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Tag: digital marketing

Quick Look at Podcasting

Podcasting has been around for a while, serving as a way to democratize the audio medium for each of us. Today, you can produce audio content and have an audience listening in a matter of hours. Before podcasting, gatekeepers at radio stations prevented diverse content offerings by limiting the number of shows fit into their schedule and model. Whether a podcast focuses on the migration patterns and life cycles of penguins or something equally specific and niche or a show that serves as a place to perform long-form interviews with celebrities, they all bypass the conventional audio medium of radio and radio stations. 

If you listen to podcasts like Hustleburg, you probably know enough about podcasts to be able to find the shows you’re interested in, as well as how to listen to them when a new episode is available. If you’re new to listening to podcasts or have found them by clicking a link on Facebook or another social media platform, here’s a bit of information to bolster your podcast awareness:

Podcasting Background

  • Podcasts really aren’t that new. They date back to the 1980s, but it took Apple’s introduction of digital audio content to iTunes in 2005 that helped to kickstart their popularity among the masses. 
  • Did you know that President George W. Bush was among the first “podcasters?” In 2005, WhiteHouse.gov made his weekly radio addresses available for download on the White House’s website.
  • It didn’t take long for traditional broadcast media to jump on board, with newspapers, radio stations, and tv networks creating shows based around the content they were already creating. As a result of their first-mover advantage and locating terrific audio production, NPR is one of the most popular podcast publishers of all time. Their smash podcast hit This American Life, publishing weekly since 2006, and the top downloaded podcast of all time, Serial, give it serious clout in the podcasting world.

“How Do I Listen?”

This is frequently the biggest hurdle for most people. Obviously, there are ways to publish directly to the web to listen on a phone or computer through the web browser and be found, but phone makers have made it REALLY easy to jump right into listening to podcasts on their devices. Since separating podcast content and making iTunes music-only last year, Apple Podcasts has been the dominant force in connecting podcasts with listeners. With a similar timeline, Google Podcasts entered the scene in 2019 as well, taking podcast content from their Google Play Music service that shutters later in 2020. With both of the major operating systems now offering a built-in app specifically for finding and listening to podcasts, getting started as a podcast listener has never been easier. 

You may have noticed Spotify jumping into the podcast world, making quite a splash in hopes of being a disruptor in the industry. They previously featured popular podcasts within its streaming app, but recently opened up their platform to podcasters of any size. In 2020, they also gobbled up exclusive content from Joe Rogan, whose Joe Rogan Experience podcast is one of the world’s most popular, and Michelle Obama, who launched her podcast in July 2020. Additionally, Spotify purchased a podcast creation and hosting platform, Anchor, to also make waves on the production side of podcasting.

There are plenty of podcast players available to match just about any taste when it comes to layout, features, etc. We LOVE the cross-platform Castbox player for listening to shows, as it does a fantastic job of managing them across both an iPhone and an Android.

Learn how podcasting can help your business.

I’m Stuck About Where to Start Creating Content for My Business

This was a response to a question in Episode 4 of Hustleburg, an episode devoted to answering your questions.

You should start creating content in two ways. The first place to find guidance will be from listening to your customers. Listen for what it is that they need. By listening for their needs first, you begin to understand how your business can meet those needs. This offers you a starting point for much of your content creation. You need to help them solve a problem.

When you examine the underlying issues of your customers, you’ll understand how to better craft your content to help them

As you listen, keep in mind that what they will likely not explicitly give you directions about what they need you to solve. Too often, we, both the customer and the business, focus on the obvious, external problem. That external problem is only a symptom of the underlying internal issue that drives their desire for change.

For example, when you have a plumbing issue, it’s not so much that you need to have your toilet unclogged or sewer line snaked, while that is certainly the obvious and important issue to address. What you are really feeling is the internal problem of how you would feel about being unable to use your toilet, having to rid your waste in some other way. In 2020 America, we live in a society where anything other than indoor plumbing is pretty weird. You would probably feel very odd if you evacuated your wastes in an outhouse, had a Porta-Potty on the side of your house, or used your yard. All of these show that you are unable to operate by the norms of this society. THAT is the internal problem you’re actually solving with a plumber.

Add Value to Their Lives

While you listen, you also need to add value with anything you share online and your other marketing materials. You should share about the things you’ve observed how you can help them to help solve their issues in your areas of expertise. It’s not just a non-stop advertisement about what you do. You should be adding value to their life.

Connections Win

Sometimes, you’ll have areas of interest overlap with your customers, and it won’t be in your field. That’s not just okay. It’s preferred. You should always be presenting yourself as an expert in what it is that you do, but sometimes it’s those related areas or personal interests in another aspect of your life that you share that will forge a connection.

