Destroy Digital

Yep, Chris and Mark managed to get through not one, but TWO lockdowns. So, Welcome Back 2021! We survived COVID and not only that, here’s what we got up to. Not that we did anything extraordinary or anything…

But seriously, for all of us the last 12 months has been a crazy roller coaster ride. And for some, the wheels did come off through no fault of their own. The system was, in a lot of cases, just not flexible enough to allow them to adapt successfully.

For others, the sheer refusal to adapt to the changing landscape came home to roost. Many businesses found themselves without their usual customers or their usual revenue models. And many did nothing.

However, those who decided rewrite the playbook? Quite a few, found new customers and even kept old ones. 

Adapt or die.

We didn’t make that up. Promise.

The post #086 Welcome Back to 2021 appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

If you fail to plan…you plan to fail. It’s an old adage that is more than apt for today’s episode. Scoping your UX (User Experience) is really your first port of call when it comes to any website or digital project. This should be done even before designing the UI (User Interface).

For all you Call of Duty players out there, mastering the ‘360-no-scope’ was definitely a thing that gave you bragging rights. As the name implies, it’s a video game manoeuvre where you spin around 360 degrees and hit your target without ‘aiming’.

However, that is not what, ever happens in reality.

Hands up, anyone who thinks that playing ‘pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey’ is the best way to spend thousands (tens, if not hundreds) of dollars on your next digital project?

Yeah. Thought so.

The Number One thing is it helps make sure you address ALL of the concerns, behaviours and priorities for ALL of your users.

This user pool not only includes your external users (i.e. customers, clients, readers, viewers etc) but also your internal users (i.e. sales, marketing, admin and operations etc).

Making life difficult or impossible for your staff with a clunky back-end is a sure-fire recipe for failure. A lot of organisations relegate their website or tech-build to the IT department. Which is logical until the website is launched and Marketing is left to maintain it. Even worse, it’s built entirely through the IT lens but needs to work seamlessly with Sales, Logistics and Finance.

It should be pretty obvious by now that mapping your User Experience is super-critical to the success of your project.

Here’s the episode on Issimo Markets that explores UX further from a user perspective.

Here’s what Wikipedia says about Google AMP.

The post #085 Scoping your UX appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

The people at Kosdown Printing are the best at thinking in ink and turning your ideas to printed masterpieces. Here’s how to translate that into digital marketing gold.

As the premiere ‘print-on-anything, any-time’ printers in Victoria, Kosdown Printing has been the go-to of many Melbourne-based graphic designers and creatives for the longest time. Famously known for their customer service and on-time delivery of even the most complex print and installation jobs.

Long story short. EVERYBODY who’s in the business of needing printing done (whatever the size) KNOWS who KOSDOWN is.

Listen out for Henrietta as she announces the arrival of those classic gold-nuggets from Chris.

Currently, all that good stuff that Kosdown do is locked away in the minds and imaginations of those who are already in the know…the trick is to show-don’t-tell.

Sometimes, when you’re in a commodity space with a lot of commodity ‘run-of-the-mill’ players, the best thing you can do is to take the high-road. If you’re already the market leader in terms of innovation, then you should demonstrate that.

The merits are two-fold. It allows your audience to identify with your industry-leading position and choose to engage with you on that basis (think of it as ‘celebrity’ status).

And the other is for you to justify your prices. This is especially useful when qualifying your customers. Those who won’t pay the prices you command aren’t really ever going to be your customers anyway. The sooner you find out – the better.

Here’s the Kosdown website if you’re looking for great print partners.

Also here’s an episode on making content. And another on how to ‘Show. Don’t tell.‘

The post #084 – Kosdown Printing appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

When is an app not an app? When it is an entire platform for corporate communications and leadership. Welcome to the Podwhale podcasting mobile application platform. This week, we have special guest, Lisa Bender (who’s Chris’ partner in this venture) join us to talk more about what Podwhale does and what they need to look at marketing-wise.

Podwhale is definitely more than just a mobile application platform. It is a whole new way for companies and organisations to communicate internally.

Imagine being able to hear from your leaders or talk to your team via an internal ‘radio show’ every week. There is nothing like hearing it from the horse’s mouth. As a training tool and also as a vehicle for team building the possibilities have enormous potential. Especially for a workforce that is off-site and on-the-road.

The major failing of HR-driven, staff email newsletters is that they are generally, impersonal and in many cases, contrived. A simple internal survey will reveal the antipathy and the ‘simply switch off’-ness that is the hallmark of most corporate e-newsletters.

