The Social Media Sucks Show - Rebekah Radice : Create Awesome Social Media Marketing Content

SPEAKER_01 0:01

We are recording.

SPEAKER_00 0:03

What is happening, everybody? Welcome to the social media sucks show. I'm your host, Sebastian Rusk. As always, welcome to the show. This week I've got my trusty co-host and very brilliant social media influencer. I'm very, very, I'm very humbled to be in her presence this week. Miss Rebecca Radiz is back with us. She joined uh the podcast, I think it was a good two years ago.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

It was a while ago. God, two years ago? I didn't realize it was that long ago. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

We were still really excited about Google Plus, so I'm assuming it was at least two years ago.

SPEAKER_01 0:38

Ah, ouch. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:40

Yeah. So um, well, well, speaking of that, we might as well just start the show off with that. I get to ask that question constantly. Sebastian, what is the uh lifespan of Google Plus? And um I I never have an answer for it other than it replaced a lot of things and became integrated into a lot of things, i.e. uh, et cetera, for small businesses. So I don't know that they could just completely do away with it, but what what what have been your thoughts?

SPEAKER_01 1:09

Yeah, you know, it's interesting, isn't it, to have watched the evolution and as an early adopter to Google Plus, you're right. I was very, very high on it. Um, it was a phenomenal place uh when uh it it really just first got started. And then over you know, that several year period where uh we made gosh, just phenomenal uh connections over there. Um it was just a wonderful space to get to know people that I would have never been able to meet otherwise. And we've seen it uh shift and change uh multiple times as Google has made quite a few uh changes. And I think for a while there we were all a little iffy as to whether or not it was truly gonna stick around. But at this point, um I I don't I don't think they're uh I don't think they're gonna scrap it. I don't think it's gonna ever go away altogether. Um, but it's definitely the the I guess the feeling uh of that social network has definitely changed. I think a lot of people uh lost lost heart, kind of lost faith in the the just the environment, the community itself. So we've seen a pretty big drop-off in the amount of engagement and interaction. Uh the growth has definitely stagnated over there, uh, which is just really unfortunate because as I said, I, you know, was just a huge proponent of it, loved, loved, loved uh Google Plus for a long time. Still do. Uh still see enormous value in it, but certainly not the value that, you know, we saw initially when there was that big growth movement. People that I think were a little disheartened with Facebook, with all of the changes that had happened over there. Uh there was that big rush over there, and um, we saw just a wonderful community that grew really rapidly. Uh and, you know, unfortunately, that has definitely subsided. But yeah, I don't think it's going anywhere. I think it's just going to continue to change and evolve. Uh, and those that have stuck around are definitely seeing the benefits of those continued relationships. Obviously, with the tie to, you know, Google, we've got the SEO value that continues there, that's changed as well, but uh still definitely how so?

SPEAKER_00 3:38

Because I usually, you know, when I mean that's the quick answer. I mean, that's the quick answer that I give when asked about that. The bottom line is Google Plus is owned by Google, um, who who who dominates the search space along with Facebook, we can safely say now. Um, and um, and because of your the fact that you're creating content and it is getting indexed on on Google, it is it is worth your time to to consider that a platform option.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

Well, and that's always been I I work with you know small business owners, entrepreneurs all the time that ask that exact question of you know, what is the point to Google Plus? And if nothing else, it's a great way uh to get that content in indexed uh by Google, uh, to put it out there in front of a larger audience, an audience that you're probably not gonna find on Facebook or Twitter or even here on Blab. And that was the beauty in it for me is that it allowed me to tap into uh a market I previously hadn't been able to tap into. Um so I I I think there are. There are multiple different benefits to it. But the SEO one, yeah, still far and away, probably the number one for a lot of people.

SPEAKER_00 4:50

So what happened our total ADD moment here? I saw a little red button. There is a record feature on your phone.

SPEAKER_01 4:55

So oh, cool.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

But I appreciate your your your teamwork because we're recording because you pressed the record button. So you see how that works?

SPEAKER_01 5:02

You got it. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 5:03

Isn't I mean that was the most that was the most attractive thing to Blab was that I was like, wait a second. Not only do we get this real, transparent, authentic conversation happening, right? Um, people can jump in, ask questions, engage, talk, etc. But the most important thing is they send you the archive of the audio and of the video. You can create a blog post, YouTube content, Facebook content, and upload it to iTunes for your podcast. I got four pieces of content and I invest one hour a week. Um, well, one hour trying to get on the blab and then the other hour doing the blab. Um, but no, big shout out to the blab team. I love those guys. They uh they've done a great job really diving into the sandbox of their community and saying, hey, we're here to help. I mean, you talk about real-time tech support, type in add help, and someone's in here instantly, which is that's right.

