Blog- Marketing

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Blog-What you should video…

“What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.”  Cool Hand Luke, 1967

81% of businesses use video as a marketing tool — up from 63% over the last year. (Hubspot)

Video for your business is a must have. Think of video as the way to tell your story. If you would like to show people how you are a subject matter expert or offer educational tips on how to do your favorite thing a video is a great way to show it.

  • Plan
  • Record
  • Edit

Plan– ask yourself what are the events this week you could video so you can create content that is applicable to your audience.

Will you be giving a speech, attending a conference, planning a lunch? All these events are video worthy.

If you can control any of the topics, you will be able to edit each segment based on the topic and from one video you will be able to create many videos from one event.

By 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic — 15 times higher than it was in 2017. (Cisco)

Types of videos you can consider

  • Tutorials
  • Webinars
  • Ads
  • Customer testimonials
  • Interviews
  • Live streams
  • Product videos
  • Live video

Record it. Of course check lighting and most of all  the background. Most common mistake in video is that people don’t check their backgrounds and lighting.  Consider how you want the video to look and if a polished look is your goal don’t record without a  planned environment. Also know that most video is consumed on mobile.

Edit-75% of all video plays are on mobile devices. (eMarketer) When you post your blog on your website check it out on your phone. It’s the way people will find your business.

A website is 53 times more likely to reach the front page of Google if it includes video. (Insivia) Including a video on your landing page can boost your conversion rate by up to 80%. (Unbounce)

Best practices for video on social.

  1. Videos under two minutes long get the most engagement. (Wistia)
  2. 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound, while 60% of Instagram Stories are watched with the sound on. (Instagram) A website is 53 times more likely to reach the front page of Google if it includes video. (Insivia)
  3. Including a video on your landing page can boost your conversion rate by up to 80%. (Unbounce)

Now, you are ready. Just do it. Make your plan, set your background and record. Edit for your audience and post with gusto! “Here’s looking at you, kid.” Casablanca, 1942

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At That Moment I Knew…

I never wanted my own business. I am sure that it’s not the best way to start my business blog. But it’s true and I now have my own marketing business, that I love. I am a fierce Mama Bear about my company. My kids can attest to the Mama Bear they have in me and I am very surprised at how I feel about my new marketing company.

At the moment I knew I could do this on my own, was not planned, was not orchestrated over years, it was a culmination of thought-provoking self- reflection of about 2 years, 15,840 miles and countless hours in Dallas traffic. I had taken a job that was 22 miles from my house, which is equivalent to about 1 hour and 15 minutes of traffic twice a day. I listened to podcasts like crazy. As I drove to work every day, in a role I loved, with the opportunity to run marketing for a small but very identifiable group. I was ultimately a one-woman marketing agency with an intern.

I created branded collateral, social posts, videos, brochures, you name I did it, to promote our little corner of the world. I crushed it! We added Instagram followers like crazy- from 12 to 1221 in less than 6 months. It was awesome! Events saw increases in attendance and engagement with our customers. The marketing was working.

At the moment I knew; I could do this for myself, was when the drive took its toll on my family and my health. The organization was not the best at appreciating this daily, monthly, marketing feat, as most aren’t and when of course, the promotion went to someone else, I knew. 

I took a step back and said if I could this for them look at what I could do for me and my family. My husband was great about the decision and still is today. My son helps with videos, my daughter is running my Instagram and I am hustling to find jobs.

 I never knew how great it could be to own your own company and what a great country this is for a woman to start her own business with only a laptop, oh, that my Mom bought me, and supporting family. I typically dog these great moments with something like I’ve only being doing this since April, so will see.  But I am not gonna ruin the moment. At that moment I knew.

Do you have these moments? What do you need to do, to face these moments and identify your plan for your career, your business, your goals?

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Will You Cross That Bridge?

Will you cross that bridge?

Many of my clients come to me expecting me to hand them a job. My role as a career coach, is to help them identify what they need to do find their dream job.  When I tell people, I am not a recruiter and I don’t have jobs to offer, they don’t want to work with me. Right there is the real issue, they don’t want to work on the process, themselves or with me.  They want me to hand them a job- well who doesn’t. I wish it worked that way, but I don’t make the rules, here.

