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tony_durso
Jess Jensen is a communications strategist and digital leadership expert who has spent more than 20 years helping global executives clarify their voice and inspire their teams. Her work across Microsoft, Adidas, Nestlé, and Qualcomm gives her a rare perspective on how leaders can show up online with clarity, confidence, and authenticity.

What You’ll Learn

• Why your digital presence is now a core part of your leadership
• How to elevate trust and influence in under 30 days
• Simple ways to humanize your brand without spending big money
• The six reasons digital media is essential for executives in 2025
• How founders lose momentum — and sales — by staying silent
• Bringing more optimism, gratitude, and connection into your messaging

About Jess Jensen
Jess Jensen is the founder of Co-Pilot Communications, where she helps executives and entrepreneurs build authentic influence in a noisy digital world. With leadership experience at Microsoft, Adidas, Nestlé, and a decade leading Qualcomm’s global digital communications, Jess has shaped narratives at the highest levels.

Her work focuses on inspiring leaders to communicate with clarity, optimism, and gratitude — and to use digital platforms as a force for connection instead of negativity.

Sponsors & Partners

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Resources & Links Mentioned
1 Connect with Jess Jensen: https://copilotcommunications.com
2 🎧 Listen on Apple: https://tonydurso.com/apple
3 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://tonydurso.com/spotify
4 📧 Join the Newsletter: https://tonydurso.com/news
5 🎥 Watch the Video: https://tonydurso.com/videos

Tony’s Closing Words
Use this and let’s help you Move on YOUR Journey to Success!
Just Take Action. – Success awaits those who persevere and remain steadfast despite the odds. Sow good seeds, do good deeds and join me on the next episode.

why marketing fails, how to scale a business without agencies, fractional CMO services, marketing audit framework, business growth strategy, scaling systems for entrepreneurs, fix broken marketing, increase marketing ROI, marketing systems that convert, 7-figure business growth, audit your marketing spend, founder marketing strategy, scaling without hiring, data-driven marketing optimization, retention and referral strategy, revenue growth systems, plug marketing leaks, smart marketing for founders, high-ROI marketing tactics, business scaling blueprint.


#Entrepreneurship #BusinessGrowth #MarketingAudit #ScaleSmarter #FractionalCMO #MarketingStrategy #CustomerAcquisition #StartupScaling #BusinessOptimization #ProfitLeaks
Transcript
00:00Jess Jensen has spent two decades helping leaders at Microsoft, Adidas, Nestle, and Qualcomm find their voice, tell their story, and connect with people in a way that inspires.
00:11It's kind of a secret weapon if, again, you're an entrepreneur or a founder trying to build an audience for your products or services because often you're not just selling the service or product, you're selling yourself.
00:30In under 30 days, you can transform your digital presence, elevate trust, and build influence without spending a fortune.
00:43Jess Jensen is here to show you how.
00:45Welcome back to the podcast, Entrepreneurs, Here's the Truth.
00:49In 2025, if you're not shaping your digital presence, someone else is shaping it for you, and often that story says nothing.
00:57That silence is costing leaders trust, influence, and yes, revenue.
01:03That's why today's guest is so important.
01:05Jess Jensen has spent two decades helping leaders at Microsoft, Adidas, Nestle, and Qualcomm find their voice, tell their story, and connect with people in a way that inspires.
01:16She recently founded Co-Pilot Communications to help executives and entrepreneurs stop hiding behind corporate jargon and start building real trust online and off.
01:29In this conversation, Jess is going to show you why your digital voice matters more than ever, the simple ways to harmonize your brand without spending big dollars.
01:39And we all like that.
01:41She's even going to show us how the busiest CEOs can build authentic influence in just under 30 days.
01:47And I'm all ears for that.
01:49So if you've ever wondered how to stand out in the noisy online world, this is the playbook you've been waiting for.
01:56Let's begin.
01:56Let's bring her on.
01:58Hi, Jess.
01:58Welcome to the Tony D'Erso Show.
02:01Hello.
02:01Good to be here.
02:02Jess, we're all looking forward to learning how to build real authentic influence and basically how leaders build trust in a digital world.
02:12And I mentioned a little bit about this in this very short intro.
02:16We'd love to learn a lot more.
02:18Can you tell us your backstory?
02:19How did it all start for you?
02:21Sure.
02:22Yeah, happy to.
02:23You know, my areas of expertise are really around communication strategy, digital marketing and social media.
02:32And now I'm an entrepreneur.
02:33I'll add that to the list.
02:35So I've been in corporate roles and you did a great job of listing some of those big brands that I've worked inside of.
02:45From the tech industry with Qualcomm and Microsoft to consumer packaged goods like Nestle.
02:50I've got about 20 years of experience in digital marketing, social and comms.
02:58And over the last five or so years that I was at Qualcomm, I had the opportunity to begin working one-on-one with our C-suite.
03:07So our CEO, president, chief commercial officer, et cetera.
03:10And I worked with them in the space of social and digital media.
03:15And it came from, it was sort of a forcing function.
03:19It came from the fact that we were seeing a lot of our corporate digital and social work sort of begin to decline in engagement, reach.
03:30It just wasn't hitting like it used to.
03:31This is maybe in like 2016.
03:34So we recognized there was an opportunity.
03:36And that was to stand up some of our leaders and build out their platforms in addition that were really augmenting the corporate digital marketing work.
03:44And I just realized I loved that one-on-one work.
03:48I loved helping them tell their stories.
03:50I was good at asking questions.
03:53And I really wanted to stand up other founders and seasoned leaders who wanted to bring more light and good into the digital world.
04:03And so in 2024, I launched my own business, which is Copilot Communications.
