Jim James 0:00

Hi, welcome to this episode of the UnNoticed show. Now, the question I've got for you today is are you a follower? Are you an opportunist? Are you an influencer? Or are you just simply unnoticed? That's because on this show today, I'd like to go through some work that I'm doing at the moment. On what I'm calling the active communications index. Now the ACI for short. Is a formula which leads to a synopsis, which helps. A business owner to decide if they're doing enough work for their publicity. Now the reason I think this is important is because many clients that I work with are not consistent. About how they communicate in their marketing. So I've devised the ACI to measure three variables. Because in my experience, it's these three variables that are most important in your public relations. It's content, channels, and frequency. Now, when I map out these three variables. I am able to come up with some numbers. And the variables that give me the numbers, give me three.

1:07

When I map out these variables. What happens is that. I get a number. I get a number from zero to 100. And within these numbers, I can put different companies profiles into different categories of being a follower, an opportunist, an influencer, or just simply. Unnoticed. So I'm sharing this because this is something I'm working on now, and I'd love to get your feedback on it because I've spoken to so many entrepreneurs and big companies. And actually they don't know how much is enough. if you don't know how much work is enough, then the ACI could give you a good guide to that. Now everyone is so focused on getting work, seen. On what we might call the vanity metrics of impressions and page views. But they don't necessarily measure the work. That it's taking to get them seen. So this active communications index is a very simple formula. So you can work out if you and your team are doing enough work. Every week in order to be consistent and having engagement with your various audience groups. And I talk about audience groups as being internal. Your allies and your external. what I want to do is just to share with you the methodology. Of the ACI, cause you can apply this yourself straight away. what we have to do is to start to look, first of all, at these three different elements. Now content very simply is how much content are you creating? On a daily or a weekly or monthly basis. Secondly is the channels. How many channels are you using? Many companies are using, of course, Facebook or Twitter and LinkedIn, maybe two or three, or maybe a YouTube. But there are many other channels as well that you can think about, which include medium, for example, or issue. Or also Outbrain. Having your own Vimeo channel. So there are many channels. That many companies currently are not using. thirdly frequency. How often are you publishing your content? So with these three variables. When we enter these into a simple formula. I can give you then a classification. Yes, it's a bit simple. But I think that might be useful for people to then start to. Identify which areas they can work on. And what I'm going to do later on in this podcast is explained some of the remedies. That you can have, which are all free and easy to implement. First of all, then if we enter your data, Into our formula and it goes from zero to 25. I'm sorry, but you're going to be unnoticed. Okay. And I'm going to count for you and share with you what these numbers look like in just a moment. Next. If you get from 26 to 50. You're probably a follower. 51 to 75. You're an opportunist and 75 to 100 an influencer. Now, if I just ask you to maybe close your eyes. And think of a quadrant with obviously. On one axis, we've got content and on the other accent access. We've got frequency. So at midnight, if you like at 12 o'clock, we've got consistent content and at six. We've got inconsistent. And. Three o'clock. We've got innovative content. And at nine o'clock we've got dull content. Now, if you're creating. Content. Inconsistently and it's dull. It's not going to get picked up. You're going to be unnoticed if your creating content consistently, but it's dull. Then you'll be a follower. If you're creating. Content, which is innovative, but inconsistent. You're really being an opportunist. Now, if you're creating constantly. Now, if you're creating consistent, innovative content, then of course. You're going to become an influencer. Okay. So the next thing I want you to think about is. With these four quadrants. Which are defined by the amount of content you create. Where you put it and how often you publish it. Then we've got these four categories. we can create some. Some plans and some strategies for you to implement on how to get to the top right hand corner. Okay then. So what I've got then is a table. In front of me, which if you want, I can happily send to you later. And on this table, I've got the list of my four categories. I've got influencer. I've got opportunist. I've got follower. And I've got the unnoticed. And just to the right hand side, I've got the condition. That is the condition that your company or yourself are in. So I'm going to go through those then give you prescriptions of what you can do. Depending on the category that you find yourself in. Okay. So just to summarize, if you're an influencer. Then your content is innovative. Utilize an optimal number of channels and you are consistent and you're publishing. If you're an opportunist, your content is innovative, but you're sporadic in your outreach and you use a limited number of channels. If you're a follower, your content is dull. You're a consistent probably though with your outreach, because you're trying to keep up. And you use a limited number of channels. And if you're unnoticed, then your content is dull. And your sporadic in your outreach and you utilize a limited number of channels. Okay. So those are the definitions now. If we look at prescriptions and we all really want to be in that top right hand corner. Where instead of us chasing customers, customers are chasing us. Okay, let's start with the unnoticed amongst us. The unnoticed. In terms of your content. Your content is probably dull. You're not using enough channels. And you're sporadic in your outreach. what can you do about that? on the content front it's time to innovate and stop following. What's been seen. In the marketplace. Either as best practice or even just something you've read. Let's look at the opportunities of storifying your business. As we talk about in the speak PR program, how you can put the customer to the center of the story. Make them the hero and create a whole new body of content around who your business serves. As customers. As your staff and also your partners. On the channels front it's time to increase the number of channels that you're using. Maybe currently using the channels that you're familiar with. But they may not be the channels that the next body of audience may be using. for example, let's say you're comfortable with LinkedIn, but you're not using medium.com for those articles. What channels can you be adding? In order to extend your reach. And the third. Frequency now, currently, if you're unnoticed, you're probably not scheduling enough. You're not sharing enough content frequently enough. So your content is appearing every now and again. And it also may not be scheduled. When people are ready to read it or watch it or listen to it. Especially the case. If you're working or cross time zones. For myself, I have listeners. And clients in Asia. And America and Europe. So I have to be really careful about