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Leveraging Storytelling

Are you a small business owner looking to connect with more leads and convert more customers? One powerful way to do this is through storytelling. 

Storytelling helps you stand out. In a sea of competitors, storytelling can help you differentiate your business and make it more memorable to potential customers. By sharing the story of your business and what makes it unique, you can capture people's attention and forge a deeper connection with them.

Storytelling helps you build trust. When you share your story, you're showing your potential customers who you are and what you stand for. This helps build trust and credibility, which is crucial in converting leads into customers.

Storytelling helps you connect with your audience. Everyone loves a good story, and by sharing your story, you're giving your potential customers something to relate to and connect with. This can be especially powerful in the age of social media where personal connections are so important.

So, how can you leverage storytelling to connect with more leads and convert more customers? Here are a few tips:

Identify the story you want to tell. Think about what makes your business unique and what you want to communicate to your audience.

Find the right format. There are many ways to tell your story, such as through blog posts, social media posts, video content, or even in person at events or networking gatherings. Choose the format that best fits your business and your audience.

Use storytelling in your marketing. Incorporate storytelling into your marketing efforts, whether it's through your website copy, email campaigns, or social media posts.

Be authentic. The most effective stories are authentic and genuine, so be yourself and let your personality shine through.

By leveraging the power of storytelling, you can connect with more leads and convert more customers for your small business.

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What is the online equivalent of TV advertising?

Are you wondering what the online equivalent of TV advertising is today? Look no further! The online equivalent of TV advertising today is video advertising.

Video advertising is essentially advertising that uses video as the main medium to promote a product or service. This can include things like video ads on YouTube, video ads on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and video ads on websites.

So why is video advertising such a powerful tool for small businesses today? Here are a few reasons:

Video is engaging. People are more likely to watch and remember a video than read a text-based ad. This makes video advertising an effective way to grab people's attention and get your message across.

Video is versatile. Video advertising can be used on a variety of platforms, from social media to websites to email marketing. This makes it a versatile tool for reaching your audience.

Video is trackable. With video advertising, you can track metrics like view counts, click-through rates, and conversion rates to see how well your ads are performing. This helps you understand what's working and what's not and make adjustments accordingly.

Overall, video advertising is a powerful tool for small businesses looking to reach and engage their audience online. And it’s always a LOT cheaper than trying to advertise on TV, even if you’re in a remote or regional location.

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What beginners tend to get wrong when building a personal brand

So, you're ready to build your personal brand and make your mark on the world. Awesome! But before you get started, it's important to avoid some common mistakes that beginners tend to make. Trust me, I've been there.

Here are four things that beginners often get wrong when building their personal brand:

Not having a clear understanding of their personal brand. Your personal brand is all about your unique value proposition. It's what sets you apart from the competition and showcases your skills and talents. If you don't have a clear understanding of what makes you special, it will be difficult to effectively communicate your value to others.

Being inconsistent in their messaging and visual branding. Cohesive branding is key to building trust and credibility with your audience. Make sure to have a consistent message and visual identity across all of your social media platforms and professional materials.

Struggling to find the right balance between being professional and being authentic. It's important to show your personality and uniqueness, but you also want to maintain a level of professionalism and respect for your audience. Finding the right balance will help you stand out and connect with your audience on a deeper level.

Not being proactive in building their personal brand. Building a personal brand takes time and effort. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there and engage with your audience. This can involve regularly posting on social media, participating in industry events, and sharing valuable content with your audience.

Get these four main things right, and your personal brand will be well on the way to conquering the internet!

dantestjames.com

clickstarter.com.au

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What is this new social network called Vero?

Are you tired of the same old social media networks and looking for something new? Or you just want to find new places to find potential customers, Meet Vero, one of the latest social media networks to hit the scene. But what is Vero and why is it worth checking out?

Vero is all about authenticity. One of the main draws of Vero is that it's focused on fostering authentic connections between users. This means no algorithms or sponsored content – just real people sharing real things. And it happens in real time, rather than an engagement-based filter like we have on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Vero is ad-free. That's right, Vero is completely ad-free. This means no more annoying ads popping up in your feed or interrupting your content. Well at least it is for now while the network is small enough to be self funded. But if it ever grows, we all know that ads will be on the way.