04:08That's quite fascinating.
04:11Now, some of the names that I've dropped you, and you've dropped a few, Microsoft, Adidas, Nestle, Qualcomm.
04:18I mean, those are some big heavy hitters.
04:20And working with them, I'm curious, what lessons did those experiences give you about storytelling and leadership?
04:28Because that's where I think we're going down that road is really good, authentic leadership.
04:34And storytelling is part of that.
04:37For sure.
04:38I think a lot of us grew up around people telling stories.
04:43Maybe it was the friends of our parents at a barbecue.
04:47Maybe we had one person on a sports team that we played on that just could really galvanize attention and had kind of a magnetism to them.
04:55And I remember thinking to myself when I was a teenager, you know, gosh, I wish I knew how to tell better stories because I see the power of that.
05:06And I don't think it was really as talked about back in the 90s like it is today.
05:09But now I think that, you know, marketers, communicators, business owners, you know, leaders in every realm or political, private, commercial, I think everyone's recognizing that people remember stories far better than they remember statistics or facts.
05:29Doesn't mean that we don't want to have a little bit of both.
05:30We want to ground, obviously, what we're sharing with data.
05:35But if we can tell a story of overcoming a challenge or rallying a team or maybe it's an area of vulnerability for ourselves that we're trying to work through, those things really attract people to us.
05:52They're rooting for us.
05:54They're following maybe our next moves.
05:57And it's kind of a secret weapon.
05:59If, again, you're an entrepreneur or a founder trying to build an audience for your products or services, because often you're not just selling the service or product, you're selling yourself.
06:11And so if you can get people to sort of fall in love a little bit with your backstory, your origin story through to where you're headed down the road in the future, you're building advocates for you.
06:24So, you know, while you're saying this, Chess, it reminds me of when I first started podcasting like 10 years ago or so.
06:32And I hear this storytelling, tell stories, tell stories.
06:36And, you know, silly me, I'm thinking tell stories, but no, it's weaving it into your life, your product, your brand, whatever.
06:47Can you can you kind of for silly people like me 10 years ago?
06:51Can you can you break this down a little bit and and go over the perhaps tell us more about the power of storytelling and maybe how to do it a little more effectively?
07:00Sure. Sure. You know, one of the famous paradigms that writers and screenplay writers and authors reference is the hero's journey.
07:12Many of us are familiar with that. It's what Star Wars is based on.
07:17It's what Harry Potter is. There's so many examples.
07:19examples and it's not to say that we need to sort of write every post or record every podcast in the framework of the hero's journey because it's quite lengthy.
07:31But if we pull a few best practices, for example, from that architecture, you know, it's some of the principles that carry through and to say marketing, a business or a service are around again in, you know,
07:44showing vulnerability, showing perhaps a challenge that you're facing and allowing people to kind of walk with you through that,
07:51maybe not being sure exactly what the right path forward is, having to sort of assess options or find a mentor, you know, maybe make mistakes along the way.
08:01So, again, now people are rooting for you.
08:05And then, of course, there's always a big moment, right, some sort of a precipice that we have to get through or cross over.
08:13And if we're able to tell the story of how we did that and the lessons that we learned from it and obviously how we came out victoriously on the other side,
08:24that, again, that is something that is easy for almost everyone to relate to.
08:30We've almost all been through something like the hero's journey in our lives, whether it's personal or professional.
08:34And it, again, it makes the folks that may buy from us at some point feel like they know us, they're closer to us.
08:44So they're not just getting a transaction out of it, which, frankly, most of what we do, most of what all of us do,
08:51there is someone else that does it, too, right?
08:53Where most of us are not completely unique unicorns.
08:56So a differentiator isn't necessarily in the technology or in the product.
09:02It might be you.
09:05And the story is the way for that to really come through.
09:08I really appreciate that breakdown.
09:11We're speaking with Jess Jensen.
09:12We're talking about authentic influence, basically how leaders build trust in a digital world.
09:19And I want to know more about this.
09:21I'm sure you do, too.
09:22Go to copilotcommunications.com.
09:26And I think we have a special offer.
09:28We're going to talk about that in just a moment.
09:31Copilotcommunications.com.
09:32Jess, as you're saying all this and I'm listening, I'm thinking you've been so successful.
09:37And I'm going, then you left it all to start your company, Copilot Communications.
09:42Like, how did that happen?
09:45And basically, why did you do that?
09:47Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of us get to a stage in our career, right, where I'm, you
09:51know, 20 plus years in and I recognize, gosh, I've learned a lot.
09:57I've been exposed to some really amazing mentors, leaders, co-workers and environments all over
10:03the world.
10:05But do I want to just keep sort of doing more of that?
10:09Or do I want to maybe sort of take that fork in the road that a lot of us, I think, consider,
10:16but not all of us act on, which is, do I want to build something of my very own?
10:22And I can do a lot of that work that I really love, especially those last five years, as
10:27I was mentioning at Qualcomm.
10:30And I can bring that out to a set of clients, right?
10:34Whether they're that C-suite or seasoned leader inside of a corporation.
10:37That's usually one sort of segment of my audience or a founder, a small business owner that maybe
10:44is a few years in, recognizes that there is something missing on the marketing communications
10:50front and that maybe they are part of that solution.
10:54But they're not quite sure what's the roadmap, what's the framework, how do I even start this?
10:59So I love that I can enable and teach and coach these additional people on my own a lot of
11:08what I got to learn in-house.
11:11And like I mentioned earlier, really bring some positive light into these environments
11:17that I've spent my entire career inside of, which is social and digital.
11:21Um, because we know that things have shifted a bit over the last decade and maybe not in
11:26all the best ways.
