Destroy Digital

Starting a business is easy but not for everyone. And keeping it going is another kettle of fish altogether. The key to success is to constantly evolve.

Evolution is not the same as changing your mind. Evolution is the process of constant adaptation to your environment. Adapting to either keep up with changes or improving to take advantage of the opportunities presented by change.

Make no mistake. Being rigid and unyielding is the first step to being irrelevant to your customers. History is littered with stories of ‘could have beens’, ‘stubborn old coots’ and ‘the left behinds’. Obsolete relics of by-gone industries and business practices.

So how does one keep their business relevant and thriving? The answer is right in front of you. Your customers. Take the time constantly gather feedback and talk to them. Find out what they like and don’t like about your offering. Find out why they like your competitors offering. Find out what features and benefits they would like to have.

Constantly feel the pulse of your chosen marketplace. Your customers will tell you what is wrong and what is right. You just need to be humble enough to listen and not assume you know everything.

Listen out for their pain points and offer real solutions.

No successful organisation or organism has ever been too proud to improve or adapt.

The post #056 – Starting up a business appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

Influencer marketing is a mixed bag for most businesses. There are some that swear by it and there are others who think it’s a dirty word. We say that a rose by any other name is still…a rose and that EVERY business needs influencers in their corner.

Firstly, what is an influencer? In simple terms, it really is just a person or entity that has the reputation, authority and ‘influence’ over your target audience – where their opinions have the power to sway the buying decisions of your customers.

Make no mistake, influencers have been around since the dawn of human civilisation. We just used to call them word of mouth referrers.

Ask any business owner or marketer what is the most valuable type of marketing and most WILL say…word of mouth. It is the most persuasive and the most credible. Especially when the referrer is highly respected and has enjoys a strong reputation with your intended target market.

Remember when Oprah Winfrey introduced Dr Phil to the world? Practically overnight, it spawned a whole new TV show and launched Dr Phil to super-stardom. Just on the word of one person. Just.

Social media influencers are followed by ‘millenials’ and there are real reasons behind this. The main driver stems from a distrust of brand generated content. User generated content and opinion (social proofing) has higher trust value. It’s a thing that businesses are waking up to.

However, there is still a lot of work to do in the space to ensure that influencers are accountable to their followers. There is currently also a disconnect with how influencers are remunerated with a ROI being very hard to establish.

Clove Tree Hill is one such business that is taking steps to establish that link to ROI and instituting an influencer program of their own. Go to their website, check out their Facebook and Instagram accounts to see what they’ve been doing in that space.

And here’s a previous episode we did on them.

The post #055 – Influencers appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

Creative Recruiters Vanessa Dolan and Jessica Elmer hang out at the studio and drop some gold nuggets for business owners. Recruiting talent is something that we’ve all have to do at some point. It’s a rite of passage to set about gathering one’s team.

Especially for small business, choosing the wrong person has the potential to be quite disastrous. Finding the right person could be akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. Most business owners end up spending an inordinate amount of time with this process, as they are also fulfilling the HR role.

Listen out for the gold nuggets and truth bombs, as Vanessa and Jessica talk to us about the ins and outs of talent search and matching.

How creative recruiters get with making sure that you get the right talent is something that is an art in itself. Does your job brief net who you really need as opposed who you think you need…

The bottom line is that a good recruiter is in reality a SEARCH agency. They not only help you define the role but also go out there to FIND you the best fit. Searching for you.

Meaning the agency has to be savvy in modern digital search techniques to reach out to talent and discover the right person. That is what elevates the best recruiters from just being data-matchers to being your HR partners and advisors.

Check out the Creative Recruiters website here. And check out their award winning LinkedIn page here.

PS We didn’t do an April’s Fool episode but here are some ideas for next year.

The post #054 – GUESTS – Creative Recruiters appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

As a fledgling business, teaching English and offering language services, making online courses to serve content to your students is a great way to use digital to multiply your reach – internationally, if you so wish.

The one to many outreach model is something that digital is great for. For one to one, digital ironically, does it even better. If you’re offering a learning or tutoring service, the traditional way to leverage your time and increase revenue is to stuff your class with students. But if you do have a way of recording, capturing and delivering a repeatable lesson online – it’s a great way of creating steady income.

And that is really important for a new business. Get some cash flow happening ASAP, so that you can concentrate on growing the higher-value services.

