Totally Hyped - The Small Business Marketing Podcast

On this episode of Totally Hyped - Buckle up! We're about to go on a ride to riches. The most direct path there is through the niches. We'll talk to an entrepreneur that went from burnt-out yoga studio owner to become "The Mother Trucker" Hope Zvara went from trying to be everything to everyone to be one thing to one group of people and is now living her best life - we'll discuss lessons she's learned and her advice on niching down.

On this episode of Totally Hyped - Get Ready to Dominate Digital in 2025. As an SMB leader, you need to stay ahead of the curve. This guide unlocks the secrets to AI-powered marketing, captivating visual storytelling, and personalized experiences. Discover actionable strategies to boost your brand, engage your audience, and drive sales like never before. Don't miss out on the future of marketing.

On this episode, we dive into one of the toughest marketing disciplines to get a handle on - Customer Behavior. While it is tough to wrangle in Customer Behaviors - with their inherent fickleness and changing technologies - when you do get it right, it is a key that unlocks a lot of marketing successes. We'll cover the "Whys" and the "Hows" of conquering Customer Behavior on this episode of Totally Hyped. 

On today's episode - I am gonna get real-real talking about Affordable Marketing Solutions, not just in theory, but in practice.I'll tell you about three real options for low-cost and no-cost marketingI'll share some great examples with youwe'll talk about measuring resultsAll of that is coming up today on Totally Hyped - Let's get started on Michelin Star Marketing on a Ramen Noodle Budget.

On today's episode - I am going to pull everything together from this season so far in order to make you the best damn marketer in the SMB world. Seriously though, the 5 secrets I will give to you today .encapsulate the most important aspects of crushing digital marketingPointing everything and everyone in the right directionSet Yourself up for Measurable ResultsA Winning Marketing Mix Invest in Your Most Valuable Digital Marketing AssetThe most efficient and most effective marketing process

On today's episode - I am giving you your superpower - content marketing. Content marketing is the key to well - everything in digital marketing. It seems daunting - time consuming, expensive if it is outsourced, how do create the right content and create it well. I have some direction for you. I'll also have some motivation for you. Stick around.

On today's episode - I have a very special guest, Natalie Forward, EVP of Business Development at Felix Global. We will discuss how SMBs can compete for top talent and such topics as How to Compensate for Compensation, how the cadence of your hiring process is key to success or failure in recruitment and how do you know what candidates want to keep them happy - it's all on today's episode.

On todays episode I am playing the role of the magician giving away all the secrets - except I am a marketer telling what the marketing industry doesn't want you to know. What they don't want you to know is you are being sold the wrong tactics. I am going to tell you what your marketing mix should look like - which is likely to be a far cry from what it is. I won't stop there, I will tell you how to drive change to get your marketing team on the same page.

In this episode - Social media is one of the most misunderstood marketing channels. When you have an audience, it can be an excellent way to communicate and promote your products and services. The reality is, for most SMBs there are mountains of unflattering truths about its costs, results, and ROI. Today we'll work through those realities and help you get a handle on things. Let's use this topic to improve your Sales and your marketing ROI - starting today.

In this episode: Improved revenue and customer satisfaction while reducing risk are some of the hallmarks of data-driven companies. But being data-driven also puts you in the know when it comes to making the right business moves at the right times and lets you see trends as they are happening instead of after. So how can you become data-driven or be better at it?

On today's episode - We'll tackle the challenge of multichannel marketing with limited resources. our goal is to help you be extremely efficient and extremely effective despite not having enough time or budget to do everything you want to do. Leading your team to effectively get the results you want - That's what we're doing today on Totally Hyped.

On today's episode - We'll refresh our memory on defining objectives in a fool-proof way, then we'll jump into some specifics on how to place value on achieving your business objectives. This is an exclusive bit of information your competitors won't have and it's a real game-changer. This is the biggest step you can take to accurately measure ROI.

