Content Creation And Engagement Techniques

I stopped obsessing over publishing… and that’s when my research career took off. (Here’s what I discovered) Four years ago, I believed publishing was the only path to academic success. My inbox? Empty. My collaborations? Stagnant. My impact? Limited to footnotes in other people’s papers. Then, I did something radical: I shared my work outside journals. A blog post about the LCA work I did for a partner. A LinkedIn post breaking down techno-economic assessment and process design methods. A webinar sharing my research outputs. Crickets. For weeks. Until a founder DM’ed: "Liked the recording of your webinar. Can you do something like this for us to verify our TEA?" A week later, an academic mentor slid into my DMs: "Saw your recent work on carbon capture. Can we co-write a research bid?" I wasn't sure what to do. This wasn’t ��real” academic work. I’d been pre-conditioned to share my work only in scholarly journals and conferences. But suddenly, my research was solving problems, not merely gathering dust. So I leaned in. I built a simple system:  1. Every paper made available as PDF with posts on problem, method, outputs  2. Conference slides became PDFs shared with key takeaways  3. Complex science converted into trade magazines and blog posts The response? A FTSE 250 energy company invited me to perform a market study for their new direct air capture business strategy. Learned societies invited me as a keynote speaker for their events. And yes, citations keep coming, but now tied to real-world impact. Here’s what academia won’t tell you: Visibility isn’t vanity. It’s the bridge between your work and the problems it can solve. You don’t need 100 papers to make a difference. You need the right people to see your work. Now? I teach researchers to build this bridge. Because your career shouldn’t hinge on how many journals you’ve cracked. It should hinge on how many minds you’ve changed. Start there. Let the papers follow. P.S. What is the most significant challenge that pre ents you getting your research seen by others? #science #scientist #research #publishing #phd #postdoctoral #professor #academia #highereducation

This Teacher Changes 30 Lives Each Morning Here's Why This Works Every morning, a teacher greets her students one by one - not with rules, but with choice: A hug, A high-five, a nod, or quiet. A ritual so simple. Yet it tells 30 children: You are seen. You are safe. You belong. Here’s what this teaches us about leadership - and how to apply it at work: 1. Honor Autonomy (Self-Determination Theory) When people get to choose how they engage, they show up with more agency. Autonomy isn’t about letting go of structure - it’s about giving room to opt in. Try this: 🔷 Let people set their own work cadence - async, deep focus, or collaborative sprints 🔷 Ask: “What support looks best for you right now?” *** 2. Create Micro-Moments of Connection (Broaden-and-Build Theory) We don’t need hour-long one-on-ones to build trust. A genuine check-in. A name spoken with intention. That’s the glue. Try this: 🔷 Pause to celebrate effort, not just outcomes - a quick voice note, a public thank-you 🔷 Remember small details - a kid’s soccer game, a partner’s surgery - and follow up *** 3. Signal Safety in Small Ways (Polyvagal Theory) The nervous system responds before the intellect does. Safety is felt first. And safe leaders create brave spaces. Try this: 🔷 Ask: “Is now a good time?” before giving feedback or asking for decisions 🔷 Stay calm and present, especially when tensions rise - your tone sets the tone *** 4. Design for Anticipatory Joy (Affective Forecasting) The brain lights up for what’s coming next. The ritual at the door gave students a reason to show up smiling. Try this: 🔷 Drop a kind, unexpected message in the team chat - just because 🔷 Celebrate mundane milestones - 100 days in the role, 50th client call, 1st brave no *** 5. Anchor Culture in Meaningful Rituals (Harvard Research on Rituals) Rituals are memory-makers. They codify values in action - they say, this is who we are. Try this: 🔷 End each quarter with storytelling: what stretched us? what did we learn? 🔷 Welcome new hires not with logistics, but with a story of your team's "why" *** This teacher didn’t redesign the curriculum. She redesigned how people enter the day. You don’t need a big title to lead like that - Just the courage to meet people at the door. 💬 What’s one ritual you’ve seen shift the energy of a space - or want to create where you work? 🔁 Repost to inspire kind actions in the workplace. 🔔 Follow Bhavna Toor for more on conscious leadership.

