Taking My Own Advice

 You have heard the old saying related to bad parenting, "Do as I say, not as I do!" For those of you not familiar, it refers to not leading by example, but by edict. It is a phrase that has been used to justify all sorts of bad behavior, and I feel sorry for any person raised by the parent that embraces that philosophy.

This is going to cost a lot in future therapy.

There are also any number of instances where this saying applies in business. We have all worked for bosses that were terrible people, but expected top performance from their people. You may have hired an outside company to provide a service, like marketing or accounting, only to find that their internal behavior doesn't match what they are recommending to their customers. If you found out that the accounting firm you hired was "cooking" their own books to avoid paying taxes, it would be cause to stop doing business with them.

Here is my promise to my clients. I will never recommend a course of action to them that I wouldn't take for myself. Case in point, I am in the process of converting from independent freelancer in the marketing business to the owner of a full service marketing and advertising agency. In the past, I have written extensively about some basic free or low cost steps that every business owner can take to promote their product or service. I am focusing on creating clear, concise content, setting up social media and a presence on Google maps, and seeking out experts to help with things I lack experience with. When I owned my entertainment production company before in  the Orlando area, I always tried to remember that my corporate clients were business owners with the same concerns and challenges I experienced. As an advertising and marketing agency owner today, I will work to maintain that standard.

The first step was to create a website. I am currently using GoDaddy to both register my domain and host my website. For $20 a month, I get all kinds of bells and whistles, as well as a template based SEO system that is a great start. Their marketing tools are no substitute for good, clear copywriting, but it does allow you to focus on content without worrying too much about the technical details.

Next, I built a presence on social media. I have pages on Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as a Twitter account. Every thing I put on my website or blog gets promoted on social media. I may or may not expand into other social media channels, including some of the newer ones, if I decide there is an audience for my message there. Understand that right now I am talking about reaching my audience. If your story belongs on Tik Tok or Snapchat, then I can get you on those platforms with compelling content. I am also creating a channel on YouTube, as it is the used as a search engine by millions of people each day, second only to Google.

Finally, I am setting up a profile on Google maps. Even though we will work for customers from anywhere, it is an integral part of improving your search results on Google. It allows you to post pictures and updates directly to the number one source for information, all for no charge.

Now it's time to create content. Current marketing trends demand more than just writing blog posts. You need to create audio and video, hopefully of good quality. Remember, first you have to have a good story to tell. Even if you want to dig ditches for a living, and there is no shame in that honest work, you have to figure out how and why you are better at it than your competition. Then you have to tell people with passion and at least some polish.

My lovely wife is a lot smarter than I am, and an amazing practitioner of pedagogy, lead me to discover my story by pointing out that I offered a unique value proposition. After all my years as a broadcaster focusing on talk radio, and journalist, I can either tell your story or help you tell it well. My first rule of marketing has always been, "Content is king, the rest is just software."