SPEAKER_01 5:52

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 5:54

So um uh so so you you have uh last time we talked, you and you were um I'm gonna I'm gonna close the seat out for here right now, folks, um, because this is my show, and um we're we're we're gonna open it up a little bit later.

SPEAKER_01 6:07

And you can do whatever you want, right?

SPEAKER_00 6:09

Yes, absolutely, absolutely. So, one of the reasons I started this show is that I run the show here. Um you know, I get so many crazy ideas. I've I've been watching Stephen Colbert's new uh new new show, you know, taking over um uh The Late Show. And uh I was never a fan of his before. I don't know why, but I'm just now he's kind of growing on me. But like the ability, like the way to connect to the audience and the humor and like and like just the way of everything. I thought, this is so and oh, and he had Carol Burnett on the other night.

SPEAKER_01 6:40

Oh, I'm sorry I missed that.

SPEAKER_00 6:43

You gotta pull, yeah, you gotta pull up, you gotta pull it up on on On Demand or DVR or something, or it's online somewhere, Hulu, I don't know what. But Carol Burnett was on um and he said uh he was talking about the first time she performed in the Ed Sullivan Theater, and she's like, it was 1958, and uh she said um um Jimmy Stewart was her last uh guest on her show before the show ended, and she was a huge fan, huge role model, uh, etc. Well, Kevin Spacey came out who was already on the show and read a poem to her and impersonated Jimmy Jimmy Stewart, and she was in tears.

SPEAKER_01 7:15

It was just a dog poem.

SPEAKER_00 7:17

Yes, it was awesome. He's like every now and then, you know, I like to, I like to, I like to break bruh, I like I like to uh to to read a poem when I'm uh when I'm on the tonight show. Anyway, no, it was really a uh classic moment. Um but but I I extract all kinds of awesome ideas just based on how you connect with the audience and what you're you know, what you're able to specific topics in this day and age, we can do this. I mean, this is instant talk show right here. This is you know, I I'm trying to get, you know, you hear me, universe? I'm trying to get discovered here. Like I, if Honey Boo-Boo made it, there is room for my bow tie in Hollywood. So, so, but it's crazy how we're all now content creators, we're all the studio now, we're all the actual production and being able to do it. It's all at our utter at our fingertips now. Uh, where is all this going? Um, I think brands are gonna start to integrate this into what the the brands that get it are gonna start to integrate this um into the infrastructure and what they do and being able to to touch and feel the the the inner workings of the brand and and and and the leadership and the and the C-suite, et cetera. I think it's gonna take a little bit of time to get people there, but look at all the cool things that have already started to happen, like um, you know, Mitch Jackson, um uh the uh street streaming uh streaming lawyer.com. Uh he's all in the social media space and um has been a trial attorney for 25 years. He's he's down in Orange County. And uh, you know, Chef Dennis, he's got one camera on his food and the other camera on what he's going to cook there. I mean, the ideas that have already started, and we've only been doing this like what, six months, if that. Yeah. So it's bananas.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

Yeah, live streaming, uh, you're right. It is amazing the opportunities that it does provide, no matter, no matter what size of company you are from, that you know, small business to that local mom and pop to that entrepreneur to the big brands. Uh it is. It's going to be those early adopters, those ones that really get the power of this face-to-face interaction. It's such a different medium and opportunity when you can engage with customers in real time, when you can just listen to uh their needs, to their concerns, to you know, whatever it is that you're speaking to on a daily basis, you're able to take that, I think, to a whole different level. Um, you talked about how we had chatted two years ago on podcasts, and I've been a huge fan of podcasts for years and years and years, and they made that huge resurgence, uh, that comeback in the last several years, which has been really exciting for me to see that you know, now we've got so many different forms of media, so many different ways that we can tap into uh that that customer base or that market, as I spoke about earlier, that maybe we hadn't been able to penetrate previously. But now all of a sudden, you know, we're able to reach those people that are uh in their cars and looking for fantastic podcasts that they can listen to on their commute or you know, hanging out and they've got an extra hour at lunch that they can uh hang out on a blab. So it's just yeah, the it the the possibilities in my uh in my opinion are just the sky is the limit in what we can do with this.