Day 3 of teaching A to Z of Linkedin .Today is “C for Content that goes Viral” Let’s get real if profile is the body of your LinkedIn, then content is the soul. I’ve been creating content on LinkedIn for over 3 years now and here’s what I know for sure: ✔️ Content builds visibility. ✔️ Content builds credibility. ✔️ Content builds community. But wait, not all content performs equally. Let’s break it down: 📌 What kind of content works on LinkedIn? ✅ Personal Experiences with Professional Learnings Posts that start with “I failed at...” or “I learned this the hard way...” often get 3x more engagement. Vulnerability + Value = Viral. ✅ Carousels with Clear Value People love to learn. Give them step-by-step guides, templates, or tips. Tools I’ve used? ChatGPT, Canva, and Notion. ✅ Contrarian Opinions Don’t be afraid to question the norm. My most viral posts? When I said, “Don’t romanticize overworking in your 20s.” Be bold, but respectful. ✅ Industry Breakdown & Trends Whether you're in finance, design, tech, or marketing ,educate your audience about what's changing. Format it like “What’s new in ___ this week?” or “X things I wish I knew before joining ___.” 📌 How often should you post? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. But here’s a solid starting point: Beginner: 2x a week Intermediate: 3–4x a week Advanced/Creator: Daily (5x a week is ideal) More than consistency, clarity and relevance matter. 📌 Structure of a High-Performing LinkedIn Post: 1. Hook (Line 1–2): Grab attention. Make people stop scrolling. Example: “I was rejected 17 times before I landed my dream job at AmEx.” 2. Story or Insight (Lines 3–8): Tell a story, share context, add emotion or lessons. Make it relatable. 3. Value/Framework (Lines 9–12): Give something they can use. A mindset, a tip, a list, or a reflection. 📌 CTA : End with: “What’s your take?” “Would you do this differently?” “Comment below with your experience.” 📌 Common Mistakes to Avoid: 🚫 Posting only when you need something 🚫 Turning your post into a CV 🚫 Using too many hashtags (3–5 max) 🚫 Copy-pasting viral templates with zero originality 🚫 Not engaging with comments on your post 📌 My 3-Post Challenge for You: If you’re just starting out , here's your content roadmap for the next 7 days: 📌 Post 1: Talk about a challenge you faced & what you learned 📌 Post 2: Share 5 tools that help you be more productive 📌 Post 3: Reflect on a book, podcast, or reel that changed your mindset Any guesses or suggestions for tomorrow's word :D ? Let’s build your voice, one post at a time. #LinkedInTips #ContentStrategy #PersonalBranding #riyagadhwal #linkedin

I’ve analyzed 100s of presentations over the years. The difference between good presentations and great ones often comes down to this… Contrast. Contrast creates the tension between the audience’s present reality and desired future. And, when done right, that tension leads to action. Here are the three most persuasive forms of contrast: #1: Problem-Solution Start by establishing a specific problem your audience faces, then reveal how your solution directly addresses it. This builds urgency before positioning yourself as the cure. In my TED Talk, I used this framework to demonstrate how presentations often fail to move audiences. I first established the problem: many presentations lack emotional impact and fail to inspire action. Then I revealed the solution: a specific structure behind history’s great talks that creates contrast between the audience's present reality and their desired future. The key is spending enough time on the problem before rushing to your solution. Make the pain real. Use specific examples, emotional language, and quantify the impact. #2: Compare-Contrast Structure your content by showing how two approaches differ…the current state vs. the future state. This creates natural tension between where the audience is and where they could be. Here's how this could look with a marketing strategy presentation: The opening half focuses on your current marketing approach. You’d tell stories of what you’ve done and where that got you, showing campaign examples and results to create urgency for change. Then you shift to the new marketing strategy. You’d talk about what's possible if your team pursues this new direction, give compelling data, and connect it back to your company’s mission. This creates a natural contrast between the present state, which no one is satisfied with, and a future state with limitless potential. #3 Cause-Effect Organize your information to demonstrate clear causal relationships and inevitable outcomes. This makes your case feel like natural law rather than opinion. Here's how this could look with a customer service improvement presentation: You establish clear causal chains in your current situation… Long hold times cause customer frustration, which causes negative reviews, which damages your brand, which leads to lost sales. Then show how your solution creates a new chain… Your omnichannel platform causes faster response times, which causes improved satisfaction, which leads to positive reviews and higher retention. Each link builds logically to the next, helping your audience follow the inevitable consequences of both action and inaction. But there’s a secret ingredient you need if you want any of these forms of contrast to truly convince your audience. Story. That’s why I made a FREE multi-media version of my award-winning book, Resonate, that gives you skills in using story in your presentations. You can grab your copy by clicking the link in the comments. #presentationskills

