A GLOBAL MOVEMENT
DEEP Coalition (DC) is on a mission to partner with 10,000 CEOs pledged to merge the divide between the ordinary (99%) and the extraordinary (1%). We were founded on a shared belief that everyone has a voice that matters and to understand the differences in perspective, we must strive to create a sense of belonging that starts with self-awareness. However, we can’t do it alone without collective action.
CEO PLEDGE
CEO signatories have committed executive leaders to social leadership. The agreement is to leverage LinkedIn to connect with diverse voices in and out of the organization. The social leadership approach to growing the team and business will be to encourage self-expression through the alignment of personal values with company values. We believe the below reasonable and meaningful social actions will help to cultivate community, improve the many dimensions of wellness, and enhance the learning experience for all of us in our individual efforts to build a clear, intentional, and authentic voice.
Why Real-Time Social Leadership Matters
LEADERSHIP INTEREST
Leadership will show genuine interest by being more present with the social activities of employees. Leadership sees that this is an effective way to demonstrate continued support in the life journey of team members. We understand that social interest is about listening better to what people are really trying to say, so that we can help them to feel included in the big picture.
LEADERSHIP ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Leadership will announce regular words of credit to show that we see both small and large contributions to the organization’s success. We understand that social acknowledgment is not about presenting something as our own, but rather as a collective effort to highlight the right people who started and finished the project.
LEADERSHIP RECOGNITION
Leadership will prove that encouraging pride is most effective when given in real-time such as on promotions, birthdays, and anniversaries. We understand that social recognition is a great way to celebrate incremental progress which is a powerful driver to improving mental health and increasing performance and profit for the organization.
LEADERSHIP ENGAGEMENT
Leadership will utilize the post buttons and add comments to share emotions and feelings about why they care. The engagement can be in response to their own content or the content of employees and other people. We understand that social engagement boosts trustworthiness and strengthens personal and corporate brand reputation.
LEADERSHIP INTERACTION
Leadership will partake in thoughtful commenting to humanize traditional networking and relationship-building methodologies. We understand that social interaction is about sharing additional colors of ourselves instead of just one side to highlight memorable experiences, culture, and approachability.
LEADERSHIP appreciation
Leadership will seek to be a part of employees’ online conversations whether it be through InMail messaging or commenting to enhance the feeling of being valued. We understand that social appreciation results in a sense of purpose and achievement.
OUR FOUNDER
Katiya Xiong, DIA, DEEP is an ordinarily extraordinary social leader who works at the bridge of things. Her vision is to live deeply and her mission is to be the voice of empathy that brings people and businesses closer together for powerful results.
The Artist
The Influencer
The Teacher
The Entrepreneur
The Advisor
The Speaker
OBJECTIVE
There is value in words and we can create conditions to empower people to develop their voices. This way, they have a voice that is seen for both: who they are and what they do. What makes our course certification program, Become a Micro-Influencer the ‘Write’ Way, special? We embrace the concept of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) in our business model. This means that employees will be exposed to different topics, diverse professionals, and various industries to help them grow in the direction of wellness. We designed the course to be a part of the long-term success picture. This means that corporate sponsors can enroll employees into the course at any given time – whether it be 1 person transformed in Year 1 or 1,000 people transformed in Year 10. What we have created is the employee benefit of the future. Our training materials focus on building trust as the core of the experiential learning journey. Our expressive writing approach will strengthen communication between teammates, clients, and other stakeholders, providing an opportunity for all employees to contribute to the bottom line. By focusing on real-time engagement, employees will become capable of becoming authentic micro-influencers on LinkedIn, typically in 12 weeks or at their own pace. Completion of the 12 modules means that graduates have gained the necessary marketing skills to confidently represent both personal and corporate brands. In a world where people are tired of advertising and going bigger isn’t always better, micro-influencers with a network of 3,000 – 30,000 first-degree connections are inevitably the social leaders capable of shaping the ‘voice’ of any organization. With their engaged audiences, this group of nurturers and disruptors may be the marketing force of the future for small and big businesses alike. We hope to elevate 1 million employees into micro-influencers by 2050!
Encouraging Executive Leaders to do more
No matter the leadership title: Founder, Co-Founder, CEO, CHRO, CPO, CGO, COO, CMO, CIO, CFO, CTO, President, Executive Director, or Board Member, we are committed to amplifying the voices of executives ‘with’ employees as a part of our vision to increase online conversations between different expertise, thoughts, and perspectives. We do this by encouraging leadership to be intentional and proactive in their social efforts. We believe that this is a meaningful and impactful way to disrupt and grow people and businesses.
