The Digital Slice

Does human-to-human have a place in business? Gone are the days when business is all about the big brands and huge corporations which seem impervious to who the customer is and what he really needs. This day and age is all about social business and of knowing, understanding, connecting with, and even developing a relationship with your potential and existing market.

What it takes is true authenticity in the way you use technology and communication tools to make that individual on the other end feel he is interacting with a human being instead of a company or brand. This podcast episode focuses on how to be human in a seemingly non-human world and still grow your business.

In this Episode:

• How Bryan's interest and work in human marketing was ignited
• How to humanize the use of chatbots in communication
• How to leverage technology to help with business while maintaining your authenticity as a human being/business owner
• Amount of time spent vs. Quality of value delivered in closing more business with customers
• How to silence the noise of technology and social media to permeate your target market
• Steps to take in humanizing your brand
• How talking to 10 people is better than sending emails to 10,000
• How to attract the right people and build your tribe out of your authentic interests and unique passion
• The importance of self-care such as meditation in achieving work-life balance
• Bryan's free video series on humanizing marketing and branding; and one-on-one coaching
• All about the H2H Private Club, Hot Seat, and Master Class
• How doing something unexpected but needed, and in a personalized manner is an effectively humanized marketing for your business

In this episode of The Digital Slice Podcast, learn the top 10 growth-hacking strategies for your small business.

Jon Ferrara is a pioneer and creator of CRM or Customer Relationship Management and a recognized speaker in social media and its effects on sales and marketing. He is the Founder of GoldMine Software Corp., which was one of the pioneers of SFA or Sales Force Automation and CRM software for small and medium-sized businesses.

More than anything, Jon is a Relationship Management entrepreneur. He is the CEO of Nimble, his latest venture that has reinvented CRM into a Simply Smarter Social Sales and Marketing platform. It's the first CRM that updates contacts and company data and allows you to work with it anywhere. Recently, Jon has been recognized as one of the Top 10 Social Salespeople in the world and one of the top 100 Influencer by Forbes.

In this Episode:

• Build your personal brand
• How to stand out by giving away your knowledge to help other people
• How to use the various social media platforms to connect to people in a personalized manner and build your personal brand
• How to nurture relationships from introducing yourself, listening, and responding
• How to establish personal and professional identities in the common places where your constituency has conversations in
• How to use Nimble and connect not just with potential customers but with influencers, bloggers, investors, etc.
• How to use context and insight to engage effectively
• Identify influencers in and around your products and services and sharing their content
• How to find influencers in your industry or niche
• Share influencers' content
• How to connect with influencers and engage with their content as a fourth strategy
• Establish yourself as a thought leader or trusted adviser in your industry
• Tools to use for identifying content and influencers as well as for sharing content
• How quick it is to read and share content, both personal and professional daily, as an individual or company and as a team
• The five E's of social selling: educate, enchant, engage, embrace, and empower your customers
• How to use a CRM to keep track of your network when it begins to expand considerably
• The advantages of using a contact management over CRM
• How to use Nimble as a contact manager that will connect your contact, email, calendar, and social
• Use social listening and social CRM like Nimble to discover common interests and contact data
• Using segmentation as an eighth strategy
• Use group messages
• Nurture your segmented list with email sequences

Should you be blogging at this point in your business? Content marketing has always been on top of the list of any organization's or brand's marketing strategies, and for a good reason. In particular, blogging as a form of content marketing has helped many companies achieve success in measurable ways.

For one, it can help you establish thought leadership in the industry. It can also drive traffic to your website and increase the likelihood of conversions. But, how can you maximize the benefits of blogging so it can continually help you with sales and marketing?

In this episode of BRADS.LIVE, we discover many ways to generate content, make use of tools, and genuinely help people with your blog content while growing your company.

Mike Allton is a speaker, award-winning blogger, author, and brand evangelist. His blog, The Social Media Hat is a content marketing haven and resource complete with ebooks, guides, and free articles for small businesses. Mike teaches businesses strategies, tactics, and tools for success through content marketing together with SEO, social media, and mobile apps. He is also an Agorapulse brand evangelist, strengthening its relationship with agencies, influencers, social media educators and brands.

