According to Andrew Davis (bestselling author and internationally acclaimed keynote speaker), content marketing is important because “content builds relationships. Relationships are built on trust [and] trust drives revenue.” In line with this, Disney's documentary on Stan Lee (aptly named after him) is a masterclass on exactly what it takes to achieve those results in your business (whether you are creating content on your own platforms or other’s) as it relates to the following principles:
According to Ibinye Olayide (Marriage and Family Therapist):
“It’s important to show up authentically so that genuine intimacy [can be shared]. Intimacy helps people feel safe, share their struggles and their joys and develop a deep level of closeness. When we do not show up authentically…the level of closeness [within a relationship] will be limited”.
These principles are also true as it relates to cultivating a community around your brand or business because, as the old adage says, people will only do business with people that they know, like and trust.
But how do we go about achieving this?
If you’ve been in the online marketing space for a while, you may have heard the phrase “facts tell; stories sell”.
You may also have been encouraged by well meaning coaches to “share your story” to better connect with your ideal clients and, ultimately, sell your products or services.
The problem with this advice is that it can create more questions than answers
Like:
How much of my story should I tell?
Can I be authentic and relatable without oversharing?
Who even wants to hear my story, let alone publish it on their media platform, anyway?!
If you’ve been asking one (or more) of those questions, this post is for you! Here’s what you need to know:
On Friday I had the amazing opportunity to provide mentoring for an up and coming film maker as part of Genesis Child Films intensive workshop series
Shout out to my girl, Candice Onyeama for the invite!
One of the great questions that I was asked was "everyone talks about visibility and showing up authentically but how do I do that?"
If you've ever wondered the same thing, sis, here's my response:
Not only does girls’ socialisation impact their ability to promote themselves and be visible, it can have negative repercussions for them when they do
For example according to The Harvard Business Review article, "Nice Girls Don’t Ask”:
“Women who assertively pursue their own ambitions and promote their own interests may be labelled as bitchy or pushy”
This means that “They frequently see their work devalued and find themselves ostracised or excluded…”
“More typically [these responses] are a product of society’s ingrained expectations about how women should act”
Meaning that women can be impacted by societal expectations and gender norms:
Internally (in terms of what they are taught to believe that they can be, do or have and therefore go towards)
Externally (in terms of what other people believe that they can be, do or have and are therefore give them access to)
The answer?
Through their video, “If Cinderella were a Guy,” Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo (of Rebelgirls.co) highlight the fact that women are impacted by misogyny as early as childhood
Which, to summarise a previous post, is because of:
A lack of representation of well-rounded female main characters in children's books and TV shows
Linear representations of main female characters (e.g. as damsels in need of rescue by men)
This then gives way to confidence issues by the time most girls reach primary or elementary school
(More so than boys)
Which manifests into issues such as imposter syndrome by the time that these girls become women
According to Cate Luzio’s Forbes article, “A Missing Factor in Women’s Leadership: Confidence“:
“The constant second guessing and self-reflection on what we [as women] can or cannot do and our fear of self-promotion has a significant impact on our ability to advance our careers”
She also adds that “although there are various factors missing in women’s leadership, [she] would argue that confidence is one of the most pressing”
One of the things that I love about Mahlah and her 4 sisters (Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah), though, is their show of confidence
For example
Last week we discussed how legalistic religious beliefs within the church can stop women from walking in their purpose and fully showing up
Click here if you missed that, sis
This is important because it plays into culture
(which is the behaviours and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic or age group)
especially in terms of how girls are socialised which, in turn, has knock-on effects on our ability to show up, be visible and therefore make impact as women
For, as one of my favourite authors, Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche said:
“We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller, we say to girls, ‘You can have ambition, but not too much.’ ‘You should aim to be successful, but not too successful…’”
which is why, according to research, women feel less at ease with promoting themselves than men- which in turn means that they're less likely to do it.
However…
Mahlah and her 4 sisters (Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah) teach us that the best way to overcome this is to:
In August 2017 I wrote an article called “Lessons from 5 Rebel Girls of the Bible”
Which you can access here, sis
Among those that got an honourable mention were Mahlah and her 4 sisters- Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah
To summarise Numbers 27:1-11, they were the daughters of Zelophehad and when he died they advocated for themselves regarding their inheritance
by standing
“before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, saying: 'Our father died in the wilderness...and he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s brothers'"
Causing God to instruct Moses to give it to them
Like it literally says that, when Moses brought their case before the Lord, He spoke to him saying:
“The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right; you shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father’s brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them."
Which shows that God is an advocate of women's rights, equality and leadership- despite what we may have traditionally been taught