Another thing that fledgling businesses need to be mindful of is to choose their main marketing message and stick to it. Be known for it. Drive it into the consciousness of their potential customers. There is no right or wrong message here, if you’re clear about your offering. Just go with the one you are most comfortable with and make it stick. Once you are known for a particular thing – it is far easier to introduce other services and offerings. Think MacDonald’s and MacCafé.

So, it’s all well and good making those courses, but simply sticking them on your website and praying they’ll be found, is not the best way to do it. A good trick is to use a digital aggregator. An online marketplace with a global reach is a great place to start.

PRO TIP: Try this site – it’s a global leader in online learning.

And tailor your offering to a group that NEEDS it. For English lessons, someone that needs to pass their English test to get citizenship isn’t going to ’em and ah’ about taking lessons.

If you’re looking to pass your IELTS course or simply want to be able to differentiate your nouns from your adjectives, head on down to AlphaBetter and Charlotte will have you speaking like the Queen in no time.

The post #053 – AlphaBetter English Services appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

Happy Birthday! 1 year. 12 months. 52 episodes of pure digital destruction. As a birthday present of sorts, Chris and Mark turn their gold nugget, destructo rays back on themselves. Standby as the birthday cake gets blown out of the studio. It could get ugly.

For the past year, we’ve been taking aim at other businesses and organisations. Hopefully, we’ve been helpful with our morsels and gold-nuggets. This episode, we turn the tables and taste a little bit of our own medicine.

Let’s face it. Our Instagram is pretty shite. What about this non-existent newsletter we keep pretending is coming out soon? The only reason why it isn’t any more of an embarrassment is that no cares about it. And let’s not even go into our Twitter cricket-fest.

We did do a couple of things right though. We got through 52 episodes – which to be honest, is just the minimum acceptable standard really. AND there is talk of us doing our very first LIVE episodes – which has got us over the top – well, hopefully over to the Top End. Stay tuned for that.

So, what birthday resolutions have we got for next year? The big one aside from starting a live show circuit, is the newsletter. Getting email addresses would be a good start. Any suggestions for an opt-in offer would be most welcome.

What would you like for us to offer as a download in return for your email address? Click this link to send us your suggestions.

Till next time, party on!

The post #052 – Destroy Digital Turns 1 appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

Our buddy, Danté from Clickstarter in the Top End returns to give us the low down on the latest tips from the horse’s mouth to help you optimise your Facebook Ads to get the best from your social campaigns.

OK. So it was technically not camping per se. Nor was it called Facebook camp. Its official name was the Facebook ANZ Community Lead Trainer Program. In our case, that’s where the horse’s mouth resides.

First up, Facebook has changed in the last few years. The feed is no longer paramount. The future will be less about me-to-the-mass (which is what the feed is all about) but more about me-to-you (think Messenger).

How’s that for a morsel? Here’s another one.

The BOOST button. It’s a quick intro into ads but should not be the basis of your Facebook ad strategy. So, that’s two morsels.

But what about those gold nuggets?

We’ve deliberately left them off this article post. Yeah. Sorry. But just scroll up and listen to the podcast and literally hear Danté break it down.

We learned some new stuff today. And so will you.

Scout’s honour.

Here’s Danté’s first episode with us. It seems so long ago…

And here’s Clickstarter’s website.

The post #051 – Optimise your Facebook Ads in 3 steps appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

Refreshing a website should be a thing that you build into your business model. How often you update your site is entirely dependent on the type of industry you’re in. Fashion brands update at least twice a year and possibly rebuild their sites every 3 or 5 years.

For Rix Kix on the other hand, her current site probably isn’t broken to the point of not being usable. However, there is that feeling that it’s probably holding her back. So, where do you start?

The best thing about a web refresh project is that you can use it to also revisit your brand. Branding has 2 levels – let’s call them core and visceral.

At the core level, we are talking about the hard stuff. First, you have the visual identity – logomark, colour palate, primary and secondary graphics. Then you have the brand identity – what your brand stands for; its personality, values, mission and so forth. The visceral stuff then stems from the above. The way your photos are shot and presented are an extension of your brand identity – its personality should ideally be expressed here.

So, take the time to revisit your brand and update what needs to be updated.

As for Google search optimisation, every bit counts – maps, business pages and locations. Google business pages are the new Yellow Pages. You have to have one to be found, so make sure this is also integrated into your site. Check out our previous episode with School of Hard Knock Knocks here to get best out of multiple venues.