Vero lets you control your feed. On Vero, you can decide exactly who sees your content and in what order. This means you can prioritize the content and connections that matter most to you.

Vero supports a variety of content. Whether you're into music, movies, books, or just want to share your daily thoughts, Vero has you covered. You can share a variety of content on the platform and connect with others who have similar interests.

Overall, Vero is a refreshing change of pace from the more traditional social media networks. If you're looking for a more authentic and customizable social media experience, you might want to give Vero a try!

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Building your first website?

Are you a small business owner who is about to build your first website? Congratulations! A website is a crucial tool for any business, and it can be a little overwhelming to take on such a big project for the first time.

This is Clickstarter. The Australian Digital Makreting Podcast. I’m Dante St James

To help ease your worries and get you on the right track, here are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions by small business owners who are building their first website:

"What's the first step in building a website?"

The first step in building a website is to come up with a plan. Think about your business goals, target audience, and the purpose of your website. This will help guide your website design and content.

"Should I build my own website or hire a professional?"

There are pros and cons to both building your own website and hiring a professional. If you have the time and resources to learn how to build a website, it can be a cost-effective option. But if you don't have the time or expertise, hiring a professional can save you a lot of headaches and ensure that your website is high-quality.

"What should I include on my website?"

The content of your website will depend on your business and goals, but there are a few things that every small business website should include: your business name and contact information, a description of your products or services, and a call to action (like a sign-up form or booking button).

"How do I choose a domain name and hosting provider?"

Your domain name is your website's address, so it's important to choose one that is easy to remember and represents your business. As for hosting, there are a ton of options out there, so do your research and choose a provider that meets your needs and budget.

"How do I drive traffic to my website?"

There are many ways to drive traffic to your website, including search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, and paid advertising. It's important to have a mix of strategies and regularly review your website analytics to see what's working and what's not.

Building a website can seem daunting, but by answering these commonly asked questions and doing your research, you'll be well on your way to creating a successful online presence for your small business. Good luck!

dantestjames.com

clickstarter.com.au

[clickstarter]

What happened to Clubhouse?

Real time conversions via audio in an app that brought together the general public with the likes of Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and a swag of celebrities who couldn’t wait to get on top of the next big digital thing in the middle of a global pandemic.

So what went wrong?

1. Live audio is a feature, not an app

2. Marketers ruin everything

3. Something else was the next big thing

Live audio wasn’t new, innovative, or even wanted

While 30 million people flocked to Clubhouse, today you’d be hard-pressed to find more than a couple of million people on it now. And they’re not very active anymore. And one main reason is that what Clubhouse did wasn’t anything new.

It was essentially talkback radio through your phone. Not exactly ground-breaking. Not that any of us saw it that way at the time. And to be fair, this app was pitched at a generation that hadn’t exactly been served by traditional talkback radio that tended to be aimed at angry, ageing, middle class white men who felt marginalised by a changing society.

As Clubhouse gained in popularity, other platforms started rolling out their own live audio features. First there were the copycat apps like Fireside and Stereo. Then Twitter added live audio. And Facebook soon announced they would do the same. And then LinkedIn, probably the one network that could really benefit from this, jumped on board.

By this time, Clubhouse fatigue was starting to set in on the early adopters. If you weren’t online when something compelling happened, you missed out. If you weren’t in the California, New York or London time zones, you missed a lot. By the time sun was shining over Australia, all the best stuff was over and done. At least talkback radio records their highlight for podcasts. Clubhouse was 100% here today at 1pm and gone by 2pm.

The features of Clubhouse became obstacles to its mass growth amongst everybody but marketers. And they, I believe became the true downfall of Clubhouse.

Marketers ruined Clubhouse (just like we ruin everything)

Facebook was a lot of fun back in the early days. Connecting with old friends, playing silly farm games with new friends, and watching funny videos. And then it became a business marketing platform and the ads that appeared felt a little too creepy to those of us who didn’t understand remarketing and contextual advertising.

While Clubhouse never quite reached the point of monetisation before it began to implode, it became overrun by Bitcoin bros, Influencers seeking fame and marketers trying to build their lists and sales funnels.

