Recipes for Marketing Success Podcast

When I talk to small business owners, one of the first things that I hear is they are overwhelmed with social media and other types of online marketing – to the point that they don’t know where to begin so they do nothing.  I think that some of the overwhelm comes from all the information that’s out there that promises so much and talks about what worked for them.  Well, what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for everyone.  But there are common denominators – or recipes – that will help you lay a firm foundation.  Once you understand these core principles and are comfortable using them, you can start to add “ingredients” that make them your own.  Today, we’ll review those core activities and help you start creating your own Recipes for Marketing Success.

Last week, I showed you how to put your monthly content calendar together in about 30 minutes.  But that’s only part of the big picture for you to be successful in your social media endeavors.  Remember, social media marketing is all about being “social” – a two-way conversation with your followers, customers and potential customers.  There’s more that you need to do on a daily and monthly basis to nurture them along the customer journey and get them to know, like and trust (and buy) from you.  Today we’re pulling back the curtain again, and showing you exactly what I do on a daily basis to interact on my pages – and on the pages that I follow – so that I can build those relationships.

It’s always good to plan ahead.  But when it comes to posting on social media, I think most of us tend to do it on the fly.  While that may work for a while, it will start to look haphazard to your audience and may even drive them away.  Part of the reason we put it off is that we think it’s going to take too much time to plan everything out.  When it comes right down to it, if you don’t have a plan it will actually take you longer to produce your content and you won’t be able to take advantage of some of the automation tools that are available to schedule your content.  Today, I will take you behind-the-scenes and walk you through my actual content plan for the next month that you will be able to use as a template when developing your own plan.

We’ve all been told that in order to succeed online we need to have sales/marketing funnels and lead magnets set up that will attract our ideal customers and move them through the customer journey.  But what does that mean, exactly?  In this week’s episode, we are going to go step by step through the process of building a simple marketing funnel that will show you how to use a lead magnet to attract potential customers, nurture them through a series of interactions and finally encourage them to purchase your products and services.

One of the toughest questions I get is whether or not to use automation tools in social media.  As with any discussion, there are two sides to the coin:  some say “yes” because it can save you time; others say “no” because it takes away that human interaction.  I believe there is a middle ground.  In this week’s episode, we are going to explore when and where it’s appropriate to automate your social media marketing efforts, various tools that will help you, and some interesting trends in automation that are coming down the road.

Have you ever thought about writing a book?  If so, what’s been holding you back?  If not, why not?  Sometimes the excuses are that it’s too complicated or you don’t have time to do it.  Perhaps it’s because you don’t believe you have something to say that others want to hear.  The truth is, we all have an author deep inside us – it’s just a matter of finding him or her.  This week, my guest is Suzy Prudden, ChT,  internationally acclaimed and prize-winning speaker and seminar leader, author and TV/radio host and personality and co-creator of Itty Bitty® Publishing.  She’ll explain the power of being a published author can have on your business and what it really takes to get there.

What if instead of a plain, ordinary business card that’s a dime a dozen, your business card actually came to life?  Think that is a great possibility for the future?  What if I were to tell you that technology exists now, and is easily accessible to you today?  This week, my guest is Michelle Calloway, founder and CEO of REVEALiO, an augmented reality video marketing company.  She’ll explain what augmented reality is and how you can apply it right now to your business and your overall marketing strategies.

With the decline of organic reach, social media is becoming a “pay to play” marketplace, and marketers are having to adjust their marketing strategies accordingly.  One of the best advertising options is Facebook ads.  The question is, how do you create ads that will intrigue your audience to click through?  And, how do you make sure that your target audience actually will see your ads?  This week, my guest is business growth accelerator Tammy Lane, whose Facebook ad strategies have helped many grow their businesses significantly.  She’ll share some of her secrets to finding your advertising “sweet spot”.

Every day we are bombarded with so much information about social media marketing that it could make your head spin.  It’s enough to make anyone question what they should be doing to promote their businesses on social media – and maybe even if it still makes sense.  This week, we will examine some of the top questions that small businesses are asking about social media and how to effectively utilize it to reach your target audience and ideal customers.

Influencer Marketing is certainly a hot topic in online marketing today.  But, really, what is it and how can a small business benefit from incorporating influencer marketing into their overall marketing strategy?  This week, we will take a close look at influencer marketing, what it is, how you go about finding and engaging an influencer in your niche or industry and what types of marketing campaigns work well when you collaborate with an influencer.