Speaking engagements: Good for your brand, good for you

5 ways you and your company benefit from public speaking

Speaking engagements – whether through a webinar or industry conference – come with many professional benefits. Sure, they take time to coordinate, plan and prepare, but the recognition and connections are worth it. Here are some specific benefits to speaking in public.

1. Increase brand recognition.

Showing thought leadership on behalf of your company’s brand can bring big benefits for the company. For instance, at an industry conference, you have a captive audience to listen to a case study or success story that your company achieved. Placing a logo on a sponsor list can’t give you that kind of recognition.

State your position on a topic.

If you or your company wants to make a bold statement (or even just take a position) on a topic, publicly speaking about it can help communicate your position. Preparing a speaking engagement around this position helps give it validity and sets the stage for you, or your company, to communicate your position loudly.

Gain networking opportunities.

If you’re speaking to a crowd of 500, you just saved yourself 500 handshakes. And your speech probably leaves a better impression than your handshake and elevator pitch does. Sure, you aren’t personally connecting with the 500 people in the crowd, but you are making an impression in front of these people, and they may seek you out after the event – or even months later.

Generate quality content.

Speaking engagements can live on digitally and in a variety of ways. You can repurpose presentation content for social media such as in SlideShare presentations that can be shared on Twitter and LinkedIn as well as video snippets of the presentation. You can also generate engagement on social media as your presentation is taking place.

Enhance personal growth.

While everything mentioned above mainly benefits your brand, speaking engagements can also be opportunities for personal growth. You will diversify your skillset and establish influence in the industry, which, in turn, may even generate new job opportunities for you.

Axia Public Relations’ KeyNote service can help you identify the public speaking events that will offer maximum exposure for your company. Additionally, Axia’s PR professionals can provide training to your employees to improve their public speaking skills and increase their confidence. Contact Axia today or download Axia’s e-book to learn how to get the most return from your PR investment.

Julie Miller is a marketing and communications professional, working for more than seven years in the industry. She primarily works in the technology and education sectors and specializes in digital marketing and communications. Julie has worked with Axia since November 2015. Connect with Axia on Twitter @axiapr or tell us what you think in the comments below.