Simple. To find out, keep listening or head down to the Podwhale website and drop either Chris or Lisa a line. They don’t have a form like we do but we’re told it’s in the works.

For more episodes that talk about using word of mouth to help spread the…word about your venture, click here.

The post #083 – GUEST – Lisa Bender. Podwhale podcasting – appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

Here are our 2020 digital marketing predictions. Will we be right? Or are we wrong? Is this something that we’re going to regret? You decide.

Usually, the writing is on the wall when it comes to these sort of predictions. And to be honest, a lot of what we’ll be saying you might have heard before. But the real nuggets here are in how Chris and Mark dissect the issues and put forward their observations as to why.

One big one will be the continued rise of Artificial Intelligence applications and AI-supported workflows. Make no mistake we have firmly down that path and if we do it right it WILL enhance our lives in ways that we haven’t even dreamed about.

The other is that Tik Tok could be just a flash in the pan…but then again, if they can find a way to sustain their user base, they could be the next big social media platform with a young (and hence developing) audience base.

Drop us an email and tell us. Or get onto our Facebook page and tell us.

PS here are a couple of our favourite episodes from 2019.
078 – Alicetronics
076 – DESTROY DIGITAL – The GAME SHOW
069 – GUEST – Morry Morgan
048 – Bronwyn Clee

The post #082 – Happy 2020 Predictions appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

The Carers Couch is more than just an app. It is a portal to a whole raft of services and support for people who are caring for loved ones, especially those who are terminally ill.

To be frank, this is a role that we suspect nobody wants. Imagine having to help ease a loved one to the end of life. Then imagine realising that there is no one else that can or will take up the mantle. Finally, imagine doing this not just out of obligation but out of love.

Then imagine the exhaustion and realisation that you’re at the end of your resources. That you are now the one that is tired and in need of respite.

One of the first rules in this sort of situation is that you must look after yourself first. Only then do you extend the very best care to the one that needs it the most. Like the safety briefings on airplanes, where you are asked to put on your own mask first before helping someone else put theirs on.

As a start-up, Carers Couch is doing great work. And as a startup, they’re facing exactly the same challenges that most startups face from a comms perspective. And that is one of finding their voice.

Start-ups are always pivoting – not only their business, funding and revenue models but also their comms. And it is not helped by the fact that start-ups have multiple audiences. From users to investors to suppliers.

So the best thing one can do is to take the time to do an audience map (AKA persona work) and to tailor the content in EACH channel to the right audience. And then monitor the response to fine-tune your message and offering. Constantly, until your voice and message are more mature and stable.

Listen to another episode that talks about brand voice. In Frank’s voice, actually.

And here are a couple of links to the Rode mics that Chris and Mark were talking about in this episode. They are perfect for totally giving your phone made content that professional touch.

Rode SmartLav+ for Smartphones

Rode Wireless GO – compact wireless microphone system

The post #081 – Carers Couch appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

‘Do these guys know what they’re doing.’ That’s a statement, not a question. But to answer the question…yes. Yes. they do. Iotasol is a web and mobile development concern that does amazing work. The only problem is that it’s hard to tell that by just looking at their website.

How do they do it? Where does the Iotasol magic come from?

To be straight up honest, we think it’s all about Ravijeet Dang. He’s the Managing Director for Iotasol in Australia. He’s also the Chief Technology Officer for Mark’s startup, RubySODA. #fulldisclosure

In the true spirit of Destroy Digital, we’re going to pull out the big guns and throw out a full broadside. Time to get your helmet, Ravi.

Joking.

The truth is, from a pure business perspective, aligning one’s brand and visual identity is a heck of a lot easier than fixing product problems, cultural issues and operational blockages.

Get the clothes that suit the wearer. Right now, they do not look like the innovative tech-powerhouse that they are.

That needs to change to allow more flexibility with the higher business functions. From recruiting staff to attracting the right clientele to being industry leaders.

Look from the Outside-In and understand what your customer sees when they look at you, it’ll tell you what you need to change for the outside to match the inside.

Head over to this episode that talks more about this ‘Outside-In’ approach Chris and Mark keep yapping on about.

The post #080 – Iotasol appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

When is a market not just a market? When you’re Issimo Markets. Issimo Markets is a revolutionary, mobile-based, must-have vendor management platform. It will transform the humble Farmers’ and Weekend Markets.

