Podcast

All Social Y'all Podcast

Hosted by Carey Sperry-Brown: Digital, Media Consultant, Tech Blogger and Podcaster · ENGLISH

A podcast that will help you achieve excellence at serving your customers on social media; while putting the customer at the center of your brand experience! Our guests give you the secrets to creating a modern social media experience that supports your business goals, furthers your growth, while remaining authentic to your brand.

34episodes

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Business Technology

Episodes

All episodes

Newest first

My Family Got Covid 19 Corona Virus & Covid Relevant Social Ideas
Aug 21, 202000:44:10Tap to summarize
I tell my personal story experiencing my family (immediate - who I live with) getting Covid 19.  I also share examples of brands that are sharing content on social media relevant to Corona Virus!
Transcribe →
Will Microsoft Buy TikTok and What does it Mean to You as a Consumer
Aug 6, 202000:15:24Tap to summarize
Regarding concerns and US users use of TikTok, There is a value based belief system in the US that social media is an avenue for free speech (it's not just the US either).  The President and the White House Administration is contemplating banning TikTok from American users due to national security risks and collection by the Chinese Gov't of United State users personal data, as explained in my previous episodes.   I will be breaking this down much further in this episode.  I will help you think further about what it means if TikTok is banned – what it means to you and your business, what is trending in response to the looming changes and what it could mean to Facebook and other social media platforms? On Friday, an alternative solution was announced and that is for Microsoft to purchase the American entity of TikTok.  Huh??   I had the same reaction in 2015 when IBM purchased The Weather Channel. But then I realized it was for data!  Microsoft has the same interest.  Their future business is more and more focused on consumer services data to support advancements in their products like Xbox and future game streaming services.  Furthermore, there are future generations moving up into the workforce and with Googles Gmail for instance, they understand that consumers have other choices today, once they hit the workforce they may not choose Microsoft products. They're going to become business decision makers as well.  Once they hit the work force they may not choose Microsoft product.s It's a constrant branding, innovation, differentiation, software as a service company. Microsoft is also serious about AI (Artificial Intelligence) and because TikTok has AI built into it's tool it could accelerate AI initiatives centered around consumer data.  Same goes as with augmented reality (or AR)….TikTok has filters and ads that are powered by AR.  Their mobile focused capabilities is not something that Microsoft has had success in to date.  And because TikTok is mobile, well they are ahead in that regard as well. Microsoft is not unfamiliar with acquisitions;  Skype, Nokia and LinkedIn to name a few large complicated acquisitions in recent years. There still lies the question of the algorithm tho.  Who's going to own that? The White House has given TikTok until Sept. 15th to sell or it will ban it's service to US users.  The President met with Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella. And then out came Microsoft's formal statement which said, Microsoft fully appreciates the importance of addressing the President's concerns. It is committed to acquiring TikTok subject to a complete security review and providing proper economic benefits to the United States, including the United States Treasury. So Microsoft is considering purchasing TikTok not in it's entirety, but in the US, but also 3 other countries and those are Australia, Canada and New Zealand which is 30% of TikTok.   In an article in chinadaily.com, it said that TikTok denied it could be a tool for Chinese intelligence. In a statement on Saturday, (so I'm recording this on Aug. 5th) TikTok US General Manager Vanessa Pappas said the app is staying in the US and is "not planning on going anywhere". The article then goes on to say, "ByteDance (TikTok's parent co) founder Zhang Yiming also said on Monday in an email to staff that TikTok has always been committed to user safety, platform neutrality and transparency, and the company has initiated preliminary discussions with a tech company to help clear the way to continue offering the TikTok app in the US." He continued by saying "We do not yet know the exact details of what our end solution will be. Candidly, it is unlikely that the level of interest and speculation around TikTok will cease in the short term, and I recognize that this can be very distracting," and he is talking to his employees. In an article by Forbes this month, linkedin the show notes to all these references, That dataset, in the hands of an adversarial foreign government, is a risk—a very serious risk, in a world where social media is used to push propaganda out to users who tap those platforms as a primary source of news. When TikTok is described as a national security risk, that is essentially what those governments mean. It goes on to say , "The more insidious view," Thornton-Trump says (no relation to Trump, as far as I know LOL), "is that TikTok and other apps present a danger of mass manipulation and social control and disinformation. The danger may be minimal to the individual but serious for society and democracy." TikTok is at pains to stress that it has not provided user data to Beijing, that it would not do so if asked. See I wanted to give you perspectives from TikTok, from Microsoft and from the White House Administration. She goes onto say, "TikTok is led by an American CEO, with hundreds of employees and key leaders across safety, security, product, and public policy here in the U.S.," the company told me (author of this Forbes article) in response to talk of that U.S. ban. "We have no higher priority than promoting a safe and secure app experience for our users. We have never provided user data to the Chinese government, nor would we do so if asked." As to how to potentially the monetary exchange will look like,if some kind of acquisition does go through, Trump stated in the last week, "But the United States should be reimbursed or should be paid a substantial amount of money, because without the United States they don't have anything, at least having to do with the 30%." Now - how this might be possible is very uncertain at this time. I'm not going to speculate.  It has to do with exchange of money between the US Gov't and a software co inside an acquisition at global scale. In a press conference on Tues. Aug.4th  https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/press-briefing-press-secretary-kayleigh-mcenany-8-4-2020/  , a question was posed of Press Secretary, Kayleigh Mcenany – the question was, "the President has argued that the United States should receive money in return for a potential sale, but he hasn't really explained how. Under what authority could the Treasury collect fees from China, from Microsoft, or from any other U.S. buyer to get this done, as the President demanded?" MCENANY: Okay, so I'm not going to get ahead of the President on any official action, but he has made that point. And he and both Secretary Pompeo have said that the U.S. action — that the U.S. will take action in the coming days on Chinese apps, including TikTok — TikTok, excuse me, due to the national security risk. And we all agree that there needs to be a change, especially with TikTok collecting significant amounts of private data on users. It's unacceptable, but I won't get ahead of the President on what those actions look like. Another question was posed, Q Thanks very much. I wanted to ask, also on TikTok, about — Beijing has said that it may hit U.S. firms as a response to sort of slammed — this sma- — you know, smash and grab of TikTok. What do you say to that, in regard to China? That was the question.  This is from the press conference notes. He asks also, "And secondly, China has not complied with its commitments under the U.S.-China phase one trade deal. We're reporting today that, you know, they've only completed 5 percent, for instance, of the energy purchases in this first half of the year. Can you just sort of say?" MCENANY: Yeah, we encourage China to fulfill their obligations in the phase one China deal and to fulfill their end of the agreement. But the President remains keenly focused on TikTok and protecting the private data of millions of people in this country. And PRC's, the People's Republic of China's, laws require Chinese companies to cooperate with PRC's security and intelligence services, enabling the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) to access foreign-user data. And what this means is that these entities ultimately answer to the CCP, which actively undermines U.S. interests and is hostile to American values and the rights of individuals. And the President will stand firmly against China on this. So much of what I want to offer you here today with this information and back ground, What if TikTok is banned?  What if TikTok is sold? But what if TikTok is banned and let's start with that? I never urge businesses to put too much stock or reliance into one social media platform.  Many digital marketing and social media marketing leaders say that same!  Don't put too much stock into one social media platform because it could go away.  We are seeing it unfold before our eyes!  We don't own our followers.  That's another reason why you should take building your email list!  Email remains one of the highest, if not the highest, converting method.  Instagram released a feature that competes with TikTok called Reels on Wednesday, last Wednesday, so you can now create 15 sec. short form videos with many of the same features available on TikTok.  Many TikTok Influencers are downloading other apps like Byte, with the unfolding of all of these events and announcements, and or they are putting more investment in Instagram with Reels. It could be v...
