Lately Live

Brian Moran is a small business expert and we think he’s an absolute gem.

To mention just a smidgen of his accolades – he’s worked with entrepreneurs for years, been a 3x entrepreneur himself, an exec director of sales at the Wall Street Journal and sits on several national marketing councils. Oh and he uses Lately too, whoop whoop.

Basically, he’s a busy, busy man! So, we’re even more psyched that he sat down for a chat with Kate.

You can also watch this and other Lately Live videos here.

Trends for SMEs in 2019

Brian stresses that small businesses have to start embracing digital tech even more, with urgency! His top tip is if you’re not comfortable with digital and social worlds, then get help from someone who does. Social media is a wild west yeehaw, but you need to get in the game. Your customers and competitors are there, so jump in.

And there are tons of excuses why people don’t want to do digital. Brian thinks the biggest excuse is time management. Time is money and there are time robbers everywhere. Are you spending money wisely and learning about new trends in the market? Are you looking at new tools?

The key lesson is that the more efficiently you manage your time, the better you’ll be able to position your brand. When people say “I don’t have the time to learn social media” – they’re basically saying their business is a hobby. Everyone should have a strategic goal for the end of 2019 – whether it’s revenue, new users etc. Everything you do should be action gearing you up towards your goal.

Knowing your Brand

How customers describe your brand is what your brand is. Brian asks audiences about logos and brands at events – how do they feel about them? Everyone has an opinion, but that IS how customers see a brand. You might want to describe your brand one way, but ask your audience to use 4 words to describe it. How many of your words match up with their words?

What words didn’t you even think of? You might get negative words, but you really need to address these shortcomings. Why do they think this? This info is dynamite. Use golden nuggets of info to project the brand people you want people to see. And do it consistently.

Brian asks customers for feedback and tells them about the value they can bring. This creates that direct connection. Reinforce the brand, reach out and ask for input. When you get feedback, don’t end the conversation either, tell customers what you’re doing with their feedback – make it the start of your conversation. The social proof that a customer’s feedback has helped is really impactful.

The Power of Thanks

“Saying thanks is a lost art” according to Brian. We live in such a competitive world, it can take months to get business, but a second to lose it. Loyalty is being tested everywhere. Take instant delivery for example – how can a small business compete when it can’t do this? By being authentic, genuine and sincere.

Build relationships with clients and customers. Don’t treat customers like a number and it doesn’t cost a lot to say thanks.

“Saying thankyou is an opportunity to reinforce a decision that a customer has made and why they were right to choose you over everybody else” – we’re gonna get that on a t-shirt!

Public thanking lets you stroke someone’s ego and they’ll share it so you can get a double whammy. Brian says ‘I just sent you a DM’ when he has a problem with a company, so he can carefully and quietly resolve an issue. He’ll be more public when it’s praise. And he’ll highlight people to companies when they deserve praise, cos acknowledgement can change someone’s day and gestures can make a big difference!

When you’re authentic and genuine with everything you do, you’ll get tenfold back and we totally agree with Brian on this one.

So in true Brian style – thanks for chatting with us!

We’re all familiar with storytelling in various forms, but you’ve never heard a story quite like this before. Enter from stage right, Brian Fanzo, the Rafiki to our Simba, the Genie to our Aladdin, the wise man who we should really, really listen to. CEO of iSocialFanz, keynote speaker, a visitor to more than 70 countries, and occasional DJ, Brian Fanzo is the voice of reason and the push to action what we all sometimes need. Brian’s tips, strategies, and, of course, stories, are here to help us maximize our storytelling abilities and become better companies along the way.

The Anatomy of a Story

For Brian, a story doesn’t need to be the standard cut of “beginning, middle, end.” While not a bad strategy, a story is more about bringing people along on a journey from Part A to Part B. With that journey as our roadmap, it’s time to cast the characters. Some essential factors for storytelling are that there is usually a hero and a problem. “Usually the consumer is the hero,” Brian tells us. Your audience wants something out of you, and it’s not to be talked at or diminished. When telling your audience a story, Brian emphasizes that we “don’t talk at them, talk with them.” With that, we can build trust, create authenticity, solve a problem, and be remembered with and to our audience.

