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Speaking at SWMO PRSA’s Digital Media Power Lunch

1 week of work in 1 minute!

Highlights:

  • Solar Eclipse on Monday.
  • Speaking at the SWMO PRSA event on Tuesday.

The solar eclipse was very beautiful and I’m really glad I had the opportunity to see it, but speaking at SWMO PRSA’s Digital Media Power Lunch was the highlight of the week for me.

The Digital Media Power Lunch was a great event and a lot of fun, but it was especially meaningful to me. It was the first time I spoke at an event in roughly a year. The last time I spoke publicly, I wasn’t even talking about digital marketing. I was talking to a small group of men on a weekend retreat. Speaking publically about personal moments can be stressful, but I was prepared. I didn’t have to memorize anything because it was all about me personally and things I had experienced. I was even able to write it all down and just read it — but it was still one of the most challenging public speaking moments I’ve had. No matter how prepared I am, I am always nervous before speaking publically. Usually, the nervousness dies down after the first few moments. It didn’t. So I looked down at the papers I had with me. I would just read them, word for word. That’s when I first truly noticed I couldn’t read. I was just staring at the paper. It was well-lit and close enough to me that I could see every letter, but I couldn’t put the words together. I was able to fight my way through it all and at the end, I just blamed the tough situation on being nervous. 6 days later I would wake up in the hospital after having a grand mal seizure.

That’s how it all started and here’s more about what happened if you’d like to read more about it:

From the blog post, Why I Film Myself Working…
“I’m always nervous before speaking events, and now I’m scared. […] I’m not going to let my fear stop me from doing what I want to do. I was scared to start speaking, but I gave it a shot and started despite my fear. I didn’t let my fear keep me from starting, I’m not going to let it stop me either.”

Speaking at the SWMO PRSA event was meaningful to me because it represents a win. It went well and I beat my fears.

Music:
Under The Sun by NOWË
www.instagram.com/nowemusic/

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Why I Film Myself Working

If you follow me on Facebook (or Snapchat: wester_brad) you may know that I’ve started to film myself working, but you probably don’t really know why.

I am a marketer and it is great for marketing and branding.

Vlogging is great for marketing. It’s easier to document what you’re doing and show people than it is to write full articles explaining what you’re doing, why you are doing it and how they can do the same. Writing that all out takes a lot of time, so if you’re looking to save time – film yourself. Video content is also very powerful on your website and throughout all social networks, but it is especially powerful right now on Facebook.

I wanted to learn how to take and edit video.

I’ve been working with cameras and editing photos and video since high school. I really enjoy it, but I am not that great at it. I used to think because I could do it, I knew what I was doing – at least the basics. …then I met professionals – people who film and edit video for ESPN, marketing agencies, freelancers, etc. I quickly realized I knew NOTHING when compared to them. I learn by doing, so I decided I need to film and edit a lot more video, and I’m always watching and learning from others.

But the real reason I film myself each week is so I can watch myself work.

Sounds weird, right? …well I have a good reason. And no, I’m not trying to be the next Gary Vaynerchuk (Follow him though!)

While filming myself each week does give me an opportunity to improve my filming and editing skills and the videos do help me with marketing – these aren’t the reasons I do it.

I simply get to see myself working – and that’s awesome.

6 months ago (almost to the day) I was walking into the hospital for my second brain biopsy. 6 months ago I was unable to read. 6 months ago I was frequently struggling to carry on normal conversations and was often using the wrong words and didn’t even realize it.

Today, I’m able to read. I’m able to carry on conversations much better than I have been able to in 9+ months. I’m driving myself again. I’m back at work. I’m so much better than I was a few months ago and every video is a reminder of that.

I’m not back to “normal” – to where I was before my neuro issues began. And I won’t ever be exactly back to that same spot. Portions of my brain have been damaged and have “died”. That means it is expected that I won’t ever have 100% of my abilities back – but that won’t stop me from living the life I want to. I just need to make some adjustments.

My most common struggle is simply using the correct words when speaking. I’m getting better with it. I’m paying closer attention to when it happens and trying to identify if there are triggers that commonly cause the issue. I’m also testing myself and seeing what I can do to help myself improve and be able to recover from situations when I begin to struggle with using the correct words.

Filming myself working gives me the opportunity to watch and learn while I go through this process of retraining my brain.

