Is Authenticity a BUZZWORD or is it something we should STRIVE for?

It's week 32 already!

How excited are you?

Maybe you're off on holiday shortly, or something big is happening, it's all opportunities for content ideas.

But I bet you are not as excited as me!!!

It’s Folk Week here in Sidmouth, and I’m buzzing! BOOM!!!

I was in a mummers play on Thursday, dressed up as King Tippoo and having a sword fight with Lord Nelson, and last night our band has an awesome gig at one of the most popular venues in town. Imagine Glastonbury in a small seaside town. You can see some photos in my image today

Then this afternoon we are doing more plays with the Mummers in and around the town. I probably won't have a voice at the end of the day.

I cannot wait.

This will give me lots of content for me over the coming weeks, I'm sure, and this is the thing.

Take loads of photos, whatever you do, because you never know when you can use them. If you’re short on inspiration this week, here are my five ideas in Video format

All this content will help you show up, connect, and keep the conversation going:

1. Behind the scenes

What do you do that your network never gets to see? People love to peek behind the curtain and see what you are up to. We are all nosey eh? Whether it’s preparing a workshop, a walk on the beach that sparks your best ideas, or what it takes to run your business because we want to see the real you and this is how we can relate to you and your business.

• Share something people don’t normally see in your day

• Use a photo: messy desk, packed calendar, brainstorm notes. Or floor in my case

2. The Lioness Effect

Did you watch the football, or get involved? Sunday evening I was done in, but after watching the final I had the energy to go out and play at an open mic! England’s Lionesses have won the Euros AGAIN!!! There is so much we can talk about this. Teamwork, tenacity and belief. What can we learn from them and bring into our own work lives?

• Reflect on what inspired you from the final

• Draw parallels to how you show up in your work or business

3. Have you been trolled?

To be fair, we do not see this much on LinkedIn but why not talk about the not-so-sunny side of content creation? I cannot remember the last time I had a negative comment, and I create around 10 posts on LinkedIn every week. So it's very rare. But if it's happened to you or you know someone, why not talk about it. We see more of this on other platforms and not so much on LinkedIn, thank goodness. If you are worried about this, please get in touch.

• Invite advice or stories from your audience

• How do you protect your mental space online?

4.Hacks you thought everyone knew

I showed a friend one of my Mac shortcuts the other day, and her mind was blown. It made me think about all the little things we do in our daily life, what we take for granted? Share yours. Could be tech, mindset, productivity… anything that makes life smoother and just because you are doing it, it doesn't mean that we all know about it!

• Share a simple trick that saves you time or effort

• Ask your network to drop their hacks in the comments

5.LinkedIn Reach Wobbles

Have your views taken a dip recently? You’re not alone. My content is up and down like a rollercoaster. The algorithm seems to be having a change and with people off on holiday there are less people here engaging with our content.—this is where consistency wins. Share what you’ve noticed and encourage others to keep experimenting.

• What are you testing or tweaking in response?

• Share what’s changed for you lately on LinkedIn

Have you ever thought how different demographics of people use social media? Which platform would a Daily Mail reader use, compared to the Sun reader or a broadsheet reader? I did a post about this on Wednesday. Let me know what you think.

This was a Document Post so there was a bit of work to make it look pretty, but worth it because more people engage with this type of post.

This can be one of the subjects we can discuss in my Drop-In LinkedIn Surgery on Monday. It's free. It's fun, and we also do some networking. Sign Up here

Monday 4 August 10:00am to 11:00am Drop in at any time and Ask me anything, even if you have just 5 minutes.

The Questions We can Tackle:

• What makes a standout LinkedIn headline?

• What’s the best way to network on LinkedIn?

• How can I use LinkedIn to find my dream client?

• How do I improve my profile to attract recruiters?

• What can I do to get LinkedIn to grow my business?

• How do I build a LinkedIn company page that converts?

• How can I leverage LinkedIn’s advanced search features?

• How do I build thought leadership and become an expert on LinkedIn?

Have a fantastic weekend and if you are local to Sidmouth, come along and see the Folk Festival, it's not all Folk Music. 

The town comes alive with a fantastic atmosphere and LIVE Music.

All the best,

Ashley

The 15-Minute Guy