World of Speakers E.76 COVID-19 Special Samantha Kelly: Creating community during Corona
Ryan Foland speaks with Samantha Kelly, the Tweeting Goddess, a leading expert on building community through Twitter. She has been using Twitter to create networks of support through the hashtag #SelfIsolationHelp.
In this episode of our COVID-19 special series, Ryan and Samantha dive into what speakers can do to build their community online during quarantines and lockdowns. They give practical advice on how to engage with pre-existing communities or build one yourself.
One of the key messages in this interview is to start looking for ways that you can add value to audiences, whether it is with support, insights, or simply, authenticity.
Tune-in for an interview chock full of insights on how to build community now, which will help support and serve you in the future.
Listen to the interview on iTunes or Soundcloud.
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Transcript
Ryan Foland: I am excited to talk with our guest today, Samantha Kelly, who is not only known as the Tweeting Goddess but she’s become a friend, and it’s a great example of how Twitter can truly create connections.
As a speaker I love Twitter, and a lot of speakers that I know really still don’t get it.
We have Samantha Kelly here today — I’m super excited — all the way in from Ireland.
How are you doing this morning?
Samantha Kelly: I’m great, thank you so much for having me.
Ryan Foland: Yes, well I am excited because as I came up with the different topics that I wanted to cover for special COVID-19 episodes, a big one that came to mind is community.
And honestly, you were the first person that popped to mind. I just didn’t even have a chance to finish the thought and it was there.
That’s why we’re going to talk to you about community for speakers and event planners in the world of post-COVID-19.
I want to start off by letting anybody who is listening or watching this know that you need to go listen to Sam and my original podcast on the World of Speakers.
It is by far one of my absolute favorites. It still gets traction to this day.
It was so much fun. We talked about your drunk uncle, we talked about driving, and we talked about just life in a really interesting way.
We’re not going to get into that, but that’s a teaser to check it out.
Samantha Kelly: That was really good fun.
It was like we were just sitting there, chatting, and having a cup of tea, wasn’t it?
Ryan Foland: Yeah, totally. Well, kind of like we are now. So let’s get into the chat.
I want to first talk about community from the perspective of a speaker and an event coordinator.
Talk to me about this new post-COVID-19 world, and tell me about, as a speaker, what you need to be thinking about when it comes to building community. And as an event planner, some of the things that you have to consider now, granted the new state of affairs.
Samantha Kelly: I’ll go with the event planner first because they must be suffering a loss at the moment, so I’m very aware that this is a really tough time for them because they’re kind of just stuck, frozen in space. They can’t make any plans. Like normally, even now, they’d be planning Christmas things. They plan months in advance.
I really do feel for them.
But this is an opportunity for them to really tap into the community.
I was talking to someone today, and they said they had whatever amount on their newsletter and I went, “Okay, right. So what are we going to do there?”
Really, it’s about your current customers that you have already. Just send them an email and say, “How are you? How are you getting on through this?”
Not selling anything, nothing like that, but just, say, asking how they are.
And then to get new customers, this is the time to increase your email list, okay?
So start adding value, start maybe reminiscing a Belgian event you did already last year and say,
“Oh my god, this event would have been happening next month. Do you remember the time when such and such was on the stage and the response of the audience?”
Start talking, telling stories, and us Irish are great storytellers.
But if you’re at events, I’m sure you have a lot of stories to tell and actually, you could even do one, “Confessions of an Event Planner.” I would love to read that.
So things like that, use your imagination, your creativity, to tell stories about what used to happen, and past events.
Then maybe just get people reminiscing and remembering, so that when you do finally get the chance to launch something, even if it’s online, they’re going to want to come to that because they’re going to be missing, “Oh, I would really like to see Sam, she’s on that.”
You start mentioning people who are really, really strong that people know and get them on, on Zoom or a webinar. Start doing little webinars to add value.
Because a lot of people in the event space actually wouldn’t, for example, be very good on Twitter. You could start adding value to these clients if you’re an event planner and say,
“Right, let’s start learning some stuff so that the next event we do, we’ll be even stronger.”
Ryan Foland: There’s a lot to dive into there.
First of all, in my mind, all I can think of is, “Do you remember the time?” [sings]
Samantha Kelly: Yeah, I had a different song in my head, I had, “Do you remember?” [sings]. I had that one in my head.
Ryan Foland: Okay, well hey, both the same words, different song.