The traditional Weekend Market is poised for an upgrade. Employing a simple to use, mobile application, market organisers can now streamline vendor applications and management.

This is a total game-changer.

The challenges faced by the Issimo Market team will require a staged approach in how they reach their target audience.

In fact, they actually have two target audiences. Market Organisers and Vendors.

While each audience segment is dependent on the other, their first port-of-call will be the Market Organisers. However, when there is a critical mass of Markets on their roster, Vendors should then be actively targeted and signed up.

Content will be king here. From having a website that will allow blogposts to an engaged Instagram account will add immense value to how people find them.

User-Generated Content will be a very useful way to solicit content for Social Media. Smart curating and employing the right hashtags will go a long way in making the most of the content that is uploaded by Vendors and Market Go-ers.

Listen on as Chris and Mark, break down the approach and content suggestions to maximise takeup.

Also, listen to this episode on The Vegan Market of Melbourne for a deeper understanding of what markets do.

Have a look at the Issimo Markets website here.

The post #079 – Issimo Markets appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

Alicetronics is not just your typical neighbourhood electronics store. Not only are they the authorised Jaycar stockist for Alice Springs, but they are also the premier electronics store in Central Australia. And here’s what we think.

What’s better than being next to a McDonald’s? Having FREE electric vehicle charging to boot! Now that will definitely bring in ALL the nerds. And if you’re Alicetronics, that is exactly what you want.

But what do you do if you want to attract the nerds that are searching for you with the Google machine? Or on the Facebooks? What do you need to make sure that you show up in all the searches? Both paid AND organic?

The easiest thing to fix is to make sure your website is built for search and conversions. This means having the right pages with the right titles and the right content to facilitate organic search (AKA SEO) and also paid search (AKA PPC). Another good thing to have is the capacity for Landing Pages that address individual pain points, product or issues that your customers are searching for.

And right now their website isn’t built for that. And unless you’re actually searching for their brand name (ie Alicetronics), their website Might As Well Be On Mars.

When it’s used as a catalogue for SEO and reviews. Yep. An eCommerce plug-in for WordPress like WooCommerce will have all the built-in functionality to get images, product descriptions and reviews on to your website. This immediately gives your website searchability if you have customers searching for products in your area.

And if you’re not set up for selling online, just simply switch off the shopping cart.

Boom! No More Mister Nice Guy.

So to see what all the fuss is about, check out their website here.

Image credits Naparazzi for the base image.

The post #078 – Alicetronics appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

Trying to find the best mortgage lender is sometimes like looking for The Hound of the Baskervilles. Lots of tramping about in dark moors, sidestepping the occasional puddle of gore and then having a drooling quadruped maul you for your trouble. Here is where Kyle Scott AKA Sherlock Homes Loan Investigation comes in.

It’s no secret that lenders and banks aren’t the most forthcoming in terms of transparency with their lending practices. It is also no secret that borrowers have been compared to lambs for the slaughter. Face it. In Australia, we’ve had to have a Royal Commission into our banks and the whole thing wasn’t pretty.

Here is where having someone like Kyle Scott in your employ can very advantageous. However, the problem here is unlike Sir Arthur’s eminent fictional detective, Kyle hasn’t got the same notoriety.

Firstly, the name itself is a double-edged sword. A simple Google search will yield a whole stack of ‘everyone else’. Yep. The problem with going with a popular phrase (or a clever pun of) is that you’re just ‘one of the crowd’.

One way is to differentiate yourself is to add a pre-fix or even a suffix. For example, “Kyle Scott, Sherlock Homes Loan Investigation” or “Sherlock Homes – Kyle Scott, Loan Investigator”. This should sufficiently set you apart from the crowd.

Like our fictional namesake, the big thing is to set about creating a reputation. An online one, in our case. So, get reviews and testimonials. Lots of them. And make sure they are NOT kept in your filing cabinet. Have them on Facebook, LinkedIn and Google.

Then, go and make content. As much as you can. Good, targeted content. Listen to the episode as Chris and Mark outline some strategies and pointers to help get Kyle found.

Create a veritable library of great content, case studies and true stories about the horrors, the pitfalls, the learnings and paint the picture on why you need to have Sherlock Homes – Kyle Scott, Loan Investigator on your payroll.

Here’s Kyle’s website – at the time of publishing, it still needs a bit of work but you’ll be able to get in touch with him there.

And here are a couple of episodes on personal branding that could help shed more light.

Bronwyn Clee

Bill Zammit

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