when I send my content out. How can you schedule your content to be more frequent? And more consistent. If you're a follower. Then my definition is that your content is pretty dull. You probably using a limited number of channels, but you are consistent in your outreach because you're trying to keep up. you're not left behind like an unnoticed. But also you just part of the also rans now, your content then. It's time to innovate. What could you do to start to lift your content? How could you find content to be. More fun. More leading edge. Could you be using more research in your content? Could you be showing more pictures in your content? Could you be using video for example? With channels, it's time to extend the number of channels. That you've got. As I said before on the unnoticed. You may already be using some channels that you're familiar with. But you may not be using those that you're not so comfortable with. You may be just embedding your content, for example, on a generic. YouTube page. You may not have got it within your own YouTube channel. You may not be using some of the other platforms like Reddit, for example, which is very good in the B2B space. Now, what about frequency? now you probably sending out enough content, but you're probably doing it manually. Because you're sending out content because you want to keep up with everybody else. But it's probably not going out in an automated way you're probably just seeing when people. are posting things or when you've got something. Then you send it out. So get it scheduled. Get it batched. So it can go out more frequently. Now the opportunist. Your content is innovative. But you're only using a limited number of channels in your sporadic and your outreach. You're really taking the opportunity when it arises for maybe. An interview. Or a podcast. Or maybe a tweet or following up on somebody else's original article, but you've got something that moves that whole conversation on. So you're an opportunist. But actually you've got all the potential to become an influencer. Your content. Can be enhanced. You've got some great ideas. That can be read and heard and watched by more people. Now if you don't have time to create more original content in many opportunists. Are actually innovators have got plenty of great content. You can repurpose it. You can take several pieces of content. And put them into a platform like lately. Dot com and it will automatically generate multiple. Iterations of that content for you. For example, you can use a platform like lumen five, where you include a web address. Or URL for your blog and it automatically create video for you. What channels can you add, take a look now at the number of channels that you're publishing your content on and could you add them? Could you add some more for example, do you have a Wikipedia page? If you are innovative, maybe you've got some patents. Maybe you've got a copyright or a trademark. What channels could you add to take that great content that you've got? And put it in front of more people. And frequency again, this is probably the weak point for the opportunist. You're sending it out as, and when you think there's a good moment, that could be for example, around a trade show or a speaking conference. But consistency. In communications is key. If you're not communicating on a regular basis with your audience. Then they don't know that they can rely on you and trust you. So just like a friendship. People will only buy from someone that they trust. And like a friendship. They will get to trust you over time if you're always there for them. So scheduling that content across multiple channels. Is going to move you to the top right quadrant. Now let's just look at those people in the top, Quadrant. You're already producing innovative content. You're using your optimal number of channels. And you're consistent in your publishing. So you've got a great active communications index of 75 or above. What can you do to get better? it may be that your influencer in your own. Particular niche or in your own community? But how could you grow your influence outside into concentric? Communities. This is how you can build your audience and build your business. Is by bridging into new communities. And of course, this is what media relations is all about. It's about going into the communities that are owned and managed by publishers. Could you start to think about content where. You are registering as intellectual property for example, and make it into a course. Could you have your content as an asset, for example, as a book. Could you create new revenue streams? Could you start to think about partnering and having your content on other people's websites? Could you start to have your content go in as contributed articles, for example. In terms of channels. Have you really optimized audio and video channels fully, but also have you started to think about the channels by time zone, for example, to make geography specific content? Translated content. If you're working across multiple languages, for example, And finally, have you thought about your internal. partner audiences. Most people think that the communication they're doing. Is external about winning new customers. But it's also about bringing all those members of the team with you. The people that you pay and those people that you rely on that you don't pay directly. Could you start, for example, to have a part in a newsletter. Could you start to have internal engagement platforms that you can use. And there are quite a few of them now where you can give, for example, rewards like there's one called mo.work. Now. What about frequency? How frequently are you reaching out? Are you mapping out the avatars? In other words, your ideal customer profile. And do you know when they actually access the information on what device. I just recently made some videos for a client. And, if it's going into China, we need to make sure that the video is mobile phone friendly. But if it's going out on LinkedIn, It needs to be landscape. But in both situations, people need subtitles because they're not going to be listening to the audio on the train. When they're driving or if they are on the train. Or at work rather. If you're an influencer. How do you move over and above that area where you currently are? So with the active communications index, this is really a very simple formula. That I'd like to suggest you can start to put in place. And I have this as well on a spreadsheet and it works out for you. Where you lie, but you really don't need the formula if you take a look. How much content do you create? Which channels do you have set up? And how frequently do you send it out? I'm going to do more work about the active communications index and putting it online as a test. I wanted to put this out there so that you could hear it? And if you've got any questions or you'd like to work with me on it, or like to have your own company? Work through it, then please just contact me, Jim at eastwestpr.Com thank you so much for listening. And I really hope that you can see the ACI as an index that you can use internally and with your partners to measure how much work goes into your marketing. And then what will happen is the metrics will reflect how much work you put in. Take control of how much work you put in. And then let the results speak for themselves. My name is Jim James. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. of the UnNoticed show. Do please subscribe. Or send me an email or join me on LinkedIn, Jim James EASTWEST public relations. Thank you. And God bless. Stay safe.