Hitting the refresh button (OR how to become your own PR machine!)

Some news on my front: trimming the 'content fat'!

Feb 28, 2024

Hi folks,

Just a few updates as it’s been a while since I last posted (here anyway, I’ve been pretty busy elsewhere!).

I took a couple of months off to travel overseas during the Christmas break (I managed to catch up with a bunch of great people). I also spent a chunk of this time plotting and planning the year ahead, and trying to work out what 2024 would look like for me, both personally and professionally.

Hamster wheel

I think that if you create content to support your brand and your business, it's a good idea to occasionally take a step back from the publishing 'hamster wheel' and take stock of all the things you're doing.

This is especially the case if your business has evolved or changed in some way: it's important your overall content efforts are in alignment with this new direction, and that you reacquaint yourself with your purpose, and why you're doing what you're doing.

[ PICTURED: En route to Edinburgh from Inverness ]

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I'm a believer in 'eating my own dog food'.

There's nothing I recommend to my coaching and consulting clients that I'm not willing to do myself. This includes reviewing my content efforts, and 'trimming the fat' as required.

Therefore I thought I'd share what I'm doing in this regard, and explain the thinking behind it.

When you've been publishing content for as long as I have (I first started blogging back in 2007!), there's a tendency to keep bolting on new content properties and assets as your business and professional life evolves.

That's fine, but if you don't cull with the same enthusiasm, things can start to get messy!

When it comes to shedding myself of certain social media and content properties and projects, I'm not too bad, but I can be a heck of a lot better.

Also, by 'shedding', I don't necessarily mean shutting things down entirely, just deprioritising them, or ceasing to be active on them altogether.

Of course, cutting back in certain areas saves me time which, in turn, allows me to focus more heavily on ideas and projects that are more meaningful to me, and that potentially will create more impact for my brand and my business over the long term.

With this in mind, following are some key 'spring clean' actions I'm currently taking:

ACTION #1 - Putting my Reputation Revolution podcast and newsletter in 'virtual mothballs'

This is the big one, and the most relevant one for you, given you’re a subscriber who reads this newsletter and/or listens to my Reputation Revolution podcast.

I've decided to pull the plug on the podcast after many years (over 280 episodes published), along with this newsletter, which I’ve been writing since late 2021. I've got a handful of podcast episodes still to put up, but then I intend to put the show in virtual mothballs.

While I’ve stopped the podcast, it continues to attract a sizeable number of downloads per month (albeit it’s dropped by over two-thirds since I ceased publishing). Its subject matter - professional personal branding - is still congruent with my mission of helping credible experts and thought leaders rise above the din to become more recognised in their field of endeavour, so I’m definitely going to keep it live online.

Now, you're probably asking, why would I kill off the podcast after putting so much effort into its production? Why walk away from it if it's working?

The answer is two-fold:

(a) I've started a new podcast (Become Your Own PR Machine) which will serve as the foundation of my new media and marketing platform. If I want this to succeed, I need to give it my all!

[ CHECK OUT THE NEW PODCAST HERE ]

(b) Plus, I'm kinda bored with the format of Reputation Revolution and am keen to mix things up a bit. Yes, I could simply change the format of the show, but it's less about the actual production and more about the content itself. I've loved zeroing in on personal branding, which is what Reputation Revolution essentially is about, but now I intend exploring public relations (more broadly) with greater vigour, with a view to helping entrepreneurs better come to grips with the ins and outs of today's PR, and how they can use it to help unlock the potential of their business. Personal branding definitely falls under a PR remit, so I'm not giving up on the subject matter any time soon!

Will I ever go back to the podcast? Maybe. Never say never! But in the meantime, it's still live - a digital asset that keeps on keeping on!

In terms of this newsletter, well, it started as a bookend to the podcast, and given I’m exploring the broader field of PR, content and digital communications rather than just personal branding, then it made sense to put it on ice as well.

[ IF YOU LIKE WHAT I PUBLISH HERE, I’M CONFIDENT YOU’LL BE INTERESTED WHAT I WRITE ABOUT IN MY NEW BECOME YOUR OWN PR MACHINE NEWSLETTER - PLEASE SUBSCRIBE HERE ]

Some newsletter articles include:

Here are some of the most popular episodes of my new podcast:

ACTION #2 - Pull back from Twitter and Instagram

Along with LinkedIn, Twitter has for years been a mainstay social channel for my business. But it's changed so much under Elon Musk's 'guidance' that I'm not sure it's worth much effort on my part.

I still regard Twitter as a powerful 'influence channel' because a lot of bloggers, podcasters, journalists etc use it regularly; thus, if connecting with these sorts of people is important for you and your business, don't give up on it just yet!

I'm not going as far as deleting my account as some former power users have done.

But I won't be checking in on it like I used to (i.e. 8-12 times a day); if I do drop in on the channel, I feel it will be more for personal reasons (i.e. to discuss football, music and current affairs), not business.

Instagram currently floats in and out of my professional life. I'll probably still post videos and quotes and stuff every now and then (scheduling them in bulk) - but I can't see myself committing myself to the channel this year.

N.B. To get the most out of any social channel, you need to put the requisite time and effort into building your audience, and then deepening the level of connection with that audience. As I sit here now, I'm not interested in doing that with Twitter and Instagram, hence dropping them off my priority list for 2024.

ACTION #3 - Double-down on video

I've dabbled with video for years. And by that, I mean YouTube, and more lately, TikTok and Instagram Reels (as well as natively uploading video to LinkedIn and Twitter).

I'm thinking 2024 might be the year in which I double-down on video, both short and long-form.

To succeed on YouTube, you need to play the YouTube 'game'. I'm not 100% all in on this just yet, but it remains something I'd like to do this year. File under: Watch This space!

TikTok intrigues me.

While my core audience per se is not really on the platform, it's a powerhouse channel that's changing the social media game with its discovery function (so much so that Zuckerberg's Meta has followed suit).

I'm a believer in having at least one key social platform that you focus on, and then picking a second channel to experiment with. I see plenty of upside with TikTok, including helping me broaden out my audience, and for that reason, I'm going to experiment with it in 2024!

[ Feel free to follow me on TikTok - keep me accountable and see if I improve over the course of the year! ]

Shift in focus for 2024

The reason I'm instigating the various changes above comes down to a shift in focus for my business.

It's not a massive switch by any means - more a 'strategic evolution' - but it does necessitate me pruning some content and digital communications activities, while instigating others.

Remember: This is why, when you run a business, it's crucial to have a good grasp of what it is you want to achieve: your goals and aspirations. This way, you can be confident in developing a PR, content and digital communications plan that supports and enhances the journey you're on.

I’ll sign off now! Thank you for being a valued subscriber of this newsletter, and now you know why I have been (and will continue to be) quiet with this medium.

Again, if you like what I’ve written about here over the past few years, I reckon the Become Your Own PR Machine newsletter will be right up your alley — and here’s another plug to subscribe to it :)

Likewise, if you’ve been a fan of the Reputation Revolution podcast, please give my new podcast a whirl, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Oh, and let’s connect on LinkedIn if we’re not already.

Good luck with your projects!

Cheers,

Trevor