Destroy Digital

This week we have not one, but TWO bona fide, dyed-in-the-wool, graphic designers. Karl Walters and Matt O’Neill join us to talk about the state of graphic design and how it is still not only relevant but critical, in this digital age.

If you’re wondering where this episode is going, it really isn’t about making pretty pictures. To be honest, anyone can make pretty pictures. Slap Helvetica Neue Black over the top of some overly filtered happy snap and boomshanka, it’s ‘design’.

In fact, there is usually not much wrong with those logos that get pumped out at Fiverr. Go have look.

It’s pretty decent looking site and it’s pretty tempting to think that someone you’ve never met; probably not be able to talk to; who lives on another continent; isn’t paid enough to get to know you or your business is going to be able to design your corporate visual identity (the very thing that iconographically defines who and what you stand for).

It’s like asking the publican in the next town to name your baby, dress your husband or design your boudoir. Nuts.

The design method is more than valid in this day and age – it’s a method that solves problems. Visual design is only one aspect of design – but the methodology is valid for most problem-solving scenarios. When done correctly, it’s a process that allows for creativity AND efficiency.

The main takeaway here is that when you’re buying good design, you’re not buying pretty pictures – you’re buying a process and a methodology that will yield a creative solution that is designed just for you.  Someone with the expertise to make you something with meaning and gravitas that is infused with the spirit of your venture.

Karl Walters from Karl Adrian Design – AKA the ninja of graphic design. Karl, you already know from a previous episode on Karl Adrian Design.

Matt O’Neill from Mutant Design – AKA something, something, super-hero, mutant design god. Matt’s also a stand-up comedian and very well-known designer in the Victorian film scene. Check out his latest creative venture – Paranormal Investigating Ghost Hunters.

Now, go do something creative.

The post #026 – GUESTS – Karl Walters – Matt O’Neill – The State of Graphic Design appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

In 2012, internet celebrity, Zefrank posted on his blog an invocation for beginnings. It is in some ways a bit of advice on how to make content, or at least how to start. And it begins with, ‘This is an invocation for anyone who hasn’t begun, whose stuck in a terrible place between zero and one.’

Going from zero to one is just about the hardest thing there is about making content. But just like a snowball rolling downhill, once you have momentum, it becomes easier and easier. Bigger and bigger.

The only difference between someone who has a YouTube show, podcast, blog, Instagram following etc and those who don’t, is simply that those who do, do and those who don’t, don’t. So don’t fear. Don’t doubt.

If you have something to say or want to reach out to your audience, just put something out. Be it a blog or podcast the first episode is always the hardest one to make but make it anyway. And then don’t look back.

PRO-TIP: Make an intro episode – we call it Episode Zero. A prologue, so to speak. In it, outline your ‘why’ and reasons you have for starting your channel. And in it, make a promise to your audience. tell them what to expect. It’s a great way to break the ice and to get your first bit of content published.

To hear our Episode Zero, click here.

We advocate making it a part of your daily routine. Some of the top YouTubers simply have lighting and camera’s set up around their workstations. See Alex Becker and Phillip Defranco for example. Others carry a camera around with them and record snippets of their daily life. See Chris’ Youtube channel.

Find something that suits you and stick to it.

And finally, here is the Grand Daddy of the Vlog himself, Zefrank with his invocation. Have a listen. It’s some powerful ju-ju.

The post #025 – Start Making Content appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

What’s the point of hiring a great web developer when you aren’t able to get the best out of them? Or how do you know if your agency is not just handballing the web brief to an offshore outsourced company? Here’s another rant episode where Chris and Mark outline a best practice web development process. 

There are two main things we’d like to highlight here. Outsourcing and Strategy. In both cases, it pays to have your eyes wide open and your ducks in a row. Let’s start with outsourcing.

In it’s best practice form, there is nothing wrong with your agency outsourcing its web development expertise. Some web skills are highly specialised and having to bring in experts is a smart move. Especially, if your agency has a strong track record in delivering good web projects and has robust project management processes.

The problem arises when your agency simply outsources to a faceless offshore company and then not have the internal expertise to neither check nor direct the work. We see this all too often – and we’ve had clients pay us good money to fix a botched job.

How do you go on a journey without a map? How do you build a house without a blueprint? The ideal situation is to really do your strategy work. Make sure you do your Persona Work, Conversion Flows, Conversion Funnels, Required Assets and Implementation Timelines. Understand your plan and then use it to successfully brief not only your web developers but also your digital and content marketers.

…really isn’t that hard. Ask the right questions and have a strategy in place to ensure that you both get the best out of the brief.

PS Chris comes out in this episode…yep. He’s finally admitted to being a nerd. And we love him nonetheless.

The post #024_RANT_Good Web Development – Buyer Beware appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

Taking charge of your narrative…we touched on why that is a good idea in our last episode. This episode, we ask what does a brand as publisher look like? What does it mean and how does one go about doing it?

