podcast | Beyond Your Side Hustle

Hustleburg Episode 24 – Answering Your Twitter Questions 1st of 2

In this Q&A episode of the Hustleburg podcast, Brett answers listener questions about Twitter in the first of two parts. This is the seventh episode of a platform-specific series on the Q&A episodes about the varying social media platforms. Episode 12 and Episode 14 made up a two-part series on Facebook, Episode 16 and Episode 18 served as the two-part series on Instagram, Episode 20 and Episode 22 answered your questions about LinkedIn.

What Can Twitter do for My Business?

You have an opportunity to reach people where they are. As of the first quarter of this year, they shared a user base of 166 million daily active users. Twitter has different demo and psychographics for its users, generally skewing younger than both Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as the average American. Twitter is also unique in that it offers a direct connection to a person or a brand, creates a huge opportunity for your business to create deep connections on the platform. Twitter is also uniquely more viral than other platforms for non-private accounts due to the ability of users to have their thoughts echoed via other users, promoting that content beyond the initial user’s audience on the platform.

What Are Some Tips for Staying Above the Fray on Twitter?

Twitter is a pretty politically active medium, so there can be an assumption that users of the platform will be somewhat active or vocal on political and social issues. It is actually pretty easy for brands to stay above the fray. Have a listen for these tips.

How Do I Get Something “Trending”?

Often, “trending topics” are filled with hot takes about breaking news. Only talking about what you see trending isn’t a recipe for sustained success on Twitter, but when the content you create does intersect with what’s trending however, you should capitalize on it. That means the conversation has come to you and what you’re an expert in. It’s your time to shine.

Where Would You Rank Twitter in Terms of Importance for a Business to Have?

As with so many things, it depends. If you find that your ideal customer is there already, it’s something your content will add value to many on, or you already have a feel for the platform from your personal use, it might be more important than Instagram or LinkedIn.

I Don’t Get the Lingo. Please Help.

Don’t worry… It’s not that confusing. Learn about tweets, @, #, mentions, DMs, FF, RT, retweets, and more.

Start Marketing Your Business Online With These Three Easy Steps

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If you enjoyed what you heard in this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast on your favorite player. Each episode is available on its own post, with the entire catalog here. It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast catcher. We listen to this show and our favorites on Castbox. It’s hosted by Podbean. We appreciate your attention, and we can’t wait to have you back for the next episode.

Be a Guest on Hustleburg

If you have any questions you’d like to have answered on an upcoming Q&A episode, please take a moment to visit beyondyoursidehustle.com/podcastquestion and ask there. If you’re a St. Pete businessperson who’d like to sit down for an interview, please reach out to us here.

Hustleburg Episode 23 – Interview with Dr. Jenna Elwart & Associates’ Jenna Elwart

“I’m Looking at the Whole Person and How it All Interconnects”

Taking a holistic approach to treating the entirety of a patient drives the therapeutic aspects of the practice for Dr. Jenna Elwart & Associates, PLLC. With a mission to provide quality care to all people, Dr. Elwart’s practice works to help you live your life as you create it to be.

In this interview, Jenna Elwart shares with Brett how she built her practice, the importance of networking among those in the mental health field, and how little business education is received by many in the professional services.

Compassionate Psychological Services

Take steps toward empowerment, health, growth, contentment, healing, and more:

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Hustleburg Episode 22 – Answering Your LinkedIn Questions 2nd of 2

In this Q&A episode of the Hustleburg podcast, Brett answers listener questions about LinkedIn in the second of two parts. This is the sixth episode of a platform-specific series on the Q&A episodes about the varying social media platforms. Episode 12 and Episode 14 made up a two-part series on Facebook, Episode 16 and Episode 18 served as the two-part series on Instagram, and two weeks ago, Episode 20 began the series on LinkedIn.

What’s Up With the “Auto DM” After Connecting?

There is a disease where individuals send a direct message immediately after connecting to ask the recipient to buy something, sign up for something, or click something. Often, you have no prior relationship with this person, and they have begun all interactions with you with an ask. This is NOT marketing.

Can You Highlight a Product or Service Independent of a Company Page?

LinkedIn actually has a feature for Company pages to create a “Showcase” page for just this purpose. Companies can create up to 10 of these Showcase pages to highlight a particular product or service and only focus on it.

How Do You Best Showcase Your Written Content?

