Learn Marketing Interviews

Where do you go to look for a job? Where do recruiters and employers look for potential employees? LinkedIn! 

In business, so much starts with your LinkedIn profile. Everyone checks you out and makes decisions about you before ever contacting you directly. So you need to make sure your profile looks professional. Also, make sure to build a strong network of co-workers and connections.

Many people use LinkedIn, but not effectively. They are on LinkedIn, but don’t do anything with it. They know there is potential, but don’t know how to move forward.

Mark Williams offers guidance on how to use LinkedIn to its fullest potential! Not doing anything on LinkedIn is a big mistake.

Use LinkedIn to let people know why they should hire you or work with you. What can you offer them? Why they should hire you instead of someone else? LinkedIn is a place where you have access to specific people – especially in business.

You are successful in business because of your products and services but also because of Impressions and how you relate to others. It’s about reaching people. It’s all about PEOPLE!

Utilise LinkedIn just as much as you login to Facebook or Twitter. LinkedIn not only provides access to jobs and people, but it offers valuable job-related content. 

About Mark:

Mark spent about 20 years in the recruitment industry. Then he set up LinkedIn training consultation in 2008. Now he trains thousands of LinkedIn users and has become known as "Mr. LinkedIn" in the industry!.

Challenged Issue: 

Is LinkedIn an effective business development and social selling tool? How can we leverage LinkedIn much more effectively?

Free LinkedIn Profile Review

Provide a link to your LinkedIn profile in the comments, and Mark will give you some honest, practical feedback. He will select one profile for an extensive review. This is your chance to gain valuable feedback to help you win a new job or new clients!!

Mark’s Actionable Tips:

* Get your profile up to speed! Be proud of it. Have others look at it to give you feedback. Make sure you have a compelling headline and a professional picture.

* Perform a 9-step search on LinkedIn to find second- and third-tier customers and save the search. Win some new business and clients!

* Ask for an introduction for a second-tier connection. Establish new connections using your network. 

Top Quotes:

* “LinkedIn is something that a lot of people do use, but actually … not that many people use it effectively.”

* “We need to diversify; we need to widen our … revenue stream.”

* “What could they do to bring people back on a regular basis?”

* “Everybody knows that if you want to check someone out in business, you go to their LinkedIn profile.”

* “It gives you great access to be able to build a strong network.”

* “Your ability to succeed in business is very, very strongly influenced by the quality of your network.”

Guest Links:

* LinkedIn (https://uk.linkedin.com/in/mrlinkedin)

* 9 Simple Steps (winbusinessin.com/9steps)

* Winbusinessin (winbusinessin.com)

Resources:

* LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

* Facebook ( facebook.com)

* Reid Hoffman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/reidhoffman)

* Twitter (twitter.com)

* Google (google.com)

* The Essential 14–Day Guide to Cutting Your Working Hours and...

Use Twitter to gain new business leads and customers. Twitter is a game changer for businesses. It allows you to talk with your customers, not at your customers.

Twitter has one distinct advantage. It has the Four R’s: real time, real people, real stuff, right now.

Any and every business should be on Twitter. It allows you to humanize you and your brand. You can listen to what people say, ask for feedback, ask for new ideas—find out what is important to customers.

On Twitter, share both business and personal information. Share your interests and hobbies. Stop selling all the time, and start being a normal person!

Build relationships and create advocates—people who get to know, like, and trust you. Then they will refer and recommend you to others.

It takes energy, effort, and time to build a presence on Twitter. But you will reap rewards!

About Mark:

Mark started out as a salesperson. He realized that rather than just trying to sell products, if he offered value such as training and guidance, then he generated more sales.

He eventually became a mortgage broker. Then in 2008, he discovered Twitter. Now, he is a Twitter expert and professional speaker who travels around the world to talk about how every business should be on Twitter.

Mark’s Actionable Tips: 6 Bs of Twitter to generate real business

* Be committed: include photo, bio, URL and then start Tweeting!

* Be consistent: Tweet a little bit every day (2-5 Tweets a day).

* Be interesting: Tweet interesting things and add in a question at the end. Encourage conversation!

* Be interested: express interest in other people and your customers. See what interests them.

* Be authentic: do not turn into a presence without being present; be yourself.