I hopped into Clubhouse hoping to offer fun chats about business growth challenges, idea collaboration and support for those struggling with some of the things I had skills in. I guess I was hoping to be something of an early small business influencer on the platform. But each time I’d open a room, other marketers, influencers and social media managers hoping to hock their wares would flood in and within a few minutes we’d have thirty experts and two question askers. It wasn’t fun for the listeners, the experts or me. After about a month of hopping on and off, looking for an opportunity to turn Clubhouse into something of a channel, I gave up. The land grab for popularity, rooms and clubs had descended into a “Who’s That” of get-rich-quick gurus, crystal-waving energy healers and motivational speakers quoting their own books.

The interesting conversations seemed too hard to find, the big rooms were too full of American accents and every third room seemed to be about how to make money on Clubhouse. It was a cesspool of spammers and scammers.

It turns out that something else was the next big thing

Clubhouse was not the next big thing we thought it might be. While it seemed perfectly pitched at a pandemic audience hungry for human connection, it fell from popularity very quickly. The universe hates a vacuum though, and those same people who flooded on to Clubhouse didn’t just disappear.

If you follow social platforms as closely as I do, you might have noticed that there was suddenly a rush of marketers and wannabe influencers back on to Instagram Reels which was really starting to pick up momentum on the heels of TikTok. And those same people were starting to pick up on the fledgling YouTube Shorts as well. Not that I think they are doing very well yet, but a million marketers who are hungry for something to replace their previous favourite platform must go somewhere and try something. So, it was back to short-form video. And that seems to be where they are staying for now.

Which begs the question… what’s next? There are some brave marketers who are heading for very niche networks in fandom (like gaming, pop culture and fantasy forums and apps) and while there is no obvious monetisation there just yet, they are trying out some cool stuff that is way out of my pay grade to understand just yet. There’s also a lot of moves into the idea of the “metaverse” which translates as something like virtual worlds. For those who remember Second Life, a similar concept called Soul has emerged from China where people are creating avatars and exploring “worlds” full of people with similar interests. It’s something that Facebook is exploring as well.

What does all this mean to the average Aussie small business? Not a whole lot yet. Things like fandom and metaverses are well beyond all but the most cashed up marketing agencies and big brands for now. But there’s still a lot of untapped potential in Instagram Reels, Stories and IGTV, a tonne of space to do creative things on TikTok and heaps of room on YouTube to be doing some very effective small business marketing.

Want to learn more about being the best small business marketer that you can be? Hit up the learn section or book your own guided session at clickstarter.com.au.

Dante St James is the founder of Clickstarter, a Facebook Blueprint Certified Lead Trainer, a Community Trainer with Facebook Australia, a digital advisor with Treeti Business Consulting, an accredited ASBAS Digital Solutions advisor and presenter, and the editor at The Small Marketer. You can watch free 1-hour webinars and grow your digital skills at Dante’s YouTube Channel.

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Not all recommendations are honest recommendations.

If you were new to Australian football and had no prior team affiliation, where would you start on your road to learning about the game and picking a team to barrack for? You'd probably start with seeking out someone who is a fan of the game.

And of course, they would lead you through the process of the rules, point-scoring and history of the game. All would be going well. You go to your first game and you feel well-prepared for the experience. Then your friend gives you a supporters scarf for his favourite team. And just like that, you're a Collingwood guy. Or a Crows supporter. Or an Eagles fan. But of course, you never actually made a choice to follow that particular team. But it seems like the path of least resistance.

Railroading as a tactic

Chances are that you're not here for football team recommendations. You're here because you have an interest in building your business. Or getting some advice on social media, the web or advertising. Now, if I was to treat you like a potential football fan, I'd be railroading you directly in to my favourite website content management system or social media network, or one individual medium to advertise on. And I do have my favourites. But those favourites are based on my dealings with them. Not yours. So if I was only offering to work with one thing, I'm essentially locking you out of many other options.

The Trouble with Evangelists

This is why I tend to warn people off evangelists in the digital and marketing world. They're the ones who ONLY work with Wordpress. Or ONLY work with LinkedIn. Or ONLY work with Channel 9. They usually have very good reasons. It's who they have the best relationship with. Or who they get the best deal from. Or what they know the best. But if this is the case, then it's not really a recommendation. It's a package.

Oh look. Another Wordpress "web designer."