11:27So maybe from my corner of the world in Portland, Oregon, I can help elevate some of those positive
11:33voices.
11:35Yes, absolutely.
11:36You took the entrepreneurial challenge and you just went out, work more hours, have more
11:42fun.
11:43I hope so.
11:45But, but accomplish, I think, this is my opinion.
11:48The entrepreneur accomplishes far, far more.
11:52I think most of the world that we have today and just about everything we have is built on
11:56the backs of entrepreneurs, but that's a different story today in 2025.
12:01I think you talk about this as well, that building that digital platform, it's, it's a non-negotiable
12:08for, for the, for, for leaders and founders.
12:10It's, it's critical.
12:12I'd like to go into that.
12:13And why, why do you feel that?
12:14Why do you feel and believe that, uh, so strongly?
12:17Oh, yeah, there's a lot of, uh, good ways to answer this.
12:21So again, it kind of depends on where you're coming from.
12:23If you're inside of a large company, um, uh, versus you're running your own business.
12:28So let's start with sort of being internal kind of in a leadership role.
12:32You know, I think a lot of us, um, whether we intend to or not, uh, believe that we'll
12:38be with the company that we're at forever.
12:39And, um, I think most of us know that's not the case.
12:44In fact, my generation, certainly anyone younger than I am is likely not to be at the same
12:49company for more than maybe five to 10 years.
12:52And even that's a stretch.
12:53So we're going to have multiple companies that we work for within the 30 or 40 years of
12:59our career.
13:00So number one, you want to own your own brand, right?
13:03I want to be known as Jess Jensen, not necessarily an employee of X company.
13:09Um, I'm happy to be associated with them and I'm happy and proud to, um, uh, represent what's
13:16happening at that company when I'm there.
13:18But eventually I will, I will probably leave.
13:20And I want to make sure that what I've built, whether that's on LinkedIn, Instagram, maybe
13:25it's a blog that I write, maybe it's podcasts like this, YouTube, that the, that content
13:30really represents me, um, agnostic of whoever is employing me at that time.
13:37So that's number one is just build something that's really associated with you that you
13:40can take with you as you move around, um, the professional globe, if you will.
13:48I think, um, number two, I'll kind of move over to if you're a founder, entrepreneur, or
13:53business owner, I feel like it's a little bit more of a direct, um, benefit, right?
13:59Because again, in many ways you're selling your service or product, but you're
14:04selling yourself, right?
14:05You are a face for sure, um, of that business.
14:10And so we know that people don't inherently trust brands.
14:17They trust people.
14:19So if we can build trust, which often is through being authentic, being human, being
14:25imperfect, doing it over time, multiple times, again, and again, sharing those stories we
14:31talked about earlier, that over time builds trust, just like in a real life relationship.
14:36Right.
14:37And then people want to do business with customers, partners, clients.
14:41They want to do business with us because they trust us as a person, um, again, elevated and
14:47sort of, in addition to the company or the brand.
14:50Um, while you're saying this, I was thinking of, I've been in, in the corporate, what I
14:54call corporate America, at least three decades and multiple times I can, I can count them
15:01multiple times you go into work, uh, or at the end of a Friday, Friday, Friday was usually
15:08a good time laid off.
15:11The company's gone.
15:12They sold.
15:12They didn't tell anybody gone, disappeared.
15:14Just like that, you spend years and years and years, and I'm not, it's not a complaint.
15:19I'm going somewhere.
15:20I hope I'm going somewhere with this.
15:21You put years and years into building a company, honestly, with all your love and all your heart
15:27and all your intention.
15:28And you know, you're making a lot of money for the higher ups and then they sold it.
15:34Disappear it.
15:35Okay.
15:35Thank you all.
15:36Employees.
15:37Bye.
15:38You know, things like that.
15:38It did actually happen.
15:40And the one thing about being the entrepreneur, and I joked about this earlier, my
15:44quip was you work longer hours, but you you're building your own brand and it only fails
15:51if you stop working it, you know, you, you don't let, you know, until you fire yourself
15:56or lay yourself off, it just keeps going, but you have that more bandwidth, more latitude.
16:01So that brings a lot more freedom in there.
16:04Uh, you know, us entrepreneurs know that both are important because you can't run the world
16:09without employees doing work and you, but you also can't run it without entrepreneurs.
16:14So I think there's two big pots, if I could say it that way, but the one thing that keeps
16:20changing in the world, keeps changing and so fast, whereas, you know, back in the day,
16:27entrepreneur or business, they had 20, 25 year strategies.
16:33Can you imagine, can you imagine guys going to work?
16:36Oh yeah.
16:36We're where we want to be in 15 years from now in 20 years.
16:40And you're thinking these things, they actually, they back then a hundred years ago or 50 years
16:46ago had these long, long term strategies.
16:49But today, you know what you're doing?
16:52If you, if you, you know, you go in the right place, you can become a millionaire overnight.
16:56If you just know the right thing to get into and I think, and as we're going over with this
17:02particular thread is the digital platform is so, so key because I believe, and I see it so much
17:11pivots and rests on that foundation of, of a digital world.
17:16It's, it's, you know, you can create great products and if nobody knows that you're there,
17:24where are you going to go?
17:25Yeah.
17:26Yeah.
17:27Well, and I mean, I've seen it in my, in just the 10 year of, of my career.
17:32So we're talking about basically the early 2000s through to today.
17:38You know, I think when I started working, like the digital world was still sort of this, like
17:43after, right?
17:45Like it was, it was a, it was a later.
17:48So most of our relationships were largely still being made in person.
17:52And then we might later connect on social if that even existed.
17:56Right.
