Cliqset

Yep!

im here

Hi Stephanie, Erik and Robyn!! Hope all of you have a Great Thanksgiving!!

Bert DuMars

Thanks, Bert! :)

Stephanie & Erik - Seems like ages since we last saw each other - over 24 hrs now. :-)

Bert DuMars

Thanks Bert, so nice to meet you finally yesterday by the way!

I hope all of you guys have a great Turkey day as well! I know...long time!

Hey Guys

Welcome everyone!

I don't know about anyone else, but Thanksgiving is definitely my favorite holiday of the year! What could be better than a celebration of food?

Stephanie and Erik I've started reading the book it's really interesting

What prompted you to put together Marketing Unmasked

You must not have gotten very far then :)

Seriously though thanks :)

Ha - I'm about 1/2 thru it :)

So what's the impetus for a book of this type

Thank you! Our clients asked us a lot of these questions every day. We answered a lot of them via our blog so much of the book was reworking some of the blog content to make it more accessible.

We really want to help the community of entrepreneurs, startups, and businesses we know and network with on a regular basis.

So putting in the info in one place makes it easier to access

We really liked the idea of honestly answering a lot of the questions that entrepreneurs ask but never get straight answers to

amen to that

Well, a book is easier to read than having to go back and read blog posts but we also added new content to address some of the questions that we felt like a lot of agencies might not tell you...hence the "unmasked" theme.

I like that the book is written in a language everyone can understand

And you give real tactics and real examples

A lot of it was also written "live" on our radio show which also helped us keep it conversational which I think was important

What do you guys think is the biggest challenge smbs and entrepreneurs face today when it comes to their marketing?

Yes. It was great to have a lot of examples via some of our guests and people we know.

Knowing how to weed through all the people that are yelling at them and telling them what to do...

everyone is a marketing expert these days and everyone has advice

As our guest yesterday pointed out, they aren't objective.

Helping them understand how to marketing their product or service so that they are addressing their customers' needs rather than what they see as beneficial is key.

I totally agree with that

Yes, and we tried to provide some context for making marketing decisions -- tried to show them how to weed through all the different tactics/vendors/ideas available and pursue the ones that would benefit them the most

So what's the feedback so far?

So far, better than we expected. Anytime you put your opinions, thoughts, whatever on paper...you wonder if people will think you're just full of it. But, it's nice to hear from some people that what we are saying resonates with them and has actually helped them.

I think the best comment I've gotten so far was something along the lines of "if I'd read this book 2 years ago I would have thought you were dead wrong because I didn't have much small business experience"

People seem to be recognizing that very little of what they learn in books and business school is applicable to small business and I'm glad we can help fill that gap.

Yep Erik this is my first start up experience and it's very different from working for the large corporations

however many of the challenges are still the same

You really have to think differently but yes, many challenges are similar.

In what sense Stephanie do you need to think differently?

The challenges are pretty much the same but the risk in small business is higher

Well said Erik -

Also many times in a small business the person doing the marketing is not a trained marketer

You don't have the big budget like some large companies do. If you make a wrong decision, you may have just blown your entire budget for the year on something that didn't work.

So what's the up side in your eyes of working in a Small Business?

Not only are they not a trained marketer, but they're also responsible for every other aspect of their business. An entrepreneur is a uniquely distracted person :)

Independence!

You have so much more freedom and don't have to go through layer upon layer of approvals.

I totally agree Erik

You have unique advantages as a small business owner -- independence is a great one :) From a marketing perspective, you're also faster than the big competition

Ha Stephanie! :)

Exactly. Your marketing can be changed overnight if it needs to be.

Erik I also think you can be more nimble

Can you share a story

Sure, any topic in particular?

of where you saw someone change their view and how it created success?

I can give you one that ended up in the book actually and it was based on my own stubbornness

Yes...I was hoping you would share that. :)

That would be great Erik!

We had David Meerman Scott on our radio show and he talk a lot about how you should remove the barriers between your audience and your content... But like a lot of marketers I always subscribed to the belief that you should "get something" back from your audience if you give them content

But we tried it his way and removed the signup forms in front of all our whitepapers... And he was right -- we had as many downloads in the first month after as we had in six months prior

That's awesome

You just can;t afford to become "set in your ways" in small business or as a marketer

That's why we are letting people download the eBook for free as well.

Hey Stephanie I think that's really generous of you guys

People are more likely to share if they don't have to give up something. We help more people that way.