Motivating Employeesto become micro-influencers
No matter the employee’s job title: Custodian, Barista, Nurse, Teacher, Secretary, Project Manager, Engineer, Customer Service Representative, College Student, Waitress, Painter, Salesperson, Dentist, Police Officer, Electrician, Plumber, Farmer, Mechanic, Truck Driver, and so on – we are committed to teaching expressive writing as the primary technique for effective communication and relationship-building through the sharing of stories, ideas, and information. We realize that the journey to becoming a micro-influencer can be a lonely one, which is why we strive to motivate learners to see expressive writing as writing that heals and gives. We believe that this will help employees to 1) better control their destiny or fate and 2) build resilience and adaptability for the pains and gains of tomorrow.
Merging Deep Voicestogether as equals
Oftentimes, we fall into the flow of prioritizing contact with the famous and our peers, prospects, and customers. However, we must keep in mind that we can make an immediate difference when we extend our social efforts to employees and people who we don’t yet know or regularly see in our day-to-day lives. Our two-year pandemic study of the LinkedIn social activities of 1,000+ CEOs and 1,000+ employee tells us this: the inspiration received in real-time moments of reciprocity (e.g., LinkedIn reaction, comment, InMail, repost) can have a positive multiplying effect in the behavioral change of ordinary people in the long term. Being included in the conversation is a wonderful way to demonstrate that everyone has a worthy voice and is capable of acceptance. We do this through our monthly magazines (Deep Voices) and LinkedIn posts (Deep Connections) where we feature leadership and non-leadership together with course graduates.
Micro-Influencer Journey
We believe that expressive writing is good for mental health, especially the heart and soul. Researchers have found that people who practice expressive writing are able to better articulate their thoughts and emotions which can reduce stress and improve focus. Because expressive writing is imbued with a sense of purpose and meaning, it can help employees to cut through the social noise and connect with people and causes that matter to them. Using the ‘write’ way to become a micro-influencer means taking better control of the future for anyone. What makes our course unique is our commitment to engaging and interacting with learners and leaders. To keep learners moving in the direction of progress with the course, we offer a number of interesting rewards that can help them with their influencing efforts: a free digital headshot makeover and a creative playbook template that will be sure to make any LinkedIn profile stand out from the masses.
DEEP VOICES MAGAZINE
We live in a world where there is constant pressure to compete to the top, dream big, and become successful in all angles of work and life. The question that we can help to address together is: How can we foster a healthy environment for the competition? Remembering that we are all different and that is what makes us the same is how we can better help employees, clients, friends, peers, etc. to better pursue personal, professional, and organizational goals. Our ‘Deep Voices’ monthly magazine shows how one voice can elevate voices from different racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds including varying lifestyles, situations, experiences, and interests. We believe that everyone deserves recognition no matter the amount or degree of their achievements. Amplifying the efforts of all sizes for both ordinary and extraordinary people at the organization will inspire the learning of new information and motivate employees to connect with one another through common values, rather than expertise.
DEEP CONNECTIONS LINKEDIN POSTS
Two popular quotes in the workforce: 1) We are nothing without our team and 2) Teamwork makes the dream work. What is more powerful than these words is the demonstration to the world. How can an organization be proactive in the life journeys of its team members? We help to address the answer through our ‘Deep Connections’ posts. Below is an example of how we illustrate the social proof of online conversations. These posts help to demonstrate social leadership between people and organizations which we often find to be a wonderful way to connect people and businesses together. We believe that a trail of real-time examples is a beautiful way to show that the talk is being walked.
BECOME AN EMPLOYER SPONSOR
For the cost of a Cup of Coffee everyone wins!
We believe that all employees deserve the gift of having a deep voice which is why we offer four reasonable pricing tiers to give everyone the same rich experience. To encourage completion of the course, Become a Micro-Influencer the Write Way, we reward learners throughout the course with personalized items such as 1) an elegant digital headshot makeover and 2) a personal playbook template to make their LinkedIn profiles stand out. To improve corporate and personal brand reputation altogether, we promote ongoing recognition of our partners’ social leadership through our Deep Voices magazine, Deep Connections posts, and Deep Thoughts videos. Being a part of the DC Global Movement means that you are part of a growing directory of CEO pledgers, partners, sponsors, and micro-influencers who share common values with you which is a beautiful reason for connecting!
Nano
1 - 50 employees- Annual subscription
- Unlimited course enrollment
- Personalized avatars included
- Complimentary marketing templates
- LinkedIn support group
Micro
51 - 500 employees- Annual subscription
- Unlimited course enrollment
- Personalized avatars included
- Complimentary marketing templates
- LinkedIn support group
Macro
501 - 5000 employees- Annual subscription
- Unlimited course enrollment
- Personalized avatars included
- Complimentary marketing templates
- LinkedIn support group
Mega
5001 - 10,000 employees- Annual subscription
- Unlimited course enrollment
- Personalized avatars included
- Complimentary marketing templates
- LinkedIn support group
FAQs
DEEP Coalition – The Global Movement & Academy of Micro-Influencers
What is the meaning of our business name?
