Why (and How) Keynote Speakers Should Diversify

As the world of corporate keynote speakers grows more expansive, it's harder for speakers to distinguish themselves using only their exceptional speeches. To truly stand out from the crowd, they'll need to build a personal brand. 


We're walking through the steps keynote speakers can take to build a brand that will tell their story, boost digital awareness, and drive bookings. 


So you've built a great speech now what? 

You've perfected your speech. Now what? Whether you're a motivational speaker, educational speaker, or corporate speaker, having a personal brand is essential. 


Because, unless you're an A-List celebrity speaker, you're going to need a little work to boost your name recognition. 


Personal branding not only improves name recognition; it can differentiate you from competition, enhance your credibility, and position you as a trustworthy leader in the industry.


The elements of your personal branding can live on both earned and owned channels.

Where should you start? Let's start with the basics: 

Logo/Color Palette: Create a logo and color palette that encapsulates your message and gives the impression you want potential clients to receive. Do you want your look to be refined and corporate? Or is your speaking message more upbeat and energizing? 

Your Audience & Messaging: If you're not sure where to start with your personal logo and branding elements, take a step back.

Invest in a high-quality website.

Whether you're skilled in website building yourself or you decide to hire a designer, investing in a high-quality website is crucial to your personal brand as a keynote speaker. 

Your website will be the hub of all your leads and connections. This will be the spot potential clients come to learn your story, so it's one of the most important places to hook them. 


Your challenge? Don't let a single website visitor leave without filling out an inquiry form or leaving some kind of contact information. 


Don't be shy with photos and sizzle reels. Boost your face recognition by utilizing high-quality photos across the site. Same goes with speaking clips and sizzle reels; don't be shy with adding those on every page. Your speech is the money-maker, after all. Show off your talent!

Plus, including video on your website improves your SEO and boosts conversions. SEO experts at Moz found that including video on websites can lead to three times more backlinks (links on third-party websites that point back to your site) than average. This increases organic traffic to your website. 


Add an easy-to-find booking form. This should be a button that stands out on your menu list or, if you're feeling bold, lives front and center on the home page next to a photo or sizzle reel.

On the booking page itself, include a native form that keeps potential clients on your website, but still sends their information to a central location. For example, the form we created for Sara's website sends submissions straight to Sara's agent at The Kirkpatrick Agency. Be sure to ask for the company name, date of the event, and budget!

Use lead magnets. A lead magnet is an exclusive resource or deal offered to your website visitors in exchange for their contact information. These are helpful for drawing in potential clients and industry connections with a free item before they commit to booking you. 50% of marketers experience higher conversion rates when they use lead magnets.


Examples of lead magnets include webinars, downloadable guides and worksheets, and short ebooks. To gain access to the free resource, the person must provide their name and email address. These contacts can be saved for future use to reach out to for bookings or find potential clients through references.

Looking for more tips? Check out our blog post on the best practices for designing an effective website here.


Build your brand on social media. 

Now that you've built a great website, it's time to launch (or upgrade) your social media. Utilizing social media in this digital age will boost your brand awareness, help you reach new audiences, and build relationships with potential clients. 


Create a strategy. Your social media strategy will help you define and track your goals for your social media presence. One of the biggest goals for keynote speakers is engagement and conversions to your website. Choosing which platforms to post on can be the make or break of how many engagements and conversions you receive. 


LinkedIn is one of the most relevant platforms for keynote speakers to take advantage of. This platform allows you to connect more directly with your primary audience of booking agents, speakers bureaus, and potential clients. Check out our blog post for tips on creating effective LinkedIn content


Prioritize video content. Social media users will obtain 95% of a message watched on video, compared to only 10% read in text. Video content has become one of the most effective content types for boosting engagement and acquiring new leads. Video-forward platforms like TikTok and YouTube can be great for showing off your speaking clips in short-form video format.

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Regardless of the type of speeches you've built, kickstarting your personal brand as a keynote speaker is essential for boosting your credibility, widening your influence, and driving more bookings. 


Our team members at Random are experts at creating digital content for professional keynote speakers. Chat with us below to learn more about our past client work and how we can build your brand together!

Social Media for Keynote Speakers

You know you need to be on social media. You hear it over and over from the speaker bureau, your friends and family, other speakers, and maybe even your favorite barista. You're a rockstar on stage, an expert in your topic. So far, social media hasn't been worth the investment of your time or dollars. Maybe you've even secured plenty of gigs without a significant digital presence in the past. Does this sound like you?