* Be social: have fun!

Top Quotes:

* “I couldn’t understand why anybody would want to know I was having a latte or an almond croissant.”

* “Twitter is my foray.”

* “Yes, it’s fun. Yes, it’s social … but there’s also a very serious business angle to this.”

* “It’s not just about following Lady Gaga.”

* “Twitter to me is one of the greatest lead generation tools ever invented.”

* “When people start to become interested is when you engage with them, when you listen to them, when you ask them questions. And Twitter is the greatest for that.”

* “You can’t be everywhere.”

* “Wherever you decide to go, is going to take effort.”

* “Think a bit out of the box.”

Guest Links:

* markshaw.biz

* https://twitter.com/markshaw

* https://www.facebook.com/iammarkshaw 

Resources:

* Twitter (twitter.com)

* Facebook (facebook.com)

* Chris Evans (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/3YP9wSzVrSPhq7mkN5CZkKn/chris-evans)

* Google (google.com)

* Pinterest (pinterest.com)

* Twitter Search Engine (https://twitter.com/search-home)

* The Essential 14–Day Guide to Cutting Your Working Hours and Increasing Your Impact (https://www.excellence-expected.com/cwh/) 

Key Timestamps:

* 00:27 Introduction of topic

* 01:09 Guest introduction

* 01:25 Guest’s background

* 03:16 Twitter experience

* 04:07 Adding value

Personally, do you “like” businesses on Facebook? Do you write about your job or coworkers on Twitter? As an entrepreneur or business owner, do you have employees who post negative comments about your company on social media sites? Or do you have employees who are given access to the company’s social media sites and could actually abuse such power without your knowledge? 

Go ahead, search on Google, and you will find numerous examples of how people have lost their jobs, how businesses have been hacked, and other nightmares all stemming from social media.

How can you define who actually owns your business’ social media? You need to be concerned with not only the public, but employees as well. Peter Wright is here to save the day!

About Peter:

Peter Wright is a specialist digital lawyer from Digital Law UK.

He was once a solicitor who advised the United Kingdom government on data protection and information issues. He realized then, the importance of data protection when it comes to social media for businesses.

He also discovered that there are not many companies that offer practical advice on how to navigate through the difficult and confusing legislation in place for online businesses.

So he started the only law firm in England/Wales to focus solely on digital law (data protection, social media laws, and privacy security). The law firm strives to make sure businesses are safe from a cyber perspective.

Peter’s Actionable Tips: How businesses can understand and implement social media ownership.

* Create and implement a social media policy: identify who will manage the social media accounts; what should they be saying on the social media sites; what timeframe should they do postings; and so on. How, when, and where do you want the social media accounts updated?

* Include social media policy in the company handbook and employment contracts. You can have that element of control if it is clear in such documentation!

* Make sure policies are addressed in high-quality company training. The training needs to be good in order for employees to remember and follow such policies.

Top Quotes:

* “That will never happen to me!”

* “The Web is becoming more ingrained into everything we do.”

* “Make sure you’ve got a clear social media policy in place.”

* “Everyone’s on it (social media), but as a small business, how do you create a culture of respect for the corporate social media?”

* “Do the employees understand, properly, the implications of this (social media postings).”

* “Businesses are engaging on social media in a variety of different ways.”

Guest Links:

* Digital Law UK (http://www.digitallawuk.com/)

* Twitter (https://twitter.com/DigitalLawUK)

* Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DigitalLawUK)

* Blog (http://www.digitallawuk.com/blog/)

Resources:

* LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

* Twitter (twitter.com)

* Facebook (facebook.com)

* HMV (http://www.hmv.com/)

* The Essential 14–Day Guide to Cutting Your Working Hours and Increasing Your Impact (https://www.excellence-expected.com/cwh/)

* Google (google.com)

* Burger King (burgerking.com)

* Snapchat (https://www.snapchat.com/)

Mike Russell is the content man! He has generated so, so much information to help you and many others get started in audio / visual content marketing that no matter where you look online, you WILL end up at a piece of Mike’s amazing content.

Content marketing is a low-risk and low-cost effort that allows you to promote and market your ideas. The content helps raise awareness of you and your brand.