17:57Even that didn't really get opened up to the public until it was seven Oh eight.
18:00And so it's changed so much.
18:04Now I have so many relationships where, I mean, like this one right here, Tony, like you and
18:08I may never meet in person, but we know each other over a digital platform and we're building
18:13rapport and trust.
18:15And we may be able to help each other at some point down the road that there's so many relationships
18:21that are starting digitally and then maybe transcend to real life, but maybe not, maybe
18:27they always remain in the digital spaces.
18:29And so the idea that you wouldn't want to build a house, right?
18:35A house of you in whatever those digital touch points are that really feel resonant.
18:40And that just depends on your personality, but wherever you choose to show up, that in
18:46many ways is that's people's first impression of you.
18:50And you're the only one that can build it and own it and frankly, nurture it.
18:55And that's where honestly, a lot of the people that I speak with fall down, they might build
18:59something and then they sort of set it and forget it.
19:03And they don't necessarily continue to nurture and give back to that community.
19:08And that's, I think, really where the white space is right now.
19:12There's so much I could say on that.
19:15Yes.
19:15In giving back to the community is so important to make oneself known and to get that goodwill.
19:22And that's, that's very, very important.
19:25That digital platform is so, is so interesting, Jess.
19:30You know, believe it or not, I know people, we all know people.
19:36I know people not, you know, as a person, they're not on social media.
19:42They don't believe in itself.
19:43I know a business owner that, that doesn't, isn't on social media.
19:48Didn't even know how to get onto Facebook.
19:50You know, there's people out there that they're running a business or they're doing something
19:56important with their lives.
19:57And basically nobody knows about it.
20:00They, they, they're not out there digitally.
20:03And even if, and I think there's a, I don't know that it's true anymore.
20:07And you, you guys can chime in the comments and let me know.
20:10Is it really first impressions anymore?
20:13Because you see sometimes the first time you see someone, it could be a silly, a weird,
20:18a strange video picture.
20:20It could be a strange image.
20:22But as you get to know that person or that brand, because something they said resonates
20:26with you, you kind of get to understand the matter.
20:30So I, I personally, as my belief, it's what first impressions aren't as key as they used
20:36to be, but they're still very, very key so that, you know, but there's people out there
20:42known for doing really, really crazy stuff.
20:44And it's like, it's wild.
20:47So, so, but the thing, but the thing, and I'll back down to that basic thread is they're,
20:52they, they're making themselves known digitally because if you have a product or you work for
20:58someone that has a product or a brand, that's how you're going to get out to people and you
21:04can get, you can get to them in a snap.
21:06It just takes just a moment.
21:08You know, you have no idea how many people are seeing your social media just because not,
21:14you know, 50,000 people don't like something or comment doesn't mean 50,000 people didn't
21:21see across their feed and, and put that in their mind.
21:24So it's a very important thing.
21:26And I think almost, almost an opinion, just not quite an opinion, but an almost opinion.
21:33I just made that up.
21:35If you're not continuously going out there, you're disappearing in the minds of people.
21:40Don't you think?
21:42Yeah.
21:42Well, and I think for a long time, a lot of leaders and, and business owners felt if I'm
21:47just not online in any real public way, then, you know, that's just me being humble or I'm
21:53just, I'm too busy.
21:54I don't have time for this.
21:56It's, it's no longer humility.
21:59It's a risk because you're leaving a vacuum either for someone to speculate and guess what,
22:07what and who you are and whether they want to do business with you or be hired by you,
22:12or work for your company, um, or to fill in the gaps with their own definition of you.
22:20And so I don't know about you, Tony, but I'd rather write my story than have somebody else
22:25write my story.
22:26So I just think being invisible in 2025 is a big risk.
22:31If you're in a professional role where you're looking to attract clients, customers, partners,
22:38even employee, right?
22:40The first thing that talent does is they look you up, right?
22:44I want to know who I'm going to go work for.
22:46So if you're missing, then it leaves a big hole for them to make, to make guesses, right?
22:53And speculate.
22:53So I just think it's a, it's a, it's a space that more and more people are leveraging and
22:59LinkedIn has really exploded, frankly, since the pandemic.
23:03Um, I'll use that as just a quick example because it comes up so often with my clients.
23:08Um, and in fact, I'm doing these LinkedIn audits, um, right now.
23:12And there's, you know, unfortunately, there's a lot of folks that are finding themselves out
23:17of work right now.
23:18Um, right.
23:19We've all been reading the news.
23:20There's a lot of rounds of layoffs, especially in the tech industry, but across the board.
23:25Um, and one of the things that I hear from people most often is, ah, I should have been
23:30doing this a long time ago.
23:32You know, not just, not just, you know, the digital resume, which is what I think a lot of
23:36us perceived LinkedIn to be kind of pre 2020 it's really evolved.
23:41It's really become community, a social media platform.
23:45That's often a little less, uh, a little more drama free than some of the other ones, which
23:50is lovely.
23:51Um, it's the number one writing platform on the internet now.
23:55So it's a publishing, um, uh, repository.
24:00So it's, there's a lot more happening there than I think we thought five years ago.
24:04And, um, and one of the things that I try to say to my, my clients to sort of ease that,
24:10um, that regret is it's that old saying, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.
24:19The second best time to plant a tree is today.
24:24Right?
24:24So it is what it is.
24:26You didn't do it 20 years ago.
24:27You didn't even do it a year ago, but let's start today.
24:30It'll start to build out who you want to be and how you want to show up.
24:34That's really germane and authentic to you and positions you for, again, whoever you're
24:40trying to attract.
24:41Cause all of us are in some sort of game of attracting, um, that positions you for that
24:48next thing, right?