Here’s a question though, because the easy answer is to say, “Contact them and get in touch.”
But there are so many people that are reaching out — like products that you bought 5 years ago.
I had a special edition, Dan Gingiss and Mary Drumond and Shep Hyken, all on customer service, and I want to get your opinion about this idea of reaching out and connecting without sounding like everyone else.
So this idea of storytelling and reaching out with, “This is what happened as a unique community-building approach.”
Samantha Kelly: Absolutely. Because they’re going to get that formal feeling. They’re going to get that, “God, I didn’t go to that one. When was that?”
And then they’ll start doing a bit of research, and then you could have a call to action at the end, “Look, if you don’t want to miss the next one that we do like this, sign up to our newsletter.”
But just to give you an example of the person I know, they just had a new baby, and I said,
“When was the last time you sent a newsletter?”
And he said, “Ugh, I don’t know, about 6 months ago.”
And I went, “Well, I think they’d like to know that you have a new baby.”
So I advised him to actually put a picture of him and the new baby up in the newsletter, and I said, “I bet you’ll get more clicks on that news than on any other newsletter.”
Because it’s real, Ryan, and people are suffering, they want a little bit of joy, they want a bit of happiness, they want a bit of hope.
So if you can give that in any way, if you’ve any nice new stories about your team or anything like that, put it in a newsletter but don’t just say “COVID-19 newsletter”, don’t call it that, call it “The newest addition to our team,” for example.
“Have you met the newest addition to our team,” and then have a picture of the baby or something. Make it fun, start thinking outside the box, but definitely talking about reminiscing is really good, and storytelling.
You could even have one of your speakers. Why don’t you reach out to one of your speakers you had before in an event and ask them to tell a little story or maybe to do a little video or something.
Add value.
When you add value, and Dan Gingiss would say this a lot, it’s about surprising and delighting your customers.
I know that one of my clients, a lot of the workers are washing their hands a lot, and she does this really good balm, hand cream, and so we sent a box to the hospital up the road — she did, she sent a box, and I said, “That’s really kind what you just did there,” and she was like, “Oh it’s fine,” I was like, “No, no that is really good.”
So I made sure she tweeted it out and a company, a corporate, contacted her and offered to sponsor 150 boxes to another hospital.
So there you go, it’s about when you start showing what you’re doing during this crisis, this pandemic, so even if you’re not working and you’re frustrated, do something for someone else and it will take you out of your own head.
I would definitely start sharing stories or asking, “Have you any stories? We’d love to share them, we’d love to inspire our members or other team members,” and stuff.
Ryan Foland: So it’s not only a community-building technique, but it’s also a psychotherapy and counselling technique.
Samantha Kelly: Yeah, we all need it at the moment, Ryan.
It’s really difficult, there’s a lot of scared people out there, and there are a lot of people suffering financially or mentally, and it’s really hard for some people.
So this is your time to shine and stand out from the rest, but if you are going to send a newsletter to your contacts, social media is the best way anyway. Take them on a journey, start showing them what you’re up to.
You mentioned to me, “Oh I’ve seen your walks on the beach, I’ve seen you do this,” you forget who’s watching sometimes, but all I’m doing is sharing what I’m up to, really.
Ryan Foland: Yeah I think people overthink their content.
I walk around and I try to find lizards, like I just look for lizards, and so I see a lizard and there’s this one lizard that always hangs on the wall, so I’m like, “I’m going to call him Wally.”
And then I tweeted and somebody said, “No, the better name is Waldo.”
So then I created a poll I’m like, “Very unimportant poll, everyone — should it be Wally or Waldo?”
But you know, hundreds of people are interacting about naming a lizard. It just keeps the conversation going and it’s a chance to let people get to know you.
Samantha Kelly: Exactly.
So there you go, it’s not all about your business, it’s about you. People buy from people. You are the reason they do business with you.
So start showing what’s going on for you so they can identify with it as well.
Ryan Foland: And we’ve been talking about your role as an event planner to stay in front of your community.
I think a lot of those are going to translate to putting your speaker’s cap on, but is there anything different or unique or some sage advice for speakers right now who are struggling?
Should they be reaching out to event organizers?
What is your best advice in this current climate?
Samantha Kelly: Well the only event I ever reached out to was the Chamber in Philadelphia.