There are different types of content you can produce, including blogs, videos, and audio (podcasts). You can create how-to videos for YouTube, write tutorials on all kinds of topics, use email lists for long-form posts … there are so many opportunities!

What are you good at? What do you like to do? Do you like to make videos? Write stories? Pick something you are good at and enjoy.

For the most part, the only cost is the cost of your time. You can use basic equipment that you may already have such as headphones and Internet service. If you are going to spend money, spend it on a good microphone. Video content is a little more expensive, though.

About Mike Russell:

Mike started out his career as a radio host and also became interested in the production side of the radio industry. This inspired him to start his own business. Now he has two businesses: UK Podcasters Limited and Music Radio Creative Limited.

Mike is also the founder of New Media Europe, the biggest new media conference in the European region.

Image courtesy of UK Podcasters

What Mike Will Help You Overcome: 

The limiting belief that audio / visual content marketing is restricted to those with high budgets and expensive equipment.

Mike’s Actionable Tips:

* Pick whatever medium you are best at: writing, recording, video, etc. Then repurpose that content for other mediums.

* Be professional: have good logos, audio, videos, etc.

* Have an email list: use list to utilize content, have people answer surveys, etc.

Top Quotes:

* “I’ve been in internet radio since before the word podcasting existed.”

* “If you’ve got a great idea, you can put it out there.”

* “If you’ve got something that is good, you will get a great audience.”

* “I’ve seen huge benefits from it.”

* “With every style of content you are doing, you’re reaching a new audience.”

* “Everyone wants to learn online.”

* “This content really is valuable for marketing.”

* “Cost is not really a barrier to podcasting.”

* “Everyone is good at something.”

Guest Links:

* UK Podcasters (http://ukpodcasters.com/)

* Music Radio Creative (http://www.musicradiocreative.com/)

* New Media Europe Conference 2015 (http://newmediaeurope.com/2015/)

Resources:

* Colin Gray (http://www.thepodcasthost.com/blog/author/colinmcgray-2/)

* YouTube (youtube.com)

* Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/)

* Facebook (facebook.com)

* The Verge (http://www.theverge.com/)

* The Next Web (http://thenextweb.com/)

* TechCrunch (http://techcrunch.com/)

* Two Shots to the Head (http://www.twoshotstothehead.com/podcasts/)

* com (http://www.lynda.com/)

* Udemy (https://www.udemy.com/)

Most people know about Pay-Per-Click advertising, but don’t know how to really make it work for them. Most people struggle with how to make the most out of PPC advertising and make the biggest return from what you invest.

PPC advertising changes almost daily, so you need to stay up-to-date with all of the changes that happen. Always work toward improving your efforts.

PPC means advertisers are paying for each click they get on their advertisements. Website visitors do a search, and the top results are typically PPC advertisements. Advertisers are paying on certain keywords that will be matched with search queries to make their ads appear to drive traffic to their Web site and generate leads. They need to structure their account in a way that their keywords match with their advertisements.

As a paid advertiser, you have more control than the organic Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) model to attract potential customers. Sadly, many PPC advertisers think they are going to get results immediately, but it does take time to achieve results due to competition.

Factors to consider with PPC advertising:

* Quality scores: These scores are based on the relevancy of your keywords to your site, your site performance, and the quality of your content. Make sure your site is the best it can be!

* Metrics: Your site’s metrics are important. They effect where you are going to be placed in search results.

* Most important metrics to focus on:

* Conversions

* Cost per conversion

* Impression share

* Quality score

* Sites: There are several online sites to utilize PPC advertising:

* Google

* Bing

* Facebook

* Twitter

Conversions are very important. Conversions include fill-out forms, ebook downloads, and direct purchases. Make sure to have conversion tracking set up.

What leads to underperforming PPC advertising campaigns? Not getting conversions. If you are not getting conversions, then you are not getting any value out of your account. Also, if you are not getting awareness/impressions, then you do not have a profitable campaign.

What results in a successful PPC advertising campaign? Visibility and conversions.

About Margot:

Margot da Cunha is a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising expert for WordStream.

She started off at Indeed.com, the job search engine. Then she joined WordStream as a customer service representative and became certified in Google AdWords. She helps customers get the most out of their budgets using AdWords.

