Part 1: Social Media and Small Business Success with Melinda F. Emerson, President of SmallBiz Lady Enterprise
Episode Summary:
Melinda F. Emerson, President of SmallBiz Lady Enterprise, joins Tejas Mehta to share her story of becoming America’s number one expert on small business development and social media marketing, how to build your personal brand, and run a business successfully.
Key Highlights:
- 11:46 – 14:22 – Winning on Personal Branding – Getting started on social media and building an impactful personal brand is hard today. But if you can create good, valuable, and helpful content people can relate to, then your audience will grow. Choose a specific topic and format you can nail and focus on doing it well and consistently.
- 14:22 – 17:31 – Be Aware of Pseudo-Experts – Social media is full of pseudo-business gurus and experts selling their courses and lifestyle, not their expertise. In a way, they’re good at sales and marketing. But they manipulate people into believing they are good at something that might not help them at all. If you want to hire somebody to help you, hire someone who has a business other than coaching you.
- 18:00 – 19:13 – The Art of Running a Business – If you have built a business that is a cult of your own personality, or it’s just about you, you’ll never be able to sell it. You must learn how to run a business successfully, streamline and develop systems and processes, and hire the right people.
Part 2: Business Fundamentals, Short Form Video, and Video Marketing Trends with Melinda F. Emerson, President of SmallBiz Lady Enterprise
Episode Summary:
Melinda F. Emerson, President of SmallBiz Lady Enterprise, joins Tejas Mehta to discuss the fundamentals of starting an eCommerce business, the rise of TikTok and video marketing, and emerging marketing trends.
Key Highlights:
- 1:54 – 7:02 – Disruptive E-commerce Marketing and Sales Strategies – One of the biggest mistakes when starting an eCommerce business is not figuring out who their target customer is. That is the number one thing you have to define. Also, build a value proposition to stand out from other businesses. You can learn from brands like Zappos that don’t sell special shoes. But what makes them stand out is treating their customers like a VIP.
- 8:37 – 9:45 – Top Social Platforms for E-commerce – One of the most effective ways of selling is through your website. You can also sell on another channel, whether it is Amazon or directly through Facebook. If you’re a product-based company, you might consider an omnichannel approach.
- 11:23 – 14:15 – Leveraging TikTok – TikTok is now the fourth largest social media site and is quickly encroaching on Instagram, making it a legitimate channel for targeting young people. Businesses need to consider TikTok or other platforms where you can create short-form videos as they convert more than other marketing methods.
- 16:08 – 19:26 – Top Video Marketing Trends – Some current trends in video marketing that work well are authenticity, less production, behind-the-scenes content, and humor. One great example of how humor can be effective in growing an audience and selling is Pollo Wang.