Getting a new website? I'd say, don't deal with anyone who ONLY knows Wordpress. There's thousands of so-called web-designers out there pushing their Wordpress skills. And Wordpress is the most popular website system out there. But it's also the most-hacked, most-troublesome, most-bloated and amongst the worst for speed of page-loading. Likewise if someone ONLY works with Wix. It's full of issues if you don't know what you're doing. And the same could be said of everything from Squarespace to Drupal, Joomla, Weebly and Magento. While it won't matter to most businesses WHAT their site is built in, the question should be asked, what they would prefer to work with. Especially if they've come from using a Wordpress or Joomla site previously and they feel comfortable with it. Your average Joomla, Wordpress or Wix "whiz" won't know how to work with anything other than their chosen system and will often refuse to work with your preferred system because they don't want to take the time to learn it.

No. I only deal with Channel 9.

I have heard this back from a few Darwin businesses lately. An agency that only deals with Channel 9 or Southern Cross Television. Not Ten. Not Territory FM. Not Hot 100. Just their favourite station where their favourite sales rep is, who invites them to cocktail parties and balls at SkyCity. That is what happens in Darwin. Many businesses judge the value of their advertising medium on the amount of free tickets, parties and gifts they receive from their favourite media entity. So the reasons for only dealing with one or two of them are often muddied by he perks that the agency gets in return. So ask them outright for their reasons why they will only use use - of more importantly, why they don't use them all. You'll generally get a "because that's who we get the best deals from." I can guarantee you that is NOT the case at all.

Facebook is rubbish. LinkedIn is where it's at.

This isn't just untrue. It's dangerous. And chances are that the person recommending this just did a seminar on LinkedIn where they got all excited and worked-up about it because they saw a way for them to finally be able to compete against all the Facebook pros that do a better job than

they did. They found a niche that no one else is working in. They get to set the narrative on what you think about LinkedIn. Or Instagram. Or Twitter. But it doesn't take much looking around on these networks within Darwin to see just how small their followings are. It doesn't mean they're not valuable. But as a small business, should you be betting your 10% of revenue on such a small niche? So beware of the one-network wonder who only wants to work with one network. There are many. And anyone worth their salt in social media should be able to work on them all.

Takeaways

1. Avoid one-tool wonders2. Ask "why" when told that they only work with one tool3. Shop around for someone who is transparent about their preferred tools and why they use them. A little research on the topic is useful too.4. No one tool is all "rubbish." Only the people using them can be rubbish. If Mozart could write operas on broken harpsichords and Michaelangelo could paint on a ceiling upside down, then a good web person can work on multiple tools. 

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Being a human in a world of brands

I had an interesting moment this week on the Facebook page of a media organisation who's social media I manage. I made a decision to go off the usual promo-promo-promo style of posting that most media companies embark on, and called out a moment where that company actually had let down it's audience with a whole lot of hype that really missed the mark.

This led to a moment where a snarky commenter (and there are always plenty of these) called me out, saying, in effect, "why should we be an audience of your medium when even you are telling us it's full of crap?"

It was a good question, albeit wrapped in the usual social media keyboard-warrior snark.

But it was also a good opportunity to take the commenter on a journey. My response was that "we're not full of crap - we also advertise the things we're proud of." This didn't impress him, He came back with "It's a bit weird for a commercial business to advertise their failures. Does you boss know about this?"

My client knows my style well. And on social media, that style I use is "human-first, brand later." My final answer, that seemed to hit the right mark for the commenter was that, "we're all humans, we all miss the mark... it's just that we're being honest and open about it. And that's what makes us a Darwin media company, not a Sydney or Melbourne one."

This is the problem with "PR" and "Branding." It places such a premium on strange concepts such as "brand integrity" and "a consistent look and feel" that it forgets that we're dealing with people at the other end. All this "brand talk" leads to infuriating canned responses from company reps, inauthentic apologies that are wrapped in legal-ese to ensure that the company isn't actually apologising, and frustrated consumers who have their trust in our institutions eroded by our lack of authenticity.

