#prayforparis - how to turn the media tide

As a life coach, regardless of the area that I'm working in, the two things I do for every person are, firstly to hold the space and believe that the client can achieve their aim until they can believe it for themselves. This is called 'holding the space'.

Secondly, my place is to show the client that there is a way for them to achieve their goal: there is always a path, actions and steps that can be taken and multiple ways to overcome any challenge of any sort.

Changing the world we live in is going to be no different, and like every good coaching strategy, it can be whittled down into small manageable actions that you can apply every day.

Watch these two videos

They all might stand up to us
Turning the tide

How to turn the media tide

Much of the knowledge below is garnered from my nearly 15 years as a digital marketing expert. My talent in that arena? Creating fast movement with little to no actual budget.

Join alternative media sites

I saw a fantastic social media post the other day: in the information age, you are personally to blame if you are uninformed. There are some extraordinary alternative media sites out there, each covering a certain section of information. Guys like Collective Evolution, Higher Perspective and Spirit Science do a fantastic job of putting out real news, spiritual knowledge and information you need to know if you are going to be a part of making a difference in the world.
Follow the websites, sign up to the newsletters, like the social media pages and read the content that comes past you. Talk about what you learn.

Share alternative media posts religiously

Speaking of sharing the information you gather, make a point of sharing alternative media posts on social media.

Put your own comment in when you share the post and don't be afraid to write please repost. What's the worst anybody can do? Get annoyed at you? Unfollow you while remaining your friend?

Go online once a day and like and share alternative media posts so that we stay ahead of the social media algorithms and continue to reach people and grow the alternative media reach. The more people that are actively sharing posts every day, the more people the content is exposed to.

Share controversial posts

This is going to take some courage because nothing makes you think twice as much as being put under the spotlight in a public forum. To be honest, I still get nervous every time I put myself out there, and my heart and throat chakras still close up when I have to go back and read responses. This is not an easy strategy.

My hard lesson in media with this is that you have to be really controversial and really piss people off to get their attention and get them engaging with you - you can't play it safe and get movement at the same time. There's a beautiful spiritual quote by Gita Bellin: 'Be outrageous. People who achieve mastery have the ability to be outrageous.'

Even when you are controversial and you've pushed yourself far outside your comfort zone, you'll be surprised that often the backlash is very small. Keep pushing every single time, go further and further outside your comfort zone. We need more rebels starting real conversations on social media.

Have controversial conversations on social media and stay calm

This boils down to be the change you want to see in the world: if we want people to communicate differently, they need to see people around them communicating differently.

Say sorry, admit when you're wrong, apologise if you've offended someone. Here are some sample statements for you to copy paste:

• I'm really sorry I offended you; I didn't mean to do that.
  
• Maybe you're right and I didn't read what you wrote properly. Let me read it again.
  
• I'm really sorry; I don't understand what you're trying to say. Please could you explain it again?

If we are going to create an energy in the world where we can talk openly about the issues (all the issues), in a constructive, calm and loving way, then what better platform than social media?

Every time you have a calm and peaceful resolution on a social media platform, you touch not only the person you're talking to, but also the hundreds of people watching. We learn by watching and modelling. Once enough people do something the energy exists at a societal level and is available to all of us to access easily. Reaching multiple people on social media with every comment and conversation exponentially speeds up the process of reaching that critical mass tipping point.

Cross share posts across platforms

We're not all on every social media platform, and it's a massive amount of work for alternative media sites to have a profile on every single platform. If you find an interesting piece that you know a few people, or even one person on a different social platform would enjoy, then share it across to that platform. One of the most important things I learned in a career lifetime in email marketing? You NEVER know where your response will come from!

I can't tell you how many times I've seen the first reply come in from the person that you would have said was placed on the database incorrectly. With the Internet you never really know what people will be interested in, so take the chance and share - and follow your intuition! You'll be amazed at how quickly that muscle grows once you start exercising it.

Word of mouth

Every single marketing and PR campaign has one goal: to create word of mouth, to get people talking. Every single day you have conversations with people you meet in business and life. From the waitress to business partners, suppliers to clients, start talking about the stuff that matters.

Every single meeting and engagement has its few minutes of small talk - introduce the things you're learning about and share the knowledge you've gained. The way you honestly change the world is one person at a time.

It will be difficult the first few times you do it, but it will get easier every single time.

Make personal connections

This part of the strategy is twofold: make personal connections and virtual connections. If a friend of a friend comments on something you've said on social media, or a conversation you're having, respond to them - lovingly. The lovingly part is important. Connect with them and add them to your virtual circle.

I had an amazing boss many years back, who always used to say that your biggest complainant is your biggest opportunity to create a raving fan - if you handle the conversation properly. Be the bigger person and turn your haters into raving fans.

The second aspect of this strategy is if someone you've met in person and spoken to expresses an interest in content you've spoken about, follow up with them, send it to them digitally and add them to the team that's chipping away at this.

Watch these two videos again

They all might stand up to us
Turning the tide

For as long as we believe we have no power, we will have no power. There is so much each and every one of us can do, and we can do it if we stand together.