Back in February, I shared an Instagram post mentioning that I was looking forward to speaking at digital marketing events again. Over the past few months, I’ve been honored to have been offered the opportunity to speak at a few different events – some of which would even be paid speaking opportunities. I’ve turned all of them down. I simply don’t feel ready for that yet. I’m always nervous before speaking events, and now I’m scared.

 

I’m scared because I know some of what triggers the neurological issues I have, and let’s just say speaking at an event would hit several of them. Especially triggers that often leave me struggling to use the correct words when speaking. Having an issue speaking, while being a speaker at an event terrifies me – but that won’t stop me.

Fear can feel strong, but I believe we are all stronger.

I’m not going to let my fear stop me from doing what I want to do. I was scared to start speaking, but I gave it a shot and started despite my fear. I didn’t let fear keep me from starting, I’m not going to let it stop me either. So I’m preparing. I’m testing my abilities and getting myself ready. I don’t know when it’ll be or what I’ll be speaking about, but I will be speaking at events again – soon. I don’t plan on letting fear think it’s willing by waiting too long.

So, for now, I’m filming. I’m seeing how I do, how I am improving, identifying my struggles and working on solving them. I don’t need to be perfect, I never will be. I just want to be more prepared than I am today. It’s like athletes watching game film – it helps you learn so you can be better.

Fear won’t win. 

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Will Facebook Kill Snapchat?

Yesterday, Facebook rolled out “Facebook Stories” to all users. We know that Facebook is strangling Snapchat, but will Facebook completely kill Snapchat?

My thoughts on Facebook vs. Snapchat

Facebook has made moves to slow Snapchat’s growth, but that doesn’t mean Facebook will kill Snapchat. Snapchat introduced us to “Stories” – quick, easy, shareable content. Content that “disappears” after being watched – or disappears within 24 hours. We now can find “Stories” on Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook (and I’m sure a few other social networks as well).

Stories are the new News Feed

My prediction is “Stories” have just become the new News Feed. “Stories” are better at grabbing attention, and even holding it. If you don’t pay attention, you risk missing it. If you follow a brand’s “Stories”, you’ll quickly get in the habit of watching their content daily – and if you miss it, you risk missing their announcements.

“Facebook Stories” will put pressure on Snapchat, but Snapchat knew this was coming. Snapchat created “Stories”, but knew that wasn’t enough to keep them alive forever. It’s too easy for other social networks to reproduce “Stories”. When Snapchat launched their IPO a few weeks ago, they didn’t call themselves a social media company. Snap Inc. – the official business name of Snapchat, calls themselves a camera company. Snap Inc.’s future isn’t in social media alone, and they know it – but I believe social media will always be a part of their camera business model.

I don’t expect to see the Snapchat die. I expect them to continue to launch new products, services and apps that tie into social media. Check out their first product, Spectacles.

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Hidden Tips of Digital Marketing

I read many marketing and business development articles each day. I’m always curious to hear about the new tips/advice that the experts are willing to share. Hearing what experts are doing and seeing their data is very helpful right?

Only if you’re just getting started.

If you’re just getting into marketing, read it all. Learn the language. Learn the process. Learn what strategies were used in the past and why. Once you understand the language and have some knowledge of what worked, stop listening to the experts. Don’t listen to what they say…just watch what they do. You’ll learn much more.

The hottest marketing advice doesn’t come from listening to experts. It comes from watching what they do.

This article, The Psychology of Shareable Content has a lot of great information in it. It’s a great read, especially if you’re just getting into marketing. It covers things that have been tested and tracked for several years. When reading the article, take the time to look for their “hidden tips”.

Ask yourself what are they doing and why. As you learn the language marketers use and some of their marketing strategies utilized in the past, you’ll develop the ability to see what experts are doing today. It’s your job to figure out why and if that strategy will help you as well.

So what are some of the “hidden tips” that stood out to you? I always look at the layout of each article I read. In this article, they used multiple pages to increase the number ads you saw while reading that post (increased the amount of money they’re making for writing it).

What else stood out to you? Do you see any “hidden tips” from me in this post? There are some here.

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Nonprofit Marketing | Engaging Donors Panel

Tomorrow I’ll be sharing a few nonprofit marketing techniques on the Engaging Donors Panel Discussion at IMPACT Funding Symposium hosted by The C2 Initiative. I’ll be sharing my advice for nonprofit marketing techniques with 50 organizations that range from social services, environmental, education, health & wellness and economic empowerment.