LinkedIn is desperate for a variety of content. Part of that content mix that they value is longer-form written content for the professional audience they serve, and they built a blog-like option for professionals to share that longer-form written content.

What is the Value of LinkedIn Learning?

LinkedIn Learning is a tool for users to build visible skills on the platform to add to their profiles, as well as their skill sets. Teachers within this tool come from LinkedIn itself, sharing valuable knowledge from their industry. It’s literally the ultimate way to establish yourself as an expert in what it is that you do.

Is LinkedIn Premium Worth It?

LinkedIn Premium segments into 4 tiers, Career, Business, Sales, and Hiring, and the pricing and features adjust accordingly. It includes LinkedIn Learning, and if you’ve not used the free trial yet, I suggest that you save it until you’re ready to experience Premium’s full functionality.

What’s the Best Way to Connect with People Outside Your Network?

LinkedIn has made connecting with people outside your network easier than it was in the past. If you’re interested in connecting with someone on the platform, I suggest “Following” their personal profile and the Company page if they use one and engaging with the content they create. Add value to the conversations they start.

How Do I Best Utilize Hashtags on LinkedIn?

Hashtags help direct users to find the right conversations. The BEST way to utilize hashtags on LinkedIn or any platform is just what we’ve talked about before. Following relevant ones to participate in the conversation that is social media by tailoring your feed to what you want to see.

Start Marketing Your Business Online With These Three Easy Steps

If you’re just getting started marketing your business online, Beyond Your Side Hustle offers a FREE Getting Started Guide.

Find out more about Beyond Your Side Hustle here:

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Hustleburg Listener Community
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Brett’s LinkedIn

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Hustleburg Episode 21.5 – Bonus Audio from St. Pete: OPEN for Business Chats 6

In this bonus episode of the Hustleburg podcast, we compiled the audio from 2 Zoom video chats with small businesses here in Saint Petersburg about their creative ways to stay OPEN for business. If you’ve got something creative to share, send me an e-mail at brett@stpeteopenforbusiness.com

You can see these video chats on YouTube or by clicking their name below.

Barbara Banno from Stella’s in Gulfport

Stella’s 2914 Beach Blvd, Gulfport, FL 33707
8AM-3PM – Take-Out & Delivery Only

Find Stella’s online at their website, call for a reservation or to place an order at (727) 498-8950, contact via email, find them on Facebook, engage on Instagram, get the scoop on the Stella’s life.

Rock Ave. Escape Room’s Rob & Alison Faiella

Rock Ave. Escape Room 8351 SR 54 Suite 110 Trinity, FL 34655
Daily 1PM-9PM – We’ve Moved All Online – Anticipated Re-Opening 7/6/20

Find Rock Ave. Escape Room online at their website, book your opportunity to play Ready Mayor 1, find them on Facebook, engage on Instagram, keep up to date on Twitter, or call (727) 264-8359.

If you’re an escape room operator, here are their virtual escape services.

Start Marketing Your Business Online With These Three Easy Steps

If you’re just getting started marketing your business online, Beyond Your Side Hustle offers a FREE Getting Started Guide.

Find out more about Beyond Your Side Hustle here:

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Hustleburg Listener Community
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Brett’s LinkedIn

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Hustleburg Episode 21 – Interview with Cross Keys Designs’ Gerianne Russell

“Scale and proportion are extremely important in space planning and architecture… Anything you do in a house”

Are you a well-traveled, educated professional who knows what they want in a home, but don’t know how to get it? In this episode of Hustleburg, Brett talks with Gerianne Russell with Cross Keys Design to learn about how to design and decorate a fun, beautiful place to live.

Geri and Brett discuss her path through design school, assisting designers in the field, and getting her first client.

Design Your Dream Home

Create spaces that are both functional and beautiful with Cross Keys Designs:

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Hustleburg Episode 20 – Answering Your LinkedIn Questions 1st of 2

In this Q&A episode of the Hustleburg podcast, Brett answers listener questions about LinkedIn in the first of two parts. This is the fifth episode of a platform-specific series on the Q&A episodes about the varying social media platforms. Episode 12 and Episode 14 made up a two-part series on Facebook, Episode 16 and Episode 18 served as the two-part series on Instagram, and in two weeks, Episode 22 will finalize the series on LinkedIn.