This very public conversation then spurred on another person to comment on a similar concern he had about that medium's programming. Or one particular show. It would, in other conversational thread, be a powder keg ready to to blow. But in every encounter with a keyboard warrior there is an opportunity to engage with them without dismissing them. So I went down a path of "We've been hearing a lot of this kind of thing about {insert show here}. Naturally they leave us out of their conversations up here in the Never-Never, but wouldn't it be amazing to be a fly-on-the-wall to see what really goes on!" No putting down the commenter. No canned, answers from a script. Just an acknowledgement that this guy isn't alone, isn't wrong. And an added perspective; step in to their shoes and turn their criticism in to curiosity. The conversation ended with the guy admitting that he usually interacts with a very different kind of medium than ours. But his wife likes us, so he bites the bullet and joins her. So I complimented him for "taking one for the team" and that he was "a keeper."

The lesson here isn't that I'm some enlightened and great social media manager. It's that no amount of "brand values" or "on-brand messaging" would have left these guys feeling good about us. It took being a human and engaging with them like humans, with respect and acknowledgement of their complaints to turn a potential troll in to a potential fan.

So when you next face a bad review or a nasty comment, breathe a moment. Think about where this person is coming from. Then be a real person with them. They may be there to argue, but you're there to represent your business. And the best way you can do that is to be a real person. Not a spokesperson.

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The danger of putting all your advertising dollars in one basket.

Media sales reps are very convincing. They are often charismatic, nice and seemingly honest people. But make no mistake, they are calling you to try and make sure that all your marketing money is spent with them and them alone.

And it's tempting too. They will tempt you with potential trips to Bali and Singapore, wine, social events and promotional gear. They will say that you "qualify for these free gifts." But these gifts aren't free. They are all priced and packaged in to what you'll be paying. 

If you really want a trip to Singapore, you can book one yourself without having to commit to an advertising contract. The thinking behind this "spend it all with me" attitude is simple. All media sales reps have targets to reach each month to keep their job. And once they reach those targets, they get bonuses on everything they sell above that. So if you decide to spend what you intended to spend with them and with the other place, just with them, they not only win your business, they stop a competitor from getting anything. It's a win-win for them.

But is it a win-win for you?

The problem with putting all your budget in to one radio station, one TV station or even going all-in on Google or Facebook, is that just a few changes those places can leave you very exposed. 

While Southern Cross TV is assumed to command a lion's share of reality TV viewing in Darwin, their news barely would rate as it's not news that has anything to do with Darwin. So you need to make sure that your ads appear in the top-rating shows to take advantage of all that audience. Likewise, Hot 100 is rated well above Mix 104.9 at Breakfast, but if just one popular host leaves, the audience could shift dramatically from one station to the other. With Google, you may get a great result one month, but the arrival of even just one big-spending competitor to the market could annihilate your place on Page 1 by simply out-bidding you for the top results. Facebook, likewise is always adjusting their algorithm. And the average price per click for a Facebook ad has risen by 40% in the last year alone for most of my clients.

So, given that there is so much danger in going all-in on just one method of advertising, why do so many Darwin businesses keep doing it?

1. We've always advertised with XYZ - this old chestnut is just lazy thinking. If you don't measure the success of every bit of advertising you do, then you are just throwing money away.

2. It was a really good deal - no deal is good enough for you to trust all your marketing to just one medium. That "good deal" is a good deal for that company, not for you.

3. I like my rep at XYZ - this is perhaps the most dangerous thinking. Your media sales rep is not your friend. They are a media sales rep. They are there to serve you. Not drink beer with you.

Wondering how you can afford to be on more than one medium in Darwin? How about being on four for under $2,000 a month? See here for more details.

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3 Things You Did Before That You Don’t Do Now

Wondering why business is slumping? Why new customers are hard to come by? Why it seems to take longer to get momentum on growth again?

You stopped advertising

This is a big mistake made by smaller businesses who are more susceptible to cash flow problems than bigger ones. Business was good, so you stopped advertising. You didn’t seem to lose any momentum for months, so you assumed that the advertising wasn’t what helped you grow in the first place and you never took it again. A year later, business is trending down again and that’s because you stopped actively promoting your business. Advertising isn’t some vending machine where you put in a coin and out pops a customer. It takes time between seeing an ad and someone acting on it. So it’s hard to track that customer who came through the door back to where they found out about you. Even if you ask them.

You stopped talking about your business

At some point in the journey of having a small business, you stop talking about it to friends and acquaintances. And that’s quite natural. You don’t want to be THAT guy who is always repeating the same stories over and over.

