Happy Halloween with a 2021 Spin

Recorded in Conjunction with Ross Brand’s Predictions Show

After some toil and trouble and stirring to bubble, I’ve got some digital predictions for you for 2021 and beyond. Just kidding, but here’s the real story.

A well-known and an even more well-loved guy in the Livestream World, Ross Brand, gave me the distinct pleasure of joining LIVE for a short time for his BIG LIVE 5th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION in 2020, among a plethoria of known and famous guests joining Ross to celebrate his hard work, time, and service via his Livestream Universe Broadcast.

Has Ross helped every single person who tries Livestreaming?

The show was about 2021 predictions, and so many of the thoughts shared were standouts. You may want to watch the entire mega-long show to collect the golden nuggets dropped throughout. You can catch my two cents at about the 56-minute or so mark! Thank you so much, Ross, for inviting me along for your celebration. Just what I like, fun and learning rolled into one!

Digital Predictions in Livestreaming and Digital Media for 2021
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Since then, Ross has completed and successfully marketed a book taken directly from this fantastic interview show and discussions from that day. In my last post and LIVE show, I showed off the book with my special guest star, Ryder.

It was so much fun to share ME quoted in a book to my parents!! That makes my day, week, and year too, probably! But truthfully, the book touches on so many of the trends and innovations we are all experiencing every day throughout 2021, and I suspect much will continue into the future, as well.

If you are in the digital space, this award-winning book is one you may want to grab now, 100 Livestreaming & Digital Media Predictions.

What Matters

Again, I want to say how thrilled I am to be a part of Ross’s project, occupying book space, starting at page 52! Still, when Ross asked me to conjure up some predictions for 2021 in the digital space, I knew I didn’t want to talk about what we all expect in digital predictions to be hot or the obvious.

Things like the impact of AI, AR, and the evolution of chat or messenger bots as a powerful marketing and sales tool, or the increasingly noteworthy rise in the areas of voice search, video, and Livestreaming topics, are given. All of these are well-covered, and I’m also no pro for covering equipment and tech stuff, so that’s for “those” experts.

But, I wanted to share insights about the importance of your BLOG BLING and how that entails, essentially, Marketing, mainly Digital Marketing.  If you’ve read any of my work, listened to, or watched MIX/SIZZLE & SHAKE YOUR BUSINESS, where I talk everything business and content, or even if you work with me for your B2B website content, you understand I contend BLOG BLING is all about nonstop marketing for your business.

And, most importantly, it embraces human-to-human connections at the core of doing good business.

Again, we’re talking about Digital Marketing and Editorial Content Strategy, including CONTENT Management and SOCIAL Marketing.

Even with a combination of online and traditional marketing, particularly in the current business climate, it ALL revolves around the digital content assets on your blog— 

And you better bring on the blog bling because your blog is a business gem, a dazzling diamond to showcase what you offer, and, more importantly, to connect with people and, finally, to gain sales.

Digital Predictions Asks, Is Your Content a Trick or Treat?
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Measuring Impact for Digital Predictions

So you REALLY have to ask yourself, is my content a Trick or a Treat? Do other people agree with how you answered that question? These are things to contemplate, so the content you produce sets the stage to build relationships with people to do business with you eventually.

Do you work from a content strategy supporting your marketing strategy? How do you analyze what’s working? Is there a system in place to track results and capitalize on your most engaging content? What about a plan to reboot and promote underperforming content?

Make your digital predictions. But without information, it’s a guess. On the other hand, digital content that resonates with people wins. Don’t underestimate or forget emotions.

The digital dance you do, regardless of the type of content you create for your blog, comes down to people. Interactivity and engagement do win over the long haul if you have in mind to serve others.

Many of you know that I’m never sure if my Google Analytics is set up correctly, and I sometimes think of SEO as SE-ut-Oh, though I conform and write SEO content as needed for clients. But, my point is, I am connecting with people and making an impact on my business through my content each day.

Check out this design by Jaime Shine with Clearly Conveyed Communications to highlight and share a piece of my “killer content!”

Wow, this just happened by saying thank you to a new LinkedIn connection:

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If you missed it, she’s talking about this post for a colleague, Anthony Gaenzle, for his new marketing enterprise website about business email marketing.

Interaction and Positive Feedback Helps Creators

Several other excellent interactions relating to this post transpired, including Andy Crestodina saying, “It’s a great piece. I think this will do well!” (I pray he’s right.) And from Henneke, also featured in the post, “I appreciate all your support. Keep being you. P.S. I love all the enthusiasm in this post.

These examples are the kind of feedback that drives you to keep creating!

Beyond work for myself, happy clients also inspire me to continue to do my best work for them. I think I mentioned before some of the content work for Photo Mentor Academy I’ve been doing. But, my client, Lee Love, seems super happy with my newest blog post about the business of photography.

I’m scratching my head, wondering why he loves this one (perhaps the best yet, he says) so well. Then it hits me. I realize this post is about business, a topic I know and understand inside and out! Probably the first topic I know well and understand inside and out in all of the writing completed for him so far.

Of course, there’s a content creation lesson or two here, and the first obvious one is writing about what you know is always easier and perhaps, better. But, secondly and interestingly, when I first started publishing photography articles for Lee, many people were astonished. They told me they didn’t know I knew so much about photography! Probably because I don’t know a thing about photography, or I didn’t at the start.

Educate Yourself on Your Content’s Topics

However, I’m learning all about photography, cameras, photographers, photography genres, styles, lighting, composition, processing, and so much more from Lee Love.

Seriously, I can name topics I’m learning for paragraphs on end at this point about my client’s business, industry, and personal insights. The lesson? Curiosity about your business, industry, and products or services, gives you multitudes of content possibilities to squelch that thirst for site visitors.

Educate, explain, and entertain with your content. Explore all the things a person new to what you do or offer needs to know and take them gently along with you, step by step.

As a creator, curiosity pays off in letting you dig deeper to understand and immerse yourself in topics you cover. The questions you have and the process to understand what your content is about allows you to step into the shoes of a beginner. When you create pathways with your content to logically pull people alongside you, a frictionless entry to your business begins.

Share your thoughts about the future of digital content in the comments below.

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