BY TJ Walker
As mentioned earlier, the best way to be a real big wig in the social media world is to be a big wig in the traditional media world—not always, but it sure can help.
When you look at many of the most trafficked videos on YouTube, they are often the most interesting clips that aired on a traditional network newscast or entertainment show like Saturday Night Live. One way of creating a bigger name and following for yourself is to simply capture any interview you do with a traditional media outlet, i.e. a spot on your local ABC affiliate morning show, and then upload that to all of your social media sites. Most of your friends, followers, clients and prospects won’t necessarily have seen you on the 6 AM broadcast in your city, but they can watch the 3 minute video clip on YouTube, form your Facebook page or on your news room page on your web site. Consult your favorite intellectual property lawyer first, but there are ways, (through purchase or otherwise) for you to post these videos.
Another technique I use is to create a video of myself being interviewed, i.e. if a CBS TV reporter is interviewing me on set, I will have a staff member of mine capture the whole video on a Flip video camera. Now I have something to show friends, followers, fans, clients and prospects immediately. I own full rights to the video so there is never any copyright issue. And I build anticipation for the real interview when it eventually airs.
A part of all of this recycling is to create an image, based on truth, that I am everywhere, constantly doing interviews, because I am an internationally known expert. Therefore anyone who is doing a story who needs a communication expert would be foolish not to interview me and include me in the story. I am trying to play to the herd mentality of the press. Remember, a herd mentality is not a bad thing if you can shepherd the herd in your direction and get them to work for you. The herd is only a problem when it is stampeding in the opposite direction!
This technique also works even when the outside media organization interviewing you isn’t in television. For example, if I am being interviewed by a major columnist in Mexico face to face, I might capture the whole exchange on a video camera and then place that on my social media outlets right away.
Sure, it is possible to burn out you audience by posting videos too frequently. But if you have an idea or an experience that you think would be interesting to your audience, then show it to them. I usually don’t put up more than one video a day, but if there are three really interesting topics or if I’ve done media interviews that are very different in substance or style, I will post all of them in the same day. If people can listen to 3 hours a day of a right wing or left wing talk radio host, then they can certainly watch one, two or even three short videos from you if you are conveying interesting ideas or experiences.
The rule of thumb is to recycle without being boring. Hence I might do a video summarizing my main points for a media interview that can be used for the media pitch or the pre-interview. Then another video of the interview as it is going on from my own footage. And then posting the interview as it finally aired. Add in a status update on when your show will air and all of a sudden you are getting 4 hits instead of one. I’m not saying you have to do this for every single interview, but it is a good way to get more mileage out of the significant ones.