Crafting Marketing Strategies for Coaches & Consultants with Annette Richmond

Speaker A: Uh, now get started. Hi, friends. Welcome back to Talent Talk and Strategy Stroll. I'm Mary StockWell, leadership strategist, PQ coach, and your guide through the moments that shape how we lead. Today's guest is a powerhouse in helping coaches and consultants get seen, get heard, and grow. Whether you're refining your message or finally hitting record, this episode will get you moving. Joining us is the dynamic Annette Richmond, founder of Black Dog Marketing Strategies. Annette is a maestro in content marketing, especially professionals, to harness the power of video and LinkedIn to amplify their brand. She's the voice behind the Content Marketing School podcast, where she shares insights on social media growth, live broadcasting, and AI driven content creation. Annette, uh, welcome to the show. I'm so happy to have you.

Speaker B: Well, I am so excited to be here. Thank you so much for the invitation, and I am blushing underneath at that lovely introduction. Uh, thank you so much for your kind words.

Speaker A: You're welcome. You're ready to get started? Let's dig in.

Speaker B: Let's go.

Speaker A: All right, Annette, Ah. You've been a strong advocate for video content. For coaches and consultants hesitant about stepping in front of the camera. How can they overcome this fear and leverage video to connect authentically with their audience?

Speaker B: So I can tell you, one of the reasons that I really advocate for that is because I was like that, too. I still am. I don't like the sound of my voice. I don't like to see myself on video, pictures of me. Um, but I'll tell you one thing that I know is absolutely true, and I learned this working with video coach myself several years ago, is that, um, people don't care what you look like. They don't care what you sound like. They only care if your message is relevant to them. And, you know, when you're watching a video, are you looking and saying, boy, that woman could lose five pounds? Oh, I don't know. I don't like that guy. I don't like that his way, his hair or what, this shirt he's wearing. No, nobody does that. But a simple technique that I, um, recommend to clients that I work with. I call it the bokeh message. It's, um, banished on camera anxiety, and it's very, very simple. For 14 days, you open your camera, you record a video under two minutes. A, uh, tip, whatever it is that you would share. I might be talking about video, you might be talking about leadership. Every day you do that for 14 days, you don't look at it, you don't share it, nothing. The end of 14 days, you look at all of the videos. And you will see that you become more relaxed. It's like anything else. The more you do it, the more comfortable you get. And now when I see myself on video, I don't even really see me anymore.

Speaker A: Wow, that's really fascinating. It's so true, too. I remember how stiff I felt on my first videos, and it's taken me a while, you know, to. To get comfortable in front of a camera. And now I love showing up in that way. You know, it's not just be about being perfect, it's about being present and real. And that's what builds trust. Like I told you before we hit record today is that, you know, we don't edit this show. We show up and go and, uh, our true, authentic, you know, beautiful self, splendors and all. So it does take time. So I appreciate that. And I love the, uh, the Boca Method. Yeah, that's an airplane to catch on to.

Speaker B: Well, you know, as you just said, nobody turns on the camera for the first time and is fabulous. It just doesn't happen. So, you know, as you say, it's a matter of being there, being yourself.

Speaker A: Right. All righty. Um, so LinkedIn has evolved beyond the digital resume platform. What are some innovative strategies coaches and consultants can employ to enhance their visibility and their engagement on LinkedIn?

Speaker B: Well, you know, I do have to lean into video. And one of the reasons I say that is because, as we've been saying, you know, so far we've been together, video really helps to build that trust. It's the fastest way to accelerate that whole. No like and trust factor. Um, more so than a text post or even a text post with. With, um, uh, an image. Although I, I am an advocate for, you know, do show images. Show images from your life to let people get to know you a little bit. Because we all want a little peek, you know, into somebody's life. And I think of that and this is not, um, I didn't come up with this. I heard it years ago on Clubhouse. I don't remember who said it, but the idea of having three types of content, um, professional, we all know what that is. Personal for me, that's me and my husband at a game or our dogs. And private. Now, private for me is really things that I would only be sharing with my friends. But private is different for everyone. Some people are on LinkedIn, they talk about surgery and divorce and everything. Me, if I was getting a divorce, I'm not, but if I was, I would not be talking about that on LinkedIn. So that's kind of what I think about. But people like that peek behind the scenes and you know, one thing I will say is, you know, for people who are still thinking about even posting, engaging on LinkedIn at all while you're thinking about it, your competition is rocking it. So, you know, being on there, um, is essential, I think video with. Since they um, put the video feed, the TikTok, like video feed on the mobile app, it shows that they are really pushing it and marketers increasingly are using it based on studies that I read.