24:49Looking toward the future, not just looking historically at what you've done in your past.
24:53Jess, you said something very wise.
24:56You, you say a lot of things, you've said a lot of things very wise, but you said something
25:00extra wise.
25:01I'm being a silly Italian here that if you don't put out your story of what you have to
25:09say, other people will put out their story about that.
25:14Now that's not the exact words, but, but what you said, it was very sage.
25:18And that's very, very important point.
25:20If you're not out there talking about your brand and what's, what, what are its strengths
25:25and why is it good?
25:27And so forth, someone else may.
25:29So you want to put out that information about yourself.
25:32So you put out the true, proper, correct information.
25:36I mean, it's such a no brainer.
25:37It's so profound, but it's, it's so vital and important.
25:41So I really liked that.
25:42And I think that's one of the key reasons that we, we need digital media, why we really
25:50need to focus on growing in digital media.
25:53And I totally agree with you on LinkedIn.
25:55It is the number one for business professionals.
25:57And I want to make sure we talk about what you do and, and why it's important for all of
26:03us.
26:03And I want to devote a little time to that, but just to finish the digital media thread
26:10in question, there's several different reasons that it digital media is important for us to
26:16get involved with and know about, but there's one that you mentioned and you haven't told
26:21me yet.
26:22You said one of these reasons really surprises people the most.
26:25Did we talk about that yet?
26:27Um, we haven't, um, I'm not, I'm not trying to put you on the spot.
26:35There's six reasons you said that digital media is very essential for executives in the world
26:40today.
26:41And for leaders and, and one of these reasons why digital media was so important really
26:46surprises people.
26:47And maybe it was just the way you mentioned it in passing to me.
26:50And I thought, Oh, I'm going to ask her this question.
26:52Well, one thing that I'll, I'll mention that I think is often neglected and maybe it could
26:57be a surprise to many leaders and business owners is I think that lots of times we think
27:03about social as a place to publish, meaning it's a one way avenue.
27:08We're going to push out something.
27:10And that's even, I mean, there's, you know, it's the 80, 20 rule, right?
27:12Like 75, 80% of people aren't even creating content at all.
27:16They're just absorbing it.
27:17Right.
27:18They're just sort of voyeuristically taking it in.
27:20So then you subset that.
27:21Okay.
27:22Let's just say 20, 25% are actually creators.
27:24And when I say creator, we're all a creator, right?
27:26We're all, we all can be, but if you're putting something out there, then there's a large percentage
27:34of that pie that is putting it out there and walking away.
27:37I did my thing.
27:38I made my video.
27:39I wrote my three paragraph post.
27:41I'm good.
27:42And I think what is surprising is how much, again, trust and humanity can really be built
27:50in the comments.
27:51And I'm sure you get a lot of comments in, on your digital platforms, Tony.
27:56The ability to go in and respond and have like subsequent conversations with people who
28:03you, again, have never met.
28:06That's where a lot of real relationships are built.
28:09And I think it's kind of under the radar.
28:11It's sort of neglected, unfortunately, by a lot of content creators, leaders, business owners.
28:17So, you know, as an example, let's just say I'm a small business owner and say, I do publish
28:23something.
28:24LinkedIn, because that's the one we were talking about earlier.
28:27I know my audience is likely here.
28:29I've been putting out content once or twice a week.
28:32And maybe I start to get comments from people who are not people I know.
28:37They're not even in my network.
28:39There's some one or two degree of separation, right?
28:41So they just saw me in their feed.
28:43And if they comment, that is an invitation to start a dialogue with them.
28:51And it might just be something simple, right?
28:53Like you might drop into your DMS and just say, hey, thanks so much.
28:56I really appreciated what you had to say about that post from last Thursday.
28:59And keep it light.
29:01But if it looks like there might be an openness to a back and forth, that can turn into a speaking
29:08engagement, you know, a potential client, maybe an introduction to a partner that you're
29:13looking for.
29:14So there really is a business development aspect of LinkedIn.
29:19That doesn't have to be heavy sales or cringy or feel like cold calls.
29:24It can actually just be nurturing those little comments and relationships that are being built
29:29underneath the posts in the comments.
29:32You gave me an aha moment.
29:35I've been on LinkedIn over, over a decade.
29:38And I never thought of that.
29:39Sorry.
29:40People that comment that aren't in, uh, for, for those, for those of you in the audience
29:45that aren't on LinkedIn, it's, uh, you, you have a first level, a second level, a third
29:50level, and your first level, usually you can communicate with very easily in chat.
29:56The things have changed now, but it's usually your core followers.
30:00And, and I never thought of when someone comments to invite them and say, you know, to, to, to
30:07join me on my first level, um, first level, uh, I don't, you know, more about LinkedIn probably
30:14than I, cause it has changed, but I put out articles.
30:18I put out, uh, every twice a month, I put out a nice article, a ton of people see it.
30:23I think only the people in my first degree see it, but I don't know anymore, but it's just
30:28a great way to grow.
30:30And if someone comments with you on LinkedIn, you're able to send them a request or invite
30:35them or connect up with them.
30:37And that grows your following follower base.
30:39And this is somebody you want in your follower base.
30:42Cause they liked or commented on something you said.
30:45So this is, this is how you would track them.
30:48Um, so I think that's that for me, that, that was something I didn't know.
30:52So you did good on that.
30:55Yeah.
30:57I mean, I'll, I'll also extend that into, if you're, if you're a leader in a corporation,
31:00I think one of the underestimated values of social, um, is that your employees are following
31:08you.
31:09And, uh, and again, especially if they're, uh, you know, under the age of let's even
31:14say 50, right there, they're spending time there.
