engagement and you're getting people to come back for more and getting people to actually start paying attention to your content in a relatively binge-worthy fashion!

But can you make any money by posting short-form videos? Here's an example from one of my clients who made $50,000 launching his first group coaching progam. We worked together for three months And after that ninety day period and he's been posting every day people were coming to him and saying, "I've seen your videos I like what you're up to. Show me where I can hire you to help me out." He launched his very first group coaching program at the end of that ninety-day period. He offered only ten slots at five thousand dollars per person and he sold it out. So after ninety days working with me he offered his first program and earned $50,000!

How do you enroll others in your mission? When you show up on a video, people see YOU as a person and they can connect with the person that is you. The wonderful opportunity that we have and the natural advantage that we have is that no one else is the same as you You're completely different and unique The more you show who you are what you believe in what you stand for what you stand against the mission you're on and the important work you're doing for the benefit of others... the more you can enroll people to join you in that work.

Everyone has had the experience of being hooked by a good story. We simply can't help ourselves. However, while the notion of storytelling hasn't changed, the mediums that we're using to tell stories have. Social media (and fast scrolling attention spans) demands that we share our stories in micro moments. But how do we do that? What are the ways to tell a story that grabs attention the moment someone takes out their phone and starts scrolling through various social platforms? If you're posting an Instagram reel or a Youtube short, how do you build in the elements that make for a gripping narrative that will keep people's attention - and do it in under a minute? Well, to help explore this new realm of social media storytelling, I've invited master storyteller, Francisco Mahfuz onto the Standout Business Show. Francisco is the author of “Bare: A Guide to Brutally Honest Public Speaking,” the host of The Storypowers Podcast & the author of some super entertaining storytelling that I've ben binging on LinkedIn Stay tuned!!

The biggest thing that's happening now online with all of the platforms - TikTok, YouTube, Instagram & LinkedIn They've all started to support & encourage short-form video as the most popular way for people to consume content So if you're one of the people who's brave enough to start putting out that kind of content... the algorithms of all these platforms are going to help you out and help leverage your content and your messaging so that your brand is getting in front of new people every day!