Speaker A: Yeah, that's um, such great information I've had. The best conversations come from the, from the human post. And I'm kind of a private person, as you mentioned. So for me to step into like, more human things, like I'll do a sunrise Saturday on my bike ride and I'll do a short little um, clip of, you know, watching the sunset behind me and I'll come up with a topic that I've been thinking about maybe on my bike ride, which is generally about 15 miles, I go for the bridges of Palace County. And so when I post those, even though they're, like you said, two minutes or less, some of the best conversations have come from them. Some of them might be a, you know, a leadership mistake or a big mindset shift or just wishing you a day filled with sunshine. You know, I've had some great conversations with that. So. And I've noticed that the algorithm on LinkedIn has changed as well, um, to favor video content.

Speaker B: It seems that way, uh, to me. To me as well. And you know, one of the goals, it's like with if you're on TikTok, you want to get in that um, for you page, you know, you want to end with LinkedIn if you're, you know, there is that video feed and if you don't do video at all, you're certainly not getting in there.

Speaker A: Will you explain that a little bit more about the, the TikTok feed?

Speaker B: So on TikTok, um, if you, if you use TikTok, they have different streams. One of them is um, your friends. So people that you are following, you will see that feed. They actually have one also for, for stem that they started recently. And then there's the for you page. And that is the page where you can go and, and see um, sort of the hottest creators, trends that are happening. And you know, getting on there opens you up to um, new, a new audience. And I think the same thing with video, uh, different, because people as you know, they um, like different Types of content. And one thing I will say, and I learned this actually even from LinkedIn, through a program that I did, um, not too long ago, that they recommend video in their advertising. And because people want like, and people want snackable bites, they're not wanting to read your white paper that you work so hard on. You know, they, they'd rather have a short video or two or three.

Speaker A: Well, thank you for that. That's, uh, something that I wasn't aware of and I just take it, I've taken a note of it and I'm pretty sure our listeners have too. Ah, all right, um, let's move on. So AI is revolutionizing content creation. How can coaches, um, how can coaches and consultants integrate AI tools into their marketing strategies without compromising their authenticity?

Speaker B: So I think when we all talk about AI, most people think of ChatGPT, I, that's kind of my main one. I have others also that I use and now they all have AI. You're on Canva. There's AI every, everywhere you go, there's an AI component. So I'm gonna just focus on ChatGPT. And it's all about the prompts, um, in the sense that when I use ChatGPT, I'm having a conversation with it. I'm telling it when I start. Let's say if I want to create, um, posts and I want some generate Ideas, I think AI is great for that. ChatGPT is great. So if you're going to do that, you want to, you want to start with saying, here's who I am. This. I'm a content marketing consultant and I work with this audience, what type of content, and, and they struggle with say, being comfortable on video. That's the main thing I want to talk about. They struggle with being comfortable on video, getting started. They just don't know where to start. So I'm going to put that in my prompt. This is what I do. This is my audience. This is a struggle. I want you to focus on and give that to me in a matrix format. So I want and I. In the matrix, I want to have the topic, the title, the format, and I want you to think of like, you know, video, text, etc. And share that to me in a matrix. But I don't want any bs, fluff exaggerations, making things up. So, you know, and you play around with it. But if you do that, you know, you get a, um, format content you can actually use, you know, rather than having go on and, and I, I think the key is to just be Direct. You know, it's often that I get something, I'm working on something. I think of it as working with Chachi P chatgpt, not having it work for me. And if I get the content back, I can say, you know, that that's too salesy or no, that doesn't sound like me. And the one thing I also want to add is give it content. So if someone is, let's say they're, they're a coach and they mostly do text posts on um, LinkedIn. Take those text posts and say here's some posts that really did well. So look at those, review them, analyze them, look at my voice and now use that for your knowledge base. And I want you to create a post on blah blah, blah, here's some information with that sort of format and that voice. So I guess that's kind of a long winded answer to your, to your question.

Speaker A: I like it though. I mean it's so important uh, to give it your voice. And I love the idea about um, putting some of your, your content that you've already created in there and getting it to know you. So it builds a memory of who you are.

Speaker B: Mhm.

Speaker A: And the type of clients that you serve. So I think that's just gold. So I always think that, you know, AI can give us the structure but we give it the soul. Right. So it helps clear the clutter so that we can stay in our own lane and showing up with insight and intention.

Speaker B: Absolutely.

Speaker A: Alrighty. Ah, Consistency is key in branding. What steps can professionals take to ensure their messaging remains cohesive across various platforms?

