The rise of the internet has made it very easy for businesses to reach people across multiple platforms. In light of that, Ken Courtright, together with his wife, Kerri Courtright, share their insights about partnering up in different platforms as Kerri is about to embark on a new one. The beauty in having multiple avenues to connect with everyone is in how it sends out different messages catered to whoever your audience is. Join in on this discussion and get familiar with how you can branch out.
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Listen to the podcast here:
Partner Platforms
We’re going to title this show Partner Platforms. I have Episode 32 titled the Platform Before The Platform. If this particular show strikes you, I would strongly encourage you to go read the Platform Before The Platform. I’m going to let Kerri start off because we were talking of what are some things that we do as a couple that are unique but still doable by other couples out there. We both realized we use different independent platforms that match our personality, our schedule, and even quite frankly, our demographics in a good way. Kerri is about to embark on another platform. I’m going to turn it over to Kerri and let her explain it.
Ken and I have been talking about things that we can do for our company. Together, we have Income Store and Today’s Growth Consultant and that technically is a platform unto itself. It’s its own business. Ken struck out and he decided to do a podcast. Once in a while, I do come down and join in a podcast such as this but most of the time, this is Ken’s platform. For Ken, this one takes time, patience and a lot of for fight. For him, this matches. I have been in talks with a beautiful and amazing woman named Shea Vaughn. She has created a new platform, the WBTVN. It is a platform for women, female entrepreneurs. This platform, which is interesting to me and something I’m diving into, is a different situation where I am able to take time once a month, put together everything in one to two days and then shoot out my message and what I’m going to be doing in terms of my platform.
The reason why we’re talking is that each platform is different and each partner moves their message through a platform. The platform has to fit the partner and for me, a podcast takes a different time commitment that I’m able to give based on what I do in our business. Whereas the WBTVN platform will allow me to have the flexibility to prepare and do everything in one to two days in a month. This is important because each platform that you choose needs to fit your time, flexibility and your message. For us as an example, Instagram would not be a fit for either of us since it doesn’t fit our message. Instagram would be great if you’re a college or if you are a party planner. That is something where the people, your audience that you’re trying to reach would be viewing Instagram. However, the audience that I am trying to reach and most of the participants who are looking into Income Store and Today’s Growth Consultant would not be on Instagram. When you do pick your platform, it needs to fit not only you with your time and your message, it also needs to fit who will be the receivers of your message. Otherwise, you’re wasting your time.
Each platform that you choose needs to fit your time, flexibility, and your message. Click To TweetThe concept is this. First, we have to back up a little bit and ask ourselves, “Do the audience even need a platform?” There are some of you reading this, you’re running 500 salespeople. Do you as the head of that larger company with 500 sales reps need a platform? Some of you reading this sell jewelry and shoes on Amazon, Etsy and custom craft websites. Do you need a platform? I’m here to tell you I do not care what you do. I don’t care who you are. I don’t care what industry you’re in. It is critical in this day and age, this internet evasive society that you, the leader of your company or you, the leader of your division, have a voice on a platform that is not your website. It’s not even your Facebook page.
It is critical when you look at the elements, I’ll call it a three-legged stool of what is needed to sell a product, especially a product of a decent cost. You need social proof. You need what I call trust trumps everything. You need endorsements. Part of this social proof, part of this “trust trumps everything” concept is are your potential clients, especially finding your voice and finding your message on platforms outside of your website. If it’s just your website, you’re a glorified salesperson. Like in Kerri’s case, Kerri is going to go jump into the WBTVN. She’s going to jump in with Shea Vaughn. That is a massive platform. It’s on Hulu. It’s on soon to be Netflix. It already has a large subscriber base of the audience that Kerri can plug into.
It matches the demographic profile of who we’re looking to go up. What is great about WBTVN for Kerri is it matches her lifestyle. It matches the timing of her calendar. It doesn’t necessarily match perfectly mine. I don’t have those big chunks of time that I could devote. What works for me is the sporadic and somewhat haphazard 15 to 90 minutes I have here and there where I can stop, remember a nugget, plug-in my Yeti Mic and drop off a podcast. Here’s where I want to dovetail this in, throw some last-minute thoughts to Kerri if she wants. The question is this, no matter what you’re selling, should you and do you need a platform outside of your website? I say yes. I don’t care about the industry, the product. It doesn’t matter. I know you need a voice outside of your website.