Transcribe →
Integrating Humor into Your Social Media, Video & Advertising Strategy
Jul 22, 202000:19:31Tap to summarize
Carey (00:07): Hello, and welcome to Carey Sperry, All Social Ya'll podcast. I'm your host, Carey Sperry and All Social Y'all. We discuss how to employ social, to become truly customer centric. We identify how social is a fuel for business growth. And we talk with some of the best and brightest business leaders, entrepreneurs, and digital marketers, our guests, Sarah inspiring stories and effective tactics to discover, interact, and emotionally connect with customers where they are on social platforms. Carey (00:45): Hello, and welcome everyone to episode 31. And I have such a special guest today. I've been so excited to connect and speak with her. Name is Catherine Caldwell-Harris. She is professor of psychology at Boston University. One of my favorite cities. She specializes in cross-cultural psychology and bilingualism. She was trained at the UC San Diego until 1991 has been a faculty member at BU ever since.  But I want to also quickly thank the very talented musician and singer Gustavo Trebien for sharing his gorgeous singing of Alanis Morissette's song, You Learn, played in the middle of this episode.  For the full version I strongly recommend you go to his YouTube Channel via this link!  https://youtu.be/3K64yY8OLi8 Welcome Catherine. Thank you so much for being with us today. Thank you, Carey. Pleasure to be here. Carey (01:26): Can you tell us a little about yourself and your work in your own words? A little more than I I described? Oh, well, I've been, I've done a lot of research on cross-cultural psychology and along with cross cultural psychology comes the issue of what happens when people immigrate to a new country. There's interesting issues of acculturation. Dr. Caldwell-Harris (01:52): There's interesting issues of learning a new language. One aspect of learning a new language is that when you become proficient, you still can feel like you're missing nuances in the language. And bilinguals often report that humor is a real challenge and especially difficult. So that was a topic I was drawn to and has led me to learn more about how humor works in the brain. Carey (02:20): Very cool. And that's what we're going to talk about today is incorporating humor into your social media content strategy and advertising strategy. But as I mentioned, well, I don't know if I mentioned it here to our listeners, but I discovered you from an article in the Boston Globe, you are quoted that "humor is used a lot during war time. For one reason, it has a lot of power to bring people together." And I just thought that was such a great way to put it. Can you tell us kind of what makes you say that? Dr. Caldwell-Harris (03:00): Well, a big theme in human evolution is how we can bond with members of our in group, but also be skeptical and wary of our outgroup. Certainly historically outgroup members would want to exploit us, even enslave us, go to war against us. And a whole group is needed to be united in order to win these battles. So how can you unite people? There's lots of different mechanisms for uniting people. One of them is religion. We can talk about it -- that's a whole topic of itself....sort of feelings of nationalism, anything that can bring you together as a group, but it seems that when you're in your group exchanging jokes, there's this real feeling of bonding and group cohesion and exactly how humor causes this isn't completely clear, but there is evidence that humor generally does something kind of interesting. It does two things at the same time, that sound kind of opposite Dr. Caldwell-Harris (03:54): It activates us; wakes up our autonomic nervous system, so that we're alert. And then it also relaxes us in the sense of making us feel secure and calm. So it's actually a lot like one of our favorite drugs, coffee, which both stimulates us and also makes us feel relaxed. So when we're using humor, it basically helps regulate our emotions. It makes us feel good when we're feeling good, we're starting to feel good about each other. And that leads to the pleasant feelings and a banter that people can have in groups where each person's playing off another person's prior remark. And there's a feeling of good cheer among everyone. Carey (04:33): Awesome. Yes, that is so true. And I didn't thought about it that way, but you know, I always say that social media is a way that people and companies can really just extend the face to face conversation. And that humor is also something that can be found outside of face to face interactions. It isn't just the kids who are making, like in saying funny things on social media to capture the attention of many. I think this might be a shift in culture here in America where we're responding more now than even in 2019 to funny content. And so I urge businesses to think about incorporating it into their strategy where it makes sense. And like the big insurance companies are doing a great job. I've noticed in the TV ads and many other industries as well, but like Jake with State Farm and Progressive with Flow and Allstate has their Mayhem commercials. What are your thoughts kind of around that? Dr. Caldwell-Harris (05:33): Look, I think it's fascinating that humor is such a recent addition to the arsenal of advertising tactics. Why haven't advertisers years ago, figured out how well humor can capture attention, galvanize us and make us think, make us pay attention? I think historically what happened was when advertising began --widespread mass advertising, with radio first, and then soon after in the early and mid 20th century, it was very important for businesses to convince people that advertising was acceptable, that it's actually acceptable to get information from someone you don't know, from a strange leaflet or radio message. And so it was important to be very authoritative and to focus on content, to get people to even accept advertising. Well, that's a century ago now. And of course advertising is part of our everyday life. So it's actually a little surprising that advertisers didn't discover humor until recently, but I kind of understand the historical background to it. That authoritative aspect was so important. Carey (06:40): Yeah. Cool. Yes. And it really captures the attention, which is so tough to do on social media. So that being said, what should businesses keep in mind when they're trying to figure out how to incorporate? Dr. Caldwell-Harris (06:57): Well, I'm a huge fan of using humor and advertising because it is a natural way to get people's attention and humor. So interesting that it rewards us. One problem with a lot of ads is they're annoying. They're just a drag on our attention and we regret and are kind of angry about the time that our brains are captured by advertising. People want to fast forward through, as you know, don't want to pay attention, feel manipulated. The great thing about humor is that humor is inherently rewarding. There are -- one of the main theories of humor involves reward . The idea that during evolution, our brains needed to detect errors in information processing. This is the theory that when our brain detects an error, it's is a mistake in the conclusions that we've come to. We actually reward -- our brain rewards itself with a squirt of Dopamine into the nucleus acumbens or the reward centers of the brain. Carey (07:55): So humor, when you detect a mistake, you actually get a little jol...
Transcribe →
Episode 30.2 TikTok News Developments
Jul 15, 202000:19:11Tap to summarize
In this episode 30.2, 😉 I'm going to elaborate on what is going on with access to the TikTok application or platform and make sure you are aware of the knowledge that we have access to understanding so that you can decide for yourself whether to use TikTok today/for now, or not until more information comes out and I am also going to talk about what other apps are getting more downloads since this news came out and what's happening there so you can think through what it means to you and your brand now and in the future. TikTok is owned by the Beijing-based technology company ByteDance. In last week's episode I shared the news that India had banned the TikTok app by requesting Google and Apple take it off their stores for the country of India because of recent military clashes involving soldier deaths in the Himilayan mountains.  The apps have been banned not only as a punishment to China since India is TikTok's second largest user base, but because of threats to security and privacy.  TikTok might I mention according to analytics, hit the highest number of downloads for any app ever in a quarter – more than 315 million installs globally, so it's no joke.  TikTok makes a LOT of revenue and India users contribute greatly to their income. Why is TikTok so successful?  Well, people love video, there's a lot of humorous, yet informative at times content, and it's user generated which means you don't have to be famous or be any sophisticated videographer to make videos that people watch, like and engage with.  Then it's algorithm denotes which videos are getting traction and pushes them out to more people through it's "For You" feature which I explained in the previous episode 30 -TikTok for Business – Steps and Platform Nuances Don't mistake this message as political, rather I want you to know so that when you do – if you do – decide to invest further or invest at all in creating content to share on the app that you are aware of this impending possibility. As of today, July 14, 2020 as I record this episode, there remains significant opportunity to reach the younger demographic and some older as well.  That being said, there are valid concerns that TikTok is using data on there to share with the China government.  TikTok has denied this.  TikTok wrote on a blog post published online, "We store all TikTok U.S. user data in the United States, with backup redundancy in Singapore. Our data centers are located entirely outside of China, and none of our data is subject to Chinese law."  