Speaker B: So I, I will say, um, one of the, the ways to just stay consistent with your posting is to batch your content creation. You know, do certain number of time to do videos, set time to write posts, do some, some um, uh, content planning. You know, I'm not saying plan out your content for 90 days, but try to, I try to do a little bit of planning is what I'm going to be posting about. I, um, and I think as far as branding, um, obviously you know, I use Canva. Everybody I know uses Canva for something. So if you're creating graphics in Canva, if you have um, that you can stay consistent with your colors and designs. I have actually read that if you're using a stock photo that you should also put elements in your brand colors to you know, make use the brand. Um, as we both know, people that are on brand all the time, Sarah Clay is one of them. She is always, you know, orange and purple. Jillian Whitney is Purple Brenda Miller is pink. And you know, you think of those, you see that, you see that, um, and I think that the color is, um, is important. I'm always in black because I love black and I can get away with it because black dog marketing. So, you know,

Speaker A: yeah, that's perfect. So I think, you know, when you have a brand anchor like that, you know your audience and your tone, it's much easier to stay consistent even when you're creating fast. One thing that you said, um, when you talked about batching, some people may not know what that means. Could you dig into that just a little bit more and maybe what kind of tool you would use to do that?

Speaker B: Sure. So when, when I think of batching, for the most part I'm thinking of video. And so what I do is, um, I write short scripts. Now I know some people say, oh, if you write a script that, you know, sounds formal and doesn't sound natural, the key is to write very short script, um, or even some notes, but write it the way you would say it. So if you're, if you, if you're going to say, you know, don't, don't ever share content that's too personal, you want to say that. You don't want to say, do not share content. You know, you don't want to write your script. You write it the way you speak, not the way you would write it. So that's what I do. I write a few short scripts. I record one line at a time because that way if there's a mistake, I'm uh, not having to sit there and do the two minutes over again or having to read, you know, because it's so, um, disconcerting when you're watching somebody read. Uh, and I sit down, I plan time. I'm doing some this afternoon. I plan. These are the videos I'm going to do. And I try to shoot them when I'm camera ready, you know, um, and do it that way. And then you can also, um, create, um, you know, create the, the content, the post that goes with it at the same time as well and store that, you know. But I just, I try to minimize, um, the work. And I'll just tell, um, I use a lot of, um, A.I. to create, create clips. So if I do a longer video, I have a couple of platforms that I use that create clips for me automatically so I don't have to spend, spend the time doing it myself. And one other thing I will say also is if you're doing something, say a video that's I don't know, seven minutes. Um, and you're talking about something. I get the transcript from that. I have Chat GPT write out the um, the summary that I'm going, you know, to, to turn it into a text post. So that's one of the things I think AI is great for too is, is taking content you have and summarizing it, organizing it, giving you ways to turn it into other content.

Speaker A: Yeah, that's really great. When you talked about these tools that you used to make the clips, could you share some of those?

Speaker B: Sure. So, um, one of the things that I do is um, even though my podcast is audio only, um, I started recently after going to podcast PodFest in January, I started recording it in video. So I record on Riverside. I have my full recording that. I use the audio on my podcast. I put the video on YouTube. I have Riverside. It creates a couple of clips for me. I can get a transcript from them as well. I use the transcript, I throw that in ChatGPT and it creates the summary for the video on YouTube and for my podcast. And it also gives me um, some ideas for, for posting. I can have it also give me some ideas for posting. And then my m. Current favorites that I'm using is um, I use Minvo, which is um, a great clip. You can put your clips in there. As I said, Riverside also does magic clips, so I get some clips there. Um, I use Minvo, which is great if I'm doing an interview because I can have it, you know, set them up, uh, set it up so it's not the uh, landscape but rather the up and down, you know, vertical as, as you have right here. But I also recently started using Opus clips and I will tell you that they are really right on for finding um, perfect uh, clips. So I'm new using them but I'm really liking it a lot so far.

Speaker A: Um, thank you for that. I use Minvo and I use Riverside FM M2, um, for Riverside FM. I'll do the clips for that actually. So, um, you have ah, the pro account for Riverside if you're recording.

Speaker B: I do, I do, yes.

Speaker A: Awesome. Yeah, I think they're great too. I uh, attended one of their recent um, I guess conferences virtually and it was just packed full of great information,

Speaker B: you know, and for, for people that aren't familiar with Riverside because when I mention it often people are not. It's, it's, it's descript. Like it's kind of the same type of format where you're editing if you want to edit you're editing in the transcript. Um, but I have found it to be less expensive than Descript. And they have, and they do have very good, uh, pretty good customer service as well.