31:18And so you have the ability to use those public platforms to praise them, right.
31:23To thank them for an important product launch and shoot a photo of the group or tag them at
31:29the end of a really big, important event for your company and show all the hard work that
31:33has gone into it.
31:34I mean, it takes 10 minutes to write that paragraph and add those names and add that photo.
31:40I mean, it really is not a heavy lift.
31:42I have heard employees say it is worth more than a bonus to be acknowledged publicly by
31:49their boss, let alone maybe a level or two above them, right.
31:53And seniority.
31:54So don't underestimate the power of your, your keyboard.
31:59Um, when it comes to your own team and your own employee base.
32:03You know, you gave me a second aha moment because it's something I can do with people.
32:10And you could do, if you have subs or if you have a virtual assistants or people that you hire
32:16to do different things around the world that, that tech guys and people that make your digital
32:21graphics or whatever, you can acknowledge them, get them up to join you and get, and acknowledge
32:27them on LinkedIn and on social media.
32:30Um, I think, I think it's a great way to elevate trust very, very quickly and elevate that cohesion,
32:38that, that camaraderie.
32:40So I think that's a really good, you, you definitely are very wise in some of this.
32:44And I mean that, I mean that in a, in a polite, silly Italian way.
32:48Well, thank you.
32:49I I've been doing it for a couple of years.
32:52I've learned a thing or two along the way.
32:54Um, I want to make sure we, I have some other questions, but since we're kind of going into
32:59LinkedIn a bit and you mentioned some of the things you do, you know, let's, uh, um, let's
33:05open it up a little bit and, and, and talk about the power of LinkedIn and what it can do.
33:10Is I've grown quite a bit on it and I'm always learning on it today.
33:14I learned two vital, two vital facts, uh, which I know is going to help even more.
33:19So what else can you share with us about LinkedIn?
33:21And you said something, did I hear you right?
33:23You said something about doing an audit as well.
33:26Yeah.
33:27You know, I, I, I do want to kind of zoom out the sort of the, um, the services and the, um,
33:37offering that I do best with my clients, uh, a copilot includes LinkedIn, but it's certainly
33:45not the entire piece.
33:46Um, it's often the entry point for a lot of people that I work with, because again, like
33:51you said, it's where truly where professionals are spending time online.
33:54Again, it's, it's a little more, um, trusted.
33:58There's a little, just less kind of contention and drama that sometimes you can find on some
34:02of the other platforms.
34:03Um, I think people, uh, uh, also recognize that they have sort of the two pieces of the pie.
34:11You have your profile, right?
34:12Sort of like what used to be kind of your digital resume, but that's a whole separate conversation
34:16about whether it should be or shouldn't be, but let's just call that your profile.
34:20Um, and that's really important to curate, right?
34:23Make sure that that about section is being used smartly talking about storytelling.
34:27That about section is a great opportunity to tell a story about who you are and where you're headed.
34:32Um, your experience, your profile picture, your recommendations, all that good stuff.
34:36You want to get that really set up for success.
34:38That's one thing that I, that's an easy thing.
34:40I can kind of help people just kind of get, get a little further on, um, when they feel
34:45stuck or they haven't touched it in say, you know, four years, five years.
34:49But the, the kind of meatier side that I'm, I get more excited about is the publishing side, right?
34:54It's your feed.
34:55And so again, your editorial, um, your narrative platform as we'll call it.
35:02So kind of the, the three, often three or four territories that you really want to stand for.
35:07And then repeatedly create content in support of you push that out, right?
35:12You post it or publish it on LinkedIn that goes out to the world.
35:15And that's really what you're doing right now, right?
35:19It's where you're, it's where your life is today and what you're seeing for the future.
35:24And that is, I would say more powerful in many ways than your profile is because your profile
35:31is really what you've done historically.
35:33So, um, I work with clients to, on LinkedIn specifically, but then we get into other digital
35:40territories as well, like podcasting or blogging or, um, uh, other social properties.
35:46But I work with them in the LinkedIn space around those two buckets, right?
35:51How do we get your profile in a place that's really a muscle that's, that's working for
35:56you and putting your best foot forward?
35:58And then how do we start to really build a publishing, um, uh, kind of regiment, uh, that
36:04you can keep up with, um, that's going to continuously bring you to the top of people's feed and make
36:10you visible to those recruiters, those, um, those hiring managers, again, those future customers
36:17and clients.
36:18We want them to see what you're doing right now.
36:20The thing about all of that is that using the social, uh, platforms wisely, you can
36:28really elevate your brand with by spending very little money.
36:31It's not, it costs because your height, you have somebody that's working for you.
36:35That's doing it.
36:36You have somebody that's putting the graphics together.
36:38There's, there's costs, but they're not great costs.
36:42They're very small costs for tremendous bandwidth for trend for tremendous mileage in making your,
36:50yourself, your brand, your company.
36:52Well known.
36:53It's, it's, it's just absolutely amazing.
36:56Uh, but there's a right way to do it.
36:58There's right ways and there's wrong ways to do it.
37:01And I think we've talked about this a little bit here and there.
37:04Some companies, you don't hear about their name anymore, but you've, but you know about
37:08AT&T, Chevrolet, Pepsi Cola, Mercedes Benz, uh, uh, Honda and Ford.
37:14You know, these names I just said, because they keep putting it out there.
37:18They keep putting it out there.
37:19They keep putting it out there.
37:20And I think that's a very important, uh, uh, point or reason to it is to it's a content.
37:29You have to continue with it because you don't remember the companies that disappeared five
37:34years ago.
37:35You just don't remember, remember them anymore, but you're familiar with the companies today
37:39that have your attention in the, in the digital space.
