Episode 14: Building genuine relationships as the backbone of your personal brand with Meg Coffey
Welcome to episode #14 of The Thought Leader Show, hosted by Bec Sands and Andrés López-Varela. This ep is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and if you enjoy it, we would love it if you could please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends.
In this ep, we interview Meg Coffey, an internationally recognised social media and digital marketing strategist, hailing from Texas and now proudly based in Australia. Known as the 'Texstralian,' Meg is the founder of State of Social, Australia's largest social media conference, and #SMPerth, a go-to source for the latest news and a vibrant community in the digital space. Meg's expertise extends far beyond the hospitality and tourism sectors she works with through her agency Coffey & Tea. She specialises in transforming the fear of social media into confidence and excitement about leveraging technology for tangible results. Meg actively contributes to the digital marketing community as a sought-after speaker, lecturer, and panelist. Her thought leadership has led to judging industry awards and being recognised as one of Australia's Top 50 Small Business Leaders in 2017. Notably, Meg was also a finalist for Campaign Brief's prestigious Ad Person of the Year award in 2021 and 2023. You can catch Meg sharing her insights on esteemed media platforms such as Masters of Spin and Download this Show as well as Triple M Radio, Channel 7 and various programs across Australia.
Show Notes
00:07 Introduction to The Thought Leader Show and our guest today, Meg Coffey
05:10 How Meg describes her personal brand, how it’s evolved over the years, and how she’s redefined it recently
07:06 Why Meg started Social Media Perth, what it helped enable for her career, and why she feels an ‘ick’ factor around her personal brand
08:50 Why a personal brand feels self-serving but why it’s also not
10:00 The ways having a personal brand has supported Meg’s career and how she’s built this being authentic and genuine
12:26 There is ‘tall poppy syndrome’ and an ‘ick factor’ around personal brand building. Yet everyone has a personal brand –how we can think differently about it in terms of service?
15:39 Why a personal brand and true thought leadership provides a positive, constructive contribution to communities
18:40 How to be taken seriously by having integrity as a thought leader
22:50 Why building real relationships contributes to building your personal brand
28:30 How opportunities can create dividends again and again over time
31:21 Meg’s advice for anyone wanting to do live television interviews, why it can be chaotic, and why you should get started with talkback radio first
35:20 The ‘Thought Leader Five’ rapid-fire questions with Meg
Connect:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/megcoffey/
https://www.threads.net/@megcoffey
https://www.instagram.com/megcoffey/
Further resources:
The Thought Leader Show features in the Feedspot Top 45 Australian Leadership Podcasts
