Jonathan Christian

Date: January 17, 2017

Name: 2017 is the year of engagement with Jonathan Christian

Presenter: Jonathan Christian

Many entrepreneurs are struggling to create their own engaging content; moreover, they invest time in social media and without receiving quality return. Vancouver Business Network meetup invites Jonathan Christian, the Founder of We Make Stuff Happen, to discuss his strategy on social media success. In this presentation, entrepreneurs will learn his valuable social media tips to create and deliver successful content. Furthermore, Jonathan Christian will cover some important keys for entrepreneurs to take advantage of social media in 2017.

Jonathan Christian is the Founder of We Make Stuff Happen. His training courses help many entrepreneurs take their lead in social media in their industries. He is the expert in the world of social networking and content marketing. Jonathan Christian is also the Chief Imagination Officer for JDGEM Consulting Inc. Many of his clients are inspired and impressed with his engagement and passion. He over delivers his materials. He was nominated BCAMA Marketer of the year 2012. Moreover, he is also a board member of Pain BC since 2013.

In Jonathan Christian’s perspective, social media is a platform for storytelling. In the upcoming 2017, Christian believes “engagement” is the theme in social media. Everything is in contact with mobility and 2 main questions should be asked: “How well you are found on mobile?” and “How they want to have communication with you?”

For the past many years, the adoption of enterprise communication was increasing exponentially. It took 75 years for the phone to reach 50 million users. 38 years for radio, 14 years for television, 4 years for internet, 3.5 years for Facebook and 3 months for Google+. The trend shows users are increasing the urgency of information. People are resonating with the communication. Moreover, Christian believes mobility is the key of the winning formula in social media.

Christian moved to Abbotsford, lived in his dream house and married over 30 years. He has 3 children, who are also a big part of the social media. He even has created his own hashtag. Christian believes content and emotion are the triggers for social media influence. He got into social media because he wanted to stay in touch with his mother. He also wanted to keep connected with his daughters. During a car accident in 2008, he was diagnosed with Annus Horribilus. Life threw him a weird turn and forced him to find ways to do business using what he knows the best, which is social media. While spending quality time with many amazing people, he managed to create his tribe and founded the company called “We Make Stuff Happen”.

Christian asks entrepreneurs if they ever google themselves in the Google search engine. The results show up based on the keywords they use. To get a better search result, Christian suggests entrepreneurs to use Google+. Google+ has search ability, Google Maps, SEO, business reviews, and knowledge graph. Entrepreneurs need to remember it is no longer about selling, but it is about the stories they tell. Social media is powerful enough to impact people’s mindset and online reputation is extremely important in this generation. There is a question Christian wants to ask all entrepreneurs: “what is the most valuable thing they bring to their clients?”

“Be real, emotional, and authentic”

On social media, storytelling is the best way to connect with people. Social media is the new internet. Entrepreneurs need to let social media become their heartbeat. This is a social world and now the awareness is not the driver; instead, advocacy is now the next business level. People are looking for advocate; therefore, entrepreneurs need to become the “go-to” person. 80% of consumers look at online review. Only 14% of them trust advertisement and only 78% of them will trust recommendation. Christian believes it is important for entrepreneurs to become the best storyteller or the best educator in their industries. This will change their paradigm.

“Help, but do not sell, people will come to you”

Christian suggests entrepreneurs should only use 3 to 15 minutes to manage their social media account and 3 times a day. Entrepreneurs need to determine their target audience. Niche is important because it is impossible to reach everyone. Content should start from a website and expand to different social media platforms.

The first tip for entrepreneurs is to become the leading authority within their own industry. When entrepreneurs use professional pictures, it shows confidence. They need to have that confident image in their head first to believe in themselves. Afterwards, entrepreneurs need to get people to write their google reviews. 5 stars review can help entrepreneurs to gain high awareness in the Google search.

To have an engage content, it needs to be educated, entertained, engaged, empowered an excited. Video is the best way to share engage content in social media. Entrepreneurs do not need expensive camera; instead, smartphone is all they need. Entrepreneurs need to share their Vlogs and blogs. They can use Facebook to boost their reach and views. Live video is the next level in social media strategy.

Story is the where entrepreneurs should begin. People want to hear stories and stories can bridge the connection. People can experience the message in the stories.

“Whatever you are thinking, think bigger”

The second tip for entrepreneurs is to have personal profile and business page. They are different because they tell different stories. Christian suggests entrepreneurs to link the profile to the page to gain maximum exposure. Entrepreneurs should also get their business page verified. The business page will receive a blue checkmark. 52% of people are likely to trust the brand if it interacts positivity on social media. To improve the edge rank, it focuses on affinity, weight and time. Christian provides 3 key questions.

1. Affinity: How often do they engage?
2. Weight: What type of content?
3. Time: When are they online?

Christian wants entrepreneurs to become the best storyteller within their industries. Social media is a powerful tool if they use it properly. They can also use the Pin Post function in Facebook. The post they pin is the first post people see when they visit the page. Entrepreneurs just need to remember the 3 steps: create the page, post, and manage.

Another tip for entrepreneurs is to build the community. They can ask questions to the community to engage members. Christian suggest entrepreneurs to look into Canva or PicMonkey to access images for building the community.

To gain more engagement on social media, entrepreneurs can also tag others in their posts. Entrepreneurs need to remember not to post anything they do not want others to see online. Here are the 5 key steps to build relationship to social media success.

• Educate people
• Engage people
• Entertain people
• Empower people with quotes
• Excite exact audience

“Think twice, type once”