Written by: Lois Wagner, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
I am going to get one million views of my TEDx talk!
My topic is so relevant, and the world needs to hear how we can help people who have experienced harassment, abuse, domestic, sexual or gender-based violence, or rape. They need to know how to navigate the road to recovery!
I spread the news far and wide and I excitedly watch the views under my video titled From Fear to Forgiveness to Freedom on the TEDx YouTube channel.
And… Slowly the views creep up to one thousand in a month.
The numbers
A conservative estimate is that there are 7,8 billion people in the world, of which 49% are female. That is 3.8 billion females. 3 800 000 000 women and girls. And 50% (1 900 000 000) of these are over 25 years old.
“They” tell us that one in three women experience some form of physical or sexual violence!
I am excluding children and youth from this discussion which makes the numbers even more horrific. I am also excluding men and boys from this analysis. They, too are victims.
Again conservatively, I estimate that 630 million adult women are abused.
We can break it down even further and say that 50% live in urban areas, the other 50% without access to the internet or news media.
That still leaves us with 315 million (315 000 000) women who are abused, who have access to and who need information and support. And 13 million in my country alone.
And again, conservatively, if I could reach just one percent (1%) of these women, that is 3 million people. Or 0.1%, that is 315 000 women.
TEDx has 30.9 million subscribers.
So, where are my viewers? Viewers who will benefit from watching my message?
Yes, I want the numbers. I want credibility.
But more importantly, I want my message to reach those women (and men) who can benefit from my story. Who can be transformed and move from victim to survivor to thriver and beyond to freedom?
And yes, and who may hire me as a keynote speaker or coach.
Just for interest
A TEDx speaker is not allowed to edit or change anything on the video. You are not even supposed to take a minute or two to make a promotional video.
You never know when TEDx will post your video. It could take anything from one day to seven months. Your TEDx organizer may watch out for it and advise you.
You get the most traction in the first week after the video is available.
People like to watch talks at work during lunch and in the evenings – not on the weekends.
What I did
As soon as I was aware that my video was out there, I asked everyone I know to watch it, like it, comment, and share it. So far, I have 40 comments and have replied to all 40 to ensure that YouTube can see that there is a conversation happening, that there is engagement. The more views and comments, the greater the search ranking.
One problem is, I have been asking all my family and friends to like and comment and share on so many other videos that I have posted that this was just another “ask,” and they were probably sick and tired of my needy approach.
I posted the link to my video on all my social media channels and pinned it to the top of each site.
This is not a good strategy as most social media platforms prefer original content and do not like to take their clients away from their site onto another site. For example, Facebook is not happy to promote your link that takes your friends to YouTube and away from them. LinkedIn has the same system. If you watch the linked video on LinkedIn, it does not count as a view.
A better strategy is to write a blog and put the link in the blog. Then post the blog.
And keep adding the link into the comments rather than the main post.
I did target my audience correctly. I posted the link on many social media pages and groups where women survivors, healers, and activists hang out. I posted the LINK!
I shared the news of my TEDx talk with my own network and newsletter subscribers. I could have been more conversational and engaged with them, asking for feedback and opening up discussions and debates around the topic.
I celebrated successes, big and small. I announced and celebrated it when I learned that I was going to do a TEDx talk. I announced when I got my red carpet and TEDx sign. I celebrated when the video went live. And I celebrated with an announcement when I hit 1001 views.
I talk about my TEDx talk in podcasts and summits. In the month since my talk appeared, I have mentioned the talk twice in interviews. And there are more on the way.
I wrote a short post on South African Freedom Day – stating that we would never be free until we stopped gender-based violence.
My TEDx talk heading.
I love alliteration, and I love the concept of From Fear to Forgiveness to Freedom. But what does this heading mean to the potential viewer out there? Select words that the viewer is searching for.
A better heading could have been:
How to forgive a rapist
Can you forgive the unforgivable?
How do you recover from sexual trauma?
My TEDx talk description and bio.
It is too generic. Nowhere does it say that this is a story of survival after rape! I did not have a “hook” for the viewer. I could have asked a question or thrown in a few statistics, or mentioned that I had a graphic model of recovery to share. I should have said that it is emotional and maybe even given a *TRIGGER WARNING* and mentioned why the viewer should listen to me and trust me.
What I am going to do now (and what I should have done then).
I am going to ask my network for ideas on going forward – the next steps and the next topics.
I am going to start using these hashtags (I am a slow starter at using hashtags)
ideas worth spreading
ted speaker
ted talks
tedx speaker
tedx event
professional speaker
I am going to promote my hashtag Walking _Without_Skin walking without skin
I will link my talk to my book- Walking without Skin: A journey of healing – From fear to Forgiveness to Freedom. And to my latest project – to eradicate sexual and gender-based violence by being BRAVE.
Instead of just posting my talk, I should have added more value sharing lessons or take-aways, or the back story and I could have provided the transcript and a copy of the graphic. I will do this now.
To reach all my followers, subscribers, and connections on social media, I will need to post several times. I will recycle my TEDx talk. Share it again each time I hit a new milestone, such as a round number of views or comments. (Can’t wait to send out a note that I have 10 000 views and 100 000 views) Celebrate anniversaries of when the talk first appeared and when the occurrences in the talk took place. For example, in May 1996, my butterfly logo was born. This is my symbol. Although it Is not mentioned in my talk, it represents the occurrences in my talk, so I will write a blog about it. I will look for news of sexual violence or trauma and write a blog about it.
I will Add TEDx speaker to my email signature.
I will add the video to my website.
I will make a video about my talk. Sharing where what and how, or where I am now on my journey.
And I will create a strong Call to Action.
I will approach other TEDx speakers from the speaking community and arrange to review our videos and then share lessons learned with the broader community.
A series of quotes with an image from the video will create additional awareness.
Further ideas to consider
To encourage those who have not viewed the video, I will consider creating a poll or a quiz around the talk with a prize.
Maybe offer a prize to the first person who sends a screenshot of 2000 views.
To get a wider audience and exposure -ask friends who have mailing lists to promote my talk and to tag their friends in their posts about my talk.
Conclusion
So, maybe I never got the million views I was hoping for.
But I know that my message has reached a few victims, that they know that they are not alone and that there is help out there for them and they too can thrive and find freedom.
And you can learn how to become visible using my TEDx talk experience.
*Trigger warning*
For more info, follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Youtube-Channel and visit my website!
Lois Wagner, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Lois Wagner: Your friend for forgiveness. Helping you move from victim to survivor to thriver and beyond and then to freedom, after facing a life or business challenge or adversity.
Lois lost a business and went bankrupt, she was attacked, raped, and left for dead, she was forced into retirement, and experienced many other challenges. Her work is based on these personal major adversities and life experiences. Lois learned to forgive (she forgave the rapist and the business partner who betrayed her) and to move on to a more rewarding and fulfilling life.
Lois guides you to build your resilience and grit, to develop a growth mindset, to energize your mojo, and learn to forgive. This is achieved via one-on-one coaching, group masterminds, and keynote presentations.
Lois’s book – Walking Without Skin: A Journey of Healing – From Fear to Forgiveness to Freedom is part memoir and part self-help guide.
Fly Free with Lois – Your Friend for Forgiveness