Firstly, let’s talk about the cold hard truth. Brands that are leading the content marketing stakes see 7.8 times more site traffic than non-leaders. Newswhip.com have a very compelling article on the reasons (backed with data) why top brands are thinking like publishers.

GE is one such brand. Not only are they global technology leaders but their future forward DNA has also seen them take the podcast world by storm. We’ve touched upon this before. In the first half of 2017, GE had 253,196 total social media engagements versus their nearest competitor (Seimens) with a paltry 22,965 engagements. That’s a factor of more than 10!

How did they achieve that? Just have a read through of these GE website links. They’ll tell you everything you need to know. The Message and Life After.

A great Australian example of a brand taking the reins and leading the conversation is Domain, the real estate website. Their editorial efforts are split into two main publications. They simply call it News and Living.

And here’s last week’s podcast episode. The one with Carol Camoens, where we talk about why brands need to start owing their narratives with more great examples of leading brands in that space.

Image Credit: News Stand in Paris by Florian Plag.

The post #023 – Brand as a publisher appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

Gone are the days where brands would hire PR companies to pump out press releases. Hoping a media outlet would pick up the story. Also, gone are the days where journalists would just copy and paste from those same press releases. But if the PR executives and journalists are no longer spinning your brand narrative, then who is?

This episode we have with us Carolyn Camoens, a one-time Senior VP at WE Communications, now the Managing Director, Asia at Hume Brophy. Trained as a lawyer, Carol is also a playwright and author, which makes her the perfect guest for telling stories.

In this age of online media channels, there is no reason why brands themselves can’t take charge of their narrative and tell their own story. A brand can easily leverage the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, email newsletters, blogs, content hubs, YouTube channels et al.

A brand narrative is a rather complex blend of official and customer generated stories that make up the overall impression and reputation of your brand. While there is no such thing as being able to control public opinion, a good way for brands to at least set the tone and engage directly with their audience (read customers) is to have an integrated content and editorial strategy.

Yes, I said that right. An editorial strategy. Brands have to start thinking of themselves as centres of influence and having their own media channels means having to take on an editorial function. Marketing, PR and brand management need to be working together like a well-oiled machine. Do this successfully and the world is your oyster.

One great example of this is Mahindra Rise. This media centre is wholly owned by the giant multinational Mahindra Group and is the lynchpin of their global communications strategy.

Another great example is the Porsche Newsroom – consolidating stories from all over the globe and also from Stuttgart, this is the premier news site for all things Porsche.

For national brands and organisations, the game is still the same, create your own content and own your channels. Australian natural sweetener brand Natvia is a leader in this space and their website is chock full of sugar-free content and recipes.

When boiled down those sites are nothing more than giant blogs. So, if you think that owning your brand narrative is too hard, have a listen to this episode. It’ll help you make a start.

If you’re ready to start making content that will influence and entertain, get in touch with Mark. He’s built whole editorial departments, not just for brands but agencies too.

The post #022 GUEST – Carolyn Camoens – Brand Narrative appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

So, you want a blog. Has anyone told you a blog is sooo 2002? Well, it’s not. Starting a blog is probably the best thing you can do to get found on search. In fact, having a place to host your content on the web allows you to properly leverage your social channels.

There are many kinds of blogs from humble Tumblrs to the New York Times. Yep. Even the massive news sites are technically nothing more than giant…blogs. And blogs these days aren’t just for articles or pics. They can be anything you wish. Video blogs and podcasts are making their way up the ranks as popular formats.

Even on the corporate front, the humble blog has been transformed into the Content Hub, where brand-relevant content is hosted and shared via email newsletters, social channels and so forth.

In fact, it is too easy and so it should be. However, the most important things you need to take care of before you even begin are the things that could make all the difference. Choosing a name is top on that list. Also deciding what makes your blog unique – the thing that sets it apart. Does your blog serve a need or fill a gap? Who is your content pitched at?

And finally, it has to entertain or at least be entertaining. If it doesn’t, there’s a good chance your audience might just leave and never return.

PS This website is nothing more than a blog with a podcast attached to it.

The post #021 – Starting a Blog appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

Self promotion is the key to getting your name out there. While it might seem pretty obvious, it’s sometimes easier said than done. This week we check out Karl Adrian Design – a seasoned campaigner whose been a contractor to several agencies throughout most of his career.

Karl’s a bit like a graphic design ninja. For years, he’s been operating under the radar as a freelancer creating some high profile designs that ultimately do not bear his name. However, he’s finally taken the plunge and has struck out on his own. Which is great because Karl is a pretty awesome designer.

What advice can we give to help Karl get his name out there? Plenty but this is the one that makes the most sense. Make content that demonstrates expertise, create awareness and establish a “right to speak” on the subject.

“Great, easy to listen to podcasts full of spot-on advice. Real solutions to real problems facing businesses of all sizes. Great work guys!” Karl Walters, Karl Adrian Design.