Can you share the url so folks can get to it from here?

http://zerogcreative.com/marketing-unmasked

Awesome! Thank you

And it doesn't even really "cost" us anything to do it -- we gain a reader and MAYBE lose a few $$ in royalties

It's a bold move and still very generous -

So let's say I've read the book and I've got my plan and I'm ready to execute

But we have a lot to gain obviously if someone downloads it for free and reads it or shares it and we end up doing work with that person down the road. The benefit of gaining readers definitely outweighs putting literally a few bucks in our pocket

How do I get in touch with you guys to help me execute

You can email, Tweet, call, visit our website: zerogcreative.com

We're very reachable.

We're super-easy to reach

jinx

I see that :)

lol

So do you only work with small businesses or do you work with big brands as well

in this digital age the big brands many times can learn a lesson from the smaller ones

Really just startups and small to mid-size

Mostly smaller companies.

Gotcha.....love the way you guys are echoing each other

the sign of a good partnership

So I saw you had a book launch party in ATL are there any other events planned or opportunities for your readers to connect to you directly?

Yes! We hope to do some webinars soon and we are also available to speak at various events.

Awesome that's exciting

So I don't want to keep you all day but before we close

Can each of you give our audience one tip they can take with them today without giving away the content in the book?

Hey guys one of my friends from Launch Squad has a question -- Meet Aly

Hey Robyn, what's an example of a lesson that a small brand could learn from a big brand?

Hi!

Yes... you can't "pay your way" to success as a small business owner. you can't write a check to a magazine, seo guy, direct mail person, etc, and expect your phone to ring off the hook. Small business is about personal connections and developing relationships. "Get rich quick schemes" dont work

Hi Aly!

That's awesome Erik, thank you!

Sorry -- I meant a lesson a big brand could learn from a small brand

Great question Aly!

We were actually talking about this on our show yesterday...

Also, make sure you have a good team of trusted advisors that aren't "yes" men or women. You want honest, objective feedback. That will help you move forward.

Erik that was the show with Bert Dumars right?

Good point. That does seem important.

Is the link up to listen to it yet?

Yeah, I'd love to tune in

Not yet but will be soon.

Yes, the problem small businesses have a lot of times is that they get too personal and don't watch the business (paraphrasing our guest chuck blakeman)

Oh, interesting..

but big businesses have the reverse problem -- they can't make personal conenctions the way smal biz can

We talk about it all the time but @comcastcares on twitter is a great example of a big company being crazy successful doing things like a small business

Yes, I saw him speak once at a conference - very impressive effort.

However, as Bert can attest to, some of Newell Rubbermaid's brands are actually doing a great job of changing that trend.

Aly do you any any more questions for our experts?

Does anyone else have a question for Erik or Stephanie?

Where do you see the future of corporate social media usage heading?

(beyond Twitter accounts, for ex.)

I see companies using their own websites more. Opening them up to customer reviews, integrating their marketing with the website. Making their "home" more dynamic and welcoming.

I'm interested in the "augmented reality" stuff though it hasn't quite arrived yet. I think everyone is trying to find interesting ways to use the social tools to add value and not just create more noise

Thats a good point too Steph

Augmented reality was a big topic last week at the Web 2.0 expo

Yes - very cool stuff

This is all very interesting, I'm excited to be working in this space at such a pivotal time

Thanks everyone!

Thank you Aly!

Static websites aren't really helpful so that's why great Content Management Systems that are user-friendly (like WordPress) are great because it gives the company more flexibility to update their site as needed.

Thank you :)

Thanks, Aly!

Another great point Stephanie

Ok guys before we land the plane I have to ask are you Turkey peeps or do you prefer the sides?

Dessert. :)

SIDES!

(stuffing all the way)

Erik?

We're making pies today. :)

Sides!

Thomas Cook

I love all my thanksgiving food equally. I really look forward to friday when I can take the whole dinner and shove t in between two slices of bread and pretend it's a viable sandwich

Yum Erik, I'll be there!

I prefer the sides as well...

Hey Stephanie and Erik and everyone who's watching or participated today thank you!

Thanks for having us!

Thank you!

Thanks for having us, really enjoyed it!

Please make sure you download the book and I'm sure they'd love your comments!

Thank you guys, Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you! Everyone: have a great holiday weekend!

Happy Turkey Day to all :)