Their CEO is an American hired and out of Disney, Kevin Mayer, where he was head of streaming services.  His first day with TikTok was June 1, 2020. TikTok's policy says, "We may share your information with a parent, subsidiary, or other affiliate of our corporate group."  Similar to information that Facebook, Google, and Twitter can collect from you using their apps…..which videos you watch, your location, what you're searching for…that data, they have access to.  It's how they help make their app better and learn what you like and what they should feed you.  If you give the TikTok app permission it might get your usage and location, say. But know that apps can only access their own data.  It's not like the data from using the app will open up your other content such as email ok?  A lot of people are freaking out because they think the app can get access to your health data, or your financial data on your phone. No.  That's technically not how it works. It's another point to appreciate that Unlike in the US, for the Chinese government to demand data from a Chinese company, they have to give it to them.  Whereas in the US, there are regulations that organizations can fight to refuse to give the government certain information if protected by distinct regulations.  I'm still on the TikTok app.  I'm not an alarmist….but I'm saying we should be paying attention to this. The Gov't of India published a Press Release stating that "The Ministry of Information Technology has received many complaints from various sources including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users' data in an unauthorized manner to servers which have locations outside India. The compilation of these data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures."  They are not talking just about TikTok but about 55 other Chinese owned apps.  The two countries also compete for leading innovation "in tech advancements and a primary market in the digital space." So in our country, here in the US, Now Pompeo has stated on national television that the US administration has confirmed that it is "considering" not decided yet but "considering" whether to do the same in the US and that they are "looking" at the app..  Adding that it is just one of the several options that the White House is considering to "punish China over the pandemic." So I mean, Of course they have to consider it.  OF course they have to look at it.  It's a privacy situation but we also have free speech here.  It's like balancing it is new, not brand new but we are in a privacy, security volatile environment like never before.  That's what is happening.  It's just the FACTS! Since all of these announcements have been released to the public, US included, the apps Byte and Twitch are seeing an uptick in downloads. Have you heard of those? Hmm?  If not I'm going to share with you more of what they are.  Gaming is going up as a trend anyway.  Big content creators who have multi millions of followers and engagement on TikTok and YouTube are being formally approached by gaming management companies like one called TalentX Gaming to capitalize both for themselves (these management companies) and for the creators, to move into gaming.  The creators play the games and share them on video, with dialog and sometimes music on the apps.  This is why it's important for brands should know:  These gamers, YouTube/TikTok stars - They will be able to advertise as such the games that they play and show ads when they live stream their gaming.  The agencies or gaming management companies need MORE big creators – there's a shortage - to get into gaming because there is a shortage so if they already have the following and it's a huge opportunity for brands to reach their – really like a cult-like audiences very quickly.  It is also significant to the creators because the pay is higher due to the shortage.  So they can sometimes literally and more and more often make a very high paying career out of it.  This is being done today on Twitch and YouTube and now TikTok is developing gaming capabilities, Xbox is getting tied in and I'm sure many other companies that I haven't named here.  It's the new thing.  It's coming if you don't know! 😊 So what are Twitch and Byte? Twitch is a live broadcasting platform where people can get together to watch eachother by streaming games.  Streaming can also include talk shows, special events that they make, music events and more.  So people watch eachother play while they can socialize – there's a chat capability that makes it more social; more so than YouTube because it's a live streamer with live chat.  Streamers that put up content and grow it creatively make money. On Twitch.  Twitch has it's own monetary program where creators can receive donations or get monthly subscriptions. Now The Byte app is fairly new- It's come out Q1 of 2020.  It's a huge competitor of TikTok.  It allows to share 6 seconds long (similar – in fact a sequel to Vine –it is a sequel to Vine -  in fact the cofounder of Vine Dom Hofmann is an exec with Byte) and the Byte app also allows you to loop together these 6 second videos. Dom Hofman created a monetary system for creators, more lucrative than TikTok's.  TikTok has those token exchanges….if you go live on TikTok you can get Tokens from your Live attendees.  And the creator is like Oh my God thank you!  Shout out to whoever gave it to them. But it's not as lucrative and TikTok stars make their money in other ways. So that's it!  I know, I get excited.  This is not something I saw coming withTikTok and India – no - and I hope the conflicts get resolved soon. But I wanted to share with you. I see this type of security and privacy seeping into the social media and network platform world impacting us more- you know whith the bots and the trolls and it being an election year…what's real and there's so much happening in the world we have to decipher what is real and what is not.  But it seems highlighted socially, culturally and globally. And it is so tied into our lives.  Remember you never own your followers on a social media platform so it's best not to put your eggs all in one basket so to speak in the social media digital world and it's all moving along so so fast. I hope this was helpful.  I wanted to call it 30.2 because I didn't want any news to come out that the US has banned TikTok and I didn't give you a heads up as to what is going on.  It's important to know what's real and what's out there. But I also know TikTok is a huge super amazing platform...
Transcribe →
TikTok for Business - Steps & Platform Nuances
Jul 7, 202000:28:15Tap to summarize
Hello, and welcome to Carey Sperry, all social Y'all podcast. I'm your host, Carey Sperry. On All Social Y'all, we discuss how to employ social, to become truly customer centric. We identify how social is a fuel for business growth. And we talk with some of the best and brightest business leaders, entrepreneurs, and digital marketers, our guests share inspiring stories and effective tactics to discover, interact, and emotionally connect with customers where they are on social platforms. I want to share with you all, we're almost to a thousand downloads subscribers on Carey Sperry, all social y'all. And I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening, for sharing this, these episodes, for being with me through since we've launched at the very end of November of 2019, and here we are 30 episodes in, and we're almost to a thousand. Then our goal is to grow to 5,000 and then 10,000 and help more and more people and spread the word with more and more people about how their business can be helped by, you know, futuristic looking ways of doing business with social media and other digital ways to interact with customers. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Hope you enjoy this episode. TikTok Currently ticktock has over 1 billion users and has been downloaded over 123 million times in the United States alone. It has surpassed Twitter and Snapchat and popularity yet it's less saturated with ads. 60% of ticktock users are gen Z, but a ton of people and other age groups are now spending time on TikTok to explore, be entertained or to learn over 36% are over the age of 30, according to Statista in less than 18 months. The number of us adult TikTok users grew 5.5 times and 90% of TikTok users visit the app more than once a day. TikTok's business page says , "don't make ads, make news, make it interesting. Make a new trend, make a connection, make someone's day." They say, "TikTok for business is where you can unleash your brand's creative side. A fully immersive, no judgment world where there's an audience for every voice, no matter how big or small your business, no matter what you're making or selling, we believe your brand deserves to be discovered here." They state that their users are one, - at the forefront of the latest trends and movements. So if you want to be relevant, this is one way you can express that relevancy is more important than ever. Consumers really value that personalization. A study by Accenture showed that 91% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands that recognize, remember, and provide them with relevant offers and recommendations in the past. Messaging was more general or, you know, basic by observing your customer data. You can understand what is relevant to them and curate a content and video marketing strategy around what their likes and preferences are. These will make your brand able to connect with people where they are, And innovation - It is reported by Salesforce in their 2020 marketer survey, as the number one top priority. Number two is engaging customers in real time. Their survey showed a flip in marketers top challenges with number one, being engaging with customers in real time. And number two innovating. They state that today, customers seek more and new types of information from businesses through more and new types of channels. When Instagram Stories took hold, people got used to short form video content. People started preferring it at times to consume short