DEEP stands for Do Express Empathy Proactively because we believe in showing regular and consistent compassion.
Coalition is defined as partnered organizations and resources pledging to provide encouragement and tools to help people better take control of their situtations and futures.
DEEP Coalition believes that if people can further explore who they truly are, they can become extraordinary.
They can become writers.
They can become influencers.
They can become thought leaders.
They can become decision-makers.
They can become entrepreneurs.
They can become social leaders.
With a deep voice, the ordinary can become one or more greats.
What is our story?
I attribute my first thoughts of becoming an influencer to the first iPhone. In 2007, I remember anxiously waiting in line to put the internet in my pocket. I pondered about going limitless with networking to further my career and uncover more passions.
When the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 in March 2020, I noticed in a matter of days that most businesses and workers struggled to do business online. This made me rethink modern-day marketing and sales techniques.
During these difficult times, I didn’t care about using automated systems for lead generation and client acquisition. The amount of information fed to us online can be overwhelming, so I had no intention to add to the noise with more emails, podcasts, newsletters, text messages, voice blasts, mailers, advertisements, etc.
What I cared most about was collaborating with others to amplify their voices and impacts. So, I changed my approach to being more human-centered and came up with the CIA (Clear, Intentional, Authentic) strategy to guide me in all my marketing, networking, and relationship-building efforts.
In the first half of 2020, I focused my energies on posting creative and thought-provoking content. I took the time to learn about entrepreneurs, executives, authors, speakers, legal professionals, influencers, thought leaders, recent graduates, editors, retirees, and parents. It was a lot of research, and I learned the importance of being generous with my time.
In the second half of 2020, I went on a micro-influencer journey to gain the attention of professionals in the financial services industry and those with big people responsibilities such as CEOs and CHROs. I recall the sleepless nights of focusing on incremental progress and the lessons learned from rejection and failure.
My efforts to connect, engage, and build relationships put me on the screen for an additional 25+ hours each week outside of my day job. In six months, my LinkedIn network grew from 300+ friends, peers, and family members to 3,000+ followers – most were new connections. At the surface, this may seem like a small number, but as my oldest son once told me, that’s a whole town that I’ve built which is more than enough people to meet and greet!
In 2021, I continued the micro-influencer journey by focusing on doing pro-bono work to help diverse professionals and business owners with their social selling efforts. I taught a 3-month tactical course which consisted of three hourly webinars and 10 weekly email lessons. The 1,000+ hours of 1-on-1 and group training was a rewarding time and memorable experience for me.
After 10+ years at a national disability organization, I made the decision to leave the corporate world in February 2022 to start a global movement on empathy with a goal to teach 1 million employees and college students to become micro-influencers on LinkedIn.
Today, as a micro-influencer teacher, I wish for nothing more than to see learners develop a deep voice that can cut through the noise to help them with continued work-life success. Why does this matter? Because ordinary people can become extraordinary through expressive/emotional writing.
~ Katiya Xiong, Founder of DEEP Coalition
(My name stands for Keenly Aiming To Inspire You Always)
Who is our ideal organizational partner?
We welcome organizations around the world and of all sizes to partner with us. Though we reference employees, we will gladly train association members and college students as well.
Companies in all industries such as:
-
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
- Utilities
- Construction
- Manufacturing
- Wholesale trade
- Retail trade
- Transportation and warehousing
- Information and cultural industries
- Finance and insurance
- Real estate and rental and leasing
- Professional, scientific and technical services
- Management of companies and enterprises
- Administrative and support, waste management, and remediation services
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance
- Arts, entertainment, and recreation
- Accommodation and food services
- Other services (except public administration)
- Public administration
Educational Institutions such as:
-
- Public and private colleges
- Four-year and two-year colleges
- Universities
- Community colleges
- Vocational-technical and career colleges
- Colleges with a special focus
Associations such as:
-
- Professional
- Trade
- Social
What is a micro-influencer?
The general criteria or definition for a micro-influencer is a person with a network of 1,000 – 100,000 followers, so an everyday person who stands out from the big dogs (celebrities and mega-influencers) because they (their brand/character/image) is trustworthy, genuine, and relateable.
Micro-influencers typically take a more serious and intentional approach to engagement and networking with their audience. They try hard to inspire and influence every day whether there will be a monetary gain or not.
The outcome for having and hiring a team of micro-influencers can drive a deeper and more powerful impact than an influencer with 1M followers because of their passion to build relationships and be in the weeds with others. Today, any ordinary person can transform into a thought leader through micro-influencing.