Other Panelists on the Nonprofit Marketing Panel

Laura Rossman, Moderator
Bethany Booher: 618 Creative
Dana Workes, Dana Workes Creatives, LLC

When speaking at the PRSA St. Louis Career Development Day, I took some time to prepare and decided to write down and share some of my thoughts and share them as a blog post. I received a lot of feedback for that post, and will continue to do the same for upcoming events, including the IMPACT Funding Symposium.

Nonprofit Marketing Techniques

What are the best marketing tools for nonprofits in order to share their mission?

Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, Buffer, SproutSocial and all the other social media management platforms help make managing social media easier… but, by far the best marketing tool nonprofits can use is their smartphones. Take photos, take videos, use Facebook live video, use Snapchat, use Instagram and Instagram Stories to show how donations really do make an impact. The transparency of the behind the scenes content will serve as constant reminders and visual proof of donations making a difference. This will encourage people to donate for the first time and continue to donate again and again.

How important is the website in encouraging donors and what things do I need on my site?

It’s not important. Your website doesn’t need to convince people to donate. People don’t search for ways online to donate money. You have to reach out to them and motivate them. Spend your time creating content and distributing it through social media and other influencers.

That being said, your website needs to do one job that is very important – and it must do it perfectly. Process donations and capture user information. Your website should be branded to match your social profiles, everything should match in terms of color, photos, call to actions, etc. Make sure that when a donation call to action is clicked on social media, it is obvious they have found the proper website. The donation process needs to be quick and work flawlessly. Be sure to ask for email addresses, phone numbers and mailing addresses. Any information that will help you with future marketing efforts. Avoid demographic information, it is already available to social media and Google analytics. Don’t make the donation processes longer than it needs to be. In fact, you should always be trying to make it shorter and faster.

How can we effectively use social media to create outreach for our organizations?

Use your smartphones to capture the behind the scenes moments. Share how donations truly do make a difference. Be as transparent as possible. People want to be sure their donations are being used to support the mission and not being misused to benefit others.

What’s the best ways to create a brand for our nonprofit?

Always focus on the mission. To be perfectly blunt, people don’t care about you. They care about the mission. Create a branding style book that will help you with creating matching social profiles, website, mailers, etc. That way your audience can quickly identify your pages. Outside of that, just stay focused on the mission and let the rest of your brand grow organically.

How can I make the most of the annual giving day campaigns…nobody knows about us?

Don’t focus on those days. Annual giving days are overrun with posts from nonprofits both big and small. Everyone is releasing content and competition on social media is crazy high. Social media algorithms are forced to pick and choose what content to show and what to push to the side. Annual giving days are the perfect time to repurpose and reuse content. On those days pick your top performing content from the last year, and reuse it. Post every hour and try to push through the noise – but keep in mind there’s still 364 other days to get donations.

What can nonprofits do to create content that make people want to give to our organization?

Content that shows transparency and connect donations with real success of the mission. Focus on engaging content. You’re competing for attention against all kinds of other brands and updates from friends and family. Keep an eye on social media trends and what the platforms are pushing. The more content of a certain type your seeing in your newsfeed (live video, etc.) the more likely it is to be performing well in Facebook’s algorithm. Use that to your advantage. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel, just be observant and keep an eye on what works for others.

Featured Photo is from one of my favorite nonprofits, The Foundation for Photo/Art in Hospitals.

Mission

The unique mission of the Foundation is to place large, framed photographs of nature and beautiful places from around the world in hospitals to give comfort and hope to patients and their families, visitors, and caregivers. Studies show that nature art has a beneficial effect on relieving a patient’s stress and anxiety. The photographs are intended to provide color and an atmosphere of compassion where healing is encouraged.

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SEO Templates | Speaking at the PRSA and IABC Event

Remember how I said I was going to create a list of things that make me happy? Well, I did that. I just chose not to share it. Instead of sharing the list, I’ll share a few things I learned from that exercise.

  1. I enjoy teaching.
  2. I like to push myself to be uncomfortable (personal growth).
  3. I like to help others.
  4. I love digital marketing (I find it fascinating, and it often combines helping or teaching others).

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to combine a few of these. I was the speaker at the PRSASTL & IABCSTL members only event.

 


I wanted to share my knowledge of search engine optimization (SEO). After working with many clients over the past few years, I realized that SEO is often pitched as a complicated and often expensive process. The truth is, it doesn’t have to be. A lot of search engine optimization is simply learning how to properly write for search engines. So I created SEO templates for blog posts, LinkedIn and Pinterest and shared those with the members of St. Louis Chapters of PRSA and IABC.

