December 27, 2019

by  DR. MARK T. WADE

#104: How To Build Your Brand With Your Summit

Description  

Brand Strategist Doug Holt has helped summit hosts build brands that scale.  He talks us through his initial strategy of analyzing your brand, then walks us through specific strategies to use Summits to build on that credibility and reputation.  Find out how to build a brand from your summit in this episode along with the one thing summit hosts are universally doing incorrectly. 

How To Grow Your Brand

     ❇️     Do a deep analysis

• Look over the website. Check for technical issues.

• Think of it like getting a health check

     ❇️     Work out who your ideal target is

             👉      Speakers

• Who are your target speakers
• Who is the avatar you’re trying to bring in

              👉     Listener

• Who’s the attendee to the summit

• Narrow it down to 3 avatars maximum

     ❇️     Lay out the landscape

• Where are you present

• Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.

     ❇️     Email Marketing

• Has the highest ROI of any marketing out there

• It's got the highest, statistically, ROI in time and resources of any other platform including paid ads

     ❇️     Website

• No one can control your website

     ❇️     SEO

• Paid ads = Cold marketing

• SEO = Warm or Hot lead

     ❇️     Offline marketing

• Direct mail

• Other promotions

• Podcasts

  • As guest expert

  • Having own podcast is important as well

     ❇️     Set up a flow

• Set up a flow that works for you

• Double down your resources and start to automate

• What can you eliminate? What can you automate? What can you delegate?

Facebook vs LinkedIn

     ✔️     Facebook

• Facebook ads is great

• Amazing platform to utilize

• It is where your audience or listeners usually hang out

• Like talking with someone in a concert. Too noisy

• Can’t make a good impression

• Can’t have a good dialogue because too many people are around

• They can change a rule and algorithm update overnight that can wipe out all of your marketing overnight

     ✔️     LinkedIn

• Like talking to someone in a barbecue

• This is a good place to reach out to potential summit hosts

• Provides three points of unrestricted contact to a potential member or a potential speaker which you can't do on any other platform

  • Presence, email, mobile app

• Has amazing automation features

Making Sure Your Brand Messaging Is On Point

• What is the message that your summit is really saying

• How is it positioning you as a leader in the industry

• Are you someone who is up top

• Are you someone who's on trend with the industry

• What is your competitive advantage

• As a summit host, how do you set your brand to be known for that advantage

• Look at exactly what that messaging is 

• Repeat that message all the time throughout your summit

• Repeat after the summit to accentuate your brand

• Once you've clarified your brand messaging, get it out there in unique ways

How To Use Summits To Build Your Brand

     👉     As summit host, reach out to your guests

     👉     Use your summit to help network your speakers

• Help your speakers actually connect to one another and you become the catalyst for those connections

     👉     Start marketing yourself as the expert who is hosting these other experts

How To Position Your Brand In Summits

     👉     Map out your year

     👉     Lay out your marketing as such:

• Pre-summit time

  • Prepare a teaser on what’s happening

• During summit time

  • End your summit with an open loop

• Post summit time

  • Start teasing again what's coming up and why this one's going to be so much better

  • Pre-selling things for your summit and going forward

How To Diversify

     ❇️     Cross sell with your summits and build your brand

     ❇️     You can be an expert connector

     ❇️     Talk about your different brands, who you are, what you do

     ❇️     Boil it down to your brand specific

     ❇️     As a summit host, find out what your summit is going to provide to the end marketplace

Making Annual Summits Take The Brand Higher

    ✔️     Marketing

• Bring on new topics, new guests

• You could be the most amazing summit host in the world, but if nobody knows about you, it doesn't matter

     ✔️     Innovate

• Technology is changing

• Add new things, new features

2 Things To Improve In The Summit World

1. You got to run this like a business

• This is a business, not a hobby

• You need to have a strategy for marketing, innovation, business growth

2. Networking

• Your net worth is your network

• Don't get stuck in the same guest over and over again, but expand upon it

• What are you going to give to that guest as an add on

• What is their added benefit to keep coming up and promoting you

On Building Relationships

     ❇️     It's not business to business. It's human to human. 

     ❇️     The more you can connect those dots authentically, the better chance you're going to have of having a relationship that is reciprocal.

     ❇️     Don't go into the relationship with trying to get but lead with what you can give and ask what else can I do for you.

     ❇️     When you lead with value, you not only help your audience but you help your speakers and it's going to in turn help you.

What Summit Hosts Should Be Focusing On

     ✔️     Networking

• Build your network before you need it

     ✔️     Market, market, market

• The best way and cheapest way to get on there is building a brand

• Double down on your marketing and promotion so you can build a big brand

• It keeps the competition at bay

• If your brand is good enough and people know, like and trust you, you will be perfectly fine in business as long as you deliver on what you promise

Final Piece Of Wisdom From Doug

“Business can get hard. Remember why you're doing this and why you started your summits in the first place. And I'd recommend, not doubling down, but tripling down on that, not only the why you're doing it, but who it is that you're affecting and that's going to take you through the hardships or what have you, that that comes with every business and then just go after it. This is your chance. You don't have a back pocket life, so go for it today.”

MY REQUEST

I’m going to give away all the best insights and knowledge but just need YOUR help!

• First  - subscribe & leave a 5 star review on this podcast
• Second - share this podcast with anyone you know who has done, or wants to do a summit

​That’s all I ask...

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH

   👉   I am always looking for feedback

   👉   If you have questions send them to me.  (I’ll start doing a special Q&A monthly episode)

   👉   If you want to be a guest reach out and let me know

   👉   If you know someone I should interview please put me in touch with them.

Email me at:  Podcast@VirtualSummits.com

Join the Summitology Masterclass: https://www.virtualsummits.software/summitology-masterclass-signup

Resources you can get in the show notes at http://virtualsummits.software/resource

    ✔️   One Day Summit Guide

    ✔️   Virtual Summits Framework

    ✔️   Plug & Play

    ✔️   Free Trial Virtual Summit Software

I want to end this episode by saying,

"I believe in YOU & YOU can do this."

Summits are by far one of the most powerful ways to quickly grow your list, launch your platform & make more money! (Even if you are just getting started).

Don’t get caught up in Analysis paralysis, because the world needs to hear your message & there are people who are waiting for you to help them. 

So just get started.  Imperfect action is always better than doing nothing!

Thank you and see you on the next episode!

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

   🔗   One-Day Summit Training

   🔗   Virtual Summits Software Free Trial

   🔗   One-Day Summit Starter Guide 

   🔗   Interview Like A Pro

   🔗   Summit Fest Live

   🔗   Doug Holt's Bonus