PPC is a field that is always changing, and there is always something new to learn. Margot definitely has to keep up with all of the changes and new features.

It is important to hire people like Margot to have successful advertising campaigns. Entrepreneurs need to develop a partnership with someone who knows how PPC works and can dedicate time to PPC efforts. It’s just a matter of finding the right help, says Margot.

To find a quality partner, you need to identify: What do you want? Do you want some control or fully outsource help? What do you expect? What are your goals? Research options and companies that offer PPC services. Make sure they are on track and doing what you want them to do.

Margot’s Actionable Tips:

* Set up your Google AdWords account effectively and properly:

* Ad groups do not exceed 30 keywords.

* Target right location and languages

* Evenly distribute budget between campaigns

* Review search query data

* Monitor metrics for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Top Quotes:

* “I got to really dive in and learn all about PPC.

Our guest needs no introduction … drum roll please … John Lee Dumas is in the house and prepared to ignite!

That's right, John Lee Dumas from Entrepreneur on Fire joins me today to share how to build your own true fan base, something that is vital to the success of any business.

What is the difference between a follower and a true fan? True fans are evangelists who do the leg work for you to grow your audience. They share and spread your message. They are critical and vital to your success.

Now stop listening to Miley Cyrus, and listen to John instead—a successful entrepreneur who knows the importance of building a community—not a wrecking ball!

About John Lee Dumas:

John Lee Dumas created the first ever 7-day-a-week podcast. Then he went on to create the world’s #1 online community for anyone wanting to create podcast shows.

His fan base is lovingly known as Fire Nation. Many of his fans have been listening to his podcasts since the beginning when John was kind of awful at hosting them. He was clueless and trying to do something, and that resonated with people. He improved over time and generated an amazingly loyal following.

Fire Nation represents an intimate connection he was able to form with a group of individuals that he interacts with on a consistent basis.

His audience tells him how to monetize. Listeners share their pain points and obstacles with him. His audience is the tipping point to bringing monetization. His audience tells him what they want in solutions and products.

Oh what a relief it is … when John provides valuable content to his audience. You, too, need to provide products, solutions, and content that benefits both you and your audience. Your audience is starving for something—starving enough to pay for products; if they are worthwhile and valuable.

However, John has not always been successful. He is authentic and transparent. He is willing to share income reports that detail his successes and failures. Don’t spend energy, effort, and money doing stuff that he has proven doesn’t work. He is here to help you!

What John Lee Dumas Will Help You Overcome:

John is here to share with you the power of creating those TRUE fans and will deliver value upon value along with his 3 super-powerful tips for creating your own loyal following.

John Lee Dumas' Actionable Tips: Provide free, valuable, and consistent content to an audience.

* Free: Podcast, blog, video show or other platform that is free for people to consume.

* Valuable: Set up platform to provide valuable content such as having experts as guests.

* Consistence: Be dedicated to being consistent as to how often you provide that free, valuable content.

John Lee Dumas' Top Quotes:

* “A true fan is going to be somebody that is at work, and they’re saying to their colleagues, ‘You know, I was driving into work today, and I was inspired by this. And I really want to share this with you and really encourage you to go ahead and listen.”

* “A lot of Fire Nation feels like they’ve grown with me.”

* “It took me a while to get here but I brought my audience with me.”

* “We don’t have it all figured out right now, but we’re gonna get there. And let’s get there together.”

* “What is that thing that they are so hungry for?”

* “Create something that is everything.”

* “I’m so lucky that this bombed.”

* “We share all of our wins, all of our successes.”

* “Try not to become a person of success, but rather become a person of value.” - Albert Einstein

* “People never actually fail, they just quit.”

Guest Links:

* Entrepreneur on Fire (http://www.entrepreneuronfire.com/)

Greg Taylor is a web developer with a difference. Rather than marketing himself purely through ‘traditional’ channels, he has opened his mind and his business to a high quality content marketing approach with the goal of positioning himself as an authority in his field.

This personal branding exercise that Greg continually undertakes is a hugely successful campaign strategy for Greg and his business, Marketing Press, and with personal branding becoming more and more prevalent in the business world it’s a subject that many entrepreneurs like you are beginning to really embrace.