form messaging. The great thing about tiktok videos is you can save them to your phone and repost them on other social media platforms. So what I mean by that, short form content that we've gotten used to is when you sit down and you know, in your dentist's office, your doctor's office, wherever you might be waiting for an appointment, you've got a quick car ride where you're the passenger, you know, you can consume and be entertained or learn something. It's easy to figure something out in a very short period of time now because there's more short form content. It's not like you have to sit down for 30 minutes or 20, even five minutes, right? Chipotle ran a hashtag challenge. The brand launched the challenge on TikTok, created a video and chose a song to go along with it. Then they challenged users to produce their own version of the same video and song with that hashtag. So Chipotle did one #guac dance that went viral. They timed it around the national avocado day in 2019, and ended up being the highest performing branded challenge in the United States with over 250,000 video submissions and 430 million video starts during a six day timeframe, holy guacamole y'all! What did this result for them financially? Well, they served 802,000 sides of guac. Chris Brandt their chief marketing officer said we were blown away by the passion people have for our guac and the enthusiasm for national avocado day. He said, "the overwhelmingly positive responses as seen in both our digital orders and the 430 million hashtag guac dance, tiktok videos confirm our fans real appreciation for Chipotle's handmade guac." That's what he said. Collaborations with influencers is super helpful to boost views, engagement and conversion. Guess, the clothing brand, collaborated with a YouTube star, Brent Rivera. He has (Brent) has 13.1 million subscribers on YouTube. Guess, plus Brent did a 15 second video around Valentine's day of Brent in Disney world with one of guesses tee-shirts on holding a bunch of heart shaped balloons with a young lady licking ice cream. The tiktok video got 1 million views over 881,000 likes and hundreds of comments and shares. Of course, it's important to remember to collaborate with influencers who match your jibe with your demographic. Don't just go with those with millions of followers. That's not just about that and give the influencer some creative input to the piece because it'll come out way better, more authentic and recognizable as them not just like acting for the brand so that their followers will know. You know, they're not just acting like someone else. Hope that makes sense. At Emily.Capshaw, she is a writer /Filmmaker - wisdom made simple. Um, her company is called CEO of good vibes is what she calls herself. She has almost a quarter of a million followers on tiktok. She teaches people how to find happiness, overcome anxiety, and a link in her bio takes you to a free anxiety, survival guide. It takes you to her podcast and a club membership that has a $5 member per month option. And then a $250, $500 sponsor options. She uses that as an influencer, pretty smart, huh? Another one doing a fantastic job has over 1.6 million followers on tiktak is a colorblind artist at Roni Langley, R O N I L A N G L E Y. She features her art projects, but she also makes videos that help people to get to know her. Some are funny and others are just her talking about her values and beliefs. Another one is a travel planner, Dina green Beana. She highlights deals, hotel do's and don'ts safety while traveling, et cetera. So how can you get started on tic-tac or consider it as a social media platform for your business? 1 - One, ask yourself, what do customers value in your brand and list out those reasons? Number two, aligning to that... What can you entertain or talk about or teach them? Number three, make a sensible order. Like there's a beginning, middle and an end and in the different stages of their journey with your, with your brand. So what I mean by this, as, you know, you might have a week of a theme or you might kind of take them from the beginning of the journey with you kind of like some common questions that people have or needs that they have and kind of map out like some kind of a sensible order that you can post your first set of series of videos on, but just think about what the first one, this will help you determine what the first video will be. Number four, script out what you want to get across. So you've got kind of what you're going to talk about, but then script out, um, a 60 second or less like a 59 second or less message to get across. Or if you want to do your first one in the 15 second slot, you can do that too. Number five is get on the tiktok app. This is really important. Spend some time on there to just see what other businesses are doing. Use hashtags in your industry to see what others are doing. And this will really help kind of break down in your mind. What kind of formats and humor and different ways you can go about getting your message across. So some people spend more time than others doing this. I recommend spending as much time as you can, because the more time you spend on tiktok, the more exposure you'll get. Trust me. It's not going to be a waste of time because I can promise you you're going to laugh at least once. And, it's pretty neat how different individuals come across in different ways with their brands. Also observe how people are setting up their bios. Think about using linktr.ee. It's spelled L I N K T R dot EE to give users the ability to go to multiple pages, to take action with your service or product offerings. So linktr.ee is a website / application that you can subscribe to. It's very inexpensive. I want to say like seven to $11 a month. And then this allows you to put the link in your bio. When people click through to it, there are options for you to customize the different buttons that users can click on to take them. Like I was saying, the one lady that has the guide, the free guide, you know, things like that. If you have a podcast that service can take people to your podcast for them to listen, it can take you to a landing page to sign up for X, Y, or Z. That's what that is. Number seven, when you're ready to create your first video. I do most of mine longer than 15 seconds. You can go up to, like I said, 60 seconds on tiktok ...
Transcribe →
TikTok & Alternative Social for Business? How an Investing & Personal Finance for Millennials Company is Serving Audiences on Social Media
Jun 24, 202000:26:29Tap to summarize
Hi everybody. Thank you so much for being here today. I am so excited to introduce you to the owner of The College Investor. His name is Robert Farrington. He's with us today. Robert, you want to say hello? Robert Hey Carey and Everyone, thanks so much for having me. I'm excited to be here. Cool. And you're, you're out in sunny, Southern California. I'm here in Atlanta. So, um, it's nice place to be during this time of year, especially. No, it's great. I I'm blessed to be able to be here. Awesome. Well, tell us a little about yourself and how you got started with your company, the college investor. Definitely. So I started the college investor, honestly, as a side hustle. When I was finishing college, I had always been passionate about making money investing and, uh, you know, I wanted to share my random thoughts on the topic with people. And I, you know, I really love technology and websites and I saw some other bloggers starting and I was like, you know, I can, I can start a blog and share my thoughts as well. And so that's honestly how it started over 10 years ago now at this point in time. And it's just really grown into a full on, uh, you know, media company at this point in time. But it started just as me wanting to share my random thoughts and kind of evolved quite a bit from there. Wow. That's amazing. And are your customers teenagers, college students, parents? Can you tell us a little bit about who, who, um, you help? Yeah, Definitely. So I started really just wanting to share my thoughts mostly with young adults, right. But at this point in time, I would say most of the people we help are anywhere from college graduates to families, to people approaching retirement. Um, you know, we don't get too many young people and we don't get too many retirees, but everyone in the middle there, um, seems to be who we help. And sadly, I think that kind of reflects more on how who's dealing with student loan debt. Who's trying to get started in life. Who's trying to get investing than anything else. So, um, yeah, we have a really broad range of people we help. That's awesome. Such a needed thing. And I don't think people really know where to turn. So your blog helps with discovery online. Right? And that's it? I mean, So student loans is one of our bread and butter topics and, uh, it's hard because there are so many options out there and there are so few tools out there to help people and the tools that we have, like they don't, people don't trust them because it's like our loan servicers, and they're the ones that are part of the problem. And so, you know, it's really hard for people to get an independent resource, to help them navigate their student loan debt. Um, and then in turn, you know, start building wealth and navigating personal finance because, you know, sadly it's not something that's usually taught in school and, you know, a lot of people's role models might not have been the best in terms of showing them how to do it. That's so true. Yeah. I've heard that, like kids have to move home after college and, um, gosh, with the, with that pandemic now it's even harder to find a job. So can you tell us yeah. What, what services do you provide and can, can you kind of take us through like the buying journey online? Like where did they discover you and kind of, how does it go from there with the various interactions? Yeah, definitely. So, I mean, we're a traditional media site. So the services we really provide are just trying to provide the best in depth, comprehensive knowledge that you can have when it comes to personal