SPEAKER_00 10:43

Really are. And and so what what's been the most exciting thing that you've done with live streaming since all this stuff uh came about?

SPEAKER_01 10:50

Uh you know, that's a great question. Um, I would say, you know, for me it's just been jumping in, diving in, and uh giving my my toe in the water, I it for me it's interesting because um Periscope, I I really struggled with for some weird reason. I have no aversion to video whatsoever, if you can't tell. I, you know, I there's no fear of the camera or anything like that. But um I think it was the fact that it was that feeling of just speaking to myself uh as opposed to this format, which I loved Google Hangouts, very similar format, because you've got that interaction. You're able to actually pull the audience in. It's just a very different feel to it. Uh, so I was really excited when Blab came on board, and Suby Zimmerman pulled me in on her first one. I think she did. I'd been on Blab for maybe two days, and I was like, I don't know what we're doing, but we're having fun doing it. And here we are. Uh so it's just been fun diving in.

SPEAKER_00 11:57

Yeah, it really, and that's what I've done. I called it uh randomly barging into brat blabs when this first thing started, and relevant conversations that I could go and I and then I start meeting people, and the next thing I know, you've got new connections and then which lead to new people like guests that can be on your show and and exchanging ideas, and it's been a very uh it's been a very cool test bed um during this whole you know beginning stage because there's been a lot of. I mean, my goodness, they put together a Periscope Summit. They're putting the second one together. Uh this happened in January, Ryan Bell and uh uh and Kathy and those guys that have really um grabbed the bull by the horns and been you know um the the true real thought leaders, if there's any even any really in you know in this early space, because it's only been here um six months. But I I think that being able to say, hey, live streaming is here, it is part of uh business, it is not part of life, people are sharing. I mean, there's just a plethora. I'm having a trouble with I'm having trouble with Periscope because um unless it's something that I'm seeing that nobody else can see, um, I'm trying to find the value. You understand what I'm saying? Like the behind the scenes, like for like I did it one time, I've done probably a hundred or so, and I was doing morning motivation, getting everybody all fired up or reading the quote in the morning, and then you know, some mornings there's like two people on there, and I get I'm less motivated than I was when I started the thing. So that kind of fizzed out a little bit. I'm like, wow, what can I do? Maybe I'll maybe I'll do my show every day. I'm like, this is weird because I'm just talking to myself and I think there's people there. Are there really people there? There's like two hearts that popped up over the hour. Like, I don't really know what's going on. So I tried to like bob and weave this whole periscope, trying to figure out what's what the the best one I ever did is I was doing a review for the for the Ritz-Carlton South Beach, and um it was during swim week, and they had a swimsuit show at the pool, and I had like 500 people on the Periscope at the time. Then again, Ritz-Carlton, Miami Beach, swimsuit show, swim week, you know, and I also use the the swimweek hashtag too. Um, that was the most traction I had gotten. When I say traction, I mean people jumped on and interacted as much. I'm just trying to. Now I know, like I know Kim Garsh is just absolutely knocking it out of the parking lot right now. But, you know, she uh again, early adopter to get on there um and and and and and take her existing model of what already works and integrate new technology into that by providing value, masterful, in my opinion. I'm just not that smart. I'm not as smart as Kim.

SPEAKER_01 14:16

Oh, stop it. I I but I think you bring up a great point, which is you have to figure out, first of all, if live streaming even makes sense for your business, um, because there is that perception that, oh, it's the new shiny toy, we've got to jump on board, we've got to be a part of this. And no, not necessarily. Uh if it doesn't make sense, if it doesn't fall into uh fall into supporting your overall social media uh goals, your strategy, um, just what you're working towards within your business, um, you need to know the why behind it before you dive in. And I think that's where a lot of people run into that challenge of, well, what do I do with it? You know, how do what do I talk about? And it could just be that it's not the perfect fit for you right now. There might be, you know, other ways for you to uh get in front of your audience and do that at scale. And what I mean by that is not feel as if it's overwhelming or heavy or burdensome, which uh, you know, live streaming definitely can be. There's there's a lot of work. I know it blab can make it feel as if you just kind of jump on camera uh and you're ready to go. But I know, you know, Sebastian, you uh are doing video constantly, and I can only imagine the hundreds of hours you have put into just the thought process alone of the content and the context that's gonna go around that, not to mention all you know the editing and behind the scenes stuff, but just getting prepared to be on camera is a lot of work. So you really have to consider how much time do you have and can you be consistent once you actually get into it? Because that's the key too. You mentioned that, where if you're if you're not going to be able to consistently show up, don't do it at all.

unknown 16:16

Right.

