4 Authority Building Systems
Want to Know How to Boost Your Authority Though Assets and
Systems?
Then you’re in for a treat!
Systems are the backbone of making anything sustainable and effective, without you having to be involved all the time. It’s one thing to want to build a presence, profile and authority status. It’s another thing to *actually* do it.
This is where systems come in as they do the heavy lifting for you after you set them up once and then only maintain them. In this blog post, I’m going to share the four systems that are absolutely critical as you turn your expert ability into authority status. I still focus on these four systems now and I know that they’ll still be with me for quite some time.
So if you’re ready to get your systems in check and learn how to be truly supported in your authority building journey, then this blogpost is for you.
Truth told, building your Personal Brand and presence doesn’t just happen, it’s a very intentional and strategic approach and without having the right systems, processes and assets in place to make it sustainable, you will give up before you start seeing the results.
No matter the stage of your authority building journey and career progression you’re in - the question is: Do you have any systems, processes or assets already in place that can do some of the ground work for you and ?
If you think ‘I’m literally just starting out, that doesn’t apply to me’ think again because building systems, processes and assets isn’t something you need to wait for until you have achieved a certain status or reputation. I’d argue that - if you want to be invited to speak at conferences etc, you need to build the foundations now and use those assets and systems to not only give you momentum but build on it.
Turn Struggle into Systems
Chances are - you’re either in a full on full time role or you’re stretched running your own business. Adding extracurricular activities to your already full schedule is probably stressing you out and most likely also the reason why you haven’t *actually* started with building your Personal Brand.
You’re in luck because I;m all for systems, processes and assets that you can leverage to not only free up your time to continue on your personal and professional growth journey but also to take one excuse off your plate and with that, get the results you want.
If you’re camp ‘anti-systems’ and that word alone already gives you the shivers because it sounds already way too complicated, too much hard work to get that up and running or you think it’s only for big corporations or well established industry authority then you’re in luck also because I’m all for simplifying so you can focus on what you’re best at whilst tapping into a well oiled machine that makes the continued growth journey a breeze.
The 4 systems that move the needle
In this podcast episode, I’m giving specific examples of my own systems and the impact they’ve had on my exposure and Personal Brand growth.
Here’s one…
1. Content Creation
Being clear on my 4 content pillars and stick with the 5C content framework (credibility, connection, conversation, community and conversion content)
Your job as a trusted authority is to be the translator and share your expertise in a way that attracts opportunities to you as well as establishes you as the Go-To in your field. The content you share is what people associate with you and what you will become known for. Consistent high quality and eventually also high frequency posts and content creation is only possible when you have a system in place.
And this is where most already fall flat and struggle with content as they don’t have a system behind the madness of creating content and talk about allll the topics that are interesting for them but that are - quite frankly - confusing for the rest. Let’s say you’re in HR and want to be known for building high performing teams in high turnover industries like hospitality but ten you’re sharing content on cybersecurity, sales. Social media trends and the latest updates on how to get onto page 1 on Google. Confusing I’d say, isn’t it?
Just because you’re personally interested in those topics doesn’t mean you should talk about it or share other people’s content. This is where being intentional comes to play again as you need to align content with connections and your clear positioning over and over again.
Knowing those 4 pillars also makes it it easy to subscribe to the right resources to get inspiration from and helps you focus on your specialisation even further as it ‘forces’ you to dig deep to a topic and being able to dissect the same thing and present it in different ways and angles helps you build you authority.
Remember - the idea behind the trusted authority method is about being the translator which means that you also need to be able to translate future trends into what it means to your audience and stay ahead of the game. Let’s say you’re in social media - of course you need to stay on top of any algorithm changes, anything that has to do with new features being rolled out on the platforms you choose, analytics tools you use, schedulers you recommend etc so you can develop this deep level of expertise when you stick to those 3-5 topics that are closely connected with your authority positioning.