Who should take the course?
We have all heard of teams being in the same boat and rowing in the same direction. However, the opportunity to be in a meaningful journey together for both executives & employees or leaders & non-leaders is far and few between. We insist that leaders (e.g., executives, bosses, supervisors, and managers) take this course alongside employees. We suggest assigning employees into groups and making the course a quarterly goal. The course itself is an excellent addition to any employee benefits program! We also suggest assigning random employees together to encourage connecting and relationship-building across departments and regions.
How long will learners have access to the course?
The course can be completed in 12 weeks or learners can go at their own pace for the 12 modules as we realize that not all schedules are equal. As long as the partnership subscription is active, the course will always be available to all employees at the organization.
Will this course have a discussion group?
We have a dedicated LinkedIn discussion group called ‘Micro-Influencers in DC’ for the learners and graduates of DEEP Coalition’s micro-influencer course. Ask questions about the modules and lessons, share your post perspectives and stories, and enjoy benefiting from the encouragement and wisdom of others.
How can I become a member?
There are two ways to be recognized as a certified member of DEEP Coalition where you can add the designation, DEEP, to your name such as Katiya Xiong, DIA, DEEP.
1. You are an executive or thought leader who has been vetted by our instructors as an expressive writer with a deep voice.
2. You are an employee learner who has completed the micro-influencer course.
Is the course available to the general public?
Yes! For individuals interesting in purchasing the course program for themselves, please visit the below link.
https://www.deepcoalition.com/buy
Are the fees per person or per organization?
“I believe that everybody should be able to afford a cup of coffee every day, at least Monday – Friday, so that is how we determined the starting pricing. If we are guilty of being greedy, then let it be known that we are absolutely greedy for people’s time and commitment because that is the deepest way to collectively make a difference in real-time and in the long haul for all of us.”
~ Katiya Xiong, Founder
Our pricing model is per organization. This means that everyone at the organization is eligible to enroll in the course at any time as long as the partnership subscription remains active with DEEP Coalition. We realize that most courses charge per person, but we consider time to be the greater investment. We anticipate that it will take between 2 – 5 hours a week or 24 – 60 hours in totality to complete the course. Though the course is designed for 12 weeks, it can be completed at the pace of the learner. Our only recommendation is that the learner builds the modules and lessons into a schedule. For example, if the learner wants to complete the course in 24 weeks, s/he can spread the lessons evenly between each week to stay on a consistent learning curve.
What happens after an organization subscribes?
First of all, thank you so much for choosing to partner with DEEP Coalition! Once you have subscribed to an annual plan, you will receive two email notifications.
1. Welcome message with the next steps some simple ways for us to invite all of your employees to enroll in the micro-influencer course.
2. Password message to create ‘your’ online account should you wish to explore the course content and partake in the journey.
Why do we use art?
We believe that art is a universal language that everyone appreciates. Utilizing art is a form of expression that sometimes replace words that we cannot form on our own. At the end of the day, we see art as a tool that helps to enhance the personal development journey.
How do you cancel your subscription?
We’re sorry to see you go but we are very confident that we will cooperate together again in the future! Simply send a message with your request to support@deepcoalition.com. Please note that your month-to-month subscription is an annual commitment, so it can only be canceled once the 12-month period is over. As soon as the subscription is canceled, users will automatically lose access to the course content.
GOT QUESTIONS? CONTACT US.
ART IS WHAT YOU MAKE OTHERS SEE.
HAPPY LEARNERS
What CEOs say about Katiya Xiongour founder and servant leader 🙂
I was amazed by Katiya’s artwork on LinkedIn and that’s how we got connected. Later on, Katiya came to our Meet Entrepreneurs podcast show as my guest where she shared with me and our audience her passion as an entrepreneur who lives deeply and is committed to connecting and influencing people using arts. I was truly impressed by her extraordinary undertaking and dedication to building a unique coalition that connects people with and/or without commonalities for powerful results. I strongly support Katiya’s work and recommend her to any people and companies who are interested in joining her coalition. Together our voice is more powerful, our results are better!
Katiya Xiong, Founder | DEEP Coalition LLC © 2023 | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS OF USE
PURPOSE
DEEP Coalition exists to create a safe space on LinkedIn for people to practice cheering each other on, rather than cutting each other down. This approach invites people to practice true leadership and genuine relationship-building inside and outside of the workplace. We believe that a principle of shared values is much needed in today’s world to better connect employees, leaders, and communities together. No matter where a person falls in the spectrum of able/disabled, introverted/extroverted, or average/excellent, ‘expressively writing’ the way to becoming a micro-influencer with a strong (yet gentle) voice is an effective influencing pathway for anyone. At the end of the day, we see leadership as everyone’s business in the grand scheme of growth.