finance topics. Um, we do a broad range of editorial content. We also review as many products and services as we can find to give people an honest opinion on, you know, what's legit, what's not legit, what's the best, what's not the best. Um, you know, we do have some products and services as well. We have lone buddy, which is our DIY student loan software. You can put all your information in and, you know, it'll tell you the best outcome for your student loans. Um, but really like, I really want to educate and that's really the bread and butter of what the college investor is. It's designed to educate people on their student loans on their money. And, you know, we really try to be top notch and search we're on social or on video or on audio because I'm also a big believer in meeting people where they're at. And, uh, you know, if people really listen to podcasts, like listen to this show, right? Like they're listening to audio, so can we connect with them there? But you know, there's also a good contingent of people that love YouTube and love videos. So how do we connect with them there? And then of course there's always the traditional reading and searching for things on Google and we want to connect with them there as well. Yeah. Awesome. You sound really savvy like, because you've been and also have been in business for 10 years. That's funny. Yeah. You know, it's, it's hard. I mean, we didn't start there though. I think it's important to, if you're starting out like pick one lane and then iterate as you go forward, because it's a lot of work too. That's right. And you really want to listen to your customers and find out what they're needing and kind of pivot from there. Would you say you're like, are you finding that people are having a harder time now managing their college debt and earning income? Like have you shifted at all since COVID has hit Oh yes. A hundred percent. So it's sad because, you know, there's just topics now that we didn't touch on until now. So unemployment stimulus checks, uh, how to navigate some of the small business loan programs. Um, what's out there for side hustlers, people that were driving for Uber and door dash. How did that, how does that work in the new unemployment system? Um, and these are topics that historically, I mean, in 10 years, we've never really had to dive in and talk about, and, you know, people don't really care so much about other things when they're like, I don't have a job today and I don't know when I'm going to be working again, like what can I do today? And so it's really been important for us to put out the best content we can as fast as we can, but it's also been challenging because I mean, it's been a fire hose of information coming out of Washington DC. And it seems like these programs are changing and shifting and, you know, new proposals are coming out all the time. And so there's also a ton of misinformation out there. And so for us, it's really cutting through all that misinformation, trying to get people what's accurate and timely, um, so that they can, you know, help themselves today. Yeah. That's, that's really so important. And also with mental health now that, you know, they, the reports are saying that mental health in the world really is really getting worse and worse because of the challenges that people have financially, you know, with the relationships that might not be so great at home and stuff like that. So I would think like you providing support and some reassurance that there is a way there are there answers, you know, would probably help a lot of people. Do you have, do you have any stories? I know that's not like something we necessarily talked about, but I was just wondering if any good stories or examples? I mean, it's, it is sad. I do see a lot of it. I mean, sadly, one of the things that has increased in trending a lot is suicide and student loan debt. And a lot of people see that as the option. And it is really heartbreaking because there's a lot of options out there that is definitely not a good option. And, but people don't know how to navigate it. And when people are in such desperate straights and there's not a lot of answers out there and there's definitely no one to help you. And now in this remote day and age where like, you can't necessarily have like someone with you, like it's all virtual, it's even more challenging. So it is definitely challenging. It's sometimes sad to see, but that's why we also try to be there is that source of education be there as those tools and resources so that hopefully people find the answer before it's too late. Yes.... Do you have a Facebook group? I know I went on all your social media. You're on a lot of different platforms. Do you, do you do help people connect with each other? So they don't feel like they're alone?  We Do have a large Facebook group, ....probably about 24,000 people in it.  you know, I keep it pretty vague cause it's, it's the investing and personal finance Facebook group and it's all for people that are interested in money topics. And so yeah, we do find a lot of connection and things in there, but it's hard because, you know, it runs the gambit of people's personal financial situations. I mean, you have to have so many people and so many diverse perspectives that even in a Facebook group type setting, it's hard to foster connections. And then the other challenge with money topics is that there's a lot of people that prey on other people, insurance salesman or, you know, unscrupulous financial planner. And so sometimes when people do open up, I mean, they just get unsolicited, you know, direct messages and, and things. And you know, so it's, it's very challenging to, you know, make sure people connect, but you know, you have to remember you're online and people try to take advantage of that as well. I hadn't thought of that. That's so true. And then it's just the main maintaining it, like, and making sure as the owner of the group that you like, see if there's any inappropriate comments and stuff like that. Right. Yes. So, I mean, we're very vigilant. We're very vigilant on it.  We do. We have a good moderator team and, you know, we have all the Facebook alerts set up. So when people comment certain things it flags right away, but where they get around it is through those direct messages. So I would say like every two we...
Transcribe →
Episode 28: 6 Facts, Industry Trends & Predictions to Help Inform whether your business should start a podcast
Jun 18, 202000:23:51Tap to summarize
Episode 28:  6 Facts, Industry Trends & Predictions to Help Inform whether your business should start a podcast The simple concept of the ability to stream content like talk radio on demand on any device over the internet is gaining mass market appeal or what's also referred to as "Mainstream".  The podcast industry is becoming more mature and inevitably is seen to take over radio since 90 to 100 million Americans listen to a podcast every month.  Podcast shows are being made into television, movies and books and the distribution channel lines are being blurred with the evolution of video and audio consumption options. Said by, Cara Meverden of Scout.fm, "Our user studies have shown that tons of people who don't listen to podcasts listen to YouTube while they drive. YouTube will help this market listen in their cars without breaking the law, and podcasters will start to aggressively jump onto YouTube."Cara Meverden, Scout.fm Podcast discovery is much easier and widespread After the concept of podcasts being a reality now for 10 years, now the technology companies that are hosting and distributing podcasts, like Stitcher, Castbox, iTunes, and Google Podcasts, are paying attention to discovery like never before.  Google is placing podcasts in search results in effort to reach the 51% of American's who have never listened to a podcast.  They have rolled out a feature where it will make search placement based not only on the episode and show title, but also the content itself.  In other words, based on exactly what was said in the episode.  From there, Alexa (and Siri?) will read extensive paragraphs from podcasts from audio search technology accelerating. "The market for shorter, bite-sized podcast content will grow, as will podcast consumption on smart speakers." Tom Webster, Edison Research "More shorter-length sub-five-minute podcasts will be made — these work well on smart speakers, and respect listeners' time. Expect not just news updates in this format, but others, too." James Cridland, Podnews Podcasts are Reaching brand new audiences every day 32% of US population listen to podcasts (its was 26% in 2019) iHeart Radio is putting up podcasts every Wed. onto 110 radio stations in effort to reach more people who have never down loaded a podcast app on their mobile device.  Alternatively, radio station NPR launched a podcast early on in effort to reach the 25-34 age segment who tend not to ever listen to radio. A Westwood One 2019 study showed that listening time increased 19% for ages 50-64 between the July 2017 & July 2019 two year time frame. Industries are more often now helping customers by making podcasts available. Last Sept. Delta Airlines made Spotify podcasts available in flight 700 planes. According to Delta, the partnership with Spotify is an effort to bring new offerings to customers so they can make the most of their "me time" in flight.  Right before the busy holiday travel season, Jet Blue expanded its in-flight entertainment options with the addition of podcasts. The podcast content will come as part of the airline's alliance with Spotify, which will put shows created by its Anchor, Gimlet, Parcast and Spotify Studios into the in-flight lineup. Growth Opportunities Financial Times has an average listen-through rate of 75% and its 2019 audio ad revenue from podcasts tripled in the past year.  