Self Promotion isn’t shameless…

…it is the name of the game. No one is going to champion you as much as…you – it’s a given that if you’re proud of your work then be proud to talk about it. Share it with anyone that could benefit from it. Make it a point to showcase your methods or philosophy. If you don’t make the effort, who will?

And there are many cool ways of doing it. Instagram is the obvious one for visual designers. However, Pinterest can be quite fun too. Uniqlo did something a while back that is still quite unique.

Self-funded self-promotion is, of course, something that is almost inevitable but the returns are many. Check out our episode on that with Weightless Films here.

And also check out the Karl Adrian website here.

The post #020 – Karl Adrian Design appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

Out-of-Home advertising is a fancy way of saying outdoor advertising (digital or otherwise). A quick show of hands on how many of you feel that they are a necessary evil? How about if we told you that there’s a bunch of awesome people that have married street art with billboard advertising? And that it looks S-I-C-K? Fully. What if we told you that a little sprinkle of YouTube optimisation is all that’s needed?

Apparition Media was founded by three lads (Tyson Hunter, Tristan Minter and artist, Hamish McBride) from Fitzroy, Melbourne. There’s a great article on them on the Huff called “From Baked Beans to Big Bikkies (sic)”. It tells the story of following one’s dreams and finding one’s passion. It’s a story that drips with innovation and creativity. And we love it.

“Man, this is awesome…really enjoying it so far [and] the guys are taking notes.” Tyson Hunter, Co-Founder, Apparition Media

As we were feasting on the visual smorgasbord that is their website and social media channels, one thing did catch our eye. Their YouTube channel.

While the videos added a sweet dimension to the “behind-the-scenes” picture – and all the ingredients were there. All that’s left are some tweaks and Chris rattles off a YouTube optimisation list that’s as long as his arm. Some are simple fixes and others a bit more in-depth.

So, there you have it. Billboards don’t have to suck thanks to these guys.

Their work speaks for itself. Make sure to check it out here – you won’t regret it.

The post #019 – Apparition Media appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

No matter what business you’re in, knowing your target audience is critical to your success. Every business will have a different audience map and sometimes that audience is not entirely in the same group as your customers or end-users.

This week we talked to North Eastern Urology (NEU), a specialist clinic with their primary consulting location in Heidelberg. They’ve been providing urology services for more than 30 years and are very well-known by General Practitioners (GPs). The specialists in the practice are some of the most respected in their field and have been doing good work in the community. They are also looking to expand their reach.

The main thing here is that before we recommend any marketing strategies, our first port of call is for us to know who their audiences are and what they are most likely to respond to.

First are the GP’s, who are on the lookout for good specialists to refer their patients on to. This is a critical side of the equation and is mostly an industry-relations scenario. Keeping GP’s informed and engaged with useful, relevant information that will help them provide better outcomes for their patients is a good way to go about it.

Secondly, a very important group to reach out to are the patients themselves (and their loved ones). This is a no-brainer and NEU have identified a few groups themselves already. While in this case, it is not smart to “cut-out” the middleman; but it can only be a good thing to directly educate the end-patient who can then ask their doctors to refer them on to NEU.

Knowledge is a powerful thing and knowing who you are talking to is the first step to know what to say.

North Eastern Urology’s website can be found here.

If you’d like to know more about persona work (fancy marketing term for target audience) and how that could fit in with a professional services firm – here’s a earlier episode.

The post #018 – North Eastern Urology appeared first on A Digital Marketing Podcast - Destroy Digital.

Live streaming is a great way to kill two birds with one stone. Not that we advocate the killing of birds in any way shape or form. However, if you’re already producing content (either a podcast or an online video) this is a great way to show off another side of your program.

Live streaming is now standard on the mainstream social media channels. This is mostly the big guys working out that it is now poised to be a “thing”. Faster internet speeds, near universal mobile penetration and a thirst for authentic content have created a perfect storm.

For content creators and businesses, the live video element gives you an air of authenticity that is hard to beat. Virtual face to face interactions, live questions and comments are as close to being in the same room as an online channel can be. This is a far more personal experience than simply writing a blog and it will the premiere “one to many” content format of choice in the not too distant future.

Twitch.tv – Getting people to watch you play video games is now a viable career. Check out Melbourne girl gamer @loserfruit, her tagline is “Failed my way to success”. She’s currently sitting on 555K followers. Sooo awesome. Take heed, careers of the future are being born as we speak thanks to new and emergent technologies.

Tiny vegetable curry and rice. ‘Yum. Yum. Yum.’ *Said in a tiny voice.

https://www.facebook.com/tastemade/videos/tiny-vegetable-curry-rice-tiny-kitchen/978151525605348/

More content creators are making quite a good living by providing regular online content. It will only be a matter of time when more of that content will be created and streamed “live”. There is no downside for well-practised content makers. As you’re making the content, you are recording it and it will be saved for future audiences.

Two birds. One stone.

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