Drop The Mic with Jason Hunt

In today’s episode, I am privileged to host myself to talk about the 4C’s To Selling via META. As many of you may be aware, META is an umbrella for the leading social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Meta Quest. This is a very important subject in 2023, given that how we use Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp) is no longer the same. The 4C’s to selling via Meta that I will be unwrapping in today’s episode are Content, Credibility, Conversation, and Conversion.

Today, it is remarkably different in how we deploy our ads, our assets, and the creative, which are ever tweaking and changing. In 2023 and going forward, creating content specific to the particular platform underneath META is highly necessary. Given that a successful Instagram piece of content may sometimes replicate a different success on a Facebook feed, it is crucial that we split the content into relevant clips. We are better off having a plethora of content and testing it on various platforms to realize where it best fits. 

Also, in today’s solo episode, I address whether to use still pictures or video content on Meta’s platform for success. From our experience at Merged, we often find video content having greater success rates with the audience nowadays than still images which worked well in the past. I underscore the importance of having a brand ambassador as the face of the company in your Meta ads. This builds a sense of familiarity and trusts with the audience. 

In terms of credibility, I argue for the need to leverage it in your retargeting ads. In other words, you need to complement that content with a secondary piece that supports whatever you are talking about in the initial video. In the 3rd C, I share some tricks and hacks on tailoring your communication through a nurture email sequence. Regarding conversion, it is important not to force things, leaving the purchase decision to the potential client. This can save you from buyer’s remorse and keep your convert for longer as a paying client. 

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In today's episode, we are dissecting whether airline loyalty businesses are worth more than the airline itself. My guest today is Mark Ross-Smith, a tech entrepreneur in the airline industry.

Loyalty business is proving increasingly profitable, with the value of some mileage sales surpassing that of the core operations. Recent research findings indicate that loyalty programs bring upwards of 50% of airline income of the airline's total revenue.

On the day's topic, Mark observes that loyalty programs such as mile sales are worth more than effective while the airline itself is worth nothing. At the same time, our guest notes some other examples of loyalty programs being more valuable than the core business. As Mark observes, airlines have successfully leveraged loyalty programs to drive high emotion around a product that people wouldn't otherwise buy.

Indeed, it would only do fair justice to this subject if we addressed social media's role in pushing airlines' loyalty programs. Mark uses examples of success stories such as Singapore and Malaysia airlines to explain the undisputable role of social media marketing today. 

While today's topic is outside a lot of things that we talk about relating to marketing, it is highly relevant to any frequent traveler, marketing director, or entrepreneur.

Finally, get to hear about Mark's selection of his brand ambassador. It is a relevant one from a film character. Enjoy this period.

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In today's episode, I am privileged to talk with a fellow Canadian on a topic I am passionate about, systems and processes for business. In all honesty, Marquis dissects this topical area rather authoritatively and eloquently.

With the rapid pace of digital transformation in the business environment, every organization is increasingly looking to streamline its workflows. Indeed, we must emphasize the importance of streamlining your business operations. The list of benefits is long: improved efficiency, greater customer satisfaction, improved competitiveness, and reduced cost of doing business, among others. 

Marquis shares with us how he reinvented himself after suffering almost 70 percent of clients during Covid 19. His story is a testament to the importance of a business's flexibility and pivoting accordingly in facing challenges. In addition, he enlightens us on how to conduct a proper survey within a team and use the feedback to improve systems and processes in the business. Better still, he provides a real-life example of a success story on what process improvement can work magic for a business. 

At the end of this insightful episode, Marquis nominates a benefitting brand representative for his company. This episode, while shorter than our usual ones, is a listen worth your ears. Grab your pen and notebook and discover how to streamline your business operations for the greater good of your organization. 

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In this episode, we discuss marketing systems for small teams and budgets. My guest today is Sarah Block: a writer, editor, and content marketing strategist. With a particular specialization in marketing systems and budgets. She spells out how small teams can kick-start the process of building an effective marketing strategy under budget.

A mentoring program is one of the most crucial and impactful tools a business can use to develop extraordinary talent and realize improved results. A mentoring mindset can be the byproduct of growing relationships with your networks. In today's episode, we are talking about establishing a mentoring mindset. Our guest on today's show is Christy, CEO and co-founder of Pollinate Networks Inc. As Christy observes, mentoring is not a purely one-way street exercise. She laments that, in the spirit of reverse engineering, anyone can learn something from anyone, regardless of age or seniority. Indeed, an excellent mentoring program cuts both ways: it measures the mentee and the mentor. In this regard, Christy advises that you bring a mentoring mindset to all your relationships to realize growth. With a mentoring mindset, you will develop a culture of continuous learning. As Christy explains, reverse mentoring helps a mentor learn from a mentee. It is a knowledge exchange program because the mentor can hear about the other person's cares, concerns, and experiences. In this respect, it is increasingly becoming an organization's mindset and skill set. Our guest underscores that a mentoring perspective's core is the willingness to learn from anybody. Christy gives us valuable perspectives about being an excellent mentor in this episode. She likens a good mentor to a human whiteboard: you map it out and get a chance to try it out. In the end, Christy surprises us with her unorthodox brand representative choice. Enjoy this episode!

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In today's episode of the Merged Podcast, I am bringing Dave back due to popular demand. It is the first hat trick for a guest on the Merged Marketing podcast! We are delving into a successful case study: How we generated 2,377 leads for a Caribbean Resort. I break this episode into three specific parts. The first segment deals with the client's status before the Merged campaign. In the second part, we discuss the client's status during the campaign effort and the steps we took to put them in the best position possible for generating leads. Finally, we talk about the aftermath of the campaign. 