In this Episode:

• How Mike has been blogging for 10 years and how he started The Social Media Hat
• The direct relationship between the amount of content created and speed of online success
• How helpful content brings in traffic, leads, and sales conversions
• The results of a HupSpot study on how effective content creation is for numerous companies
• How blogs generate organic traffic
• How to overcome the challenges of creating enough posts for your blog
• How blog posts should ideally come from your own experience or opinion instead of being heavily researched
• How to use Evernote to track your ideas for blog topics
• Making use of your audience's frequently asked questions and questions they're supposed to be asking as blog post ideas
• How to use videos or video interviews as the basis for your content
• How content creation is more cost-effective and inbound marketing-oriented
• The advantages of content publishing vs. Cold-calling
• How to develop the blogger's mindset
• How sharing about personal interests can make you relatable and focusing on only one interest for branding purposes
• The real essence of newsjacking and leveraging the news cycle bell curve
• Considerations on what you can write about in relation to interest and layering
• How to gauge which content is relevant for your audience using tools
• How blogging should be very conversational like you are speaking to your audience directly
• How to create authentic content that's more your own than outsourced
• How to do SEO by linking, interlinking, and creating long-form content
• How to use Agorapulse to custom-promote your content

Inbound or outbound? One of the questions you may be confronted with when it comes to marketing is whether you should have an inbound or an outbound strategy. This is especially important considering the investment required when implementing these marketing strategies over a period of time.

At the end of the day, what you need is an effective technique that does not only attract potential customers but also helps build trust that will lay the foundation for a long-term relationship with them. Inbound marketing could be a good fit for your company. But beyond marketing, an inbound revolution has been taking place - making inbound a philosophy to guide and direct your whole organization and business toward success. Discover the principles of Inbound Organization in this episode of The Digital Slice Podcast and learn how to live it and breathe it in your business.

Dan Tyre is one of the original team members of Hubspot. Dan is a recognized authority in inbound marketing as well as sales. He is also a senior level software executive, writer, speaker, investor, mentor and coach for inbound success. His expertise is in inbound sales, inbound marketing, and inbound service.

Todd Hockenberry is the owner of Top Line Results, LLC specializing in leading revenue growth in small to medium-sized companies and focusing on capital equipment, technology, and manufacturing. Todd is a published author for industry and technology trends specifically in magazines such as Photonics Online, The Fabricator, Modern Application News, Industrial Laser Solutions to name a few. He is also a sought-after speaker in trade shows and tech conferences.

In this Episode:

• How Todd started to unknowingly use inbound principles while working with an industrial company
• How effective quality content, SEO, and email campaigns are in engaging customers as Todd discovered in 2002
• How Todd founded Top Line Results, partnered with HubSpot, and agreed with Dan to write a book on Inbound Organization
• How inbound has evolved into a philosophy that can be applied to the rest of your organization and your whole business
• How Todd and Dan synergized to the writing of the book, Inbound Organization
• How HubSpot and its leadership team lent support in the writing of the book
• How decision-making and buying power has been turned over from the sales person to the buyer
• How change has to start within the organization first in order to grow as a business
• How being helpful from end to end is central to an Inbound mindset and strategy
• Why transforming into an Inbound Organization is relevant today
• How leadership is critical to the transformation to an Inbound Organization
• How sales and marketing has to work together to create a satisfying customer experience
• How referrals are still the best source of leads making the customer journey critically important
• How the MSPOT or Mission, Strategy, Plans, Omissions, and Targets is a helpful tool for focus and execution
• How to create the buyer persona from a behavior standpoint more than demographics
• How Gary Vaynerchuk is right about the importance of content
• How helping and establishing a relationship with potential customers is the key to selling
• How to make the Inbound Operating System work for your organization from hiring, to cultivating a company culture, to the customer experience
• How transparency should work in an Inbound Organization as a core value

Facebook is the world's largest and most popular social networking site to date. Marketers and business owners often attempt to use Facebook due to its huge audience engagement, which they have taken advantage of successfully. In the recent changes to its algorithm however, many are taken aback and are scrambling for answers as to how to respond best to these changes.