I shared in previous episodes a training that I ran on content creation and one of the strategies I share and apply myself is the 3x3 methods, which means: the 3 steps to prepare for content creation is
1) know your content pillars
2) set up suitable sources of inspiration and know trusted sources that you can draw upon and refer to and
3) set up a filing system that works for you that not only makes it easy to save content but also to access and edit it.
The other 3 in the 3x3 framework is the actual creation process:
1) we look at the month ahead and identify key topics and themes
2) is all about mapping out personal and professional key dates like anniversaries, promotions, events etc and finally,
3) is filling the rest with more evergreen content that is always relevant based on your content pillars.
Having this simple system takes so much guess work out and sets you up for sustainable success because you don’t have to always come up from scratch with an idea which often results in quite scattered content creation as well as style which isn’t very helpful to build authority
Some of the tools that I use in this system to generate ideas are
Answerthepublic.com
Tweakyourbiz.com/title-generator
Google Trends
Google Alerts
Pinterest
LinkedIn
World Economic Forum
I create all my content in Canva.com and use Scribd for my videos which - big shout out to Leanne Hughes - got me onto. I also work with a very talented video editor - shout out to Nathan who’s also doing an incredible job with the editing of these podcasts.
Finally - the scheduling tool that I use to plan and schedule content way in advance is Buffer.com which I also use for analytics and managing a few of my clients’ accounts. Having a scheduling system also allows you to post more frequently as you build up your content library and can rebuffer aka reuse it again and again. Same for content that you create in Canva - I’ve reused the same posts a few times as they still get a lot of traction. Funnily enough, just recently - literally last week by the time I record this episode which is end of Oct since I’m all for batch working, one of my posts that tanked last year (with literally 10 likes) and also didn’t do well in the first 90 min of posting, nearly exceeded my all time best performing post which led to over 150 new connections in 48h, 41 reshares at the time of this recording and 3 corporate engagement enquiries. So I’d say - it’s worth posting and creating a system around it.
If you want a short cut - I’ve got you covered as I have most recently revamped my content creation club and turned it into a comprehensive Trello board with the step-by-step strategy, tips, tools and tactics to create cut through content as well as ready to copy & paste captions which you can use straight away. Check out the dteails over at content-creation.club and I;’ll also put it in the show notes.
2. Speaker and Media Kit
One of my 3-O’s in the Three-O credibility framework is tapping into other people’s credibility and authority because a) it boosts your own status and b) it gets you in front of an audience that you have never been in front of before.
And because of the association and connection with this already established person, institute or brand, your trustworthiness factor is also higher.
However, being able to do that and do it consistently means you need to have a system in place to pitch regularly as not every pitch is going to be successful and even the ones you’re successful might be week’s away from airing as there are many podcasters like myself who batch create to maximise time. One of my personal KPIs that I’ve set myself is to be on at least 5 different shows / stages per month so we have to pitch to approx 30 a month to get there. Sometimes the success rate is higher, sometimes lower but in order to consistently pitch, I have a speaker and media kit ready to go that talks about the 3 topics that I can contribute to (and despite them being quite set, i still alter it depending on the type of podcast I;m pitching to to make it relevant to them. See - another trusted authority principle in action.
So what’s included:
I have a speaker kit which has a short bio, a high res profile photo, 3 signature topics and a couple of take-aways for each as well as my contact details and social media handles to make it easy for people to tag me.
I have a Google spreadsheet where I track potential shows, their details and status if we’ve pitched to them already. I also take notes in my notes app when I listen to new shows in the gym and let me VA know to do some research and we add it to the list
A pitch 1-pager that is generic but at the same time, slightly tailored to the show host.
In reg to frequency - every Wednesday morning I’ve set aside 45min to pitch which sometimes also includes the preparation of the pitch documents. This time, I also go through HARO and Sourcebottle call outs and respond to those which have a little longer deadline.