Speaker A: Yeah, that's excellent. Thank you for sharing that. I'm sure that's going to be really helpful for people. Okay. Um, we talked about this a little bit before we were on air about ROI and how difficult it can be to measure. But you know, for me as a, as a data person, I mean that's, I'm driven towards data. Understanding the ROI of marketing initiatives is so crucial. So what metrics could coaches and consultants focus on to assess the effectiveness of their strategies?

Speaker B: Well, you know, as we were talking about, you can look at the engagement, you can tell, look at the um, the comments. I look at something like the watch time. I've had, I don't know, 18 second videos that, and the watch time is like in the hours. So I know people are, people are looking at it, you know, so there, so there is that. Um, and as I mentioned to you, I personally have, since I've been leaning into video, I have been, you know, growing more on LinkedIn and, and when I recently introduced a product, um, I introduced it on LinkedIn into my newsletter list and my sales all came from LinkedIn. So I think that that is saying, saying something about it. And also that you know, we often hear people talking about, oh, these lurkers. Lurkers, I think that is a terrible word. I think of them, um, people who aren't commenting or creating content as learners. They're there, learning. You know, I follow some people sometimes I'm in a hurry and I, you know, I don't comment or even like their post. But I, there are people that I learned from. I'm sure you do as well. We learn from them all the time. So you know, so I think there, there is that. Um, and I did mention to you that you know, you read, I'm sure if you're a data person, you're reading studies and surveys and stuff all the time. I used to read them, you know, in, when I was in a different field, I read them on video. And the most recent one that I read was um, the wise all, uh, 2025 marketing stats report. And Wise all is, um, is an explainer video company. So they work with businesses to create those, you know, explainer videos, talk about services, etc. Etc. And they do this survey every year. I've been reading it for the past few years. And the most recent um, survey in, in uh, that was released in January, 89% of businesses responding said that they use video as a marketing tool. And 60, I think it was like 68% or something said that if they're not using it now or weren't using 2024, they're using it uh, in, they're going to be using it 2025. And I will say that, um, then again, I'm going by their stats. 93% of people responding said they got good ROI from video. Now I don't know how they figured it out, but I will say that a similar amount said that it really helped with brand awareness. And I, that's how I think of video. I think of it as brand awareness being people being able to, uh, you know, see you and hear you. And I think that was one of the lessons that we all kind of learned um, in Clubhouse during the pandemic that you know, the relationships I have, relationships with people I met on Clubhouse then and I turned to them because they were on LinkedIn. So I went there too. And I do think that video is unmatched, um, when it comes to just letting people know you.

Speaker A: Yeah, it's the like no trust factor as you mentioned earlier. Right. So I, I look at metrics too and um, I meant m. I, I, um, look at several of the ones that you mentioned. I like the likes, comments this and that. I also, you know, want to, want to try and quantify and get down to the, the nitty gritty of, you know, how many of that leads to uh, um, a booked appointment, you know, ah, an appointment to have a conversation potentially about your offering or even a referral. Right. I love listening to your videos because they're so easy and you explain things so clearly um, that I get it and I can go and use. So I mean I've recommended people to watch your videos in the past because they're just so easy. And I think by doing that then you're, you're able to yourself craft the strategy of what's going to matter to your business. For my business it is, you know, referrals and booked appointments and of course closed deals.

Speaker B: So you know, for me I kind of feel like you never really know. But I had somebody, um, recently, just the other day as a matter of fact, somebody that I met was following me, ended up, you know, using one of my services and gave me a huge shout out on LinkedIn saying they just did a live in their community for the first time because of what they learned from me and, and that um, I mean it's great. It's, it's great marketing, um, for me and my service, but it also makes me so happy, you know, it makes me so happy. So, um, you know, I have to think of that as well. I know, I know. Happy, happy doesn't pay the bills, but, you know, it is nice to have people say that they have been helped, um, by, by working with you.

Speaker A: Absolutely. That's again, like, no trust. No, like trust. Exactly. So, uh, all right, so five fold moves this week. What five actions can coaches and consultants take this week to up their marketing game?