SPEAKER_00 16:17

Yeah, that is true. And I found I've been guilty so many times. I started and stopped my podcast about 15 times. And uh it's just because in the early days, there there really wasn't any monetizing your podcast back then, but you know, it was just it was consistent in content. Now you've got the ability to actually create content, build a following, uh, market to that following through um strategic you know sponsorships, which which is the end result of this digital. I mean, when I'm out here doing this foodie bus stuff and travel bus stuff and even the show now, so it's people, hey, listen, I've seen your show, want to get someone on may open a door of an opportunity for me down the road of where I'm at until I get it monetized. But the foodie bus, the travel bus stuff, that's just paying your dues until the brands start calling you instead of you calling them. I mean, they call me for free food and free hotel rooms all day long, and that's cute and everything, but you can't take those those hotel rooms in the dinner to the bank. So um that at some point in time there has to be a way to to monetize that that thing. Um you know, you run into the same same challenge too that um, you know, market saturation now, and also, you know, now, you know, now hotels will comp your entire stay if you've got X amount of followers, or there's specific um trips and and campaigns that are that are that are that are put together. Um But I think that brands are starting to turn the corner. I read a stat the other day that I think 21 and a half percent of marketing budgets are going to social now, which I was like, wow, that was pretty aggressive. And it came from somebody viable. I don't remember who it was, but um I thought, wow, remember when it was like 10 and I was like, wow, half the budget, watch out. So um the fact that brands are understanding of, but I think there's a, you know, working in the influencer space and and the blogger space um is a no-brainer for brands. And I just don't, I just think the brands just don't understand that. I think they say it's either I I we we we we have to hire a celebrity, we can't afford that, um, or we just market on our own and figure it out. They don't look at the in-betweens, and I consider myself an in-between because I'm not a not a celebrity yet. Um but um that but that's powerful. Why? Because if if you're if you make bow ties, right? I'm probably a good good guy to hire to talk about your bow ties and wear your bow ties. Why? Because I wear bow ties everywhere I go and I create content everywhere I go. That starts to gel with brands and starting to understand. But at the same time, you know, it also has to, what is that, what does that look like for the brand? What does that convert to? I mean, we get into this numbers talk constantly, and I know you have the conversation constantly, you have to of being in the space, and that is um how do you truly, how do you truly extract a return from your social media efforts if you're a small business that only has a spend of a thousand or two thousand dollars a month to be able to create and manage content? Like what what are some ways uh that that the businesses can do it? My my only answer is take your existing way you you you generate business through marketing and advertising and referrals and whatever it may be and tie it in to your social media strategy. That way, once someone finds you on Facebook, you're now a believer. Like you you go, okay, people can actually find my business and I can convert it. So I mean, I break it down in that elementary example because I'm not hire Sebastian, hire social buzz TV. We're off to the races and we're gonna be Facebook rich in 90 days. This stuff takes time.

SPEAKER_01 19:38

Yeah. Well, and that's that's an excellent point, is it does take time. And so you've got to know that this is a commitment. Uh as a small business, you've got to be committed to the long haul, uh, that it's not gonna happen in 30 or 60 or 90 days. Uh, and you've also got to know you you have to be very, very clear on how and and and why you're using social media. And I think that's uh another big one. You know, I mentioned why are you using live streaming, but why are you using social media? Is it because it's uh it's the thing that you you everybody's telling you you have to be, you know, have to be on Facebook or you have to be on uh Twitter, and you've really got to take a big step backwards and figure out why you are using social media, because if you don't know the why behind your use, oh, it's gonna get so frustrating so fast. Uh it be it's that scenario where you're you're just throwing stuff at the wall, hoping it sticks and nothing's working, because you haven't really taken the time to clearly understand how it supports your business and then how you are going to generate those leads. So the next step is then how it supports your business is based off of what your business goals are. And so, what are you looking to achieve? Are you just looking to create awareness? Are you hoping to connect with customers, maybe offer better customer support? Are you looking to generate leads? Are you looking to get people actually walking into your local business? So understanding what you're trying to get out of it is going to be critical to how you actually use it as well. Uh, and then it's understanding, getting into the head of your target audience. And where are they spending their time? Um, where are they hanging out? And then what are they talking about? And then being committed to showing up there day in and day out. And I know, you know, Facebook gets uh still a lot of flack these days of oh, it's a pay to play, and oh, organic reach is dead, and you know, yada yada yada, the same things we've heard. Um, but the reality is it still works, it still works if you work it and if you have a solid plan in place and Uh, I think that's where a lot of small businesses fall down in that entire process is just really jumping in, diving in without having an idea of why they're using social media in the first place.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

