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Is your business keeping up? Do you Blab? Do you need to?

Things online move fast!

Is your business keeping up?

Does your business need too?

We dive into this question and more as we tackle the Growing Digital Divide: Helping Businesses on the Outside of the Leading Edge!

growingdigitaldivide

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The Growing Digital Divide: Helping Businesses on the Outside of the Leading Edge!

Businesses can struggle to keep up with the fast changes in the digital world. Just this spring we were all talking about the need to use video on Facebook as the "leading edge." That hasn't changed, but some changes by Google+ have made that network less of a "social media" tool and more of a utility. In my mind, Google+ is declining in value. Are you using Facebook video yet or trying to ramp up your Google+ use?

Add to that the rage of live streaming and the onslaught of Meerkat and Periscope this summer and business marketers could feel they were behind. I confess I didn't really jump in on Periscope or Meerkat that much. I experimented but it wasn't a clear fit. I'm glad I didn't because (1) my audience wasn't really there and (2) both of those livestreaming apps was then (in my opinion) superseded by Blab!

Blab, to me, made more sense primarily because of efficiencies. I have a podcast audience. Some listeners wanted that podcast to be video. Video works well on Facebook. So I could do a "Blab" and use their tools to then convert it into multiple pieces of content:

The Live event Blab
A podcast audio file
A video replay for YouTube
A video to post to Facebook
A blog post with audio and video in it!

BOOM! I was sold! That's five distinct content options from one live event. That's what I needed! A way to reach my audience in multiple forms where they are at.... and for me to do it efficiently!

[Tweet "Efficiency in content with Blab! Host a live event, create a podcast, video, & blog, all from 1 show! via @mike_Gingerich"]

Some businesses in the leading edge of digital flow with all these online changes easily. Many businesses, however, don't. They are lost in the digital overload.

In this episode, I sit with Jessika Phillips of Now Marketing Group and Donna Gilliland of MOS Training to discuss this trend. Along the way we invite in my friend Vicki McLeod from Maple Ridge, BC, Canada, and we dig in from the perspective of business trainers, consultants, and agencies working with clients across the spectrum of leading edge to those just starting out.

Covered in this Digital Divide Livecast interview:

The leading edge: Blab - The power and potential of this live platform for businesses involves dialogue and interviewing. If your business can glean from experts and others in your industry or a related industry, then blab can work for you! It's not about selling, but about resourcing. It's the "jab, jab, jab, right hook" (Gary Vee book) type of tool. It works when YOUR AUDIENCE is on Blab.
Blab is really early on. The audience is early adopters, social media enthusiasts and agencies, and yet the adoption rate is growing rapidly so who knows what it will look like in 2 months!
It's always about your audience! Businesses always need to start with the question of where their customers and ideal potential customers spend time. If they don't know about Blab, you don't need to focus on it! If they don't do social media, you should likely be focused on email marketing!

[Tweet "DIGITAL TIP: It's ALWAYS about where your audience spends time online! via @Mike_Gingerich"]

By the way, Email Marketing lives on! It's a core tool. If you are just getting started in digital marketing, email marketing is key. Make sure you website has built in lead capture that helps you grow your list! Your list is a central way to always reach your audience!
Take it one step at a time! Don't get into 'digital overwhelm'! You don't have to be on every social media network your business could be on! Instagram may not work for your business because your audience is not there. Same for Twitter for others! It's ok.
Mobile-friendly, Responsive Websites - If you're business is not leading edge and you need to start at the beginning, then make your website responsive! A site that can be viewed easily and correctly on mobile, tablet, and laptop/desktop because it "responds" to the size of your device! That's the foundation....your website.
Efficiency Tools - Like my example above with Blab forming the foundation of four key items of content for me each week, what are ways you can gain efficiencies with digital tech? Maybe you use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ Pages and just need a "efficiency tool" like the Buffer App to help you create posts that can go to all those networks quickly, efficiently, and yet distinctly. Buffer, HootSuite, and more can do that!
Facebook is for everyone! I said it. I believe it. It's the most widely adopted social media network. If you need a social media network to start on and you wonder if your customers are there, for Facebook the answer is "Yes!" It spans all demographics. That being said, you need a page, to me it's like a stamp of a business that is serious about having a online presence. As well, though, just having a presence isn't enough, you have to be active (posting) and you have to reach your audience (often via Ads), both of which require effort and strategy. Start small by getting a page and posting, and then grow into it. If there's a social media network to consider, it's Facebook!
Show the way! How do you nudge clients into new digital areas for their business? Do it with them! Jessika shared a story of a video that garnered a high viewership and it was simply done on the spur of the moment as she was with a client at their facility. They used a smartphone and captured some live footage with their commentary, loaded it, and it took off! That was the start of them understanding what "simple, social friendly" videos really were (they were NOT productions!) and that they could be done by them with just their smartphone.

Here's the video Jessika helped her client create by doing together!

All this and more as we dive deep from the baby steps into the online world for a business to those working on the leading edge with such tools as Blab and Periscope.

RESOURCE LINKS FROM GUESTS IN THE LIVECAST:

What's your biggest takeaway from my process and tools? Share below!

Next Doable Task:

It’s always about taking away learnings and applying them! What’s the key takeaway that you need to act on in the next 24 hours based on listening to this?

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Why the Halftime theme Mike?

I’m an Indiana Hoosier native where basketball is the top sport. Every team heads to the locker room at halftime to evaluate the first half and create a updated plan for the second half. That plan includes adjustments based on reviewing what worked and what didn't. The “halftime” is a key review point where the game stops, the team pulls away to huddle in the locker room away from the fans, and they come out prepared and ready to succeed in the second half.

That’s what this podcast is all about, taking the time to pull away for a bit to evaluate, learn, and set some strategies for your business to succeed in the second half. Join me by subscribing and let me be your “business halftime” to help you find great success going forward!

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