To give you an example, I’m more likely to do business with someone who is a Braves fan or is a fellow alum of the University of Georgia than someone who isn’t. When all other things are equal, that is something that will help me make the decision, because I have that connection or shared experience with someone. That’s only something I learn through interacting around that interest. That’s not to say that I exclude someone due to those factors, but I’ve found time and again that I am definitely more apt to do.

When they are able to connect with you over shared experience or interests, that’s going to be a win for your business. Use this knowledge to expand beyond a single focus for your content.

Five Topics for Your Content

  1. The main thrust of your business
  2. A related aspect to #1
  3. Another related aspect to #1
  4. Something that makes you a real person that interests you.
  5. A second topic of interest that shows you’re real.

When you deploy these varied topics in your content, it shows your community that not only are you an expert in your field, you’re a real person. If you go back to my earlier plumbing example, people aren’t always looking for a plumber. They will, however, remember that person they connected with over a shared fandom or who grew up near them is one when the time comes. They aren’t looking to hire a plumber. They are looking to hire someone they connect with who understands their internal struggle when the toilet won’t flush.

The Single Most Important Platform

Question from Hustleburg’s Episode 4, Answering Listener Questions:  What is the single most important social platform to get your content out as a side hustler and beyond? Or does it vary from business to business?

I’m glad you hedged your question, because I look at this two ways.

Single Most Important Social Media Platform

The single most important platform is where everyone already is. Right now, in 2020, that’s Facebook. At the end of 2019, they reported 2.5 BILLION monthly active users. As such, it’s simply too large to ignore, and people expect that no matter what business you’re in, that you at least have a Facebook page with some basic information.

Your Customers Are Already There

The reason that people expect this is because that’s someplace where they already are and they can find out something about you. Even if you don’t have a website, people expect that you have a business page on Facebook. We aren’t talking about your Facebook profile, we’re talking about a Facebook business page. You don’t want to confuse the two. A profile is where you share the photos of your children with their grandparents, but a page is about your business activity. Separating them keeps your personal life personal and your business life business.

Great Tools to Advertise

Also, Facebook is going to be a great way to jump into advertising as a part of your digital strategy on social media. Facebook offers so much data on their users to advertisers, so that you can hyper-target your demographics and psychographics. This allows you to spend your advertising dollars only going after your ideal customer. Their tool allows you to really focus on specific zip codes, specific age groups, and specific interests. When you really know your customers and your potential customers, they provide an awesome opportunity to utilize. These tools within Facebook further their position as the single most important platform in 2020. Keep in mind that some advice in the digital marketing space doesn’t age well, because of how rapidly things change so I’ll likely revise this in the future.

Also, Consider This…

Current popularity does not always forever popularity, so the above is not to say that it’s going to be the most popular social platform going forward. Remember Myspace? Or Friendster before that? Neither of those stuck around, as they were surpassed by something that was more interesting or more social. We wanted something different, found it, and platforms either evolve with us or go away.

The other way to look at this question is to consider other platforms as well, because marketing is all about telling the stories. Most importantly, it’s about telling YOUR story, and how will you best tell that story. For example, if you do something that’s very visual, has a very compelling visual element, or is very complicated to share with words, you’re definitely going to want an almost exclusively visual platform.

Finally, you also need to make sure that you choose a platform that you’re comfortable with using. That does not mean, however, that you can just not use a platform because you’re not comfortable. You should learn how to use it. You do that by watching what successful users of that platform do, by interacting with them and your potential customers, and by using the greatest information resource in the history of mankind.

This listener question was a part of Hustleburg’s fourth episode. If you have a question you’d like to have answered, please join the community here.

You can subscribe to Hustleburg on your preferred player here.

Are You Making Time To Listen and Respond?

“Yep”

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.

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“Uh huh”

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.

.

“Wow. Really?”

You’ve said those things when you’re trapped in a conversation with someone who only talks about themselves and their interests, right? You never get a chance to offer a real response, adding the things above when they pause to breathe. You really are trapped in that conversation, but you aren’t sure if they would even notice if you left, no matter how rudely you made your exit.

Listening to What They Need

Remember when we talked about the guy who sold refrigerators at the party like a psycho? We discussed the need to listen in order not to be “that guy.” Real listening. Actual, active listening. Not what we do most of the time, which is to be so busy thinking about what we will say next that we don’t actually hear what was said to us. 

On social, that means consuming a lot of content by those in our community. It results in reading, listening, and watching what those who follow you, and your competitors, share. You have to know them, their likes, and their dislikes, to fully engage with them and include them in the community you build. 

This consumption isn’t just of the posts they create though. You also need to read the comments and replies they make as well. There is even more truth about who they are and how they feel in the reactions they have to what others create. 