How can you ignore AI? It will either make our lives better or wipe us off the face of the planet. No matter what you think of AI, you have to pay attention. After all, this is one of those moments when you either keep up or get left in the dust. Today, we'll examine AI-related decisions you'll have to wrestle with, and from a leader's perspective, I'll explain how you can leverage AI to truly improve your business through marketing, no matter how marketing or tech-savvy you are. 

One of the most transformative exercises I have helped clients with over the last few decades is getting Marketing and Sales teams to work together. Just the common messaging alone is a huge boost to your outcomes, but it goes deeper than that, and at the end of the day, it is a very direct line to making more money.I get a little passionate in this episode because many companies resist integrating sales and marketing despite its proven track record. My apologies for the cursing.

On today's episode, if I were to ask you why a customer should buy from your company rather than your competitor, would you be able to provide me with a truly unique, compelling reason? One your competitor cannot say?We're going to talk about the importance of a UVP (Unique Value Proposition) and how it should be your company's soul, it's core.

For my money, the state of marketing budgets is worse than marketing strategies. The way marketing budgets are typically developed breeds the wrong focus, the wrong conversations, and, ultimately, the wrong results.There is a better way and we'll get into it in today's episode "Marketing Budgets That Defy Convention and Lead to Measurable ROI"

The continuing frustrations over aligning marketing strategies with business objectives, and the ambiguity between marketing activities and measurable marketing ROI are wreaking havoc on business leadership and marketers.Good news! we've got a solution, and we'll discuss it in today's episode "A Business Leaders' Guide to Unusually Successful Marketing Strategies"

While the business world is bursting at the seams with opinions on metaverse, what are consumers thinking, if anything? Should you be investing, or should you stay away? In this episode of Totally Hyped, I’m joined by Jen Musil, VP @ the Harris Poll. Jen and her team did some digging into what consumers think about metaverse, which in turn provides some insight for your next steps. 

The guide to marketing success for SMB leaders is easy to learn. It can be transformative, and it can give you a leg up on the competition.It all starts with you no matter what your marketing experience is.

In the continuing saga of unprecedented moments in time, we are experiencing a worker shortage unlike anything we have seen before. In order to compete for talent today a deeper understanding of what you’re up against is in order.Today you’ll meet Natalie Forward. Not just a cool name, Natalie is a talent master as adept in recruitment and talent strategies as you’ll find. In this episode we’ll discuss the root of the issue and what SMBs can expect and do about it.

Leads, prospects, opportunities, oh my!If lead generation seems out of your hands and you're at the mercy of 3rd party lead generators, OR if you think you have this whole lead generation thing licked, you need to listen to this episode.This is the first of several episodes that take you through becoming a lead-generating powerhouse. We'll talk about the magic that happens when generating leads is done well, identifying common problems, the three keys to determine if your lead generation system is working well or not, and what to do to improve.

I talk with Yassir Hassan of The Harris Poll. Director of Brand Strategy and Insights, and an author of a white paper “Striving and Thriving: Startups in the Post-COVID-19 World, Yassir, brings insights into how COVID has impacted Startups in relation to Innovation, Finance, and Talent.See this episode at - https://totallyhyped.com/insights/Get the whitepaper here - https://totallyhyped.com/startups-post-covid-19-the-harris-poll/

TotallyHyped.com to download the white paper and for direct access to Harris Poll

Learn about the benefits of creating a cohesive team between Sales and Marketing. Hear a few examples of successful relationships and how can achieve such harmony.

Your business objectives determine which approaches, channels or platforms should be used. In any given situation, all promotional resources should be at your disposal. The truth is that Inbound and Outbound are not against one another. In fact, they work beautifully together when the situation arises.Learn how to avoid missing out on marketing bliss.

Learn how to add a seasoned marketing executive to your team without the commitment or expense.

While there may not be a better platform for building brand product and event awareness, radio's often overlooked in today's misguided digital-first world.In this episode, you'll learn that if you want people in any market to know about your company, product or event, you must consider radio as a proven way to achieve your goals. I met a lot of great people in radio like today's guest Bob Bellini.

