240: Developing a digital media mindset & experimenting with short-form video: Special guest - Ben Cusack
- S6E240
- 45:12
- October 26th 2022
What does it take for a 45-year-old professional to build a following on TikTok of over 190,000, with 10M 'likes' of his videos? HINT: Letting go of perfection and adopting a 'digital media mindset'.
Let's face it, it takes time, effort and planning to build a professional personal brand that people know, trust and respect.
But sometimes, we over-think things. We get stuck inside our own heads when it comes to creating content and using social media to build our profile and our reputation.
If you’re a business owner or a professional expert with years in the trenches and runs on the board, there’s a good chance you might want to get things 100% perfect before publishing anything to social media.
It’s this pursuit of perfection: this over-thinking things around content creation, that might be holding you back and therefore, stunting your PR and personal branding efforts.
Today’s episode theme is around 'experimentation', and taking risks on social media. BEWARE: It's a wide-ranging conversation!
By ‘taking risks’, I’m not talking about doing anything silly.
Just letting loose a bit. Showing more of your authentic self. Trying new platforms. Experimenting with new technologies. Developing new skills.
There are a lot of good things that come with this: in the case of today’s guest, gaining confidence in front of the camera.
I call it adopting a digital media mindset.
Because, to be really successful with your content on social media, it’s as much about mindset as it is about the words you use.
In this episode, we hear from BEN CUSACK, a 45-year old government grant specialist and business owner whose TikTok account has generated over 10 million ‘likes’, with an audience of over 190,000.
In short, Ben takes chances on social media, and it's terrific to hear his story and how he's gained confidence in front of the (mobile phone) camera simply by doing, by putting himself out there and not taking things too seriously.
Ben and I cover TikTok, YouTube Shorts, turning blog posts into videos using AI, content curation on LinkedIn and increasing personal productivity through outsourcing.
If you tend to over-cook things on social media and have not yet broken out of the mindset that something needs to be perfect in order to be professional, then this episode is for you!
CONNECT WITH BEN:
#LearnByDoing #DigitalMediaMindset #ProgressNotPerfection
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CRANK THE 3RD: Exploring the entrepreneurial + creative side of life post 50
CRANK THE 3RD is a weekly podcast in which we explore the entrepreneurial and creative side of life post 50.
You've survived the first two professional chapters of your lives - 20s to mid-30s (chapter 1) and mid-30s and through your 40s (chapter 2).
Welcome to the 3rd chapter! By this stage of your professional life, you've seen a lot, done most things, made some cash, expanded your horizons and probably are more comfortable in your skin than at any other time.
But it’s not necessarily all sunshine and roses either. At some stage, many of us reach a point where we ask: “Is that all there is?”
While we have oodles of experience under our belts and are a lot more sure of ourselves and confident in our own abilities, we also live in a fast-paced volatile world.
Technology is ever-changing, and the AI wave has only just begun. A sense of uncertainty is never far away. We know that if we stand still, we run the risk of losing relevance.
No matter how savvy, experienced and connected we are, certain challenges remain.
But on the upside, the number of opportunities staring us in the face is enormous, and unprecedented!
The goal of CRANK THE 3RD is to inspire energised, forward-thinking 50 and 60-somethings to continue to think expansively and creatively about their current situation, and to ponder, plot and plan the exciting road they have ahead of them.
You’ve put in the hard yards: now it’s time to capitalise!
Let’s dive in!
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