Tweets From The Event

 

 

 

 

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PRSA St. Louis Career Development Day – Building Momentum Part 2

If you’ve read my first post about PRSA St. Louis Career Development Day, you already know that I’ll be speaking on the young professional panel tomorrow. (Actually, I spoke earlier today because I’m going to schedule this post to publish just after the panel discussion, but I’m writing this the night before.)

Our moderator, Nicole Halpin, sent out a preview of some of the questions we will use to get the discussion started tomorrow. While preparing tonight, I decided I should summarize my answers to a few questions. Not only will writing my answers out help me think through them more thoroughly, but sharing them may help someone else out as well.

#PRSASTLCD

“I myself worked through my senior year and graduated without relevant internship experience. What would you suggest for those in this room that have never had an internship?”

Work on developing your portfolio. Find a way to create your internship, take on small freelance projects. The experience you gain from developing your leads, pitching your ideas and managing client projects will be valuable no matter what direction your career takes you. Make sure you track as much data as possible and create case studies to include with your resume as work samples.

“How did you personally stand out in the resume pool?”

I included as many numbers as I could. I talked about doubling the number of social media followers, increasing click-through rates by X percent or even better, revenue generated by my tactics.

“When applying for your first job, how do you pitch yourself when you lack the 3-5 years industry experience that we typically see in job postings?”

I completely ignored it and focused on the quantifiable results. In my opinion, real proven results mean more than the number of months or years spent sitting in an office, and I did my best to talk about results instead of how long I’ve worked where, etc.

“As a PRSSA graduate that quickly became involved in the St. Louis PRSA chapter, I understand networking is key in growing as a young professional. How can students utilize networking to its fullest extent without seeming desperate for a job?”

The best networking isn’t the typical networking. It isn’t chamber of commerce meetups or grabbing coffee with other industry professionals. The best networking is volunteering. Pick an organization you believe in and start donating your time and knowledge. You’ll meet a lot of people, prove you know what you’re doing and add some interesting projects to your portfolio. Always track the data and write up case study summaries. Those results will be the best additions you can add to future job applications.

“I heard at my first Career Development Day that HTML is a great asset to have in your portfolio so I took online introductory courses to make myself stand out when applying. Are there other skills you would suggest to our audience to learn and add to their personal portfolio?”

HTML for sure. I’d learn everything you can about Excel, not just the basics, everything. I’d also learn as much as you can about writing for search engine optimization. Once you know how to write for search engines, you’ll be able to start optimizing everything – especially your LinkedIn profile. Once I optimized my LinkedIn profile, the number of times my profile was viewed doubled and I began receiving messages from recruiters wanting to discuss potential career opportunities. It only took me a few hours to optimize my profile, and I ended up getting a job offer when I wasn’t even searching for one because of it.

I’d also look for as many free certification courses as you can; such as Hubspot’s Inbound Marketing Certification, Google Adwords Certification and Google Analytics certification.

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PRSA St. Louis Career Development Day – Building Momentum

In April of 2013, I attended my first social media conference, Social Fresh. Attending the conference was an incredible experience and at the end of the two-day event, I remember thinking about how fun it must be to speak at conferences. I decided to make it one of my personal goals.

Just under a year ago, I nervously spoke at my first digital marketing conference, WordCamp. Shortly after, I was asked to be the social media marketing speaker at a real estate conference. I was so excited to have the opportunity to speak again. Unfortunately, the date conflicted with another larger opportunity, starting a new full-time position. I was disappointed that I was unable to speak at the event and naively worried that the small momentum of speaking opportunities I had would quickly halt.

Starting my full-time position, without a doubt, slowed the momentum I had on a lot of projects and personal goals. My calendar started to fill and my schedule quickly became more strict. I adapted to my new schedule and started working on my personal goals again, starting with the small and easy to accomplish. It took me several months, but I feel as though I’m building momentum again.

Not only does professional development play a large role in all careers, it also is the foundation for many of my personal goals. This Friday, February 26, is Career Development Day for PRSA St. Louis. I wanted to attend, so I started planning to take the day off work and it’s a good thing I did because I’ve since been asked to be on the young professionals panel.

Lately, I’ve been all about momentum because it is easier to keep moving than to start again if you stop. I’m really looking forward to being a part of this panel, and to keep building momentum to achieve my goals.

It’s short notice, but I’d like to invite you to join me and many others at PRSA St. Louis Career Development Day. Unfortunately, there’s only one day left to register. If you can’t join us in person, be sure to follow along on Twitter, #PRSASTLCD.

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