Why (and How) Keynote Speakers Should Diversify

As the world of corporate keynote speakers grows more expansive, it’s harder for speakers to distinguish themselves using only their exceptional speeches. To truly stand out from the crowd, they’ll need to build a personal brand. 

For this blog post, we’re walking through the steps keynote speakers can take to build a brand that will tell their story, boost digital awareness, and drive bookings. 

So you’ve built a great speech…now what? 

You’ve perfected your speech. Now what? Whether you’re a motivational speaker, educational speaker, or corporate speaker, having a personal brand is essential. 

Because, unless you’re an A-List celebrity speaker, you’re going to need a little work to boost your name recognition. 

Personal branding not only improves name recognition; it can differentiate you from competition, enhance your credibility, and position you as a trustworthy leader in the industry.

The elements of your personal branding can live on both earned and owned channels

• Earned channels: This includes your profile pages on speaker directories and speaker bureau websites, any media features, and other online mentions.

• Owned channels: This includes your own social media profiles, website, and any other digital channels you might have created. We’ll get to these later, but first…

Where should you start? Let’s start with the basics: 

• Logo/Color Palette: Create a logo and color palette that encapsulates your message and gives the impression you want potential clients to receive. Do you want your look to be refined and corporate? Or is your speaking message more upbeat and energizing? 

• Let’s take a look at an example from one of our own clients. Sara Frasca is an innovation keynote speaker who also owns a global business consulting firm, Point Northeast. 

• Random, our digital marketing team, created a logo for her that intertwined her two brands, incorporating branded elements from her firm into her personal speaking logo. The circle and arrow icon encapsulates Sara’s message of taking businesses Up and To the Right.™

• Your Audience & Messaging: If you’re not sure where to start with your personal logo and branding elements, take a step back. 

• Who is your audience? Is it Fortune 500 business leaders? Educators? Young professionals? 

• What is the message you want your audience to remember? What actions do you want them to take? 

• Answering these questions will help you get to the heart of your story and your purpose. What will resonate with your audience while staying true to your message? From here, start building your personal logo and brand elements with these questions in mind! 

Invest in a high-quality website.

Whether you’re skilled in website building yourself or you decide to hire a designer, investing in a high-quality website is crucial to your personal brand as a keynote speaker. 

Your website will be the hub of all your leads and connections. This will be the spot potential clients come to learn your story, so it’s one of the most important places to hook them. 

Your challenge? Don’t let a single website visitor leave without filling out an inquiry form or leaving some kind of contact information. 

Don’t be shy with photos and sizzle reels. Boost your face recognition by utilizing high-quality photos across the site. Same goes with speaking clips and sizzle reels; don’t be shy with adding those on every page. Your speech is the money-maker, after all. Show off your talent! 

Plus, including video on your website improves your SEO and boosts conversions. SEO experts at Moz found that including video on websites can lead to three times more backlinks (links on third-party websites that point back to your site) than average. This increases organic traffic to your website. 

Add an easy-to-find booking form. This should be a button that stands out on your menu list or, if you’re feeling bold, lives front and center on the home page next to a photo or sizzle reel. 

On the booking page itself, include a native form that keeps potential clients on your website, but still sends their information to a central location. For example, the form for Sara’s website sends submissions straight to us. Be sure to ask for the company name, date of the event, and budget! 

Use lead magnets. A lead magnet is an exclusive resource or deal offered to clients in exchange for their contact information. These are helpful for drawing in potential clients and industry connections with a free item before they commit to booking you. 

50% of marketers experience higher conversion rates when they use lead magnets.

Examples of lead magnets include webinars, downloadable guides and worksheets, and short ebooks. To gain access to the free resource, the person must provide their name and email address. These contacts can be saved for future use to reach out to for bookings or find potential clients through references. 

Looking for more tips? Check out a blog post from our partners at Random on the best practices for designing an effective website here.

Build your brand on social media. 

Now that you’ve built a great website, it’s time to launch (or upgrade) your social media. Utilizing social media in this digital age will boost your brand awareness, help you reach new audiences, and build relationships with potential clients. 

Create a strategy. Your social media strategy will help you define and track your goals for your social media presence. One of the biggest goals for keynote speakers is engagement and conversions to your website. Choosing which platforms to post on can be the make or break of how many engagements and conversions you receive. 

LinkedIn is one of the most relevant platforms for keynote speakers to take advantage of. This platform allows you to connect more directly with your primary audience of booking agents, speakers bureaus, and potential clients. Check out Random’s blog post for tips on creating effective LinkedIn content. 

Prioritize video content. Social media users will obtain 95% of a message watched on video, compared to only 10% read in text. Video content has become one of the most effective content types for boosting engagement and acquiring new leads. Video-forward platforms like TikTok and YouTube can be great for showing off your speaking clips in short-form video format. 

Regardless of the type of speeches you’ve built, kickstarting your personal brand as a keynote speaker is essential for boosting your credibility, widening your influence, and driving more bookings.

Not Sure Where To Start?

Don’t worry! Our team at the Kirkpatrick Agency is here to help you build out your brand and get more appointments booked. If you’re interested in working with us please contact us here!