I think too many people are just doing it. What? Because somebody told me I need to be there. I mean, I need to be doing it. Or I mean it's Facebook. I mean, it's a billion users on there. There's got to be some, there's got to be, there's got to be some gold in them hills somewhere, you know. Right. And um instead of, you know, my my my you know, my my my my story and my my my consistent message is that, you know, social media um has always been around. These tools showed up 10 years ago to allow us to become digitally addicted and now be able to communicate with people at our fingertips and be able to do what we've always done as far as running our business, but now we can tell the story in a more creative and effective and instant way. And if you tell a story through a creative way that provides value, you make emotional connections with people. If you make emotional connections with people, they spend money with you. And that that is the reality of really where we're at. Do they always spend money with you? No, and that there lies the rub, right? That that's that that's the that that's the one setback. Wait a second. So I create content and I'm providing value and I'm engaging with an audience that may never spend a dollar with me. Yes, that's correct. Because they may know somebody, their sphere of influence. I mean, so for example, I I created an event for a client having their holiday party tonight, and I um I just invited my personal network of like 280 people, but you know, the one-by-one deal on Facebook, but people I knew were in Miami, people I knew were networkers, people I knew would actually go and show up. Um, and I invited 280 people, um, or 230 people, 38 people said they would go, 30 people said they were interested in going. And what that meant to me is that the 238 people, every time I was able to post something uh as far as an update, um, those people get notified. Then when they say they're going, they're interested, their friends get notified as well. And they can go in and invite their friends, and all this was done by just one person, right? So the idea is what would happen if I had a hundred people do that same exact thing, right? Just say I'm interested and click share and say, Meet me on Miami Beach to network for a holiday party uh with the chamber, right? So um that was all organic, right? Well, what happens when you when you start to promote that? I think the the the combination of the two coming together um um still work for a brand. You don't have to be spending a billion dollars on Facebook advertising. Um, but if you want to get some extended movement above and beyond the movement that you have, like for example, I used the example of a B and I Miami, it's a it was a client of mine I was telling you about earlier this week. And they they you know, we have 39 chapters, that's a 1,200 members, and we have five chapters actively utilizing social media, right? That was until the the new sheriff arrived with the bow tie, right? So now you know they say, well, you know, how how do we how do we grow our reach? How do we grow our awareness? And how do we impact chapter growth? And I'm like, well, what sells BI memberships right now? The members. They're the ones that they're your volunteer sales force and marketing arm just by speaking about their experience and wanting to be able to grow their individual chapter. Now I got excited about that. Why? Because safety's in numbers, okay? 1200 people. If I can have half of those people, okay, let's just break it down to a third of those people at least understand the simple simple idea of just talking about their lives or what they're currently doing or an event that's coming up, or that you show up at 645 once a week like a lunatic with 35 other people to exchange business. And because of that, you have a thank you for closed business for X amount of dollars for 2015. Anybody understands that language? Anyone does. If I tell you, Rebecca, listen, I know I'm in the Southern California area as well. Uh you may have heard of me, and I may have been in it before, like, you've never been in a chapter like mine, okay? I I've gotten in business, I'm developing relationships, I've met a nice girl I've been dating. Like it's been incredible, it's awesome. You just got to go check it out. Um, in fact, come and you can be my guest next week. You go, okay, fine, I'll give it a shot, right? We're in a similar space, so you know you're gonna be occupying a similar category, whatever the case may be. When I tell you that I was able to find uh thank you for closed business until they actually specifically referenced it a specific amount for a year, you're more enticed to be able to go and join that chapter, right? And this is just socializing with you. How I got off on this tangent of B and I is beyond me. But look, squirrel, um my point was that's that that's how we're getting segueing back in here. The point is brands that have an existing uh Salesforce, um employees, uh customers, um, being able to penetrate those people that you're already talking to and get them talking through your social networks is a great way to organically still get people active. I think that was my original thought, and then I just went way off.