These days, I preface most conversations with, I am going to ask you to be uncomfortable and you will need to be willing to cross a bridge you may not want to. It’s the bridge of knowing what I need to do, which by the way, you already know these pieces, to get to what you want. Are you willing and do you want to cross that bridge? Then, we have the ability to work together.

If you have ever tried to loose weight, you know you need to cut back on calories to be thinner, but it’s whether you can cross that bridge to workout everyday and reduce your calories every day, that will determine your goal of losing weight.

Its is the same with looking for a job, starting your own company, becoming an influencer. In your mind, you know what you need to do but are you willing to cross over to achieve your goals? Will you work at it every day- Yes, every day to get to where you want to be?

 Here are 3 tips to outline that bridge for you:

  1. Looking for a job- the number one thing people don’t want to do is the thing you MUST do- Network (with other humans)
  2. Creating a business- the number one thing people don’t want to do is the thing you MUST do- Network (with other humans)
  3. Influencer status: the number one thing people don’t want to do is the thing you MUST do- Network (with other humans)

When you are networking- a.k.a talking to others you are representing your personal brand- what you stand for.

My client said to me the other week- “Wow, you are right, I went to an event, I met people who liked what I like, I gave them some pointers on our favorite topic and they said they know people at company X and they will introduce me. This is brilliant, I am going to two more events next week.”

Helping a client with their marketing strategy, this week, instead of a follow up phone call, I asked to meet face to face, so we could connect in person, and they could know that I have their best interest at heart.  It’s important for my personal brand to show my clients, that I am genuine and that I do care about their business.

Influencers-  it’s all about being relevant to your audience- offering the content they want to know about- that’s a fulltime job right there.

“You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.”  Zig Ziglar

 What will you offer this week, to improve your personal brand and cross your bridge to your goal?

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Fail until you don’t.

GVC Blog #3

 Wow, this hit me hard today.  I needed to hear this. I have started my own business and boy, do I fail every day, it feels like. Every day, I plan my mindset and I discover that what I have done today may not be the best way to get clients- posting to FB groups who don’t allow you promote your own business, for example.   But, I think just one more ad, one more video, one more ask for a connection, one more explanation of what my company does, and that will be the one. So I thought I would share, because maybe you are trying and failing- whether you are looking to find that right job, a job, a partner, a life. I read today that your failing until you are not. You don’t have it until you do. And that’s ok. BRILLIANT!

You will be told no more often then you will be told yes. There was some comfort in what I read today about failing. That’s its ok you don’t have what you want … until you do. So true.

What really are your options? To stop trying. I am pretty sure you have come to the conclusion that quitting isn’t an option because isn’t that the chicken’s way of failing? You quit before you fail therefore you didn’t fail? Hmmmmm. That’s a good one.

So for today- lets decide that its ok to fail until we don’t. Or better yet we found the 300th way of not landing our dream job, getting a client, finding a partner, living the life you want, and we just haven’t found the one way, yet. Benjamin Franklin would have the t-shirt for this strategy.  Here are 3 tips for when you feel failure comes a calling.

Don’t give up.

Don’t give up.

Don’t give up.

Zig Ziglar, one of the greats, still has a big influence on my life- I saw him, in person, when I was about 12, my drama teacher took us all to see him. I was in the 7th grade. I lived in the Panhandle of Texas at the time and Mr. Ziglar came to our town.

Everyday, my teacher had us listen to his tapes before class started and if she wasn’t in the room when the bell rang we were to start his tape, yes, a cassette tape. Seeing him in person was so profound to me, to actually see the man, on stage, who we listened to everyday talk to us personally. Wow, I felt very important and that after that night I felt I could do anything. I wasn’t sure what the anything was, at the time, but it was a great feeling. My favorite quotes from him are – “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  Attitude, not aptitude, determines altitude. Make failure your teacher, not your undertaker.” Zig Ziglar