Authenticity Over Vanity Metrics in Your Virtual Summit with Mia Lauren
It's easy to get caught up in the number of followers you have, your summit registration goal, and the profit you see once your virtual summit is over. But what we often miss is the impact authenticity and connections can have in everything we do.
When it comes to a virtual summit, this can show up in how you approach speakers, how you promote, the way you connect with attendees during the event, and what results you focus on afterward.
This week we have Mia Lauren to walk us through:
- Why authenticity over vanity metrics matters.
- What “authenticity over vanity metrics” even means.
- How to start applying it on social media.
- How the idea relates to your virtual summit.
I’ll let Mia take it from here!
Authenticity Over Vanity Metrics in Summits
The most unexpected benefit from my summit was the relationships I built my speakers. All these speakers, who I admire and are experts in their own niche, came and honored me with their presence and I grew a relationship with them.
I also didn’t expect the feedback that I got from attendees. I received a message the week after my event saying, “it was a week of life development and it has changed my life.” If that's just one person's life I have changed, then it was worth it.
Even without any numbers at all, the relationships and the feedback are worth it in themselves. And you don't realize that until it happens. It surprises me every single time I host a summit. These silly numerical goals I set, in the beginning, don't matter at all when compared to this.
Authenticity Over Vanity Metrics on Social Media
All of this also applies to the places you're connecting with future clients, customers, and summit attendees. With this current focus on the digital world, even more people are looking at your Instagram, Linked In, YouTube, Pinterest, etc.
For example, if you want to speak at a summit, the host wants to see that you have an idea of what you're doing. Even if you have a small audience, if you can turn around and say, “Yes, my audience might be small, but let me tell you how engaged they are. Let me tell you how bought in they are.” That can make all the difference. The same goes for hosting
If you’re talking to the right people who want to hear what you have to say, those people are going to be far more valuable to your business than tens of thousands of unengaged followers.
Relationships over Numbers
Being able to place more value on relationships than numbers comes down to being authentic. That means showing up consistently and being honest about what's happening in your life or business. It's about reaching out to the people who are following you and treating that person like a real person.
Show the human side of yourself because people connect with that. I'm having more conversations in my Instagram DMs because of one vulnerable post than because of my summit.
From there, know your ideal audience and what they struggle with. Then, meet them where they struggle and help where you can.
I want to recognize and validate that some people want vanity metrics. They may have an engaged Facebook group and they just care about getting that 10K on Instagram. And if so, cool. Just acknowledge that and know that you're engaged platform is elsewhere.
How to Focus on the right things
There are 3 simple steps you can take to start to focus on authenticity over vanity metrics.
- Identify your goals. Are my goals to get an engaged following or to get clients?
- Mindset is everything. Reevaluate everything you do. Why do you post what you post? What’s important to you? Who are your ideal clients?
- Create the content. Create content around your mindset and goals. Be honest with yourself about why you show up online. Be honest with the content you post.
How Authenticity pays off in Summits
Be authentic and real in your social media posts about your summit. Give behind-the-scenes looks and keep followers excited for more updates from you.
For example, I fell and got a concussion 2 weeks before my summit. The next week my basement flooded. And those real-life events showed up in my Instagram stories. People were able to relate, cheer me on, and encouraged me to succeed because that’s how I encourage and cheer on my community.
Then, during the summit, I was very involved. Some attendees even reached out to tell me they’d attended other summits before and never knew who the host was. But I was in every chatbox during presentations. I was live multiple times a day. People were tagging me and I was quick to respond to them and let them know I appreciate them being a part of my summit.
Building those relationships helped my sales in the end. The connection we had built let them trust me and what I offered them.
Mia’s Biggest Takeaway
If you’re thinking about a summit, do it. Even if it's messy. I didn’t think I was capable of something like this on such a big scale, but I shattered my limiting beliefs. All because of relationships and the fact that I care about my people.
About Mia
Mia is an Instagram strategist that is just a little obsessed with the tiny platform that creates massive impact. Mia works with mama entrepreneurs to claim their worth and rediscover their voice. Mia believes in the power of relationships and loves creating mindset shifts that help mamas show up, get seen, and make money!
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