SPEAKER_01 27:00

Oh, yeah. No, it's there is so much um power in being able to tap into that network. In fact, um we talked about this last night. Um, I founded and co-founded a Twitter chat with Ann Tran and Diana Adams uh called Influencer Chat. And last night we talked about how to use Twitter chats to grow your influence. And we talked about brands and how brands are really tapping into things like Twitter chats and using Twitter, uh, using live streaming to listen, uh hear what people are talking about, but actively get yourself into that conversation. So you do you start to make those connections. It's just like old school networking, like you're talking about, where any business can start to make those connections with people that are out there. They're talking about the same thing you are, they're sharing the same type of content, they're creating the similar type of content to what you're creating. And now all of a sudden, you're building those relationships and supporting each other. You know, I I started um my my first blog in 2004. So blogging has really been the backbone of my business. Um, I love to write content marketing, inbound marketing is really my.

SPEAKER_00 28:23

And your content's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 28:25

Well, thank you. Um, but it's it's I grew my uh my business in the same exact way, my connections in that same exact way, where you're just can making those connections with like-minded people, with people that are out there doing something very similar, and I don't see them as competition. I see them as that extended marketing force uh where they're able to help me get into, get my content in front of people that I would have never been able to uh without their assistance, without their reach. Uh so it's really understanding who these people are that you can start to build those uh those very beneficial connections. That's a win-win for both of you, uh, and and allow them to help you. And I think that's that's a key for small businesses too is people want to support you. They want to help your business grow. They want to see you succeed, uh, but they don't know how because you haven't told them how to help you. So once you really understand who your audience is, where they're spending their time, then it's it's it's really training them on how they can help you by telling them over and over and over again. And where people miss the whole point of that is they think that that equals spamming and shoving out a whole bunch of promotional content when in reality, it's just about getting to know people, um, taking that next step of asking questions, going a little bit deeper, um, and using social media to be able to elevate the conversation around your company. And then all of a sudden, you see that start to take off like wildfire, where you've built these connections all over the place through various different channels, and people are sharing your content. Now, all of a sudden, your content is getting in front of more people, and that's where it comes back to having that strategy around your content so that everything that's getting shared rolls up into something bigger, rolls up into what your overall goal is, whether you're driving them over to your blog so that you can capture subscribers, um, so that you're building up a list, or whether it's that, you know, you're driving them over to your Facebook page, because that is really the hub of your social media marketing. So, really understanding, you know, what is it that you're trying to achieve with all of this content that you're creating, rather than that mindset of just running around all over the place every single day randomly uh creating stuff or sharing stuff. Um, because we know, you know, you could spend hours out of your day retweeting and tweeting and scheduling uh or liking and sharing and commenting to no avail uh if you don't know what it is that you're you're trying to accomplish in that hour a day that you're spending on social media. So it's just, you know, for me, it's nothing, nothing should happen without a strategy behind it and really understanding uh where you're trying to get, you know, where are you right now and where do you want to be? And obviously, we're at the end of yet another year. I cannot believe how fast this year flew by. And such a great opportunity to just take a little bit of extra time uh and assess. Assess how you used social media in 2015 and what it take, you gotta take a really good hard look at it. You have to be pretty critical, you have to be a little hard on yourself and okay with that to say, oof, you know, I really uh I sucked here, or I really fell down here on the follow-up, or I wasn't consistent enough here, or I should have gotten a lot better return on the amount of energy I put into this. And figure out what should you scrap in 2016? What would you do all over again and do a whole lot better? Uh, and then where can you really, really, really drive those results in 2016? So it's always exciting to me, you know, end of the year, New Year's, we have that chance to start fresh all over again. But I think you have to, you have to be okay with things not being okay, you know, with looking at what did I do wrong and what did I do right and what can I do more of that was right, and what can I do away with? Being okay with that too, letting go of stuff that just isn't working.