But when you stopped talking about your business, you stopped that valuable word-of-mouth in your network of friends, family and various acquaintances. We’re not talking about hard selling to your mates. We’re talking about dropping in mentions about what’s going on in your business. After all, I guarantee they’re talking about their jobs.

You stopped being excited about what you do

It’s the usual course for a business owner. At start-up, things are nuts, you’re about to go broke and you are loving the rush. After a few years, the rush dies down and you’re in business-as-usual land. There’s nothing new happening and nothing to get excited about.

Business has become about fixing broken things, seeing accountants and paying bills.

There is no single way to get excited about your business. But you can try adding a new product, expanding in to something you don’t do now, or even just trying out a new concept for advertising or marketing.

I want to hear about your Darwin business. The good, the bad, the ugly.

dante@clickstarter.com.au or any of the social media I’m on.

Catch you Thursday!

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But we've never had to advertise before!

I’ve heard this said by four Darwin local businesses in the last 2 weeks. And if I’ve heard it this often, then I can only imagine how many businesses this is happening to.

And generally the statement isn’t exactly true.

Directory Advertising

In all four cases, these businesses have had listings on Yellow Pages and/or Local Search (or Local Directories as they have also been known.) Two of the businesses, at the peak of paper phone books spent over $20,000 a year on their listings in one, or both books.

This is what I call “hidden advertising.” It’s not advertising that people talk about, so it doesn’t feel like advertising to a business. It’s not a TV ad that people will mention, or a radio ad that people will complain about. It’s not a billboard or a bus side that generates feedback. It’s a listing in a directory of other listings in your same field. And in those directories, the more you pay, the better your response will be. That’s because your listing will stand out more. Like a bigger sign on a bigger bus than your competitor.

Which is an ad.

All but one of these businesses has dropped their listings in these directories because they felt that it was no point advertising in them now that nobody keeps their phone books.

Sponsorship as Advertising

Three of the four businesses had sponsored a local sports team. Two had sponsored football teams and one had sponsored an entire cricket club. In exchange for that sponsorship, their business name was put on club uniforms, signs at the clubhouse, in the club newsletters and, in later years, send on the club’s email list.

Sounds a lot like advertising to me. But these clients insisted that this was “sponsorship.” Despite that sponsorship giving a lot of space to what looked and sounded like advertising.

The three that used to sponsor these clubs and teams no longer do so. All three stated that “times got tough and they couldn’t afford the sponsorship anymore.”

The Things You Do as Advertising

All four business owners used to be quite heavily involved in registered clubs or charity networks in Darwin. All four are no longer heavily involved in those things.

The sad part here is that association with groups like Apex Clubs, RSL Clubs, sports clubs, Rostrum, Lions and church groups, is that they are a word-of-mouth network. When people know you and know what you do, when they need that product or service, they tend to come to you first. Because they know you. Because they trust you.

Business networks down south like BNI, B4B and others that run similar business referral activities are a goldmine for gaining new business. They even give you new business long after you’ve stopped going. But they will eventually stop working after you’ve stopped going. You stop going to church, new people won’t meet you. You stop attending Lions Club meetings, the members will forget who you are.

And that means the death of all that valuable word-of-mouth to generate new business for you.

Momentum Lost is Opportunity Lost

So to recap, these businesses never understood that their listings in directories, their names on sports team’s shirts and their attendance of church, clubs and business networks were what originally built their businesses.

When times were tough, they dropped those activities as seemingly “indulgent.” When business stabilised again, they didn’t recommence those activities.

There is a period of time a fair while after you’ve done any advertising during which you still get new business despite not actively advertising at the time. I have seen it in my own campaigns where the work I’ve done in a business network on the Gold Coast was bearing a lot of fruit while I was present and attending their meetings. For months afterwards I still got enquiries from members as I’d impressed them with my knowledge and skills. But 7 months after my last meeting with them, there are no more enquiries. The first month after I left that group I was getting at least a lead or a referral every week. It was enough to lull me in to believing that I didn’t need to do any advertising to get new business. But as the weeks went on and the leads dried up, I came to realise that, just like a car, when you put on the brakes, there is a delay between the application of the brakes and the car completely stopping.