Before selecting a speaker for an event, company executives look at social media, sizzle reels, and your website to evaluate your chops. Do your current social profiles showcase your expertise, confidence on camera, and personality? If not, there's still time to raise the bar.

COVID-19 has shaken up the speaking industry in a way that we have never seen before. Events are canceled or switched to live streams, holograms, or virtual Zoom presentations. The speakers who have continued to thrive during this time are the ones that invested in social media and building a brand pre-pandemic.

We've worked with many keynote speakers in 2020 who are now ready to explore social media and find ways to diversify their income. The #1 question we get ” where the hell do I start? Keep reading for our step-by-step guide to getting started.

Step #1: Define Your Goals

Many people struggle to find the ROI of social media, and that is because they didn't take the time to define clear goals. How will social media advance your business? If you can't answer that question right now, we have some work to do. 

Think of social media as another tool in your marketing toolbelt. How does your business currently make a profit? Is it exclusively keynote gigs, or do you also earn income from book sales, coaching, or consulting? Social media can complement your overall business goals and even provide new income opportunities if that's what you want.

If your goal for social media is to have a million followers just for bragging rights, there are plenty of tactics that can get there fast if you have money to invest in advertising. 

The problem is that if these followers don't necessarily drive your business forward. If you haven't heard the story about the influencer who couldn't sell 30 t-shirts, it's worth a few minutes to check it out. (Please, please, please do not ever use bots or follower apps.) 

We recommend focusing your energy on the platforms and tactics that support your broader business goals. If your goal is to expand your consulting business, your social media strategy may use targeted thought leadership content and an InMail campaign to reach your audience.

If your goal is to create an online course for a new income source in your business, your social media channels can be used to market and sell the course through value-focused content and targeted advertising.

Suppose you want to show your chops as a keynote speaker but not sell additional services. In that case, social media can be used to complement your existing content marketing through value-focused videos and stills that demonstrate your expertise.  

Define your goals and stick to them.

Step #2: Pick Your Platforms

Now that you have your goals defined, it's time to download TikTok and start posting. Right?

Wrong.

To maximize your time and return on investment, you'll need to develop a solid social media strategy, and platform selection is the next step after you've defined your goals. For keynote speakers, we generally recommend LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as the go-to platforms. If you're also an author, Goodreads and Medium are two more platforms to consider.

If you're a social media newbie and this is already overwhelming, consider launching your social presence in phases. Take a look at which platforms your target audience is using most often and start there. You're much better off starting with one platform and doing it well than half-assing six platforms at once.

Assess which platforms you know the best and what you'll need to learn. Can you teach yourself the basics of a new platform, or is it a better use of your time to hire a freelancer or agency? Steady social media content takes commitment, so be honest with yourself about the level of interest and how much time you want to spend. Outsource as needed.

Step #3: Content 

You've picked your platforms, and now it's time to plan out your content. We recommend developing a few themes that reflect your brand and create content each week to align with those themes. If you want to promote yourself as an expert in your field, consider creating videos, writing articles, and sharing 3rd party news on your subject. Take it even further by starting a podcast, interviewing stakeholders or influencers on your topic for YouTube, or going Live with a weekly video to share your expertise.

We always recommend planning out your content in advance to avoid that "OMG, what am I going to post today?!" panic. If you're super busy, create a content calendar and plan out your content a month in advance. We have a free Google Slides template to get you started. Click here to check it out.

Just remember, even with a content calendar, there is always an opportunity to share real-time posts, tweets, or Stories. Whether you take a selfie on-stage at an event or share a behind-the-scenes video from your Zoom conference prep, people love to see your real-life on social media.

Step #4: Measure

Now is where we circle back to your goals. Social media is no longer about how many "likes" likes you get. If brand awareness is your goal, look at metrics like impressions, reach, and ad recall. If engagement is your goal, look at metrics like clicks to your website, and video views.  

Social media is a fickle beast. One month a video might get 100k views, and the next, you may receive 1k. Short attention spans and constant changes to the algorithms are to blame. Try to keep an open mind and be willing to learn from your content performance.

These four steps are just the beginning of how you can use social media to expand your brand as a keynote speaker. When used correctly and consistently, social media can provide ample opportunities to diversify your income while also elevating you in your speaker category.

Next week, we'll share the top 5 mistakes we see keynote speakers making on social media and how you can avoid them. Follow along on social media for the latest and greatest. 

If you have questions about how to use social media for your keynote speaking business, drop us a line. We're here to help!