SPEAKER_00 33:09

Sure. Well, I mean, I I think I think that you know, most brands or small businesses specifically can can be okay with knowing knowing that they're they're they're doing social media right per se, um, if they're actually in the race. If you're creating content, you're telling your story, you're effectively communicating what you do and what your brand's all about through that valuable content. That's the first step. So if you're not even doing that and you evaluate your year, the biggest gaps you're probably going to find are the times that you weren't creating any content or doing anything pertaining to social media. I I hear it all the time, and that is um I'm not doing anything, or I'm not doing as much as I should, um, which I I always love to hear. I mean, that just creates a new opportunity for us to further the conversation. Um, but storytelling is where it's at. And every, you know, you're in business for a reason, you got there somehow, and behind that's a story, and that's usually where I start. I work with a lot of solopreneurs, a lot of a lot of attorneys that have left the big firm to do their own thing. Um, you know, and then um, and then we've got different unique things like you know, B and I, this whole B and I thing is just a completely different animal. But that I love that. I get excited about that because it that's me pulling people into the 21st century, which I I love. Well, what they do works. It's always worked, the system works, but what would happen if if we put this all this new technology into play too? How how much easier would life be because of it, and how much better would the results be? So, you know, getting in the getting in the race, you know, I'll never forget Gary V saying that one time. You know, if you're a small business, if you're a solopreneur, um don't don't don't don't worry about how fast you're running the race. Just just make sure you're in the race. And um, and I think a lot of people still aren't. So um, of course, people that are on this blab right now, you know, if you're in if you're a small business owner and you're on this blab right now, um, you're probably in the game. But um well, I just unlocked the seat. We got a couple minutes here. I know you gotta run uh to another blab. It's it's a it's a blab Wednesday here, huh?

SPEAKER_01 35:05

It is, it's a busy blabbing kind of day. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:09

Yeah, we had some comments here. Uh uh, Jody. Jody said, always great information. What's happening, Jody? Um, let's see here. We had somebody ask a question earlier. Uh, Periscope can throw you off with all the hearts and comments. It totally can, or it can feed your ego. One of the two there, the social barber said big brands uh don't seem like they have been doing a good job live streaming. What do you think? Well, they don't know what the hell they're doing. That's you know, that's the problem. I mean, and that's not all true to Social Barber, uh, because Applebee's, of which I had the privilege of being a part of uh for their Taste of Change campaign, absolutely knocked it out of the park and back into the parking lot with being able to um delegate influencers across the nation and then live stream all day um with Vincenzo and Fanzo and um and the very lovely Sonny D. Um that was a great campaign. Why? Because I got free lunch um and um I all I did to do was go stream myself eating Lat Lunch, and I ended up on Applebee's.com for 35 minutes talking about live streaming in big brands. So some big brands are engaged. In fact, I got really excited. They were sponsoring, they sponsor Monday Night Football, yeah. Because it was like taste change, this taste change, Applebee's, and I thought, wait a second, six months ago, they got my they got me in the bow tie on there and on the whole. So it shows that that that new media and traditional media really is starting to to to to take flight. But hats up once again to Applebee's for Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:31

Oh well, and just that their listening skills on social media, every time I mention them, um, especially within a Twitter chat, man, they are there and they are on it. It is amazing to me what a great job they do. But yeah, there's there's I can think of a lot of different brands that are are doing a really great job um with not just live streaming, but other you know, social networks such as you know, Snapchat, uh, which a lot are avoiding, but it's I'm a newbie.

SPEAKER_00 37:03

I'm a new I'm a newbie snapper.

SPEAKER_01 37:05

Yeah, newbie snapper. Yeah, I'm not much of a snapper myself, but that's okay. Um it's you know good.

SPEAKER_00 37:14

Once you start to follow a few good snappers, you're like, this is really cool.

SPEAKER_01 37:18

It is, it's fun. Um and I think brands are are really seeing that there are opportunities uh in in these, you know, dependent on the probably their demographics, obviously, um, the type of brand that they are, uh, and knowing that that is, you know, that's where their audience is hanging out. And it is, it's exciting for me. I've been, you know, in sales and marketing for over 20 years now, and it's exciting to me to see the the merge of traditional um and digital marketing. You know, when I first started, it was all just traditional marketing. And so my business really evolved off of being able to help business owners uh take that established offline presence that they had created and transition that into an online presence. And it's happening more and more now, where people are getting more comfortable with embracing uh digital marketing all together um and and really being able to leverage it. And now uh working alongside Postplanner, which is I was just you took your words out of my mouth.