To get those leads and new business going again, I had restart the engine, hit the accelerator and build up some speed before I’d have a chance to take my foot off the pedal and cruise for a bit.

I had spent some 6 months building momentum in that group. Then I returned to Darwin where that momentum came to a halt. And I now needed to restart my engine and invest some fuel in to getting my car moving again here. And of course, it’s taken almost exactly 6 months to get that momentum to a point where leads and referrals are coming in regularly.

But I can guarantee that as soon as I remove the fuel (my advertising and promotional activities) that the car will slow down before long and stop again. And I’m back to where I began.

How to gain momentum again

The chances are that it took you years of sponsorship, memberships, in-person social networking and listing in directories to get your business to where it got to at its peak. So going back to those same methods isn’t going to give you results quickly, as all the goodwill and momentum you had from those times is long-gone.

The only way to build that momentum up again is to buy yourself some customers. And that means advertising in some way, shape or form. But this time, because you are starting from nothing, you need to get your message out to the maximum number of people that you can afford. That could be TV, radio, Facebook or Google. It might be the side of a bus or a billboard on the highway in Palmerston or Litchfield council areas. It might even be the NT News.

Every business will have a different method that will work for them, and a different time that it takes to work. Talk to a marketing professional who knows the Darwin market and all it’s options to get some good guidance on where to go next. And always get a second opinion.

Originally published by Dante St James at https://www.clickstarter.com.au/articles/but-we-ve-never-had-to-advertise-before

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All the big changes in Facebook in 2018 and how you can get ready for them.

Mark Zuckerberg has set out to "fix Facebook" in 2018. And he's starting by setting his people to de-prioritising posts from news outlets and pages in favour of posts from family, friends and the things people love most. What does this mean for business? We have a great opportunity to stop spamming, scamming and feed-cramming and start being actual people on Facebook. But where to start? Here's some ideas!

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Facebook just kicked business to the curb. And it was beautiful.

Spammers, scammers and Facebook feed-crammers are screaming bloody murder today as King Zuck announced that the social media giant will be very deliberately making it harder for business, especially small business, to get a foothold of followers and presence on their network.

And I personally have never been happier to be a Facebook marketer. Why?

1. These changes are designed to better connect people to other people.

Business people are people. We are here to connect with people. So where's the problem here? The problem is that businesses don't want to be people or act like people. We want to yell at people and have them come running through our doors to buy our stuff. Because that's what we've been led to believe all these years. "Build it and he will come." "Any publicity is good publicity." No doubt you have a few others like those. The point here is that the world has changed. The business no longer holds the power, the consumer does. And the consumer has voted with the wallets to not be yelled-at.

2. The feed will favour posts from people over posts from pages.

So this is how it's been for years. Facebook has always been a place for people. Not a place for brands to go berserk. And we know that businesses, given an opportunity will flood social media with promotional messages wherever they can. And let's face it, no one is here to see our ads. The changes are expected to tighten this even further. So if your followers don't tend to like, comment, share or interact with you in some way, they're not likely to see your updates already. So these new changes aren't really gonna make much difference to you. But if your social media efforts involve you commenting back to your commenters, interacting with them, posting gif response and reactions, you're building a strange thing called "rapport." You know... that thing you build with friends on Facebook when you interact with each other. So don't think of Facebook's changes as bad for business... think of them as good for those businesses who act like real people and good citizens of their communities - and don't act like a radio or a television blasting a one-way signal at people.

3. Facebook is about conversation, not broadcasting

So what we were saying just above was that you can't continue simply blasting out a message and hoping that the money will come flooding in. You need to interact... you need to be in a conversation. And business hates that. Because it's hard work. Just like running a business is hard work. After 80 years of outsourcing our marketing to radio stations and TV networks and newspapers, we've lost the art of self-promotion. So we simply copy what we saw radio and TV do in the 1960's, 70's and 80's when many of our impressions of life were formed. The trouble is that the world of then is dead. We live in a world now where people demand that you produce what they want, when they want it. And they want to be entertained and treated like queens as you're bringing it them. And at it's very core, that's going to be about conversation, answering messages, commenting on people's profiles -  actually doing the hard yard to... dare I say it... prospect for new business!