Dance is movement and video shows movement. Therefore, more YouTube. Use the visual medium that best captures movement to showcase the work and the dance. And make sure it is uploaded to YouTube with all the right tags and keywords, so that they can be found.

Check out the Rix Kix website here if you’re in the Darwin area and would like some kick-arse dance lessons.

The post #050 – Rix Kix Dance appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

Like most good artists, Chiggy (AKA Kristen Johnson) doesn’t find it hard to create beautiful work. What she finds hard is demanding the right value for what her work is worth. Which follows on to online shop optimisation.

The major problem with valuing art is that it doesn’t have intrinsic value. Take a solid gold watch as an example. As a watch, it is useful and has value beyond just being a hunk of metal. However, when the watch movement dies and is no longer a timepiece, you could still melt it down and it’ll still be worth something. Not art.

Art is only worth what your patrons are willing to part with. It’s value is totally in the eye of the beholder. So, as the creator of the work – be confident in setting the bar. If you think of your work as your children, you’ll find it easier to set the bar high. It’s a great technique to benchmark all your work.

Once you value your work, so will your customers and patrons. When you set the price of the original work, this becomes the benchmark for the prints and other merchandise that feature the original work. Your customers can now compare and make a value judgement.

There are heaps of ways to bring customers to your online store. Some tips we’ve already covered are in this episode for Green Horse.

However, the main thing to remember is that you need to reduce the friction to purchase. Workshop your buyer personas and map out the hurdles that they face when accessing your shop. The thing to note is their internal dialogue.

The bargaining that goes in their thoughts as they try to decide to buy or not – and even what to buy. You need to make it easy and help them decide. One good example is that shipping costs need to be quoted up front.

Chiggy’s website is here, her online store is here and Chiggy’s gorgeous Instagram page is here.

Check them out, you won’t regret it. And if you buy a yoga mat, we promise it’ll be your favourite one for years to come.

The post #049 – Chiggy is an Artist appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

Nobody goes looking for help when they don’t think they need it. But when the lightbulb goes on and they know it’s time to get their life in gear – you’d hope that they’d want a life coach that won’t mince words and really tell it like it is.

And as far as having someone in your corner goes, you could do worse than Bronwyn Clee. A lot worse. Bronwyn is more than happy to call a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel. She’s there to keep you on the straight and narrow.

In her own words, “…what I LOVE is seeing my clients create the changes they signed up for and more.” And here is the key.

Not regurgitated, easy listening pap. That’s what mainstream drive-time radio is for. You want to be able to trust that your guide will not mince words and will be there to keep you focused to do the hard work of transforming yourself.

When you’re evaluating whether Bronwyn is right for you and vice versa – you need to hear what she has to say and what she believes in. This way, you’re able to see if your values align – whether her approach is something that you can allow yourself to follow.

Bronwyn, we know that you aren’t afraid of scaring the unready off by being true to yourself and therefore, being true to your clients. So, let’s make that the main message on your Homepage.

Another good way of getting the message out there, is with a great YouTube series that is posted regularly on the blog. Details in the episode

If and when you’re ready to have someone tell you like it is and help you turn your life around (and help turn your shit into fertilizer) – head to Bronwyn’s website here. It’s powerful stuff.

The post #048 – Bronwyn Clee appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

When your cause is a worthy one, having an effective website for donations is sometimes all about making sure your message is carefully tailored for your audience. This is paramount.

When one thinks of good web design, two main areas immediately come to mind. The first part almost always is about good messaging. What you want to say to your audience is every bit as crucial as the actual build of the site itself. Taking the time to see things from your donors perspective and understanding their disposition is the key to success.

El Haven is doing good work in Vanuatu and is in need of funds to finish a crucial piece of infrastructure to continue their work. As most capital works go, this requires a good injection of funds and they are appealing to Australians to pitch in.

Here is where the right messaging is crucial. In the case of EL Haven, the problem that they are trying to help fix is quite confronting. The real issue here is that it might be too much for Australian audiences. So the key here is to package it up and to focus on the positives. Highlight the solutions and definitely showcase the success stories. Happy faces go a long way.

Once your messaging is sorted and it’s been tested with your audience group, structuring your website to maximise donations is all about making it easy for donors.

One good tactic is to have pre-filled amounts. Make it as close to a one-click transaction as you possibly can. Choose a financial services partner that is used to dealing with Not-For-Profits.

For more tips on how to structure your site to maximise donations, this is the episode is for you.

To donate to a good cause, check the El Haven website here

The post #047 – El Haven appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.