Vegas baby. Vegas. Yep, after almost two years away, I was back in Sin City for the National Speaker’s Association Annual Conference. It felt so good to be back paying $12 for sparkling water fluctuating between 116 degrees outside and -47 inside.
Besides reconnecting with many of my speaker friends, I heard some amazing presentations throughout the conference. During one of the sessions, my friend Ron Tite shared a line that really resonated with me. He was talking about creating content that makes a difference and asked the audience, “are our roots showing?” Now, of course, most of our minds went directly to hair, and he even joked that thanks to the pandemic, we will all find out who the “real” blondes are out there. But he threw us a curveball when he was actually asking us if we are sharing meaningful content or just phoning it in.
When he mentioned our “roots,” he was referring to our:
  • History
  • Family
  • Pets
  • Story
  • etc.
Are we letting people in to see the personal side of our business?
As most of you know, this is something that I wholeheartedly agree with and believe should be a piece of your overall content pie. As I recently told a real estate agent friend of mine, people don’t do business with a real estate agent—they do business with you. So don’t just make your social about your business—give us a glimpse into your values, your passions, and who you are.
Here’s an example of a client of ours who did an excellent job of “showing their roots.” Ben was a customer favorite at their furniture store for 40 years. As he neared retirement, the owner decided to interview Ben about his experience and tell Ben how much he meant to Lawrance furniture and their community. As you can imagine, this resonated with their social media following. It wasn’t a promotion or a product feature; it was an inspiring glimpse into the family-like culture that they’ve created.
So how are you “showing your roots?” How does that resonate with you? In what ways can you show a more personal side of your business?
Check out this article for further reading. This article offers a slightly different perspective on Ron’s analogy, and I thought it was a great read. Please enjoy.
So thank you, Ron, for reminding us of the importance of not just “phoning it in” by posting product offerings or recycled articles—but instead posting about real, authentic life. Our highs, our lows, ups and downs, dogs and kittens. Let’s do our best to pull back a few more layers of the onion, and allow others to see inside our businesses, our people, and maybe a little of ourselves.