I want to mention about a dozen platforms. They’re all free or nearly free that anybody can jump into and be a major voice and hit a very large amount of people. Number one is HARO, Help A Reporter Out. I don’t want to go into details on it. I’ve done at least five podcasts that reference HARO. You’ve got to check it out. The next one is Reddit, specifically Reddit’s division of AMA. It’s called Ask Me Anything where you can apply as an expert in your field and for about an hour somebody will coordinate the world asking you, the expert, questions on your industry via text chat bar. We’ve helped a lot of experts, somewhat celebrities and people of influence. We’ll call them thought leaders get positioned on Reddit’s AMA platform.
How about the governments SCORE platforms? SCORE.org, this is free. The government used to only open this to ex-CEOs of major corporations. Now even a college grad who knows their elements, let’s call it social media, can jump into SCORE.org and teach either physically in person, at places of business or online. How about the EO, the Entrepreneurs Organization. Kerri and I have flown all the way to Dubai to speak to the EO. We’ve been requested to speak now in South Africa. The EO is something that everybody can look at. It’s a platform that will accept everybody that knows what they’re talking about if you have a decent résumé or CV.
I’m not a huge fan for Facebook to be your secondary platform because Facebook should be part of your website, your major platform. If you’re not already on Facebook, you have to get there. LinkedIn, not having a profile, LinkedIn groups, they’re totally different. I would dive in and check it out, especially if you’re more into the higher dollar-volume purchase. LinkedIn is critical. Twitter and Instagram are not for everybody, but if you’re a party planner, if you coordinate any type of consultant, you need to look at both Twitter and Instagram. YouTube, our company missed the boat for the last few years. I’m not having a bigger presence in YouTube search bar. My wife is awesome at the Local Chambers. Kerri is also in the Lion’s Club.
Whatever platform you choose, make sure you follow through and make the time commitment. Click To TweetThese businesses matter. They do lead you to a business that keeps you connected. I’m going to finish with two things, Meetups and podcast. One is offline. One is online. Meetups might be one of the most misunderstood and underused apps on planet Earth. Meetups allow anybody to jump into ten to twenty meetings a month and get your message in front of 10 to 50 people per meetup. If you have a physical product and you’re not doing a meetup, shame on you. Finally, podcasts. Podcasts do not work for everybody, but it’s a platform. When you get put in, you get put in front of the iTunes search bar that has 80 million people a month. You don’t need any special qualifications. Anybody can cut a podcast.
The only last thing again is whatever you do, decide to do, make sure that you complete it. One HARO article is great, but if you can continually write for the different news organizations, that would be much better. Doing one Instagram is nice but if you’re only throwing out one line, it’s one line in millions. You need to continue doing it. Whatever platform you choose, make sure you are going to follow through and make the time commitment. It’s important to figure out which one works for you. Podcasting works for Ken. I have the ability to come down once in a while and join in, which I do absolutely love to do. This other platform WBTVN is going to be the platform that works for me. Whatever you choose, make sure it fits with you and you are consistent with it.
I definitely don’t have anything above that. Consistency is the key. Consistency is the mother of all sales. You have heard on prior shows that there’s a famous Stephen Covey saying, it’s his most famous saying. He wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. His most famous saying is, “What one thing if done consistently and superbly well, will get you everything you’ve always wanted and take away all of your pain? What can you do consistently?” No matter what platform you pick, like Kerri mentions, do not pick a platform that you cannot stay consistent at. For this episode, we’re going to call this Partnering Up on Platforms. If you have a partner, if you’re married, if you have a business partner, I believe each partner in the business, no matter what their personality is, should be on a secondary platform promoting their message, building what’s called TOMA: Top Of the Mind Awareness with that audience.
Important Links:
- Platform Before The Platform – Previous episode
- Kerri Courtright
- Income Store
- Today’s Growth Consultant
- WBTVN
- HARO
- SCORE.org
- EO
- Lion’s Club
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
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