 Indeed, this was different from your typical marketing campaign targeting families or families on vacation. Instead, it was a very niche and result-oriented campaign targeting investor-related with disposable income and those interested in a lifestyle type of investment. We break down how we delivered for this particular client to generate 2,337 leads eventually. We achieved this through our proposal that included social media advertising, google advertising, SEO, a new website overhaul, email marketing, and display advertising of some of our assets.  

At the tail end of the episode, hear about another of Dave's exciting choices of superheroe for Merged Marketing's brand representative. It's a slice, and you will enjoy it!

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Directing traffic to your website is fantastic. However, it is pointless to have many visitors who do not convert. Right? The best way to generate new leads is by use of a lead magnet. Indeed, lead magnets don't get the hype for nothing: they can be very persuasive and influential if appropriately utilized. 

Lead magnets are the essential pillars for a marketer to convert traffic into leads. This, in turn, helps you to have a list of prospects. In today's special episode, I talk about marketing and lead magnets and what it takes to create epic lead magnets that your prospects cannot help but take notice of. I share with you insights, with relevant real-life examples, on how to realize lead magnets that ultimately provide your prospects with more excellent value.

An epic lead magnet offers your visitor something valuable for free. In exchange, you get their email address and permission to share more of your business' offerings with them. As I demonstrate with relevant examples, lead magnets often work magic for businesses to get prospects to develop a genuine interest in your lead magnet topic. 

I get to interact with you, my audience, by allowing you to guess the lead magnet campaign examples you think flopped or worked effectively. Enjoy this episode because I surely did enjoy it!

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You probably regard TikTok as the latest social media application for fun viral videos. However, you may need to learn that this platform can be an excellent avenue for growing your business. Besides being the go-to site for people seeking quick entertainment and more likes, TikTok is an overly effective marketing tool for those who know how to leverage its potential. This is the case because the platform renders it easy to create and post authentic video content that can reach millions of people.

My guest today, James, is a subject matter expert on TikTok. Our guest points out that TikTok stands out among the long list of social media platforms due to its unique, robust algorithm. The algorithm shows users' videos of most interest to them based on their activity and likes on the app. James applauds the equal playing field on TikTok because every video enjoys an equal chance of going viral. In addition, he draws our attention to the potential of growth for businesses utilizing TikTok. In particular, James lauds the special focus that the platform affords an individual video; thus, users can concentrate on one video at any given time. And that could just be yours!

True to the fact, my guest underscores how TikTok allows content creators to be genuinely authentic. You do not need sophisticated skills or expensive gear to realize an engaging and entertaining TikTok video. In this regard, a business can easily create trend-driven organic video clips. Furthermore, James advises businesses to create different accounts dedicated to specific niches to leverage the power of TikTok fully. Generally, this episode is loaded with rich insights on TikTok growth for businesses you want to take advantage of. In the end, hear about this expert's superhero choice of his brand representative. Enjoy!

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Do you yearn to create that perfect or winning ad? Today we welcome back the last episode’s guest expert Dave Kerr to discuss creating that successful advertisement. Indeed this is a special episode because it is a departure from the usual: today, I talk with my guest face-to-face from our office. Discover the North Star or guiding light for developing and deploying successful advertisements. 

Dave educates us about the crucial place of the core message or elevator pitch in a winning ad. He drives the point home that the core message is always the same and clearly speaks to what your business is all about. Dave further underscores the need to stay consistent with your core message and branding. He reckons that many advisers often need help creating an ad for the sake of creating and seeing an ad go live without first understanding the core message. 

We spend significant time discussing why you must create authentic ad content. Learn about achieving brand awareness and leveraging the algorithms to create a successful ad. Dave spells out the key qualities of a social media coordinator that would determine the success of the message. At the same time, he cautions on the danger of using a jack-of-all-trades master to create your ad instead of clamoring for specialist crews.

With a twist to the usual end-of-episode question, hear about Dave’s choice of dream client whom he would want to be the brand ambassador for. Spoiler alert - we would need a part 3 with Dave to exhaustively espouse this topic.

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How can you devise, fine-tune and sustain an optimal digital marketing strategy for your business in today’s ever-changing digital landscape? It is critical to master, create and maintain an agile marketing strategy to seize growth opportunities and grow your bottom line.

In this episode, we chat with a former guest on this podcast, one of our digital marketers Dave Kerr. Do you know the right starting place for defining the objectives of your campaign strategy? Our guest expert illuminates this and how to avoid a bad user experience with your over-the-top messaging. Also, learn from Dave how to effectively utilize social media sites like Facebook and Instagram for your campaign strategy.

Dave helps us appreciate the need for a business campaign strategy to be engaging, shareable, focused, and sometimes timeless. He further underscores why you must implement a well-planned campaign strategy with clearly defined objectives and milestones. In this regard, discover the priceless ingredients for an optimal campaign strategy for your business.

Dave cautions on the danger of making a campaign strategy just for the sake of making one. Instead, develop a focused campaign with clear direction and aims.

Our guest expert also delves into the optimal white paper for brand strategy, drawing examples from our rich publication due in the coming year. In the end, discover Dave Kerr’s rather unique pick of the best personality for the brand representative for Merged. It is perfect how he links the leadership style of a household name in the sporting world to campaign strategy in business.

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