Your effort can’t stop here though. You are posting to your accounts, reading/watching/listening to the people who matter to you and your brand, and then there’s the most important piece of advice for engaging your community. 

Respond With Care and Thought

You have to respond to them thoughtfully. You have to comment, reply, or react to their content in a relevant way that shows that you’re listening and that you care. The easiest way to do this is to be grateful, both inside and out, about every interaction you have online. When you respond to every comment, even if it’s just with a simple “thank you,” you build your relationship with that person. When you go beyond that thanks with a heartfelt, honest reply, you are building a lifelong relationship, instead of a transactional one with that person. 

Early in your digital marketing journey, it’s easy to broadcast what you want to say and say that you’re too busy for anything else. This is actually the best time to build the habit of listening actively and responding thoughtfully. When you make it part of your routine early on, it will remain a part of your routine throughout the rest of your digital life. It will follow you from platform to platform, no matter which one gets the attention you crave and allows you to interact best with the community you serve. Take advantage of the early days by making this a part of your activities online.

Are You Too Focused on “Positive” Feedback Online?

All for the ‘Gram!

(The video below is NSFW/K due to language)

If you watched the video above or listened to Arizona Zervas’ “Roxanne,” you heard at the very beginning that he does things only for Instagram, because of who loves “the ‘Gram.” 

Arizona is not alone. There are countless social media users who post strictly for the positive affirmation they receive in response to the things they post. There are some fitness gurus that post selfies to show off their best physical assets, knowing that the “after” means more likes on an image than the process that led there. Others will post cute photos of their children and pets to receive the good feelings that come with the likes.

When they post other types of content on their accounts, the internet “love” just doesn’t arrive in the same way. Their followers take notice of the less popular posts and don’t interact, yet jump on the bandwagon when a post appears to be doing well. 

“Likes” Are Seductive

As a content creator, the pull of positive “feedback” is strong. It FEELS good to have your community giving you a like. Here’s why you don’t want the like for the rush it gives you:

  • The real feelings of your audience lie in what they have to say in the comments. It’s easy to tap, while it takes more effort to form a real thought and share it with you. 
  • Social media is about being social, and a like isn’t as social as the conversation your post should generate. You should want to start those conversations about you and your brand, as you’ll truly engage the raving fans in your community. 
  • You are more likely to fall into the trap of posting for the “likes,” rather than sharing your real, authentic self and brand. You become a slave to those likes, posting puppies or showing skin, rather than sharing what you actually want to say. 

This is an opportunity for you to stand out from what everyone else does. It’s your chance to zig when they zag. You can use that differing approach to find your tribe, aka the people who really understand and relate to you. 

Find Your Tribe & Engage

When you find and engage your tribe, your raving fans, or whatever you want to call the community who actually supports you, their attention is more valuable than those outside it. We seek that attention, remember?

The community you build is filled with the people who support you. Their love for what you do and the value you add to their lives will attract more people like them to you. Seth Godin calls this the smallest viable audience, and they will be an extension of you… An evangelist of your brand. Doesn’t that sound more valuable than a bunch of likes on a post?

Market Your Business The Way Jalen Hurts Plays

Sticking to your content and social media marketing strategy, even when you don’t see immediate results, leads you to build an authentic, caring, and long-lasting community.

Over the weekend, college football saw an awesome and unlikely comeback where the University of Oklahoma, led by Jalen Hurts at quarterback, overcame a 25-point deficit to defeat undefeated Baylor University, 34-31.

The outcome for the Oklahoma Sooners, on the road against a conference foe with something to prove, reminded me of how it feels when you embark on the challenge of marketing a new venture online. Their response to stay in the game, keep working their gameplan, and make the adjustments necessary to overcome a situation that would paralyze many other teams looks like what many side hustlers who use internet marketing to build their business face.

At the beginning of your internet marketing journey, you’re starting from scratch. You have no content and no community, the two things you need to be effective in marketing your business or venture. In addition to starting at zero, you see your industry peers, prolific marketers, and the latest internet-famous meme zooming ahead with their established brand and content. It can be discouraging to see them share their successes, their engagement online increase, and the results from their past efforts as you create the “starter” content in the pre-launch days and early in your marketing calendar.

Build Your Community

As you build your community and add to your initial content, you don’t feel glamorous because you don’t even get the satisfaction of seeing small wins or momentum. Like in Saturday’s game, the competition seems to be unstoppable and out of reach, going up by 25. Everything they do is golden, while you dwell in the inertia of the pre-launch activities.

Those early weeks and months feel like an eternity as you don’t see visible progress in the metrics of contacts added to your CRM, follower counts, or engagement online. Content and social media marketing isn’t something to expect an immediate gain from or to be an instant answer for your business. It should be a part of building the community that supports it, and communities take time and care to build to reach the sustainable and engaging direct access to what your customers think about you.