So what should we do?

a. Interact with your followers. Comment on their comments. Like their comments. When they check in at your business, acknowledge them and say "thanks."

b. Find yourself not reaching people the way you used to? Use Facebook's offers and boosted posts to put your most important messages out there.

c. Put the Facebook Pages app on your phone or iPad at your point of sale so you can always see what's happening and jump on stuff while it's happening. And you'll get messages to your business inbox right away.

d. Join local Buy, Swap & Sell pages and groups around Darwin and read posts, make suggestions and recommend other businesses. Those businesses will love you for it.

e. Network like there's no tomorrow. Get to know your neighbouring businesses. Meet other businesses that are related to what you do. Talk about ways you can all lift your profile with group buys of radio, TV and Google ads. Dante St James is the founder of Clickstarter, a small business marketing and digital solutions agency based in Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory.

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How much should I spend on marketing?

Your website isn’t the key to growing your business. Moving to a new location is also not likely to be the thing that grows your business. So what is?

It’s marketing. Plain and simple.

And for the longest time it was assumed that your marketing budget should be around 10% of your revenue. Most studies tend to lead towards the 10% mark when you’re selling from business to business. That figure tends to head up to around 16% when you’re selling direct to consumers. That’s probably because consumers are generally more fickle and tend to shop around more than businesses do.

But that’s not all you need to consider.

You need to review your marketing all the time. Not just every time your TV sales rep tells you that you need to sign a new 12-month contract. Which gives you a good chance to look at how your revenue is heading as well. If things are a little down, don’t just dump all your marketing - if anything, you may need to increase your spend to compensate. So take a look at how things are every quarter and swap stuff around a little if you have to.

You need to also consider where you at in the business lifecycle. If you’re a start-up, your marketing costs are gonna run at around 30% of your projected revenue. That’s because you’re new and no one knows you. Then your percentage goes down over time. IF you launch a new product, then treat it like a new business. You need to pump that marketing percentage back up again and get that thing out there.

And then you need to look at that the state of your business as well. If you’re making losses right now, spending more on marketing feels like a dumb thing to do. But marketing is an investment, not an outright cost. The problem is that small business is usually so damn bad at it so it becomes a money sink. So start by cutting back on the nonsense spending. The Friday drinks that run at $500 a week can buy you a bunch of advertising each month in this town. Rather than buying everyone a new iMac, hold back till the crisis is over. No one is gonna suddenly leave because they need to use their current computer for a month or three longer.  Cut down on the non-essential work travel. Do you really need to fly to Melbourne next week? Or could that $3000 be better spent on getting in a specialist to do your marketing plan?

So while 10% seems like the goal, it’ll change here and there. The important bit is constantly reviewing your marketing so you know whether it’s doing any good or not… and so you can change direction if you need to.

More:

Here’s why conferences are useless

Don’t expect a free ride on Facebook

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Email Marketing Ain’t Dead Yet!

People assumed that email marketing was dead a long time ago because spam had taken over our inboxes and the rise of Gmail had essentially killed spam. And to a degree, they’re right.

Facebook posting took over where email sending fell off. SMS sending became more popular and platforms like Twitter and RSS feeds allowed you to get the info you wanted when you wanted it.

But in 2018, it’s worth knowing a few interesting figures.

Only 2-9% of Facebook page posts get seen by the page’s followers.

RSS feeds tend to be set up once and rarely followed after a month - and are very much in the realm of the tech savvy

SMS has around a 90% open-rate for messages received, but the intrusion factor is so strong that it also has around an 80% unsubscribe and block rate. So it’s not viable for ongoing marketing campaigns.

Email though, comes in at around 20% open rate. That doesn’t sound huge. But when you consider that banner ads have a 0.01% click rate, Facebook posts have a 2-9% impression rate (which is around a 0.5% open rate) then email doesn't sound so bad.

Where email marketing get a bad rap is because of the rubbish we tend to send in those emails. And I’ve been guilty of it too. It’s hard not to get all salesy and promotional in there. After all, we’re trying to make money. So we need to offset that sales aspect with some decent content that adds some value. I’ll be putting up a blog post on this next week so you can see a few ideas on the kind of content to send via email to your subscribers. And lucky for you, it’s pretty easy.

Originally published at http://www.clickstarter.com.au/articles/email-marketing-ain-t-dead-yet