Easily avoid the budget-killing hype that is rampant in today's marketing industry.

Learn how to effectively manage the complexities of comprehensive marketing strategies

Learn how to differentiate BS measurements from measurements that matter - they either achieve results or provide actionable understanding,

Use a marketing consultant to connect the dots between marketing and advertising and achieving your business goals, Save time and money while avoiding stress.

Learn to untangle egos, biases, and emotions that get in the way of successful marketing.

Learn how to cut through the nonsensical jargon and misinformation and get straight to improving your business without having to decipher it all.

Manage your budget with knowledge and patience to realize faster, more successful marketing results.Learn how to take one or two extra steps that will result in getting better outcomes, saving money, and getting the results you want in less time than leaping before you look.

If you want a real improvement for your business, learning to define your objectives in a manner that overcomes any barrier is the most compact change you can make.Learn how to make sure your marketing team is aiming at the same target while simultaneously creating an unshakeable directive that creates an efficient, successful marketing environment.

Stakeholders and anyone who has their ear can cause a tremendous lack of focus in any marketing project. If it is not identified and dealt with it will kill many projects. Unfortunately, dealing with it means managing relationships and even your own thinking on how marketing should be tackled.Learn how to avoid poor marketing advice before it sends your project in the wrong directionLearn how to manage the information and keep your project on budget and on schedule

If you did not know there was a conflict of interest between marketers and your business, you don't know how much better your marketing projects can be.Learn to identify when the conflict arisesLearn to side-step the conflict of interestLearn how to turn the conflict of interest to your advantage

Learn how marketing projects are delayed and how to prevent delays.Learn from real stories how to identify pitfallsLear processes to automatically avoid delays and costly time-wasting tactics that plague marketing projects

Learn where most marketing projects waste money and how to avoid costly, yet common missteps.Learn to identify common reasons marketing budgets get out of controlHear real stories from over 25 years in the fieldLearn how o keep budgets on track and ensure even better results

Learn how to prevent the most common reason for failure in any marketing project.hear real examples of instances where the issue killed projectsLearn how to articulate your business objectives and ensure successful marketingLearn how you can systematically avoid issues in getting successful marketing results

According to over 3,000 marketers, marketing projects fail 87% of the time. Learn what causes the failures and how to make sure your projects succeed.Find out what to look for so you can see warning signs before your project is doomed.Hear about common approaches that most small businesses will fall prey to.

In marketing, like much of life, success is in who you know. If design and brand management across all consumer touchpoints is on your to-do list, you should know Ashton Henry. I have worked closely with Ashton for the last several years and can attest to her skill, intelligence and creativity.In this episode, Ashton and I discuss one of marketing's most crucial topics Customer Experience or CX as it's called in the industry. When Brand is defined as it should be, the essence of what it is like to do business with you, Customer Experience is your Brand.To nail down your customer experience efforts requires a lot of organization, logic and consideration for every customer touchpoint. Here's our conversation where I have just asked her about a project she headed up at a company we both recently worked for.

Do you really need a blog?Is your company going to produce the content internally?Will you hire someone to produce your blog content for you?Are there easy ways to produce content?

What's really important to understand about web analyticsWhere to find the most important stats in Google AnalyticsHow to track online marketing efforts

Limited budget or no budget, you still have to promote your business. Hear an example of 100% Free Marketing that works!

Should I really be on social media? Now, this is a question that gets asked all the time. First of all, I want to make sure that I preface this answer by saying, if you do it on your own, it's one thing, if you hire someone else to do it, there are other things to take into consideration.

Answers to these questions and moreWhy LinkedIn over other platforms such as Facebook, Google Ads, Bing, etc.?How can you control your budget on LinkedIn?What made your successful projects so successful?Why should someone use a service like yours over those competing with you?

There is a lot that goes into great performing ads, including luck. However, if you want to improve the performance of your marketing and advertising effort, there is one thing that will always work.

Why does digital marketing fail more often than it succeeds?What you can do to ensure success.