I organized this event ages ago, but it got canceled. It was last week, it was this week, sorry.
And I ended up doing a webinar to the audience instead.
So there are different ways you can connect with these people.
So if you were booked for an event, a lot of the events are, the really cool and innovative events are going online, but another thing is to create your own event as a speaker.
Show that you’re the boss. Show that you’re creating an event, and create one yourself and get other speakers, because you, by helping other speakers get in front of an audience, they’re going to remember that.
So let’s say, Ryan, you’re asked to speak at such and such a thing and you can’t do it.
They might say, “Do you know anyone else who can talk about community?”
And you will go, “Yeah, I know a girl in Ireland.”
So this is the thing, if you help others in your community, the speakers’ community, like SpeakerHub is a brilliant example of that, start helping these people do an event, maybe host an event yourself.
Don’t be waiting for someone to contact you, and don’t think you have to reach out to anyone. You keep being the best at what you do and they will come to you.
Ryan Foland: I love that.
And one thing that I’ve been trying to do during this period is thinking of how I can connect with other speakers, and thinking of doing special edition podcasts with these speakers, reaching out to people who I haven’t talked with in a while but we shared the stage a few years ago, and we all have this sense of camaraderie because we’re all going through this together.
But if you as a speaker are not building your network within speakers, then imagine, flash-forward months, a year later, you’re going to miss the opportunity to have that bond that you’ve been through this together.
And one quick example, I have a speaker that I’ve known about for a while, I’ve admired him and I’ve finally shared the stage with him, so I came onto his radar, I got more involved, and I was like, “How can I engage more?”
He had a virtual class that normally I would not go to, I’m not going to go to another speaker’s virtual class, but I said, “You know what, why not.”
And I did it, and today’s my fifth day and it’s been so amazing to be a participant in an event.
But he put on his own event, and like now I’m connected with him, I drew some stick figures for him, we’re bonding there.
Samantha Kelly: And we always remember who has supported us, and I think you will agree, you retweet my tweets, I mean I know you’re a supporter.
I’ve actually told some of my clients to follow you, so it’s like, “Follow this guy, he’s a good guy.”
And people will always remember how you made them feel. I always say that.
So it’s about finding the right people that are on the same boat as you but you can help each other totally, and even if it is a case over, they are talking to the event organizer and then they say,
“Actually, I also need a Twitter and LinkedIn [speaker], do you know anyone who can do that?”
And there you go — boom!
Ryan Foland: This is all on top of mind things.
And what’s interesting, if you’re listening and/or watching, we talked about Dan Gingiss, we talked about Mary Drumond, we talked about Shep Hyken. We were talking about these people because they come top of mind, that’s because we’re interacting with them.
So this gentleman that I went to his workshop, you might or might not know him and I’m going to butcher his last name but Vinh G-I-A-N-G, so Vinh Giang, he’s from Australia.
Samantha Kelly: I don’t know him.
Ryan Foland: So here’s the thing — now you do.
Okay, I think that that’s a great example in real-time.
Now, whoever listens to this is going to check out Dan, they’re going to check out Vinh, they’re going to check you out.
I think it’s a chance to show by example that you’re not after the gig, you’re after the long haul, and that means riding those ups and downs.
Samantha Kelly: For example, Dan. Dan came to my presentation at Social Media Marketing World. He didn’t have to do that, Guy Kawasaki was on the other stage, he didn’t have to do that.
And I knew he came to support me, and I remember that we got a picture together and stuff, so then when I was looking for a speaker to come over to my conference, of course, Dan was on my radar.
I wanted someone that I knew I got on with, I knew that my audience would really get on with.
Because, don’t forget, my audience will merely be a reflection, like my conferences would be a reflection, of what I’ve built, which is my community.
I know what my audience wants. I know they want authenticity, they want fun, they want someone that’s going to engage them, and someone that’s going to add value.
And so it’s about getting those kinds of people around you.
Speakers, I would strongly encourage you to help each other. Even if it’s a retweet, even if it’s just sharing a post. Get to know each other and maybe invite them onto a webinar.
I actually just wrote an article about this. Maybe I’ll go on a podcast, and then you go on one of my webinars, Ryan?
It’s about giving and receiving, it’s not about take, take, take.
Ryan Foland: Yeah, and I think that a lot of people look at getting on media such as a podcast, or getting featured in a publication, or being included in a roundup. These are all things that a lot of speakers are striving to get.