If you are a brand or creator planning to grow your own community, save this post for your next brand strategy session – Follower counts are overrated. What truly matters for your brand is a community that talks back. In the last 5+ years of building my personal brand along with Like Mind Tribe, I’ve learned this the hard (and beautiful) way. We often chase vanity metrics, namely likes, views, followers. But the brands that actually grow focus on: + trust + conversations + creating spaces that people want to return to My top 3 learnings about community building that most people ignore are👇 1/ Stop broadcasting. Start involving. Don’t just talk to your audience, co-create with them. Ask for their input. Let them choose the next product, workshop, or event theme. Your content should feel like a conversation, not a monologue. 2/ Trust builds in silence. Show up even when it’s quiet. The real connection begins when no one’s clapping. Be consistent with your presence. Show your progress, not just your polished wins. 3/ Give them a space beyond social media. DMs, Zoom rooms, meetups, or even a close friend's story list; These micro-interactions are where loyalty is built. If you want retention, give them a room where they feel seen. ———— I’ve met: → strangers who are now collaborators → community members who became accountability partners → even businesses that were born from casual coffee chats at our meetups That’s what happens when you value: Impact >>>>> Followers Whether you're building a brand or just starting out as a creator – Don’t just aim for attention. Create belonging. What’s the biggest challenge you face in building your community? Let’s tackle it together! #drishtiispeaks #community #branding #strategy #growth #socialmedia #content

Demand gen is utterly broken. It's overly complicated & lacks the soul and creativity that consumers deserve. I promise there's a better way. Here's the 3-pronged content engine we're building for companies at storyarb: Principles: - Treat your content as the product, not as marketing for another product - Unique insights + Unique voice + Unique packaging = Unique content - Pick topics that make your Market of 1 better at their job Channels: 1) Deeply researched long-form content Purpose: create data-driven OR interview-based website content that is deep enough & insightful enough such that a reader feels the need to bookmark & reference later. Good examples: Lenny Rachitsky: "How the biggest consumer apps got first 1,000 users" - Lenny interviewed hundreds of founders, identified patterns, and broke down the seven strategies consumer apps used to grow. Carta: "State of Private Markets: Q3 2024" Report - Using tons of internal funding data by Carta customers to pull together trends in startup funding for the quarter. HubSpot: "My First Million's Business Idea Database" - Aggregating & organizing 57 startup ideas shared by past MFM podcast guests into an e-mail gated database 2) Editorial email newsletter Purpose: create the best industry read for your market of 1 that allows you to build an owned audience of current/future customers. Good examples: - Content Examined by Alex Garcia: the best read for consumer content marketers, which acts as a perfect nurturing tool for his community, course, and agency - Big Desk Energy by Tyler Denk 🐝: a window into building a high-growth startup as it's happening by the founder of beehiiv - Exploding Topics: a snapshot of 4 emerging trends (based on google search data) that founders & investors should be aware of. 3) Personal brand social content Purpose: allow your market of 1 to build a parasocial relationship with your company through 1-4 personalities (execs, founders, etc) who enable connection with your faceless brand. Good examples: - Adam Robinson: fully transparent monthly breakdowns of his companies' (Retention.com & RB2B) performance with lessons learned & plans to fix key issues - Peter Walker: Head of Insights at Carta uses first party data from the company to share unique startup ecosystem trends + his own POV - Kieran Flanagan: AI & GTM expert who shares deep marketing insights, playbooks, and predictions that help build his & HubSpot's brand If you want help building this 3-pronged engine at your company, shoot me a DM or email at alex@storyarb[.]com.

Excellent tips here illustrating how a subtle change in tone can have a massive influence upon how your message is received. 1) Acknowledge Delays with Gratitude "Sorry for the late reply…" "Thank you for your patience." 2) Respond Thoughtfully, Not Reactively "This is wrong." "I see your point. Have you considered [trying alternative]?" "Thank you for sharing this—I appreciate your insights." 3) Use Subject Lines That Get to the Point "Update" "Project X: Status Update & Next Steps" 4) Set the Tone with Your First Line "Hey, quick question…" "Hi [Name], I appreciate you. I wanted to ask about…" 5) Show Appreciation, Not Acknowledgment "Noted." "Thank you for sharing this—I appreciate your insights." 6) Frame Feedback Positively "This isn’t good enough." "This is a great start. Let’s refine [specific area] further." 7) Lead with Confidence "Maybe you could take a look…" "We need [specific task] completed by [specific date]." 8) Clarify Priorities Instead of Overloading "We need to do this ASAP!" "Let’s prioritize [specific task] first to meet our deadline." 9) Make Requests Easy to Process "Can you take a look at this?" "Can you review this and share your feedback by [date]?" 10) Be Clear About Next Steps "Let’s figure it out later." "Next steps: I’ll handle X, and you confirm Y by [deadline]." 11) Follow Up with Purpose, Not Pressure "Just checking in again!" "I wanted to follow up on this. Do you need any additional details from me?" 12) Avoid Passive-Aggressive Language "As I mentioned before…" "Just bringing this back in case it got missed."