In this episode of Excellence Expected, Greg shares his methods and strategies for creating a cohesive personal brand that actually works.

Greg shares insights into:

* Building a personal brand, his experiences with

* content creation

* blogging

* speaking

* video marketing

* The importance of finding the time to invest in content marketing & positioning yourself as an expert

* Overcoming the fear of negative feedback

* The impact content creation, speaking etc has had on his business

* How much fun it is!

* How this is different to other forms of marketing and why many people are only now beginning to take it seriously

Greg, as ever, closes the show with his 3 actionable tips and takeaways to kick start you into taking action right now.

Links mentioned in the episode:

* Marketing Press

* Greg Taylor on Twitter

* Greg Taylor’s personal website

Don’t forget, the more you expect from yourself, the more you WILL excel!

Podcasting is EXPLODING but as a business owner, it's sometimes difficult to decide whether or not to invest in a new content platform and integrate it into your marketing mix.

This week, the superb and amazingly personable Pam Forrester from the Magic for Less shares how becoming a podcast host has helped her business grow and reach new levels of success thanks to allowing Pam's personal brand to grow.

Pam shares

* Insights into the world of podcasting

* How a business can integrate it as a viable, high quality content platform that allows a business to speak directly to its market at a time that's convenient to prospects

* Exactly how she has used it to EXPLODE her personal brand (people recognise her in the street, guys...)

* How to get started podcasting, even if you're a little tentative

* the top 3 key tips that will allow you to excel as a podcaster.

Episode Links:

* The Magic for Less

* Be Our Guest podcast

* Pam Forrester on Twitter

* Two Shots to the Head

It's a fun episode with real, actionable takeaways, shout up in the comments with your feedback and don't forget: the more you expect from yourself, the more you will excel.

This weeks episode is all about finding the confidence to go ahead and start your own podcast.

Following setting up Excellence Expected many business owners, entrepreneurs and friends have asked me for tips, guidance and advice on the right podcasting equipment for a new podcast.

Based on the research I've undertaken myself in setting up Excellence Expected technically, along with the experience of setting up the show on a personal level I found that the biggest issue is making sense of the wide array of equipment on the market which leads to progress paralysis and never really getting started.

In this episode I share my own equipment choices but more importantly, the reasons why I chose each piece of equipment.

I also share my top 3 pieces of advice for anyone looking at investing in their own podcasting setup.

By the end of the show you will have the confidence and the know how to decide upon the best equipment for your needs and you will overcome that progress paralysis that stymies us all at times.

Links to Equipment Mentioned in this Episode:

Microphones

* Blue Snowball Condenser Microphone

* Blue Yeti Condenser Microphone

* Rode Procaster Dynamic Microphone (the microphone used at Excellence Expected)

* Heil PR40 Dynamic Microphone

* Rode Podcaster Dynamic Microphone

Mixing Desk

* Behringer Xenyx 1204 USB Mixing Desk for Podcasting

Headphones

* Sony MDR 7506 Closed Headphones

Accessories

* Van Damme XLR cables

* Triton Fethead

Software

* ECAMM Call Recorder for Skype

* Adobe Audition

* Apple Garageband

* Audacity

What equipment do you use? Let me know in the comments and let's learn, share & grow, together.

The more you expect from yourself, the more you will excel.

Seeking to empower ourselves is what drives us, right?

We all want to be better on our chosen path and that journey of continual self improvement often leads us to events intended to open our minds to methods, mid sets and techniques that we otherwise may not have found.

I had the pleasure of attending and delivering a digital masterclass at the 2014 “Connected Business” conference held in the North of England at The Civic, Barnsley.

Featuring a keynote from Rory Cellan-Jones of the BBC, the event was fantastic as not only a networking opportunity, but as a means of furthering knowledge in very specific areas - I’d like to share my takeaways with you.

My actionable takeaways from the event came from:

* Greg Williams, Executive Editor of Wired

* Linda Cheung, founder of Cube Social

* Simon Biltcliffe, CEO of Webmart

And you can find more about the event over on the Enterprising Barnsley website:

* The Connected Business Conference

The episode is short, sweet and POWERFUL - grab a coffee and your headphones, you’ll like this.

No matter what you do, the more you expect from yourself, the more you will excel.