Think Like A Fan

In order to tell a good story, you have to be aware of who your audience is. And not in a black and white way, but in a nuanced, empathetic way. Sure, you understand a problem your audience member might be facing. But do you know how they came to that problem, or what external factors affect it? There are easy ways to make leaders and executives more in tune with their audiences. Brian makes sure to always ask, “Do you follow your own company on social media? Do you use the technology that you’re putting out?” If the answer is no, hit the damn follow button. To truly understand how your company feels from the outside, you have to put yourself in the shoes of a consumer. With that empathy now in your pocket, you can see for yourself exactly what your audience needs.

Press the Damn Button

All of these pieces of advice are great hypothetical tips that you may not use one day. Only, Brian Fanzo doesn’t do hypotheticals. Instead of waiting for the perfect moment, the new piece of information, the new procrastination excuse. Now, don’t think that this is an excuse for sloppy content. The idea isn’t to push out whatever content you have. Rather, have a plan and a strategy but test it through publishing it. If that can seem daunting, remember Brian’s words: “Content isn’t king. Great content is king.” It’s better to create one great thing a week than seven mediocre things. If you’re not sure how to do that, remember these two mindset changes: perfection is a fairytale, and control is an illusion. You’re doing the world a disservice by not putting your amazing ideas out into the world, and we’re dying to see what you can do! If you give your audience access to your world, you will create an interest. People don’t believe companies, we believe other people.

Upcycling Content

Creating amazing content that you’re proud of can seem like a daunting task, especially when you’re on a deadline. Everyone learns differently, and everyone consumes content differently. Maybe she needs to watch a video to fully understand a concept. Maybe listening to a podcast on the subway to work is better for him. Does that mean that you need to create four or five different pieces of content, all of which are incredible? Sure, if you have that kind of time (you don’t, no one does). But you can also try Brian’s nifty trick. For Brian, he has a 45-minute live video every week. From that video, he can take small clips for different social media platforms. He can take the audio from the video and transform it into a podcast. Then he transcribes the podcast into blog posts. From just one video that Brian is proud of, he can cater to his entire audience. If that isn’t magic, we don’t know what is.

Writing with Ann Handley

Our very own intelligent and charming CEO Kate Bradley (also an incredible writer in her own right) hosted a webinar about writing with the renowned and hilarious Ann Handley, who’s the author of several remarkable books about marketing and social media. Together, they work through tips to find your writing voice, handling feedback, editing and improving.

Sound Like You

Kate and Ann’s authenticity is evident when you hear them speak. It remains in their writing. That is Tip No. 1.

When you’re writing for your company, imagine that instead of writing your Tinder bio, you’re writing in your journal. There’s no need to lie and say you love hiking and are 6’3”. Assuming you like video games and boxed Mac N Cheese is what’s going to show people that you’re authentic, confident, and similar to them. When you’re trying to make your voice and your brand stand out from your pesky competitors, the last thing you should do is try to blend in. You’re a unique human being, and no competitor can steal that from you. (No matter how much they try, Carol.)

Let this be an opportunity to play around with what works for you. Ann recommends breaking the rules of grammar (Kate cheers, the crowd goes wild!), and using words out of context. Unkemptness is back in. In the beautiful words of Ann Handley, “If you cover up your logo, do you recognize you?”

Edit, Edit, Edit

Finding your voice is only part of the writing process. After finishing a piece, Ann edits relentlessly. Once, twice, three or four times. Have someone read it back to you, cringe reflexively, and edit again. Edit first with a chainsaw, chopping off chunks of lousy writing and awkwardness. Then edit with a scalpel, changing the words “bad” and “awkwardness” to “God awful” and “ungainliness.”

Sometimes, just taking time away from your writing can help. “Writing is an unripe avocado” Ann informs us. Write, let it sit on your kitchen counter, and with time and perspective, something delicious can happen.

Even after all that, Kate and Ann have learned that there will always be critics to their writing. The choice is to either let those negative reviews ruin your day and your confidence, or have it be a learning lesson. But, Ann adds, most 1-Star reviews have “no value.”

Write!

Take it from Kate and Ann, being perfect takes time and practice. Ann gave a few last-minute pieces of advice: surround yourself with people who give honest feedback, hone your voice, edit, and, lastly, write! Write every day, even if it’s just a scathing review of that awful restaurant you went to last week. Write for an hour, for fifteen minutes, for five minutes. Keep a journal for your thoughts. Have your restaurant review go viral, and segue smoothly into your new career of being a food critic. And when you’re thinking about slacking, just remember: Ann Handley told you to do all this, and so now you have to.

Watch the Replay

To watch the tip-filled and funny webinar, sign up for the Lately marketing newsletter on this page and you’ll receive instant access.