But what you don’t realize is that a lot of the reasons why we get featured and get asked to podcast is because we’re referring each other.
Samantha Kelly: Yes!
Ryan Foland: And that’s community.
So I believe in abundance when it comes to speaking.
And Josh Linkner, speaking of another speaker, he has a great way of framing it that it’s like a multi-billion dollar industry.
However many speakers there are, there are enough stages for everyone.
And so we have to realize that this idea of community building is what creates that connection.
Samantha Kelly: And people say, “Oh do you know someone who can speak about this,” and actually someone did contact me on Twitter a couple of weeks ago.
They said, “Do you know someone who can talk about Instagram?”
I knew there was a girl who came and spoke at my conference, she was fantastic.
Her name is Sara Tasker, and so I recommended her.
And so myself and Sara ended up in the same interview, which was really fun.
But also he wanted someone who was kind of a beginner on Twitter, and so I was able to bring one of my clients on and she was so happy, she was like, “Oh my God,” she was so excited.
So it’s all about, like Dan always says, “Surprise and delight your customers and give them a little boost.”
And it’s all about making connections with the media also, just to add that bit in.
Don’t forget the media will also love to feature your events from time to time if they’re doing something around that topic.
I was doing an Irish sign language webinar for a charity, and we do it every Friday morning here in Ireland, and it was just to help charity. My daughter is deaf, and I want to kind of give back to the charity.
So I had the technology, they did not know how to do it, and we brought it online.
And the funny thing was, an Irish Times journalist, I had reached out to him, and then he reached out a week later and said,
“Actually, my God, you wouldn’t believe it, they’re doing an article all about the deaf community in self-isolation.”
I said, “No way,” and he said, “Yeah, come on give me the details to the webinar.”
So there you go, so it’s about building relationships with the media as well.
Ryan Foland: I want to transition into Twitter magic, and it’s really a building upon the conversation that we’re having.
Now, you are known for your tweet that “changes the world,” the tweet heard around the world. I’ve seen some articles around those titles.
So maybe just a very quick history of where this came from, and then maybe we can touch on a handful of, not general, but very specific tactics that speakers can start to use today to try to figure out Twitter, or at least have some content over the next few months or a year so that they’re not just absent.
So when I go to their Twitter, their pinned tweet isn’t from 10 years ago, and their last post isn’t from before that.
So tell me about hashtag #Twittermagic.
Samantha Kelly: #Twittermagic was always a hashtag that I used just because I like to spread Twitter magic, because people call it magic the way I can make some connections.
I’m actually beginning to think maybe I’m known more for community building than I am for Tweeting, which is funny. So I’m actually expanding my own skills.
The tweet that changed the world, which was the title of that thing was I just did a tweet, Ryan, I wanted to do something when all this started.
A friend of mine, actually from Irish Tech News, Ronan, he was self-isolating so I was talking to him about getting a guest on his podcast.
And then, I said, “Geez Ronan, you must be very lonely. How do you cope with self-isolating,” because he has an underlying illness.
And he said, “Oh, you know, I go to the shop now and then, but I try and stay in.”
So I said, “Oh my god, that must be so lonely.”
So I said, “How can I help, Ronan?”
So I did a tweet and I said, “Look, if anyone needs any help, if they’re self-isolating, use the hashtag #selfisolation and I will connect you to other people who are self-isolating.”
So I thought I’d create a community of people who are self-isolating, that’s how it started.
And then this other lady, a BBC journalist in the UK, she’s based in Ireland now, but she jumped in and said,
“Oh, what about the people? Can we do something to help these people, like do deliveries or walk their dogs or whatever?”
And they said, “What can we do?” And I said, “Why don’t we create a hashtag #SelfIsolationHelp?”
So we created that, and now there are people all over Europe at the moment, I don’t know about America, but it’s all over Europe.
Ryan Foland: I’ll retweet a couple. We’ll see if we can bring it to the States.
Samantha Kelly: Yeah, hashtag #SelfIsolationHelp. You’ll find lots of people saying, “Yes, I live in New York, I can pick up groceries, I can do this, I can do that,” amazing.
It was just lovely and the news picked up on it, I was on Euronews, I was on RTE news, the film crew came to my office, it was so funny.
It was just so funny, it was just bizarre, and it was the first time one of my tweets went viral.