What Is the Value in LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a way to connect professionally within your industry and to your community, and those in a B2B environment may find greater value than others due to the more professional nature of the platform’s users. Remember the organic reach of your posts on Facebook in 2011-2012? That’s the landscape of LinkedIn right now.

What Are the Keys to Successful Growth on LinkedIn?

The best way to grow is to ADD VALUE to the conversation that is social media. Before we make our first post on LinkedIn, we need to take advantage of the feature that LinkedIn does better than any other social platform… Search through the robustness of your profile. Your posts need to be within your five focus areas. They need to add value to your connections on LinkedIn. Use the top five professional news stories and conversations happening on the platform, placed every so conveniently near the top of your feed on the desktop version. These conversations, as well as your existing personal network of past and present colleagues, vendors, and partners will provide a plethora of opportunities to continue to grow organically, building YOUR community.

Should I Create a Company Page on LinkedIn?

For small business owners, I suggest using the platform’s features fully. When you have a company page, even if it’s just a placeholder until you’re ready to post from it, having a company page also gives your profile a bit more clout. When it comes to growing your company page, LinkedIn makes building a following easier than other platforms by limiting the invites to your existing connections. When it comes to advertising on the LinkedIn platform, doing so from your company page gives it more gravitas than an individual. Finally, you can use the platform to post jobs for your business on a social media platform that is frequently viewed as a souped-up jobs board.

What Types of Content Should I Post on LinkedIn?

The content you share should come from your five areas of focus. Because the connections you have on LinkedIn are a different demographic than the friends and likes you have on Facebook, you’ll need to share different things in a different context. You have a different community on LinkedIn, and you converse with them differently than you do elsewhere. More important than what you post, the conversation that is social media is more relevant on LinkedIn.

Start Marketing Your Business Online With These Three Easy Steps

If you’re just getting started marketing your business online, Beyond Your Side Hustle offers a FREE Getting Started Guide.

Find out more about Beyond Your Side Hustle here:

Website
Hustleburg Listener Community
Facebook
Instagram
Brett’s LinkedIn

Be a Guest on Hustleburg

Hustleburg Episode 19.5 – Bonus Audio from St. Pete: OPEN for Business Chats 5

In this bonus episode of the Hustleburg podcast, we compiled the audio from 4 Zoom video chats with small businesses here in Saint Petersburg about their creative ways to stay OPEN for business. If you’ve got something creative to share, send me an e-mail at brett@stpeteopenforbusiness.com

You can see these video chats on YouTube or by clicking their name below.

Amanda Grozdanic from FUSE Therapy

F.U.S.E. Therapy 4730 85th Ave N, Pinellas Park, FL 33781
By Appointment – We’ve Moved All Online

Reach out with FUSE Therapy at their website, listen to Amanda on Episode 9 of the Hustleburg podcast, connect on Facebook, engage on Instagram, or call ‪(918) 810-3109

Red Hot Tiki’s Robynne Swanson

Red Hot Tiki 2904 Beach Blvd S, Gulfport, FL 33707
Tues 9AM-6PM, Wed-Fri 11AM-6PM, Sat 9AM-2PM – CDC Guidelines for Retail & Online Ordering/Pickup

You can order your favorite hot sauce (or browse everything she has) on her website, you can hear her Hustleburg interview (Episode 5) here, connect with her on Facebook, engage on Instagram, and stay up to date on Twitter.

Ester Venouziou

LocalShops1 Virtual in St. Petersburg, FL 33707
We’ve Moved All Online

Shop online AND local, join the LocalShops1 community, connect on Facebook. engage on Instagram, and keep up to date on Twitter.

Dr. Jenna Elwart & Associates, PLLC

Dr. Jenna Elwart & Associates, PLLC 401 Pasadena Avenue S
St. Petersburg, FL 33707
Essential, but Moved All Online

Find out about Dr. Elwart’s practice on her website, connect on Facebook, or engage on Instagram.

Start Marketing Your Business Online With These Three Easy Steps

If you’re just getting started marketing your business online, Beyond Your Side Hustle offers a FREE Getting Started Guide.