SPEAKER_00 38:34

I was just about to say let's let's close let's close things out with chatting about Postplanner because I love Postplanner. Oh I think it's a it's a it's it's a product that um that um the market has been waiting for where it actually thinks for you a little bit. Um and I love it. I get the best engagement from Postplanner Post, but I'm not gonna let that secret out yet.

SPEAKER_01 38:53

That's fantastic, awesome to hear. Um and yeah, they uh uh I mean just as you talk about the C level from that perspective, man, you know, everybody embraces uh new media and just diving into uh live streaming, especially. That's you know, our uh blab at what in 10 minutes uh is with Postplanner, and they are all about just that taking that experience, that customer service, that ability to get one-on-one uh with your with your users, with your target market, uh to a whole different level. And I can tell you, we have had um just a phenomenal experience with Blab so far. I think on our first one we had close to 500 people on our lab. Yeah, and last week I think it was 300, um, maybe pushing 400.

SPEAKER_00 39:51

So it's been I'm a post planner customer, so maybe I'll have to try the show one week.

SPEAKER_01 39:57

Yes, you do. Absolutely. Yeah, we would love to have you come on and chat. And um, I you know, I say all of that because I think there are so many different ways that you can use social media to make better connections, to build those stronger alliances. Uh and as Jody said, you know, based off of your conversation about B and I, it's all about networking. And I think that's where we get tripped up is we think it has to be difficult. You know, we have to do something different than what we were doing all those years offline. And it's the exact same scenario. You're just going out and you're talking, you're creating conversations. I always joke about yes, about all those years of going to BI and chamber meetings and all those different networking events. Imagine if you walked in with a bullhorn and just started shouting about your business. What would people do? Probably security. Yeah, get her out of here. Um likewise, you're not gonna do that on social media. You're gonna come in, you're gonna get to know people, you're gonna start talking, you're you're gonna learn what it really makes them tick, what their business is all about. You're gonna ask questions. So I, you know, it doesn't, it doesn't have to be difficult. Um, it doesn't have to be brain surgery by any means to be effective. It just has to be strategic and it has to be consistent. Um those are the two biggest things.

SPEAKER_00 41:32

Strategic and consistent. And on that note, I think we just we gotta leave it on that note. That's some that's some solid advice to a uh small business owner, solopreneur, brand, brand manager, marketing department that uh are just now getting the reins of social going. Strategic and consistent. Rebecca, thank you so much uh for your time uh and for hanging out. It's always uh it's always great to see you literally.

SPEAKER_01 41:58

No, I know, finally, yeah. I know I missed you in Miami.

SPEAKER_00 42:01

You were you were right around the corner. That was a that was a hectic week, but um we'll come. I'm sure we're gonna meet in real hashtag in real life uh one of these days.

SPEAKER_01 42:09

That's right. In real life. Uh stealing from Sue. There you go.

SPEAKER_00 42:13

Yes, I love, I love, yeah, absolutely. She's got that whole sign thing down. I need to get a social media sucks sign from my fucking Suba.

SPEAKER_01 42:20

You need to talk to her about that.

SPEAKER_00 42:22

I I totally I totally do. I totally do. Thanks again for uh for your time and for hanging out. Always great content. Keep doing what you're doing. I enjoy following you. I love your content.

SPEAKER_01 42:31

You're likewise, always likewise. Thank you, Sebastian. I I'm always excited to be here and chatting with you.

SPEAKER_00 42:38

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 42:39

Yeah, talk soon. All right. Take care, bye-bye.

SPEAKER_00 42:44

So we're talking about awesome content. We're talking about social media. That is what the social media sucks show is all about. If you happen to just stumble on the show and you have no idea who I am, my name is Sebastian Rusk. I am a social media strategist. I wrote a book called Social Media Sucks. If you don't know what you're doing, that's that right there. And we do the show uh once a week, twice a week, sometimes three times a week, depending on how many of our awesome friends that show up and want to join us on the show. Once again, big thanks to Rebecca Radiz. Make sure you're following her online. I really enjoy her content. I learned a lot from her. We had a chance to connect a few years back. She was on my podcast. Anyway, we do this each and every week. So you got show ideas, thoughts, ideas, concerns. You want to complain about my bow tie? Drop me a tweet at Seb Rusk. My email address is srusk at s-r-usk at social buzztv.com. I'm Sebastian Rusk with signing off here in the social media soccer show studio. We'll talk to you next time.