They are expanding their audio podcast programming by testing a subscription only podcast rolling out this month, to see what the market will pay for exclusive subscription only content (kindof like a Loyalty Program). The first show in this wave is The Rachman Review, which premiered earlier this month. The program is hosted by popular FT columnist Gideon Rachman. "Consumers start paying for podcasts in a more meaningful way. From Luminary to Stitcher Premium, from Wondery+ to Patreon, consumers will increasingly come to accept that there's a place for ad-supported and a place for ad-free, consumer-supported podcasts, as they have in nearly every other form of media." Hernan Lopez, Wondery Gender Opportunities - A 2019 study by Edison Research % 36 women have listened to a podcast in the last month, compared with 39% of men. women are more likely to be currently defined as 'rookie' audience members, or people who have listened to podcasts for six months or less. Women account for 53% of that group, compared with just 37% among the 'veteran' group, defined as listening to podcasts for three or more years. Despite often being newer to the format, women listen to more podcasts per week on average than men. Women spent an average of 7.3 hours listening to podcasts per week, compared with 5.9 hours for men. Women were more likely to take show recommendations from their friends and family (25% compared with 18% for men). About a fifth (19%) of women found shows based on social media posts, while only 14% of men did. There was also a marked gender divide in discovering shows through Internet searches: 34% for men and just 18% for women. Advertisers are increasingly putting more ad spend to podcasts. Forrester: Data shows Podcasting Could Hit $1 Billion In Ad Revenue In 2020. A May 2019 study by Westwood One called Advertisers Perceptions shows steady growth of Advertisers increasingly putting their dollars to podcast audiences which means there is an audience and targeting is there. 39% are currently advertising in podcasts. That total has grown 2.5 times greater from the inaugural September 2015 result of just 15%. "The audio industry continues to innovate in response to consumer needs, habits and preferences," said Frank Papsadore, EVP of marketing for Advertiser Perceptions. "Podcast growth is a clear-cut example. Add to their wide range of topics, new media superstars, and provocative, unedited content – the unprecedented growth of new listening platforms like smart speakers…"   Ability for Podcast to help achieve business Goals: BBC StoryWorks, the branded content division of the BBC Global News, commissioned a study by Neuro-Insight researchers into the power of sponsored shows to connect with listeners and achieve business goals. The Audio:Activated study found that the tendency to engage in other tasks while listening to a podcast increased receptiveness to the company's messaging. The results showed that nearly all (94%) listeners consume podcasts while doing other activities, with chores at home (61%) and driving (55%) the most common tasks. The active group outperformed its counterpart on all engagement measures, including a 40% higher score on emotional intensity related to the branded show. The research observed that brand mentions delivered 16% higher engagement and 12% higher memory encoding than the other content in a branded show. These programs also saw an 89% boost in awareness, 57% increase in brand consideration, at a 14% boost to purchase intent. The study noted that branded podcasts posted better metrics in reaching "ad avoiders" than television…..(a category that go out of their way to NOT watch ads).
Transcribe →
Episode 27 – Hiring a Drone Pilot – 9 Basic but not so Basic Things You Need to Know to Save You from Potential Big Business Mistakes
Jun 3, 202000:23:37Tap to summarize
Hi Everyone, Welcome to Episode 27 – Hiring a Drone Pilot – 9 Basic but not so Basic Things You Need to Know to Save You from Potential Big Business Mistakes This is a continuation of a series (previously episodes 15 & 24) on the many many opportunities with drone videography ad photography with Drones that can be shared on social media, while I share with you my journey to earn my FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot License.  I'm still in study and learning phases!  I've competed 25 modules so far and passed all my quizzlets 😊 So! When you decide to hire a drone pilot to capture video and photography for YOUR business.  It's a great time to do that for some businesses right now or at least to start planning so let's get right to it. #1  The FAA looks at drones as a small aircraft and the operator of the drone, the person or co you hire, as the pilot.  In selecting them, of course first and foremost confirm they are licensed or FAA Certified!  The drone also needs to be registered with the FAA and the license needs to be applied to the drone itself.  Then, like any other pilot you would put your hands into, you'll need to feel comfortable with their professionalism, their aptitude, and even their decision making process.   The FAA does provide a free online portal that you can go to to confirm the pilot you wish to do your job is indeed in their certification database. You can just put their name into the fields and the system will tell you whether or not they are certified.  I'll put a link to that for you in the show notes. https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/airmeninquiry/ #2  There are risks the pilot you choose will undertake and because they are working for you, you take on at least a portion of these risks.  Such as the drone hitting a person, damaging property such as a window or a car which leads to #3 - #3 Ask if they're insured.  If they do have liability insurance, it should be at least a $1 million and cover bodily injury and property damage. Even to the a highly skilled remote pilot, there are many factors that can contribute to the loss of control of a drone!  For instance, an aircraft part or software malfunction, signal interference (there's been documented security systems or wifi routers can be strong enough to interfere drone operations), or a strong wind or other crazy weather occurance. #4  Related to #3, It's kindof a random one, there is a chance that the drone battery could start a fire.  The batteries inside the drones are quite large – they're anywhere believe it or not, between 6 pounds and 55 pounds.  Drone batteries are LiPO batteries or lithium polymer which are rechargeable and the have a fully charged voltage of 4.2V. And their weight is pretty heavy, it can be equivalent to like 5-10 cell phone batteries They have advantages of ways they can be shaped and sized into different aircraft. There's different manufacturers that make these drones.  Another thing about them is their lifetime is quite long and they put out a lot of power.  There needs to be care in how they are handled and stored.  The drone pilot has this responsibility as well.  In the event of an accident and the battery gets punctured or crushed, it can start to heat up, it can then smoke, and even flame and start a fire. So it's good to be aware of! #5  The FAA Part 107 License expires every two years.  So afte I pass my test -  I haven't set a date – with the terrible stuff going on in the world today, I sometimes get temporarily distracted – do you? Phone conversations with friends or business associates and stuff, and if you go out to run errands it takes a lot longer than you used to do really quickly.  So anyway, I need to set a date that I can aim for when I will take the test but after I pass I will need to re-take the test in two years.  So you don't want a lazy guy or a lazy gal that is flyin' around and is like oh I'll take that test later and doesn't have their license current. the drone pilots need to keep their licenses current by taking the renewal test and having the certificate current with the drone itself.  Make sure you get proof from your hired operator. #6  The FAA outlines five hazardous attitudes that can compromise a pilot's decision-making: they name them anti-authority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho, and resignation.  The reason you will want to feel prospective pilots out for these is because it could hamper the outcomes (potentially extreme) if they tend to have these personality and decision making characteristics. In something known as the DECIDE model with decision making, we first detect a change or deviation from our planned action. We then estimate the correction required. We choose a desirable outcome, initiate change by doing something, and evaluate the effect of this action on correcting the deviation. Under normal circumstances our decision making system works seamlessly and without error. But when things go wrong or not as expected, it puts stress on the human operating the remote aircraft. Antiauthority – The words in the pilots head here are "don't tell me". this is the attitude of well, the rules don't or always don't apply to me. For instance to save a few minutes of time the pilot could cut corners, or violate airspace. Impulsivity – or "do it quickly" These people need to do something, anything or immediately and so they might abandon any rule or checklist preparation Invulnerability – or "it won't happen to me" they never really feel or believe that they will be personally involved. Pilots who think this way are more likely to take chances and increase risk. Macho: "I can do it." Pilots who are always trying to prove that they are better than anyone else think, "I can do it—I'll show them." Pilots with this type of attitude will try to prove themselves by taking risks in order to impress others. While this pattern is thought to be a male characteristic, women are equally susceptible. Resignation: "What's the use?" Pilots who think, "What's the use?" do not see themselves as being able to make a great deal of difference in what happens to them. When things go well, the pilot is apt to think that it is good luck. When things go badly, the pilot may feel that someone is out to get them or attribute it to bad luck. The pilot will leave the action to others, for better or worse. Sometimes, such pilots will even go along with unreasonable requests just to be a "nice guy." #7  The location of the shoot, there are several factors your pilot will need to consider – The precise location and span of airspace he or she will need to file a request and gain formal approval known as a "waiver" to fly in restricted airspace zones sometimes 90 days (at least) in advance of the video shoot. There are several classes of airspace that have different rules – Class B near big busy airports, Class C near smaller airports like Jacksonville Fl or Flint Mi for instance, ClassD Airspace which is smaller tan B7C sch as The San Bernadino International California Airport; And Class E.  