I was like, “Oh my god, all these years, all I had to do was what I’ve always done, which is just a bit of kindness,” but still, it was just picked up by the right people at the right time.
Ryan Foland: And for those who are listening or watching, what you’ve created is not a business pitch, it’s not a product that you’re selling, it is not a new topic that you’re discovering, it’s not a podcast that you were on, it’s not a media that you’re featured in, it’s just what you were thinking, you tweeted it.
And I think some of the best Twitter content is just slice of mind.
I had a chance to meet Jack Dorsey because he spoke in Haiti at an event that I did at the Haiti Tech Summit, and it was really interesting to hear how Twitter started.
It was his fascination with maps and tracking, and he initially did it just to be able to see the status of his mom throughout the day.
And the whole thing of like “what are you doing now,” that was the prompt to it.
So then he geeked out with technology and GPS and he could figure out where people are doing what.
And so Twitter at its core is just answering the question, “What are you doing?”
“I’m looking at lizards.”
“I want to help somebody out.”
“I made a mistake, I’m human.”
All of these things.
So as a speaker, this is a time, I believe, to create your own Twitter magic by forgetting about what you think you need to post and just listing about how you’re feeling. Maybe being a bit more vulnerable.
In my book, “Ditch The Act,” it’s about ditching the act and not trying to put yourself in the best light possible, but just sharing who you really are and what’s going on.
Samantha Kelly: You’ve seen my pictures with no makeup on, haven’t you, Ryan?
I mean, it’s not pretty, but people said to me, especially women, that they absolutely love that I do that.
And I’ve actually put the difference up. I’ve put one with no makeup and one wearing my makeup. I was like, “Don’t believe everything you see.”
So the women loved this because it shows me, and I’m not exactly slimmer of the year, but I try and kind of show it like it is, and that’s what people want and that’s what people need right now.
Empathy is the huge leadership trait, as you know probably. Empathy and compassion, and I think that’s what we need to be showing at the moment.
And if it’s not genuine, we’ll spot it. So if you’re an idiot offline, you’ll be an idiot online.
Ryan Foland: That was a quote that we pulled from your first episode and shared. We could probably flip that to make it positive and say —
Samantha Kelly: Yeah, if you’re good with people offline you’ll be really good with people online.
Ryan Foland: Yeah, and I think that social media, in particular Twitter, is intimidating for a lot of speakers.
Samantha Kelly: Yes.
I actually think there’s a huge fear of Twitter. Yeah there is, and it’s something I come across a lot.
But when my clients learn from me what it’s really like, they go, “Oh-my-god,” and it opens up a whole new world for them and they just love it.
Ryan Foland: You said, “Oh-my-god.”
So that’s the reaction that your clients get.
That’s what I want our listeners and viewers to hear.
So my challenge to you is to come up with 3 of the best Twitter tips that make you go OMG.
And to make it even harder, the first tip has to start with “O,” the second tip has to start with “M,” and the third one has to start with “G.”
Here we go, the “OMG challenge”, I just made it up.
Samantha Kelly: Okay, so “O,” be open.
Ryan Foland: Okay, be open.
Samantha Kelly: Make someone’s day.
Ryan Foland: And the last one, and then we’ll dig into it, what’s the “G”?
Samantha Kelly: Gratitude.
Ryan Foland: Gratitude.
Okay, so the new “OMG theory for Twitter” is to be Open, to Make someone’s day, and to have Gratitude.
Tell me some specifics on how to make that happen so that I go “Oh my god!”
Samantha Kelly: I’ll give you an example.
When I told people how I was feeling around the crisis and around people suffering and stuff like that, I got a really good reaction because everyone was, “Yeah, me too.”
And when people feel the same way, it makes them feel good because it’s like,
“Okay, hang on now, this woman, I thought she had it all and she’s really successful but even she has bad days.”
Ryan Foland: So “O” be open, and you’re saying be open with how you’re feeling, be open about the emotions.
Samantha Kelly: Yeah, but also be open to new connections.
So be open to anybody. Don’t just be engaging with the influencers or the same people all the time, go and be open to new experiences, new relationships.
You’re not going to meet new different people that will open your world and open your mind unless you’re open to that.
Ryan Foland: But what if there are millions and millions of people on Twitter and I have no idea who to connect with. I’m open to that, but —
Samantha Kelly: Ask me. Just tweet the Tweeting Goddess and say, “Look, I want to connect with such and such a thing or such and such type person,” or whatever.