Speaker B: Well, first I would say try something new. So if you haven't done video yet, give that a go. If you're only doing video, maybe try creating a carousel. Do something different because nobody wants to see the same, same, same, same every single day. Even me. I don't do video every single day. Um, and create. Sit down and think about it. Think about a strategy. What is the goal with your content? I've done a lot of that myself over the last six months. What is the goal that you, you want from your content? Is it brand awareness? Is it appointments? Um, if you want to sell your products, do that. So I would say the third thing is if you have some kind of a service, sell it. Let people know. I do that once a week. Something that I started recently. And my, my good friend and, and also a coach that I've worked with, Brenda Meller, has taught me that, that, you know, we, if you're sharing valuable content all the time, it's okay to let people know that. Oh, by the way, I have these services if you want to work with me. So that's three. Um, number four, and I'm talking to myself here is, um, try to take care of yourself. Try to make sure that you are finding time to relax. I do a lot of things. I listen to podcasts when I'm in the shower sometimes I feel like I'm always working. But when I go to the grocery or I go to Costco, I'm listening to music on earbuds and that's my time. I'm not doing anything. I'm just jamming to the music. And the last thing, um, that I would say is, uh, plan not just the strategy, but plan out your content at least for a week and try to work in some themes. For example, my ideas. I do an educational video on Tuesdays. I try to do a fun video, maybe jumping into a coffee cup on Thursdays. And then, you know, um, I try to share information about products on Fridays. And you Know, send some personal behind the scenes or whatever on Sundays. So it's just, if you just kind of plan, it helps you to be consistent. So I hope I had five in there.

Speaker A: You do? Do you mind if I add a couple?

Speaker B: No, please do. I always like to learn.

Speaker A: Um, you know, I'm looking at your background and your dogs and everything. Uh, you know what? I'd love to see a behind the scenes post. Now, what does it look like back there? You showed me some pretty cool tools you got set up. You know, have somebody show that because it inspired me. I, uh, I'm gonna take action on at least one thing you showed me. So behind the scenes would be awesome.

Speaker B: Oh, I have, I have done video tours of my office.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker B: But, no, but I. I hear you. I hear you. And, and I think the thing is that people forget, right? We think, you know, if I'm posting something like, you know, let's say I have 5, 000 followers, that all everybody's seeing it. Well, they're not. So I think we all need to keep that in mind, too.

Speaker A: Another one I think is important, uh, for coaches and consultants is to Regularly review your LinkedIn headline, right? Does it speak to your ideal client? Does it tell them what you do, what you do? And I think the last one I would have is reach out to, uh, three or four maybe past clients and ask what content they'd love to see. That's free and easy. You may not get the answers, but I think a lot of people will give you answers and, you know, give you ideas of what they like. They might like funny, quirky, serious studies, case studies, um, stats, which, you know, I'm, I'm all about. So it's, uh, great. But you gave great, great ideas. They have eight ideas now. Eight ideas. So we're, uh, we're getting ready to wrap up here. And, and I love to ask at the end of, at the end of each podcast, a little personal question. So you answer it however you would like to, and that is what's on your heart today that the world needs to hear.

Speaker B: Don't be afraid of people judging you. And I think that I don't even just think it. I know from people telling me a lot of the reasons, since we're talking about content today, a lot of the reason that people are not, um, even sharing a text post or something, um, is there afraid of people judging them? Their little voice in their head is going, who are you to be writing this or that? And so it's important to try to just Quiet that voice. Because most people are not. They're judging you and they're not, um, they're cheering you on. And one thing that I learned that helped me is if you, um, if you're talking, we'll say I'm, um, you're talking. Say you're talking about leadership. You don't need to be up here to, to share with people down here. You know, I don't need to be a neurosurgeon in order to teach somebody how to change a bandage. I mean, it's just people are so afraid that I don't know enough and. Or there's nothing left to say. And the thing is, um, you do know enough and there is nothing new to say, but nobody else is saying it the way you would from your experience and your knowledge.

Speaker A: That's just pure gold right there. And I think I'd love to hear from listeners if you take that advice and start. Start something. We'd. Annette and I both would love to know, um, you know, if, if you just try something, um, I think that would be awesome. Um, so that about wraps. That wraps up another high impact episode of Talent Talk Strategy Stroll. Huge thanks to Annette Richmond for dropping gold on marketing with clarity and with confidence. If you love this episode, share it with a coach or consultant who needs it. Uh, you can connect with Annette on LinkedIn. She's very active. Or explore her offerings at Black Dog Marketing Strategies. Uh, Annette shared with me before the, um, before we went on air. Is that when. Once this gets posted, she's also going to drop a few links into the post, so keep your eye out for those too. So if you're ready to rethink how you lead and grow, visit me, mary stockwell on LinkedIn or at, uh, Meritas Advisory Group. Until next time, keep leading boldly. Keep growing bravely. And of course, keep strolling forward. Have a day filled with sunset sunshine.