What are you to do when your Facebook business page's reach has declined? Should you continue posting content at this stage? What kind of content is being ranked by Facebook highest so you can formulate your content this way?

In this Episode:

• The recent changes to Facebook's algorithm that affect how you market your business on Facebook
• How less public content is being shown on Facebook including videos, posts from publishers, and businesses
• How posting from your Facebook business page, your reach will be diminished over time
• How posts are going to be ranked differently, giving priority to posts that "spark conversations and meaningful interactions" among users
• How to increase your chances of successfully using Facebook in spite of the significant changes
• How posting less frequently but more thoughtfully is now advantageous with Facebook
• How to create content that will stimulate conversation
• How Facebook is ranking live video and why you should jump into live video today
• How Facebook dislikes asking for comments, likes and shares on your posts as engagement-bait will be demoted in the Newsfeed
• How important is mastering Facebook ads in order to drive traffic to your business page
• How to use Facebook messenger chat bots along with human interaction
• How to adapt to the Facebook changes using quality content, skills development, and new tech tools

In life and in business, there's always something more to explore and do. This is despite other people thinking you may already have achieved so much in your field. Surprisingly, deep inside of you is an insatiable hunger to discover more, start from scratch, and climb your way up again. There is just so much potential waiting to be unleashed, recognized, and utilized. So how would you like to explore that potential of yours to its optimum level today?

Mark Sanborn is all about leadership development and making leaders out of seemingly ordinary and average individuals. Internationally, he inspires his audiences as the authority in business and change leadership. He is certified by the National Speakers Association as a Speaking Professional. He is president of an idea studio called Sanborn & Associates, Inc. aimed at the development of leaders. He has worked with big name clients such as FedEx, Hewlett Packard, ESPN, IBM, and John Deere to name a few. Mark is also a celebrated bestselling author of many books and has been recognized by USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times. He has a new book entitled, The Potential Principle, which delves into the where and the how you can reach your full potential.

In this Episode:

• How the book, The Potential Principle, came to fruition
• How to re-focus, do things differently, stop or start doing something, when you have a change of plans or goals
• How to maximize the use of company expertise and time resources to reach your goals
• How to be better than your best as an individual and as a company using a specific plan
• The Potential Principle on where to get better and how to get better
• The Potential Matrix and focusing on people's inner world of values, thought processes, and purpose to help them become better
• The Fred Factor and why it's better to strive to be interested more than to be interesting
• How to stay innovative and relevant in this constantly changing world
• How to use disruption to effect positive change in business, relationships, etc.
• Who the book, The Potential Principle, is really for and why get it for yourself

In the business world, open communication is the key to fostering engagement with customers. While written content is considered a staple, live video as an interactive medium of communication is emerging as the platform of choice if you are looking to move your business to a higher level. Incorporating essential classroom strategies and humanness with how you do business can prove to be very effective.

Professor Nez is not your average teacher. He has a powerful teaching-learning approach where he is not the center of ultimate knowledge but significantly the facilitator who sets the stage for experiential learning. He is a career coach, author, and Writing and Communications professor at Chapman University. He is a strong advocate of storytelling as evident is his speaking engagements nationwide and his live video presence. He works with various brands and businesses to implement effective social media strategies.

In this Episode:

• How unique Professor Nez's teaching approach is compared to others
• The power of humanness, making mistakes, and how it encourages critical thinking
• How the future of communication is shifting to live video
• The importance of self-discovery and sharing your story
• How Professor Nez is bringing the classroom into the live video realm while doing what he loves most
• How humans tend to suffer from a so-called "permanent temporary" amnesia and how they can be reminded of life's truths
• How to incorporate humanness in this digital era
• How to maximize the use of LinkedIn for lead generation and sales navigation

Live streaming has garnered a lot of attention of late because of its ability to attract subscribers and potential clients. Although some have been very successful in making it work for their business, not everyone can earn from it directly - and this is not a bad thing because there are other paths you can take as a business owner to help you maximize various live streaming benefits.