In business, we don’t play a finite game with a singular opponent, but our lives are filled with wins, losses, and the payoff of success. Sticking to your content and social media marketing strategy, even when you don’t see immediate results, leads you to build an authentic, caring, and long-lasting community. That community will be there to support you and to keep you in business long after you’ve hit “Enter.”

Hard Work and Resolve

As those who watched Saturday’s game witnessed, when hard work and resolve to stick to the plan meet, momentum builds. As it does, you see results in the “little things,” and eventually, you prevail.

Even when you feel like you’re down 28-3 as Oklahoma was early in the game, they persisted. As should you.

Why Aren’t You Using the Internet to Market Your Business?

Television? Radio? Billboards? Those are so yesterday. You can’t even measure their effect directly, so how would you even know if they are working? Why would you continue to pump money into the unknown abyss of their ineffectiveness? 

Do you watch TV commercials? Or are you watching the content available to you via Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, etc? Even if you are watching television live as it airs, aren’t you picking up your phone, iPad, or laptop to monopolize your attention until the show comes back? 

Do you listen to the radio in the car? I can’t remember the last time I drove without having a podcast, streaming music, or an audio-book playing. I couldn’t even tell you a single local radio station for the last two major metro areas I’ve lived. 

Billboards require capturing attention to be effective. The next time you’re driving, take a look at the cars you pass on the road and those that pass you. The passengers nearly all hold the familiar pose. Head down, eyes locked on the screen in front of them. The kids are watching Frozen in the backseat for the 116th time, and the driver HOPEFULLY has his or her eyes on the road and isn’t engaged reading something on their phones or responding to their latest text. Who’s going to see your billboard? 

Get Their Attention

Digital marketing, on the other hand… It’s 2019, and everyone, including your parents or grandparents, uses the internet in some capacity. The key here is understanding how to harness the power of it. 

You have the ability to truly examine the return on investment for each ad you run, down to a granular level to examine your geographic, demographic, and psychographic impact. While your organic content for many platforms is somewhat “spray and pray” in regard to how it’s displayed, your paid advertising is very specific, down to a microscopic level. 

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use the platforms outside of advertising, however. Your efforts there should be engaging and listening in nature. You have a FREE focus group that will freely tell you about your business. They will tell you what they love, so you can keep delivering in those areas, and they will tell you what they hate, so you can shore up a deficiency and invite them back to show them you care enough to fix it. 

Tell More Stories

A very effective way to convey your message persuasively is to tell a story that offers a solution in action.

As we lead by example, we continue to demonstrate the principles we espouse.

By showing before we tell, we add credibility to our words.

When we listen, we understand the issues and outcomes important to those with whom we speak.

Now that we’ve demonstrated our principles, made ourselves credible, and understand the issues and outcomes, we can talk about our ideas.

It is very easy to jump to facts, figures, and studies to make the case for what we believe. Reason, logic, and philosophical principles are what likely grabbed our attention, but they are not particularly persuasive to those who are not yet on the same page in their thinking. So, how can we reach them?

Tell The Story

A very effective way to convey your message persuasively is to tell a story that offers a solution in action.

Telling stories helps connect the listener to details, important points, and outcomes that are not found in citing statistics and studies.

Think about the last time you went to an event where there was an in-depth Powerpoint presentation with lots of slides, filled with statistics, facts, and figures. You likely took copious notes to keep up with every last shred of data.

When you left the presentation, how much did you retain without those notes? And six months later? A year later? A decade later?

Very few adults are blessed with an eidetic memory, like Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, so recalling these details does not come naturally.

What’s something we all remember?

What We Remember

The stories we learned at a young age. Fables from Aesop, movies by Disney, and silly rhyming books by Dr. Seuss. Why do we remember, sometimes in amazing detail, something we heard, read, or watched twenty, thirty, forty or more years ago?

When did you last read or hear the story, “The Tortoise and the Hare,” one of Aesop’s fables?

If asked for a synopsis, we could easily give an accurate retelling of how the hare was beyond confident in his abilities to defeat the tortoise in a foot race. He was so confident that he sped off to an early lead and took a nap. When he awoke and hopped to the finish line, he found that the tortoise had beaten him by staying the course.

The lesson that we can all recite in unison? “Slow and steady wins the race.”

It’s probably been twenty years or more since I’ve heard that fable, but I remember what occurred due to the structure of the plot, characters, climax, and resolution involved in storytelling.

Twenty years ago, I would likely have been sitting in Chemistry class, but I don’t know that I could tell you what Avogadro’s number is or why it’s important, despite its repeated use.

If you’re interested in the science behind why storytelling is effective, here is an article about how stories activate our brains.

So, how many stories are you going to have in your repertoire?