There are lots of different community-centered or eco-sustainable communities. There are communities all about women in business, there are communities that love food, foodies, tech communities.
So whatever topic you’re interested in when surfing, fishing, you will find that community on Twitter.
Ryan Foland: And I think that will help people understand, because you’re really not trying to appeal to everyone on Twitter, and I think people assume like you want everyone to like you.
No, it’s like any other platform should be, which is an ability to have a community that you are involved in and have conversations with. Okay.
Talk to me about making someone’s day, and then some specific examples and maybe hashtags to use.
Samantha Kelly: Okay. The way I make someone’s day is I have Twitter lists.
So I use Twitter lists, and Twitter lists some people don’t respond. Really? Twitter lists? I have people on my Twitter lists, and the reason I have them there is because someday I’d like to have a cup of tea with that person.
Someday I’d like to meet that person. Someday I’d like to collaborate with that person.
You could have lists of potential leads, I wouldn’t make them public, I’d make them private, or you could have a code word on your list so you can call that person “awesome”… or whatever.
You can use different code words.
So when you make someone’s day, if I add someone to my “Impressive Females” list, that makes their day, they are like, “Ooh. Tweeting Goddess just put me on her Awesome Females list.”
Or if I put someone on my Cool People list they’re like, “Oh, I’m on Tweeting Goddess’s Cool People list. That’s kind of cool.”
But I love to find a new person on Twitter who only has a few followers, someone that’s selling something on Etsy or something, you know, like knitted booties for babies or something like that, and I love to retweet them and that makes their day, they’re like, “Oh my god, I just got retweeted to 52K people.”
And I have started so many new relationships with people from doing things like that.
Or someone, a charity, make someone’s day.
You see someone fundraising for a Go Fund Me thing, retweet it, highlight it for them. They really appreciate that.
Ryan Foland: Yeah, it’s an opportunity to put yourself out there.
And as a speaker, if you want to be known for speaking, why not use Twitter as a platform to practice, to get out there.
I will tell you, I’ve had people call me wanting to know about my availability for a conference, and I’ve asked them, “How did you find me?”
One of them said, “I just Googled ‘dynamic speaker,’ a tweet came up, I looked at your Twitter feed, it led me to your LinkedIn, it led me to your website.”
Twitter ranks really highly when it comes to search engine optimization, and these are tweets actually, right, not just your profile.
Okay, so oh my, talk to me now about the “G”.
Samantha Kelly: Yes I do talk about gratitude a lot because, as you know, I’m 11 years sober, and it is part of my life, and if I’m not grateful I will not enjoy anything.
Yeah, and I think gratitude, I’m very grateful for where I am now. I wasn’t always where I am now.
I was a single parent on social welfare when I started my business, and when you have gratitude you won’t want for anything.
And I was just saying to my husband, I was just thinking, you know what I said to him, “I don’t have everything I want, but I have everything I need.”
And that’s really important because a lot of people don’t have everything they need.
And so it’s about feeling grateful and then helping others and giving back.
So that’s why gratitude is really important because you forget how far you’ve come and you could be having a bad day, and I was like, “Oh I didn’t get booked for that,” or, “I didn’t get that client,” but then I remember,
“Hang on a second, Samantha, will you stop and just remember where you were at this time 3 years ago?”
We have to show gratitude. When you’re grateful you won’t want for anything when you’re grateful for what you have.
Ryan Foland: Love that. Oh my god. That was a great job being thrown under the love bus to come up with a pop quiz making Twitter tips off of something that you said which I turned into free work.
Samantha Kelly: Yeah, you’re so cruel. Don’t let him catch you doing that.
Ryan Foland: Okay, so I want to transition into the final part of this show.
There’s so much to reflect back on. Everything from as an event planner building community by reaching out, checking in, telling stories, and not just saying COVID-19 is here.
From a speaker perspective, supporting other speakers, connecting with other speakers, this a chance to work on our relationships, to build community.
When it comes to Twitter magic, the importance of being open, showing gratitude, and making somebody’s day, OMG, in no particular order there.
But if you were to take your best guess, what does the future hold?
How long will this last? When will things come back to normal?
Will there be a new normal? What is your prediction for speakers around the world?
Samantha Kelly: There’s going to be a new normal, I predict.
I predict a lot more online virtual events, definitely.