Certainly, you can go ahead and sell products to monetize live streaming. But like most successful live streamers, you can also opt to use live streams to build long-term relationships with clients. Re-purposing your live stream content to create an online portfolio is likewise a smart move toward solidifying your digital footprint. Whichever way you choose, when done right, there is no doubt that you can take advantage of live streaming to grow your business.

In this Episode:

• How Ross loves featuring live streamers, learning from them and getting to know live stream personalities
• The 3 paths by which live streaming can be used to get direct earnings or foster relationships with customers
• How simple selling can be done via live streams
• How to build relationships or build your personal brand using live streaming
• How to repurpose live stream content to your blogs, YouTube channel, Twitter, or LinkedIn, through the portfolio method
• How to deal with challenges like having no or few audience members or not knowing what to talk about in your live stream
• The importance of developing a live streaming skill set today for its huge future potential
• How to deal with the fear of live streaming especially for first-timers
• The basic tools to get started with live streaming using what you already have
• Ross' red carpet experience at Mario Armstrong's Never Settle Show

The popular idiomatic expression, "Strike while the iron is hot" perfectly describes the opportunity that live video offers the business world. Live video is a highly-effective strategy to get your business out there and is largely recognized but still relatively unexplored because not everybody can seem to just dive into it with confidence. Fortunately, with the right set of skills, some tools, and the courage to finally do it, you can create your own live videos and build a budding community around your business.

Todd Bergin is well-recognized as a live video guru. His entrepreneurial inklings started when he was only 13. Later, he found himself in the real estate business for 3 years. For about 6 years, he also practiced law and while he was at it, he got interested in guns until he had some parts manufactured, made a business out of it, did Internet e-commerce, and put up his own website. Eventually, he found his real passion was in helping other people grow their business successfully. He quit the practice of law for good and from there, became the go-to expert for everything live video.

In this Episode:

• How Todd found his real calling as a business person inspired by the Rich Dad, Poor Dad influence
• How to acquire the "creating-your-own-business" mindset instead of the traditional "study-to-become-an-employee" mindset
• How live video should be explored with its huge business potential
• How to take advantage of the open communication and engagement live videos bring to your business
• How to use video to get your message across, engage, and convert customers
• How to use Facebook, YouTube, Periscope, Instagram, Wirecast, and Switchboard to reach different kinds of audiences
• Startup equipment and software for live video including audio for different types of business needs
• How to deal with things that could go wrong while doing a live video
• The short-term and long-term benefits of live video
• What to do after broadcasting your live video

The need for live video is both undeniable and inevitable and every business owner recognizes it. However, going out there and doing it yourself for your business is also a daunting task. When you are not used to the spotlight, doing live video can be frightening. Part of the reason why it can cause fear for the newbie is the lack of knowledge as to what kind of content to feature, what equipment to use, and how to go about the process competently. Consequently, arming yourself with the right knowledge, skills, and gear can make you more confident doing live video.

Ian Anderson Gray is a multi-talented individual who is an expert in anything and everything live video. He founded Seriously Social, a social media-focused business that focuses on live video and productivity tools for businesses of all sizes.

Ian works with clients worldwide as a consultant. He is an in-demand international speaker at conferences in the US, UK, Czech Republic, Ireland, Poland, and more. At Select Performers, he is also partner and co-founder, utilizing his 10 years of experience to help people, organizations, and charities achieve online visibility and impact.

In this Episode:

• How Ian started and trained as a professional singer and went into the web development business with his father in the UK
• How the blog he created turned the tables around and launched his social media business
• How Seriously Social opened opportunities for consultation as people sought his expertise and training
• How creating content that's empathetic and easy to understand for your audience results in greater impact
• Different kinds of fear in relation to live video and how to overcome them
• How to generate content for blogs and live videos
• The essentials to prepare for live broadcasting
• How different types of businesses can take advantage of live video
• The impostor syndrome, how to overcome it, and still go live
• How to overcome your fear using a test run on Facebook, posing a challenge, or joining a group
• Some of the differences between OBS studio and Wirecast