If you are a business and want to be a guest speaker, how do you optimize the opportunity?

The popularity of virtual summits seems to have exploded. And more and more people are seeking guests for podcasts and video interviews. It’s become the way to communicate and share right now.

You need to remember that participating in summits, podcasts, and video interviews is not just something you do when you have the time, if you feel like it, or to be nice. It’s a real business strategy. And that needs to be at the forefront of your mind in order to optimize the opportunity.

Additionally, remember that this virtual content will be there forever for your business. It’s a way to drive clients, revenue, and awareness for your business.

So, be sure to have a strategy and plan for every single engagement in order to help your business gain traction from the event.

Some questions you might ask yourself when coming up with a strategy:

• How many people are you going to talk to?·
• What are you expecting to get out of the engagement?·
• What are you going to do/talk about/share? And why?
• After the engagement, what are your expectations?

“Have you ever listened to a guest speaker who didn’t seem to have a plan? What did you notice? Did the content they were sharing seem disjointed or uninteresting? As a speaker, you need to craft a strategy that benefits the audience and you.”

What does a guest speaker need to do to connect with their audience?

When I started speaking in a non-digital world, I used speaking engagements as an opportunity to generate leads. But my focus was significantly different than those who would also be speaking at the conferences.

I was speaking at events in the pharmaceutical industry and running my own consulting firm, and I need to make sure I would stand out amidst a crowd of big names in the industry. But the key difference was, these big companies did not seem to send experts. They sent in people who could deliver a canned talk, but where was the expert value?

Because I was small in comparison, I needed to know if I captured my audience. I need to know if they were engaged. I needed to see the glimmer in their eyes. So, I delivered my expertise.

And I created a strategy for measuring engagement with Ketchwords. My audience could send me a quick text using a specific word shared with them and receive my shared slides.

Initially, maybe 25% of the audience texted me. I then continued to refine my strategy based on real data to engage my audience more. And then my numbers improved. Eventually, 76% of the audience was engaging with me via Ketchwords.

“Once again, you need to establish a strategy that’s going to help you connect with your audience. Passion and expertise will go a long way to help you do this. Using technology to actually measure engagement and see if your strategy is working – even better!”

How can someone ensure that they are getting the best return on the guest speaking engagement?

If you have a speaking engagement booked, you really need to analyze your audience. Are they an ideal prospect or client for you? And then, decide what will determine if you were successful.

When I train people on Ketchwords, we work together figuring out your audience and determining what success looks like. For example, is it the number of downloads? Or comments? Or people who text your Ketchword?

Of course, being the inventor of Ketchwords, I believe that every single speaking engagement should be presenting a Ketchword. It allows people the opportunity to learn more about your expertise. It increases your trust factor. And it serves both you and your audience as it shows you who was truly interested in what you had to share, and gives you the chance to serve them with more information.

Know that strategically sharing your expertise makes you an asset to your company. Don’t be afraid to get out there and share what you know.

“Wanda Turini is the inventor of Ketchwords, and if you’d like to check it out, text the word: LEADS (in the body of the text message) to 411321 or, if you’re international, 1-909-741-1321. You’ll be asked to input your email, and you can then get a feel for how this dynamic way of interacting with your audience works and receive a guide to turning everyone one of your speaking engagements into a lead generating machine.”

3 Action Steps

1. Establish a strategy for every guest speaking event so that you are maximizing the engagement for your business.
2. Ensure you are bringing passion and expertise to your speaking engagements, as these will make your strategy effective.
3. Integrate your strategy with technology to hone your message and generate more ideal clients.

Connect with Wanda Turini by texting the word: LEADS (in the body of the text message) to 411321, or, if you’re international, 1-909-741-1321. You’ll be asked to input your email, and you will receive a guide to turning every one of your speaking engagements into a lead generating machine or visit the Ketchwords website.

Please comment below. I would love to hear from you.