A former NBA executive turned YouTube CEO just told every sports team that they are producing content for the wrong audience. Andrew Yaffe , now CEO of Dude Perfect , argues that traditional sports content fails with younger fans not because younger fans have shorter attention spans but because the content is not compelling enough to hold their attention. He cited a four-hour Dude Perfect upload that averaged over an hour of watch time. That is not a short attention span problem. That is a creative quality problem. The distinction matters enormously for how sports organizations think about their content strategy. The dominant assumption in sports media is that young fans want shorter, snappier content. Clips. Highlights. Vertical video. That assumption is based on the wrong diagnosis. Young fans will watch long content when it is genuinely engaging. The question is not length. It is whether the content earns the next minute. What @Dude Perfect built is not just a content company. It is an audience relationship built over years through consistent, high-quality, personality-driven content that feels like it comes from people, not brands. The 80,000-square-foot studio headquarters they just opened in Texas, complete with fan visit experiences, is the physical infrastructure of that audience relationship. Sports teams have the raw material that Dude Perfect has to manufacture: real athletes, real competition, real stakes, real personality. They have something creators spend years trying to build. The gap is in how that material gets turned into content that a 22-year-old would choose to watch at 11pm when nobody is making them. Yaffe's advice: study what creators do. Not to imitate the format but to understand the underlying principle. Earn the attention. Then keep it. #SportsBusiness #SportsMedia #ContentStrategy #CreatorEconomy #FanEngagement #SportsMarketing #YouTube #AthleteMarketing

I’ve helped 100+ clients craft 1,000s of LinkedIn posts in the past 4 years and still never run out of content ideas for any profile. The solution is simple- By asking the right questions. Often, the best posts come from asking the right questions. Here are 20 questions our of the 200 that I ask myself (and you can too): - What’s one challenge I’ve faced recently, and how did I overcome it? - What’s a common misconception in my industry that I can clarify? - What’s something I wish I knew when I started my career or business? - What’s one trend I’m noticing that no one’s talking about yet? - What’s a mistake I’ve made, and what did it teach me? - What’s a question I get asked all the time, and how can I answer it better? - What’s one piece of advice I’d give to someone entering my field? - What’s something I learned from a recent failure or setback? - What’s a small win I achieved this week, and why does it matter? - What’s a habit, tool, or mindset that’s made a big difference for me? - What’s something I saw today that challenged how I think about my work? - What’s a story from my past that shaped how I approach my work today? - What’s a piece of advice I received that I didn’t follow—and why? - What’s one thing people overcomplicate that can actually be simple? - What’s something I’ve changed my mind about recently? - What’s a framework or process I use that others might find helpful? - What’s a moment that made me feel proud of the impact I’m creating? - What’s one way my industry could improve, and how I am contributing to that? - What’s a surprising insight I’ve gained from talking to my customers or team? - What’s something I’m still figuring out, and how am I approaching it? Let these be your guide the next time you’re staring at a blank screen. Pick one, dive deep, and see where it takes you. Because content creation isn’t about waiting for inspiration, it’s about knowing where to look for it. Which question will you start with today? #linkedin

A lesson I wish I had learned earlier: How to attract customers who are happy to pay more I spent years chasing people who haggled, looking for deals or asking for discounts. Every sale was a battle. But when I made a few simple shifts, I quickly learned higher-paying clients are 10x easier to work with than people looking for a deal. Because high-quality buyers don't need convincing. They see your content and think: "This is exactly who I've been looking for." Here’s the exact 5 things I changed to elevate my positioning and attract better customers: 1. Be Obsessively Specific In Your Content The more clearly you describe your ideal client's exact situation, the more premium buyers think, "this person gets me." What you're saying should repel anyone who's not the perfect fit. 2. Feature The Best Clients You've Already Worked With Premium buyers look at who else is in the room. If your testimonials or case studies feature the wrong clients, that's who shows up next. Showcase the work you want more of. The room fills accordingly. 3. Price Like You're Trying To Impress Someone A low price doesn't attract more clients. It just attracts a different kind. Premium buyers use price as a quality signal before they read a single word of your copy. The price is a huge part of your brand. Set it like you mean it. 4. Let Your Content Do The Qualifying Every post should make the right people lean in, and the wrong people keep scrolling. What can you say that would make the right customers hungry for more? What would make the wrong customers unsubscribe or click away immediately? The right people will reach out already sold, already trusting, and already agreed to your price. 5. Stop Writing For Everyone Premium buyers pay more to feel certain they've found the right solution. Write content that makes them feel understood before they've spoken to you. The premium positioning makes it an easy yes. Stop chasing volume. Start attracting premium buyers who see your price and think: "Finally, someone who gets it." __ Feel like you’re attracting the wrong customers? Most founders think attracting better customers means getting better at sales. But the clients you attract are a direct reflection of the signals your brand puts out. Comment ‘Pricing’ and I'll send you my Pricing Psychology Playbook. It’s the exact framework we use to attract premium buyers at Founder OS.