37:43Yeah.
37:44I mean, you said it well, I mean, it's one of the things that we say in marketing is we're
37:49often tired of our creative far before audiences are.
37:52So you have to really beat that drum.
37:55You have to have repetition.
37:57You again can tell the story in different ways from different angles, but it really goes
38:02back to the strategy of that narrative platform is so key.
38:06It's, it's analogous to a blueprint with a house, right?
38:09You wouldn't just start building a house without a blueprint.
38:12And so the way that you show up online, you need to develop that blueprint.
38:17What, what, where do I want the bedrooms?
38:19How many bathrooms are there?
38:20Is it South facing?
38:21Is it West facing?
38:22Right?
38:23Like make those decisions.
38:24You can always unlock a house.
38:25You can always sort of iterate and change with digital a lot quicker than you can with
38:31brick and mortar.
38:32But you want to stick with that strategy, with that blueprint for, you know, a good 6,
38:3812, 18 months.
38:39Like work it for a while and really see is, is this getting traction?
38:44Am I getting engagement?
38:45Am I getting DM comments?
38:47Am I, you know, I, it's funny.
38:49I just have conversations like this one where I'm on a call or a video and people will say,
38:54I saw your post about XYZ.
38:56I really loved it.
38:57They never commented.
38:58They didn't touch it.
38:59I would never have known, but they'll say something like one-on-one to me about it.
39:04And it feels so good to know that you maybe touched someone's life or you gave them a smile
39:12or, you know, a new insight they could use in their own day to day.
39:15So I think having that strategy, having those narrative pillars and then continuously building
39:22around them for a period of time and then check it, see how am I doing?
39:27What's the feedback I'm getting?
39:28If I need to iterate, I'll iterate.
39:30Yeah.
39:31We, we, we chatted about this very, we touched on it.
39:34You know, you never know who's listening or who's watching, even though you may not see
39:38their comments, but when something hits them that resonates with them, they they'll, they'll
39:44comment.
39:45And I think, uh, along with that, but a little bit slightly off at a tangent, there's people
39:52that can feel a little defeated.
39:55There's an, uh, unfortunately not a hundred percent good news and good tidings going on
40:02in the world.
40:04And one can feel, uh, overwhelmed, but yet you've got your brand to put out.
40:09You've got your book, you've got your coaching business, your, your tech, your software, whatever
40:14you're doing.
40:15And, and the way I look at it, and I want your, would love your opinion and have you
40:20chime in is, is the way I look at it as well.
40:22If you keep putting out, Hey, here's, here's my brand.
40:25Here's my brand.
40:26Very authentic.
40:27Very, very positive.
40:28Very real.
40:29You're in a way getting that, that attention of people.
40:33You're, you're, you're diluting the noise and negativity.
40:36Cause it's not as strong because now people, uh, you're vying for people's attention and,
40:42and you're putting more of this there.
40:44And I think it's a great way to deal with some of the, the problems and troubles and other
40:50don't let, don't let it run amok.
40:52You know, keep putting your stuff out there.
40:54And I think, I think if more entrepreneurs and companies put their shoulder to it, we
41:00could change the face of social media and what's going on in the world.
41:04This is, this is how, how I look at it.
41:06What do you think?
41:07Yeah.
41:08I mean, secretly that's my goal, right?
41:11That's my goal.
41:12I want, I want our lives online to be kinder and gentler and to give people the benefit of
41:20what's going on in the world and to realize that we have far more in common than we are
41:25different.
41:26And, uh, if again, out of my, in my corner of the world and the clients that I get the
41:32opportunity to work with, if I can help, help them shape those voices and help them, um,
41:39put that content out in a place where the public can see it.
41:42Um, I don't mean that this is all altruism.
41:45Of course it's a business that I'm running, but I, I just know that I will sleep better
41:50at night.
41:51I will feel like all this experience that I gained over the last 20 years, I'm putting
41:56in the direction of good.
41:58And I mean, when you think about as you get, maybe get the back half, the back half of your
42:04career, you start to think about the legacy that you want to leave.
42:08And I, I would love nothing better than to know that maybe I've sort of tilted the percentages
42:14a little bit toward the good.
42:17Very well said.
42:18I, I am a, uh, uh, a fan of, uh, some YouTubers that do things just to help their community,
42:27uh, just to help seniors, just to help people in tight spots.
42:31And, and it grows their channel and they're, they're doing it just to help.
42:36And I think that helpfulness, the, and that not, not charity, but just to go out and give
42:44back to the community, you know, once a week or whatever, you know, um, I do that.
42:50I help, uh, I help people that are in adverse conditions and, but that's a different, that's
42:55a different thing.
42:56That's on my, that's on my website.
42:57I've been doing that for a number of years.
42:59It just feels good to give back.
43:01It just does.
43:02And it, and it, it, you know, I'm not looking for pats on the back and none of these people
43:07that I follow, dude, they just, it's, it's, it's a good feeling, but it ties into what
43:12we're just talking about because now you're bringing more good out there and you're getting
43:16more people to be aware of you, your brand, see the good that you're doing.
43:20I, I really think it dilutes the negativity.
43:23I know I've said that twice, but I just think it's that important.
43:26That it is something to focus on.
43:29Well, and, and I think the, the, you bring up a great point when we go back to that narrative,
43:34that narrative platform and we start to define what's in there.
43:37Um, often one of those pillars for people is something that's sort of charitable nonprofit.
43:45Um, it's a, it's a cause related subject area.
43:49That's really, um, close to home for them.
43:52And there's usually some personal story behind that.
43:55And so, um, it's a great, it's a great space to be publishing about, right?