Find out more about Beyond Your Side Hustle here:

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Hustleburg Listener Community
Facebook
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Brett’s LinkedIn

Be a Guest on Hustleburg

Hustleburg Episode 19 – Best Of Interviews

Meeting face to face for interviews with local business owners has been tough amid the Safer at Home orders and a phased re-opening, as we figure out how to get back to business as usual. As a result, this episode of Hustleburg will be a “best of,” as I guide you in a walk down memory lane, featuring some of my favorite moments in the Hustleburg interviews thus far in this “best of” episode.

No Two Paths Are the Same

It’s no surprise that no two entrepreneurs are the same, and that their paths to owning a business would be the same either. In the next clip, you’ll hear from Sheila Lake from her interview in Episode 1, profiling Lake Law Firm, P. A., Kara Wright talking about her photography business, Kara Wright Photography from Episode 3, Sit Means Sit – St. Petersburg’s Elena Elwart from Episode 15, and Eric Olson from PedalPub St. Pete in Episode 17 sharing their stories about how they came to own and operate their respective businesses, ranging from a deep passion for the law to self-described “dumb luck”.

Admit What You Don’t Know

Running a small business on your own isn’t easy as Robynne Swanson of Red Hot Tiki explained in Episode 5. Sometimes you have to admit all that you don’t know.

Getting the Word Out

When you’re first starting out, getting the word out about your business and how you serve the community is often the biggest struggle. Hear a bit about that from FUSE Therapy‘s Amanda Grozdanic from Episode 9.

Franchise Vs. From the Ground Up

It isn’t only a struggle when you’re starting from the ground up, to make the community aware of what you do, as Peter Jaeger shared in Episode 7, as he talked about what it’s like to do so in the franchisee environment with Tread Connection Tampa Bay.

Networking – Online and In Real Life

Successful entrepreneurs know they have to network, both online and in real life. PedalPub St. Pete’s Eric Olson shares with us how he interacts with his fellow local business community to keep PedalPub in their mind’s eye from Episode 17.

The Power of Events

Elena Elwart offers her experience with community events and those centered around your industry in Episode 15, as she discussed her success with them as she started out with Sit Means Sit St. Petersburg.

Word of Mouth

Word of mouth is a powerful ally for new businesses. Scott Surridge from SPS Home Inspections shares his experience of creating a quality experience for those you work with and how it benefits your business in Episode 13 of Hustleburg.

Industry Referrals for the Expert

Referrals from within your industry can also help build your business, when you share your expertise with others. Sheila Lake of Lake Law Firm, P.A. shared in Episode 1 how she utilizes social media to add value to the local legal community and the rewards that’s meant for her firm.

Disciplined Routines

A disciplined commitment to routines that help build your business keep you motivated, and Trent Smith explained how he uses routines to continue prospecting for his real estate business in Episode 11.

Different Platforms Yield Different Results

Kara Wright found different platforms on social yielded differing results after moving Kara Wright Photography from the DC area to St. Pete, explaining in Episode 3 that even the locale matters when it comes to the same company using social media in two different locations.

Find Your Niche (and Your Tribe)

Finding your niche is a key to success, when you figure out who you serve and how you’ll serve them, as Peter Yaeger from Tread Connection Tampa Bay found. He shares in Episode 7 who he’s identified as a customer and how he can best serve them.

Creating a New Way of Doing Things

Sometimes that niche comes from creating a new way of doing things, as you see opportunities to get past the idea that that’s the way we’ve always done it. Hear from Amanda Grozdanic with FUSE Therapy in Episode 9 about starting her business by serving her patients in a new and more effective way.

Be Known for Something Specific

If you don’t find a new way of doing things, it can simply be a matter of being known for one thing in particular. Robynne Swanson of Red Hot Tiki explains how something she’s known for, the Scorpion Shot Challenge, works in Episode 5.

Your Reputation Matters

Scott Surridge from SPS Home Inspections shares his secret for sustaining his business in Episode 13… His reputation for providing quality service time and again. This may seem like a no-brainer, but many small businesses struggle with their reputation.

Get Your Questions Answered on Hustleburg

Hustleburg Episode 18.5 – Bonus Audio from St. Pete: OPEN for Business Chats 4

In this bonus episode of the Hustleburg podcast, we compiled the audio from 3 Zoom video chats with small businesses here in Saint Petersburg about their creative ways to stay OPEN for business. If you’ve got something creative to share, send me an e-mail at brett@stpeteopenforbusiness.com

You can see these video chats on YouTube or by clicking their name below.

