Amplifying Your Content with Relationship Building with Kris Hughes

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Today I have my first guest expert weighing in on how you can amplify your content with relationship building. I actually met Kris on LinkedIn. You know I talk all the time about the power of social media and connection. To be honest, the success of your content in the social media space is highly dependent on your ability to make a connection with others and build relationships.  This is what Kris has mastered on LinkedIn.

 

All about Kris.

He’s been a “content guy” for a long time. He started his own sports blog back in 2010. He actually has a Master’s Degree in Sports Management.  And he worked in the professional sports world for a while. The problem was…he didn’t really like it. 

So he went back and leaned on his passion of writing.   He worked in a couple different areas of content creation and eventually decided it was time to build something for himself. In January of 2020, he set out to create that.

Kris took on a few contracts at the same time and started thinking about how he could really build a business where he could be a solopreneur. Now he is a ghostwriter for other entrepreneurs. He has a few LinkedIn clients where he takes on their personality and does everything for them as far as creating content as well as commenting and building a community. He primarily is in the E-commerce space. 

 

COVID = the birth of so many entrepreneurs.

I actually love hearing so many amazing success stories that have come about in lieu of COVID. It just forced everybody to level up and step into a place of success.  I mean…we didn’t have a choice, right? We had to lean into that uncomfortable space because there really was no other choice. Before we’ve always had those comfort zones or safety nets to catch us. And when COVID hit, especially if you lost your job, you just had to step up. It’s been absolutely amazing to see what has come out of that. 

 

What is one tip that you could share for professional or personal growth related to your business of content creation? 

Kris says that consistency is very valuable in building your business, especially in brand building and content creation. You’ll hear that preached all the time. But the other side of that, that a lot of people leave out, is relationship building. He thinks that the marriage of consistency and relationship building is very important. You can create content all day long and be consistent about it.  But if you’re not building relationships to pull people in and create a community…it doesn’t matter. 

Kris really values relationship building, and it’s very intentional for him. His content and brand building strategy is intentional. He’s just as intentional about how he builds relationships, and how he reaches out to people. Leveraging relationship building is a REALLY important step.

 

What do you do to build those relationships?

Kris says there’s two sides of the coin here. One is being transparent in your own content and being willing to let people kind of behind the curtain sometimes.  That means sharing something personal like a struggle or a small victory. But also be really intentional about taking connections, especially on LinkedIn, to the next level. 

Kris has a pretty extensive process for when someone new connects with him or comments on his contents. That process includes sending a personal message that shows some gratitude. Then after a few days he sends a voice message and asks if the person would be open to chatting for 30 minutes sometime. He thinks the custom voice memos are heavily underutilized on LinkedIn. But he knows it’s about finding those small little differentiation points that make you stand out.

 

Showing gratitude is so important when it comes to amplifying your content. 

We all take our followers for granted sometimes. So many people just view it as a game of numbers. But by showing that gratitude for the connection you’re telling someone that you see them and appreciate them. And that makes your content go that much further because now they’re reading your content from a completely different perspective. Taking the time to actually get to know someone really amplifies your content game. 

 

Sunday Shout outs.

Kris’s Sunday Shout outs take it back to the Twitter days when he used to use Twitter a lot as a sports writer. There was this phenomenon of Follow Friday. People would recommend 10 accounts that you should follow.

So Kris decided to try this principle out on LinkedIn.  He picked 8 people that are really valuable to him and created a Sunday Shoutout where he listed and tagged each of those eight people. He gave very specific reasons why he was shouting them out and why people should really be interested in following them. 

The response to this post blew him away, and it did exactly what he wanted it to do.  You do this because it just increases the overall interaction on your content. He does these types of posts once every two or three weeks now. They’re really valuable to him because people still interact with it. 

 

It’s about taking it to the next step.

This is 100% a prime example of going that extra step.  Kris is a content writer, and he can write content all day long.  But what he’s trying to tell you is to take your content that next step. Do something to let people know you see and appreciate them. It’s all about the relationship building, which is what is amplifying his content, and is what has really allowed him to build his business so quickly. 

 

Kris’s one immediate action that you can take right now and implement immediately.

Kris says the big fear that people have is that they don’t have anything to write about. His biggest tip is to go look at other people’s content and comment. Add to the conversations because comments are content. So if you go and interact with other people by leaving comments/conversations, people are going to become curious about you because of the value you’re adding to those conversations. So if you’re not comfortable creating on your own, then go comment on other people’s content. Your comfort level with creating content will increase. 

But take that to the next level by keeping those comments in a file somewhere. Save those comments! Go back and read what your comment was because that will start to spark ideas for you of content you can create. This can be the best cure for writer’s block.

Kris actually sets a timer for 30 minutes and all he does is comment. Then after that time of comments is done, he has his content teed up ready to go.  The notion behind that is you’re kind of priming the pump for LinkedIn. LinkedIn sees that he’s engaging with all these other people. And for some reciprocal attention that comes back. So for at least 10-15 minutes before you post your own content, comment on other people’s content. 

 

Bottom line when it comes to amplifying your content…

You can create content all day long, but if you aren’t taking it to the next level and creating connections that create a community, then it really doesn’t matter.  Creating connections is what is going to amplify and drive your content.  Set a timer and spend time commenting on others’ content before you post your own.  If you are having trouble creating content for yourself, go comment on other people’s content.  And then take that to another level by saving all those comments for a day you might need a little inspiration.  You can be a content creator AND drive conversation and connection at the same time by making a few simple tweaks to what you are already doing.

Apple |  Spotify | Google | Stitcher | Youtube| 

 

Connect with Michelle-

Website – https://michelledenioconsulting.com
Facebook Profile – https://www.facebook.com/MichelleDeNioBizStrategist/
Linkedin Profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelledenio/

Connect with Kris:

 

Have Questions? Let’s have a Cup of Virtual Coffee!

 

 

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