From Basketball to Books | Owen Sammarone | 517

The road to becoming a Thought Leader is never a straight one.  So going from college basketball coach to book influencer might not seem that odd. Still, the map to get there is fascinating! Our guest today is Owen Sammarone the Founder and CEO of Unleash the Knowledge, LLC; an online, educational community of lifelong learners and avid readers helping authors reach a larger audience. Having a business based around books you might assume Owen has a background in publishing or marketing, but he was previously a graduate assistant with the UConn men’s basketball program.  Owen shares that while he loved basketball his true passion came from the self-development habits of coaches. Owen began to explore what his coach was reading and listening to, then sharing the takeaways he found on Instagram, nurturing a following of self-development junkies.  After Owen was contacted by a heart doctor, seeking to pay for promotion of his new book to Owen’s followers he realized Unleash the Knowledge could be more than a social media platform.  IT could become a business model. Through this episode Owen shares his journey growing his platform and finding his footing as well as tips you can use to grow your own social media platform!  Three Key Takeaways: ·         In order to grow a social media platform you need to create a niche that works for your audience and provides value. ·         Certain social media platforms tend to skew towards certain trends or topics.  That doesn’t mean you can’t grow a successful audience outside those bubbles if you are dedicated to it. ·         Growing a platform requires consistency.  You can’t just post when you need something from your audience.