Elena Elwart from Sit Means Sit – Saint Petersburg

Sit Means Sit St. Petersburg 2646 18th Ave N, Saint Petersburg, FL 33713
Tuesday-Saturday 11AM-7PM – “Non-Essential”

Reach out through her website , by phone at 727-537-9721, connect on Facebook, or engage on Instagram!

Stretch-n-Grow Saint Petersburg’s Megan Manly-Bowling

Stretch-n-Grow Saint Petersburg serving all of Pinellas County
We’ve Moved All Online

You can find out more about Stretch-n-Grow locally on their website, by phone at (727) 644-4167, connect on Facebook, get the live classes in the local group, keep up to date on Twitter, find classes available on-demand here on YouTube, or engage on Instagram.

Dr. Nirav Mehta with Apex Care Pharmacy

Apex Care Pharmacy 7601 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ST N, Suite C-1, Saint Petersburg, FL 33702
9AM-6PM M-F, closed Sat & Sun – Essential/Business as Usual

You can find out more about Apex Care Pharmacy at their website, by phone at 727-800-9118, or connect on Facebook.

Start Marketing Your Business Online With These Three Easy Steps

If you’re just getting started marketing your business online, Beyond Your Side Hustle offers a FREE Getting Started Guide.

Find out more about Beyond Your Side Hustle here:

Website
Hustleburg Listener Community
Facebook
Instagram
Brett’s LinkedIn

Be a Guest on Hustleburg

Hustleburg Episode 18 – Answering Your Instagram Questions 2nd of 2

In this Q&A episode of the Hustleburg podcast, Brett answers listener questions about Instagram in the second of two parts. This is the fourth episode of a platform-specific series on the Q&A episodes about the varying social media platforms. Episode 12 and Episode 14 made up a two-part series on Facebook, Episode 16 served as the first in this two-part series on Instagram, and in two weeks, Episode 20 will answer your questions about LinkedIn.

How Can I Organically Grow My Instagram Following?

When it comes to growing a community, no matter the platform, organic growth is always best. Instagram is no different. Regardless of the type of follower, or community member, you need to attract them, and to attract them organically, you’ll need to approach them with something of value, because initially, they don’t know that you exist, right? Or else, they’d be a part of what you’re building already. Your base of content centers on the five focus areas we’ve outlined in-depth previously, giving you so much content to create that your first 10 or so posts.

How Do You Reach People Outside Your Network?

Engage with your existing community to form a baseline of recommended content on the “Explore” tab. With your new tool directly serving you content that it calculates you wish to view and interact with on the Explore tab, you can grow by commenting and following those who add value to you. Use hashtags and local popular posts to find more content and follow accounts that add value to yours. Interact with those new accounts, using the $1.80 strategy outlined in this episode.

What Advantage is There to Using Instagram Stories Over Facebook Stories?

They may ignore you in one place, but consume what you create without a second thought in another. It’s all about the user. It’s rarely about you. There are differing demographics and psychographics of each platform. The community you have on Instagram is younger than Facebook’s, so the context and content of what you share on Instagram Stories will HAVE to be different than what you share on Facebook Stories, because the audiences differ. You also don’t have the same linking capability that Facebook offers its Stories on the Instagram platform, until you’re a MUCH larger account or an advertiser. That forces you to think about how to create and present content in your stories, driving you to be more creative with the content and the context, so you have even more to consider when sharing to Instagram Stories.

How Do I Best Link to Multiple Things With the Same Instagram Account?

When Instagram began, they chose to focus on the visual. They created a platform as an app-only option that also allowed you to “filter” what you shared within the app to take ordinary pictures to make them extraordinary. That makes things more difficult for brands to navigate to spam you with links to other content away from Instagram. There is one link per account, and it’s in your bio. They are forcing you to only send people off-platform for only the MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF CONTENT to you at a time. To offer something beyond that, the market has several options, all operating with a “freemium” model, free with limited features yet paying for a more robust version. There are a variety of options, such as Linktree, lnk.bio, and linkin.bio by Later. For musicians and podcasters, SmartURL might be an option worth looking into.

Start Marketing Your Business Online With These Three Easy Steps

If you’re just getting started marketing your business online, Beyond Your Side Hustle offers a FREE Getting Started Guide.

Find out more about Beyond Your Side Hustle here:

Website
Hustleburg Listener Community
Facebook
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Brett’s LinkedIn