There will be audiences, there could be conversations, quizzes, things like that. Definitely more online activity, which suits me because my Women’s Inspire Network has always been online.
Definitely more webinars.
I know that loads of people didn’t even realize they could do Zoom calls.
And there is not only Zoom, there are other platforms out there, folks, you know.
I use CrowdCast, Whereby, there are lots of different platforms.
Definitely people are learning how to bring their business. Like I know that one lady in particular does yoga classes. You could enjoy yoga classes, and now she’s doing them online!
She’s doing yoga every morning, and now she has people signing up for her yoga classes every night. They do their yoga or whatever.
So she’s actually starting to do workshops now and courses, it’s amazing.
I’m actually, I’m so glad because she’d already done my 6-step program when this happened so she was well ahead of the rest.
So it’s just brilliant that I’m seeing all these people pivot slightly.
And one girl even said, “You know what, I don’t think I’ll go back offline, this is great.”
Ryan Foland: Right!
Samantha Kelly: “I don’t have to pay for premises, I don’t have to pay for rates. Cancel rates.”
A lot of them are seeing the advantages of just being online.
Another lady has a shop and she’s thinking, “Right, you know I can actually, I’m actually getting sales online here. I don’t even have to be in the bricks and mortar shop.” So it’s amazing.
Ryan Foland: All right. Well you’ve heard it here. I just want to give a special shout out to SpeakerHub for continuing to sponsor my crazy idea for this podcast.
We’re like 70+ episodes in. It’s been like 3+ years.
And when I came to them and said, “Can I detour from the normal program and can we just do some real specific COVID-19 episodes,” they said “Yes!”
And you would mention it, it’s a great way to find and connect with a community of speakers. They do have a really good call for speakers search engine.
So as more people are showcasing and looking for speakers for digital events, it’s another place to be found: speakerhub.com.
Samantha, oh my goodness gracious, this has been fun.
Samantha Kelly: And do you know what, Ryan, the fact that we’re actually having this conversation and I’m on the podcast for the second time, by the way, is because we’ve built a relationship.
We haven’t met in real life yet. That’s in the future for now.
I think it’s always, you can’t beat real life, absolutely, but you can bring your business and build relationships online and then take them offline. It’s totally doable and you can get business, you can get sales, it does work, and this is proof of it, the fact that we’re doing this podcast.
Ryan Foland: There we go.
Well I’ve got roots in Ireland, and I’m excited to speak at your event if we’re able to, and if not, if we need to go virtual, I’m there.
And again, we had Winnie Sun on talking about finance for speakers and she said, “This is a long-term play, you always have to look at the long game.”
So from what I heard, it sounds like you’re really doing a lot of the exact same stuff you did before and it’s worked before and it’s working now.
Where do people go to get more of the Tweeting Goddess?
Where do you want to put them so that they can show up in your inbox or end up in your feed?
Samantha Kelly: If you just want to follow me on Twitter @tweetinggoddess and mention Ryan and mention the podcast, I’d be very happy, and I’ll share it.
Join the Women’s Inspire Network,
We do weekly webinars and that means you get more access to me, and yeah, I’m on Twitter, LinkedIn, everything really.
I love Twitter and LinkedIn, so if you are in business, if you’re in events, if you’re a speaker, definitely I would be raising your profile on those platforms.
Ryan Foland: All right. Well, Samantha, well said, it’s been fun as always.
And again, I feel like we’re friends and we are friends, and it’s because we’ve been in touch and we continue to be in touch.
So I’m excited to continue to support you, keep the pictures of nature coming, be open as you are, make sure to make somebody’s day, which you always do.
And I have no doubt that you’re going to continue to have gratitude.
Ladies and gentlemen, speakers, not speakers, event planners, anybody in the world, you got this.
And just think to yourself — if you think to yourself, “Oh my god, I can’t do this,” turn it and say, “Oh my god — “
Samantha Kelly: “Oh my god. I can do this.”
Ryan Foland: “I can do this.” Thanks again, Samantha.
Samantha Kelly: You’re welcome. Thank you so much.
A bit about World of Speakers
World of Speakers is a bi-weekly podcast that helps people find their own voices, and teaches them how to use their voice to develop a speaking business. This special series of episodes has been created to help speakers navigate during the coronavirus crisis.
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This was originally posted on SpeakerHub Skillcamp.