Sometimes they need a response on the same day but other times they give you a few days. But again, I use the same kit to attach to my pitch as well as send them a link to a G-drive which also has a folder to high res images (currently I have 6 in there so the publisher can choose depending on their style), my speaker reel which is a video and the speaker kit again.
See - it’s another system that needs updating but only every 6 months or so. I literally as I’m recording this episode have it on my to do list to update my kit as I’ve used the current one for over 2 years and it’s ready for a visual upgrade. I did update the information a couple of times, first when the book launched and then when I rebranded the podcast but in the grand scheme of things, once it’s set up, it’s a set and forget approach and just leveraging it as an asset.
3. Signature Keynotes
Speaking is for most the big goal but since most of my audience and listeners aren’t necessarily pursuing a paid full time keynote speaker career, this is something that needs to be easily scaled as otherwise, you have to develop and rehearse a new keynote every single time and boom, 25h later … you get paid with a flower bouquet. Now nothing wrong with that but I’m sure this is something you only do so often before you decide it’s not worth your time and energy. This is where signature keynotes come in which are - you guessed it - titly connected to your content pillars which we established in step 1. This way, you have already a good flow, developed the keynote slides in brand style and only need to tweak a few slides to make it more relevant to the audience. When I record this episode, I’m preparing for a keynote for the Australian Society of Travel Writers which isn’t necessarily my forte as such but the topic that they hired me for is: 5 ways to improve your personal brand and get seen online.
Now the foundation of the content is already there but I’ve made it more relevant with case studies and examples to this audience. I can do that quite easily because a) I stick to my lane when it comes to the core content that I deliver and b) I ave various assets and creatives that I can use easily for these slides.
4. Signature Framework
Nothing matters much if you don’t have a repeatable system to create the results you want to be known and trusted for which is also one of the biggest concerns why experts don’t out themselves out there or when imposter syndrome creeps in. If you can’t articulate how you actually take your decision maker from A to B and can support it with stats and stories, then all the assets we went through only get you so far.
This is something Ihighly recommend you to develop as a matter of urgency: developing a signature framework/ method/ process/ system around your promise you want to make aka the brand you want to build.
It is something I work with my one on one coaching clients on early on but also have an entire module in my signature Trusted Authority program which we are going through literally this week if you listen to this in real time.
How do you take your decision maker from A to B? How can you turn a low performing team into a high performing one? How can you set up a sustainable ESG strategy when a business doesn't even know what it is?
This is also what you can then use to build your portfolio career around it as you are able to connect each of the steps required to a certain tool, exercise etc. Plus - I always refer to my 3C framework also in keynotes or workshops that I run and because it’s my proprietary IP, I don't have to pay anyone fee for licensing and it’s also not easily copy-able as it’s based on my own experience expertise and education, backed by numbers and stories.
Function Before Fancy
Now for the perfectionists amongst us - whatever you’re setting up, it doesn’t need to be super fancy or slick. It needs to work and more importantly - it needs to work for you so focus on the function over its fanciness.
Everything works when you make it work.
Don’t lock yourself away for weeks to set up those assets and systems, do it in conjunction of a current project or engagement. Even to this day, i refine my coaching experience with onboarding, offboarding and maximisng the touch points in between. Is it better than it was 5 years ago? You bet! Will it be better in a 1, 2 or 5 years from now? You can definitely bet on that also!
Final Thoughts on Systems…For Now
Remember, anything you do more than once needs a system if it’s something you want to continue doing to get you to a particular outcome. Landing big speaking engagements without regular pitching and refining of your keynotes won’t be possible so before you give up too soon, make sure you have a system in place you can rely on and take 80% of the heavy lifting off for you.
Otherwise your best intentions will be broken and you will come to resent building your Personal Brand and authority status, you will pull back and stay exactly where you were at the beginning and that’s far away what I want for you!
So let’s get it! Build the system to support your growth and free up all the creative energy to make everything you do and who you are the best possible version!
