I’ve been actively creating content for several years now, my speciality is podcasts and live video, but I’ve never been certain if I have the right strategy for getting this content to people on Social Media. A chance conversation with a colleague in our office gave me some clarity and a new direction to follow in 2021. Read on and I’ll tell you more…
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SHOW NOTES
The International Business from Finland theme music was devised and created by Dodobones www.dodobones.co.uk
Sharing The ‘International Business From Finland’ Podcast
During season one of the podcast, I was quite active sharing each episode for several days after it was published; links to audio and video to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, plus publishing this blog on LinkedIn and uploading the video directly to Facebook. For season two, I decided to share a little more selectively, I experimented with Audiograms and also started to use my Instagram feed to spread the word. And it was this, Instagram, that caused me a headache and led to my receiving the advice I mentioned above.
Why Instagram?
My Instagram activity had been a little slow for a year or two, but my thoughts about using Instagram had grown during 2020, mostly due to the content from one my partners on the Finnish Football Show. During the COVID lockdown in early-2020, Keith (Keke to his friends) had started an Instagram account for the show and had built up a following by posting about events within Finnish football and engaging with people in the game in Finland. In about nine months, Keke picked-up over 250 followers with a combination of regular posts and occasional Stories.
How Can I Represent ALL Aspects of Me On One Profile?
I decided that I would share my content on Instagram. I have an archive of nearly 50 episodes of the Explore Finland Radio Show, as well as the ongoing series of ‘International Business From Finland’. I also write a column in Epari newspaper here in Seinäjoki and also wanted to publicise the ‘WIISE Words’ blog from WIISE (Work Integration for Immigrants Service) which launched in November 2020.
I started by uploading images from season one of Explore Finland and interspersing these with photos I had taken during Autumn 2020 – nature, family pics etc. It looked OK as an archive, but I wasn’t sure. Should I upload all the Explore Finland archive, then start to upload newer content? I was thinking about this a lot and probably boring Mrs W. in the sauna every evening by talking about it, because something wasn’t quite right.
“Just Make It About YOU”
In the kitchen at our office, I showed my newly-updated profile to my friend Hanne and explained that I was finding it difficult to find a way to represent everything I do. Should I use Stories or regular posts? Over 20 minutes, Hanne said something like this:
“You may think you have many different aspects to your work and outside-work life but, to me, everything you do is about helping people. Your profile looks alright but I think people follow you because they want to see what YOU are doing. You should always include your photo in everything you share. It doesn’t matter what the content is you are sharing, make sure people start to recognise your face in it.”
Hanne Pohto-Viita
With these words everything became clear. I created template images for those different types of content I wanted to share and I started to make a simple plan, for 2-3 posts a week sharing something about my life; a new blog or podcast episode, a photo while at work, a podcast form my archive, a photo form my everyday life. I also updated most of my social media profiles to focus on her phrase about ‘helping people’.
Since that day, I have posted on Instagram 18 times and I am in 14 of those images, while my dog, Boris, is in two others. I also make sure I share these on my other profiles, depending on where the original content was from. Podcast episodes go to the relevant Facebook and LinkedIn pages, the personal photos go straight to my personal Facebook profile.
What do you think? You can check out my Instagram profile and let me know. If you like it, feel free to click ‘follow’ and then let me know.
This will probably be my last International Business episode for a while. I’m going to focus on a new season of the Explore Finland Radio Show in 2021. But, if you want to discuss marketing to your international customers or prospects via podcast or live video, use the button below to reach out:
Links
- Spotify: International Business from Finland with Mark Wiltshear
- Podbean: International Business from Finland with Mark Wiltshear
- YouTube: Mark Wiltshear TMI
- Website: markwiltshear.com
- Buy Me A Coffee: Wiltshear
- Rate This Podcast: Wiltshear
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