There's also MTR or Military Training Routes that have their own regulations, of course. The time of day – I explained in an earlier episode that it is illegal to fly at night and what is the definition to the FAA of "night" The duration of the flight. Many commercial drones cannot fly more than 30 minutes at a time. #8  A Pre-Flight Checklist  Your pilot should be able to fluently discuss how he will go about creating a pre-flight checklist for your mission, let's say, to capture incredible video to feature your business or to make discoveries for your business – and then be able to share that with you pre-flight.  For instance if you are a realtor or a restaurant let's say, it may include temporarily turning off electronic security systems in and around the building, home or commercial property that is being captured so as to limit interference.  This pre-flight checklist will give you reassurance that your pilot has prepared, is professional and will limit both of your risk.  In the event something does go wrong, the checklist will also aid in the investigation.  Any time a drone crashes or collides with something a report needs to be filed with the FAA by the pilot. #9  Fees  Ask your potential pilots if they have a contract with fees fully outlined, whether they offer any packages   Thank you so much for hanging out with me.  If you liked this episode, please leave me a review and if you post a comment that you did on Instagram and share with a friend – someone you feel that would benefit, I will give you a shout on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, where everywhere we are on SocialMedia! It's very stressful world out there June 3, 2020 so if you are listening close to the drop date of this episode please take care – all of you.  No matter where you are in the world….  I am hoping and praying for positive change, unity and peace.  So peace to you – thank you. Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com" Find a Pilot with these established firms: Precision Hawk: <a class= "yt-simple-endpoint style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" spellcheck="false" href= "https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.precisionhawk.com%2F&redir_token=VMcAWHKRCnyT6Rrl...
Transcribe →
Episode 26 How to Incorporate Humor in Your Video Content Strategy and What Humor is Making People Feel and Do in 2020
May 21, 202000:20:38Tap to summarize
Welcome to Episode 26 How to Incorporate Humor in Your Video Content Strategy and What Humor is Making People Feel and Do in 2020 Open with a played joke from TikTok @careysperry That is a wildly viral and trending audio on TikTok's social Media right now of people who put dogs around their dining room tables. Laughter is a universal language and although there are cultural Emotional connection with humor.  Humor is everywhere today because there is fear everywhere too and laughter binds us together.  During the pandemic, we see jokes about the frustration with quarantine, family dynamics, exercise, food and drink indulgences, political animations or voice overs….it goes on right?!  In your business it can be aligned to this cultural relevancy either directly or indirectly and this episode I hope will help you piece it together as you think through or include more humor into your video social and advertising strategy. Humor thought of as entertainment, but it can leverage your message. Audiences need to be considered. And it's worth noting that Not every video benefits from a laugh It makes sense to consider brand advertisements as a backdrop to your video content strategy.  We know that some of the best brand advertisements, such as during the Superbowl, are funny!  Now in a global pandemic, young generations and sometimes all are turning to TikToks of political impersonations, rhythmic dances and adorable child and animal funny instances!  The Boston Globe writes, "…young people are using social media platforms to channel their energy into something a little less serious: creating content that finds the humor — silly or grim as it may be — in the midst of the pandemic."  The piece points out Catherine Caldwell-Harris, an assistant professor of psychology and a faculty member at Boston University since 1991, she says, "Humor is always going to be pushing the envelope, and we've got to kind of give it some leeway for that," Caldwell-Harris said. "I actually think it's a neat phenomenon where people are pulling together and having a national conversation about something that's actually important. Maybe there can be more conversations, you know, income inequality or other things,…." So What is it that Makes Something funny? Well, usually it's universal in that it goes against what we expect to happen or what we expect someone to say.  I love Bloopers!  I laugh and laugh – why?  Because they aren't how I expect it to go for whatever they are doing!        There is sometimes a gender difference in "taste" shall I say in humor.  Some women may appreciate what is referred to as a "guy joke", but some find them annoying.  They usually have a shock factor – or a more sexual nature, which isn't going to fare well in the business world anyway.  But when you are of a certain gender you probably have a tolerance for things that the other gender does not. Culture is another area that will make humor resonate in differing ways. I have to acknowledge there is sometimes Fear in using humor in your content or advertising If used wrong it can offend.  When it is either hostile, degrading, overly aggressive, righteous, of course any of these can be a turn off.  Or like a joke that goes too far – it can do more damage than good.  You'll hopefully either know where to draw the line because you are vetting out the delivery or you will share it with people on your team or people you trust to share their professional opinion. Remember K-Mart's ad, "I Shipped My Pants?"  They took a lot of criticism for it sounding like a certain expletive.  Many people thought it was funny and repeated it to their friends and family….others – too much. There are academic Studies out there to help us inform this subject: Recent Studies show that a good laugh can instantly improve mindset and put us in a better mood.  According to Psychology.org, "human emotions such as anxiety, depression, fear, joy, and laughter, profoundly affect psychological and physiological processes.  It goes on to say, "Ronald A. Berk, a pioneer of humor research, from Johns Hopkins University (1976–2006), has published more than 150 articles regarding humor, laughter, and learning." He proved that "humor can bring dead, boring content to life." To overcome the challenge of teaching "dead, boring content,"  Might you think if you're honest with yourself that any of your content, products or services may be perceived as a bit dull at times?  Consider taking a funny twist!  If you are selling something that may have some anxiety associated with it – and there are many – think of financial services, mental health help, relationship related companies like dating or counseling, medical….I could go on…anxiety is at a high level right now with the Pandemic anyway…. Even mild Humor may lower defenses and establish rapport which can increase your persuasive effects. According to a recent Nielsen study on social behavior as it pertains to the TV, as consumers keep close to home and to their TV sets, they're using social media to stay connected now more than ever.  It further found that, "As more consumers shelter in their homes, they're turning to social media to pass the time."  The study was focused on TV, but this closely parallels social media video content and Social Media Lives or Live TV. Neilson also reports that Humorous Advertising themes resonate highest of 16 categories!  They go as follows (and I put the graphic in the show notes) 1 – Humorous 50%, 2- Value Oriented 38%, 3- Real Life Situations 35%, Family Oriented – 33%, 5- Pets/Animals Centered 27%.  The rest of the categories are Health themed, High-Energy/Action, Aspirational, Sentimental, Sports Themed, Celebrity endorsements (which is only 8% in the US), Sexual, and Athlete endorsed. I found A new study by researchers at the University of Michigan and Stony Brook University found that 20 minutes of improv experience causes people to feel comfortable and more tolerant of uncertainty.  In one experiment, improvisation activity was to a control group with social interactions where people picked a friend to talk about, a movie to discuss and physical actions to demonstrate. The improv group improved more in divergent thinking, but both groups increased in feeling good and comfort with uncertainty.  This goes along with the point I highlighted earlier that funny things are what disrupt what our minds and emotions expect.  And it in a very short period of time makes us feel better.  I put a link to this study in the show notes as well. Strategies for incorporating humor into your video content – word play, timing, visual, self-effacing humor or humbling yourself so people feel you are real or authentic/  Also, humor aids in the attraction first of all (just getting their attn in the first place) then sustainment of attention when you are trying to teach someone something. So many brands ARE trying to teach people things and the consumer will execute on learning more or buying the service or product just because you got their attention and kept it – while they were laughing at your message. Let's highlight some Brand Examples             In Insurance: State Farm – "Who are you talking to?"  "it's Jake from State Farm" "What are you wearing Jake from State Farm?"  "Uhhhh Khakis?" (laughter) Geico – with the lizard Progressive with Flo and also the half man half motorcycle dude – being a Motaur Product:  Old Spice with Isaiah Mustafa Dollar Shave Club did this ad on a dime….it's on YouTube and I put it in the Shownotes. The CEO is riding around their ware house…it's hilarious.  This same also talks on CNBD at iConic Conference in 2017 about how he came about with the co., the ad and how it led him to a $1 Billion dollar acquisition by Unilever. Video:  So we all know hopefully by now that a video strategy will serve your content and marketing strategy well – your viewers/followers and customers want it in short form and long form at times, but so do the platform algorithms. Now How can you Incorporate Humor Into your Video Strategy Here are 6 Steps You can take Today: What will be relatable to your target customer? For instance, I did a video series broken down by ea "episode" targeting authors.  Before Covid, I had a program to help authors with their social media strategy to market their book that included capturing video content for them, editing it and delivering it either straight to their social walls and stories, OR storing it all in a Drop box for them to post. Step 2 – Make a list of challenges or situations that your target customer has. So, using the author persona again – my list included writers block, play with words and I did a meaning of slang word video, sleep apnea…..laying in bed thinking about the book and fin...
Transcribe →
EPISODE 25: How One Restaurant Sold Out in 3 Hours Online, using Social Media & Digital Strategy & What Hospitality Brands Need to do to Win in the Next Digital Age
May 13, 202000:31:22Tap to summarize
Welcome to episode 25 – How 1 Restaurant sold out in 3 hours online using social media and a committed digital strategy;  What hospitality brands need to do to win in this digital environment. You'll hear me interview bbq restaurant owner, Shawn Walchef of Cali Comfort Barbeque.   Shawn emphasizes how important it is to have your leadership and employees engaged and contributing to your brand's social media conversations, We highlight text messaging as the "next" effective way to delight your customers and give them instantaneous 2 way interactions allowing you the ability to convert orders AND! how humanity can be a winning factor in post modern branding;  when you show and express kindness, and you participate with your community it will build connections that go a very long way. Speaker 1: (00:02) Hello, everybody. Welcome back. So excited today to introduce you to Sean Wall shop and he is owner of Cal. Um, I wanna want to say it right, Sean, um, Speaker 2: (00:18) Cali comfort Barbecue Speaker 2: (00:32) That is correct. That is our restaurant. We're serious about media and we're serious about barbecue. Speaker 1: (00:41) Love it. So I found you on social media as I do many of my guests. And I really, you know, you caught my attention because how you are really serving, serving your customers digitally. I think you're a standout. I mean, it just really struck me. Um, you have a huge social media following and I just, I'm so excited to have you today. So thank you. Speaker 2: (01:10) Well, it's an honor to be on the show. I see the work that you're doing in Atlanta and the work that you do digitally. And, um, anytime that someone has the same DNA, I, I, I love having a conversation. So thanks for having me on. Speaker 1: (01:23) Yes, my pleasure. Well, tell us a little about yourself and Cali comfort BBQ, and how you got started. Speaker 2: (01:32) Yeah. So we've been in business since 2008. We opened, you know, kind of during the great, the great recession, which was, um, about a year after the iPhone, the first iPhone came out. And the reason I say that that first iPhone is because it was, it was very important for us as a barbecue restaurant and sports bar that was in kind of an undesired location in spring, uh, in San Diego. So when you, when you open up a business, they always tell you, you know, the mantra is location, location, location, and our location is definitely not something that a real estate expert or restaurant expert would've told us to open. Um, but like I said, it was during the time of the explosive growth of web 2.0, which was, you know, really when all these apps started their proliferation, where Facebook had turned into Facebook business pages and Instagram came along after that, but Twitter was getting popular. Speaker 2: (02:27) Yelp was getting popular, Google maps was getting popular. We could to keep people coming into our restaurant so we could pay our bills. So really the having an undesirable location forced us to be on social media in a way that other restaurants probably didn't have to because they had the foot traffic. so we learned early on that, you know, brand was very important. So we always say that ABB, which has always be branding, it's very important for us, not just to care about our, our, our name, who we are, but also what we do in our community. And, you know, we always made a point of always giving back and, you know, whether that was to a local, little league team or whether that was to a local church or the firefighters, or, you know, a local event, not only would we participate by providing barbecue or our services, we would also participate by promoting it on social media and taking pictures, taking video when we were there and, you know, sharing the village news with the internet, which was something that allowed us to really build our skills to what they are today. Speaker 2: (03:51) And it's helped us really significantly during the Coronavirus. You know, we've, we've been able to do what a lot of restaurants and bars haven't been able to do, and that's really let their village know that we are open, that we need their support. And, that we're an eCommerce company that you're able to buy a barbecue online and that you're able to buy barbecue and have it delivered to your house. Speaker 1: (04:13) That's phenomenal. And so it sounds like you got into really being good at digital because you felt like you had to, but then it's been successful for you and really, truly connecting with your community. And it seems like you, you like it and like you have a passion for it. So it's not like this huge chore. Is that kinda how you feel? Speaker 2: (04:37) Yeah. You know, I think, it's a great point that we live in a world. You know, we, we talk our, my podcasts, I have every week it's called digital hospitality and digital hospitality is it's a way of being, and that's really that in order to win as a business, a small business and midsize business, even big business, you have to put yourself on the internet, you have to share what you care about. Um, you have to sell things online, you have to talk about things, you have to participate, you have to add value to people. Um, and the only way you do that is by doing a little bit, you know, every single day and doing a little bit better, you know, whether that's learning, how to use Yelp and respond to a negative review. Um, we just had mother's day was yesterday and it was, we sold out a barbecue in three hours. Speaker 2: (05:24) It was a historic day for us. We did more in three hours than we typically would do in 14 hours. So we'd be open for 14 hours. We did more sales because of the internet yesterday. Um, then we would have in 14 hours having a full 5,700 square foot restaurant, you know, with 300 seats inside another 50 outside. Um, but we also had a lot of complaints. We had to do that kind of volume in that short of time, our infrastructure is not set up to handle that kind of volume. Um, it's certainly not set up that kind of volume in a socially distance world where we're keeping people essentially segregated from one another, keeping them segregated from our, our, our staff. You know, it's the opposite of hospitality. It is the Coronavirus has attacked the heart of hospitality, but how do you, how do you pivot you pivot by doing things online, by selling things through your website, by being active on social media, by thanking people. Speaker 2: (06:21) And when you make a mistake, you know, you own it. And that's what we've had to do. You know, for the last day I've been answering messages on Facebook messages, direct messages on Instagram. I've been answering tweets, with people that, you know, they say that I ruined their mother's day. And I know that the last thing we want to do, we didn't open this business to ruin anybody's day, let alone a special day, like mother's day. And you know, we're so fortunate to have people that want, they choose us because they know there's so many other places they could choose. They chose us and we let them down. But what do we do when you let somebody down is you apologize, you take accountability and you tell them we're going to get better. You know, a lot of the people, they couldn't believe that the owner was responding to their reviews and, you know, they, they just really, a lot of people, they ha...
Transcribe →

All Social Y'all Podcast

All episodes

My Family Got Covid 19 Corona Virus & Covid Relevant Social Ideas

Will Microsoft Buy TikTok and What does it Mean to You as a Consumer

Integrating Humor into Your Social Media, Video & Advertising Strategy

Episode 30.2 TikTok News Developments

TikTok for Business - Steps & Platform Nuances

TikTok & Alternative Social for Business? How an Investing & Personal Finance for Millennials Company is Serving Audiences on Social Media

Episode 28: 6 Facts, Industry Trends & Predictions to Help Inform whether your business should start a podcast

Episode 27 – Hiring a Drone Pilot – 9 Basic but not so Basic Things You Need to Know to Save You from Potential Big Business Mistakes

Episode 26 How to Incorporate Humor in Your Video Content Strategy and What Humor is Making People Feel and Do in 2020

EPISODE 25: How One Restaurant Sold Out in 3 Hours Online, using Social Media & Digital Strategy & What Hospitality Brands Need to do to Win in the Next Digital Age