44:00Whether it's your volunteer work or it's articles that you're reading or leaders that are doing
44:05great things in that space, progress being made in your own hometown, whatever, you know,
44:10whatever those data points are like, that's part of what rounds you out as a leader is
44:15what you stand for, what you're supporting outside of your eight to five.
44:19Uh, absolutely.
44:20Absolutely.
44:21It's, it's part of growth and I think it helps with the growth.
44:24You may not see it that way.
44:26I know a company, uh, that I follow.
44:29They, they, uh, give out products worth 15, $20,000.
44:34It's a, it's a, it's a good sized company, but they do this to help the community.
44:38And it's, it's a tearjerker who they help and how they help.
44:41And their company just keeps growing and they giving, they're giving away and they keep growing.
44:46I mean, go figure how that works.
44:49It absolutely does work.
44:50We have time for one more question.
44:52We're talking about digital storytelling and we've talked a bit about, uh, storytelling
44:57and stuff.
44:58How do you see it evolve?
45:00Is it going to evolve?
45:01Jess, is it done?
45:02Is there going to be another iteration?
45:04What should we be paying attention to now?
45:07Or, you know, what's the landscape?
45:09I think that stories will always be told.
45:12And again, there's certain, um, paradigms or sort of architectures that I think, uh, we've
45:20all grown up with and will continue to long for and be drawn into.
45:25Um, I mean, certainly just in the last decade video is dramatically shifted the way that we
45:30tell stories.
45:31Right.
45:32Um, I don't think that's going to go anytime soon.
45:34I think in the era that we're in with AI being so pervasive and changing, as you mentioned
45:41earlier, so rapidly.
45:42Um, I think that the, the magic, like the secret weapon is actually the, the imperfection
45:52that we bring as humans.
45:53Um, so storytelling, you know, I can type right now into fill in your blank AI platform
46:00of your choice.
46:01I can say, you know, you use this, this archetype, you know, you use the, again, the hero's journey,
46:08if you'd like, here's the, you know, here's the environment I want them to be in.
46:12I mean, I can script the whole thing and it will generate a lovely story, but I think
46:18it's going to be how we show up online in ways that are, um, slightly, slightly broken,
46:30slightly imperfect.
46:31Right.
46:32That, um, that actually will cut through a lot of the clutter that frankly we're seeing
46:39on digital because of AI making things so easy.
46:43Um, there's a, there's a Japanese word that I can't think of right now.
46:47It's like Katsugi, something like that, where a dish is broken, a piece of, um, ceramic
46:53piece is broken and they stitch it back together with like golden glue.
46:58Have you ever heard of this before?
47:00No, but I have watched some, uh, uh, what do you call them?
47:04Documentaries or YouTube where, uh, Japanese artists are reconstructing or rebuilding something
47:11and how meticulous and perfect it is.
47:14It's mind boggling how incredible they are where they could take something that's all
47:18broken and make it look completely, totally brand new original.
47:22Well, so this is a little bit of it.
47:24That's this little deviation from that because actually this form of art, these pieces have
47:30now become more valuable.
47:32They are more expensive because you can see all the cracks and they're filled with gold and people
47:39love the imperfection of it.
47:42And so I think that that is such a lovely metaphor for how storytelling is going to change in this era,
47:50because we will cut through a lot of the kind of the mediocrity and sort of the like good enough content
47:56that we're seeing right now with a little bit of humanity and a little bit of imperfection.
48:01We just have to have the courage to show that.
48:04I love it.
48:05Put gold on our cracks and we become more valuable.
48:09All right.
48:10Once again, this is Jess Jensen.
48:12We talked about authentic influence, how leaders build trust in a digital world.
48:17You can find her at co pilot communications.com.
48:21That's co pilot C O P I L O T communications.com.
48:26Please do me a favor, guys.
48:28Go check it out.
48:29Go see what she does and, and find out, find out more about her.
48:33This is if you sell something, if you, or if you have your brand or if you wrote a book or if you're a coach or if you work for somebody,
48:41you'd be very interested to see how you can do a better job for you, for your company, for your brand by checking out.
48:49So I would really appreciate that.
48:51Jess, thank you.
48:52Great advice.
48:53You gave me a couple of aha moments.
48:55I'm very serious.
48:56I'm not totally silly, but it's all the time, but a really good points that I am going to implement.
49:02And I want to appreciate that.
49:04I want to tell you how I appreciate that.
49:06And it was just great to have you on.
49:08Thank you so much.
49:09Thank you, Tony.
49:11Very good.
49:12So good.
49:13So good.
49:14Guys, if you like this, share this with your friends.
49:17Tell them about Jess Jensen.
49:18Tell them about digital world.
49:21Tell them about how important it is.
49:23Tell them about co-pilot communications and LinkedIn and kind of see what aha moments you have.
49:30Tell me, tell me what you've learned about this because I've actually learned something.
49:34We're always learning.
49:35We're always learning.
49:36We're always going ahead if we continue listening to great podcasts like this and get the take, the fingers on the pulse from the experts.
49:48So I really, really appreciate that.
49:50So tell your friends and wherever you're getting this, guys, please follow the show.
49:54It helps to bring more amazing guests to you.
49:57All right.
49:58Let's use this and let's help you move on your journey to success.
50:01Thanks.
50:02Remember, just take action.
50:04Success awaits those who persevere and remain steadfast despite the odds.
50:10Sow good seeds, do good seed, do good deeds, and I'll see you on the next episode.
50:17You won't do good.
50:18You won't spoil it.
50:19Go ahead of the way.
50:20You'll find out.
50:21Let's go.
50:22And I'll see you next time.
50:23Bye.
50:24Bye.
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