May 6, 2024 • 28 mins
In this episode of "The Main Street Exchange," we dive into the intricate world of local SEO and its impact on businesses in small-town America. Joined by industry experts, we explore the ten-year partnership with our client, highlighting the evolution of our marketing strategies and the profound lessons learned along the way. Discover the unique challenges and opportunities of marketing in small communities, the significance of local agency partnerships, and actionable insights that can transform your digital presence. Whether you're a business owner in a bustling metro or a quiet small town, this episode offers valuable perspectives on building lasting relationships and a robust digital footprint that resonates locally.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Welcome toepisode three of the Main Street Exchange
Group podcast,where we talk about small town America
marketing, advertising,and all of the above.
And last week we had some blast here.
Yes. Freeman.
my mentors and someone heregrown to know all the time.
Yeah.
and we thought it would be really great
(00:21):
to inform our listenersa little bit about, peaking in a bit.
Yeah.
A behind the scenes.
Growth, of course, is prowess.
Yeah, yeah. Partners in that thing?
Yeah.
In that shift that we thoughtwe would just kind of hammer out
a few of those things and yeah,give our listeners some tangible resources
(00:44):
to make their next stepsand what they need to do.
And, and so, yeah.
What were your thoughtsabout the development of our conversation?
Well, yeah, I mean, I think the uniquenessof that is, is ten years, right?
You guys have, you know, Clint, partnered with you ten over ten years ago
now. And so there's longevityin that relationship.
And so the the, you know, having youanswer some questions
(01:07):
about some of those ups and downs,some of the things you've learned,
over the marketing time period,you don't always get a client necessarily
that you get to work withfor ten years and work with them
from that low end kind of,you know, time to this high growth curve.
that they've had over those yearsand all the acquisitions.
(01:30):
And then, of course, you get an even amore detailed, experience,
I think because of, of your relationshipwith client side of the other business.
Right.
And so I think, the value
life cycle is a death rate perpetuating.
So I think the value, you know,I mean, one thing I'd be interested in as,
(01:51):
you know what?
What's one of those,extremely valuable lessons you've learned?
That was something that took, sunglassto another level.
You know, what was one of those tidbitsin the marketing world?
I want to treat a little bitwith tenderness.
Sure. Because,
(02:11):
you know, the
the richness of this place,
that's not what we do is really.
Yes. Yeah.
You don't have to give all the secretsaway.
Hey, maybe just expose the woods for this.
For the auto glass. Don't worry about the.
You know, we've learned
some major lessons that we are using nowfor a lot of our service based business.
(02:33):
Yes. particularly those in a small town deal
with different pressuresand distinct digital marketing struggles.
Yeah.
And the reality is, isif you're in a small town,
the way you do marketing is different.
There is no way about there'sno way around on a business level
that was talking about last time how,
(02:57):
that executive decisionmaking, there's different pressures.
One of the pressures he was explainingwere very specific to the senior leader.
and why would I get to have himcome and share with all of us,
some of those life lessons?
The things I learned that very specificto marketing.
Sure.
And aren't always sharednecessarily in detail with leadership.
(03:20):
But what I can tell youin a bird's eye view is that marketing
to a small town is very
loyalty based.
it's itis not the spam filled marketing tactics
that you're going to hear on Instagramand TikTok.
Yes. Or YouTube.
(03:41):
it's the long run.
It's the trying really hard.
It's thinking through metrics.
It's trying to figure out if this methodwill work here and not copy and paste.
Copy and paste from metro communitieswill not be your answer. Yes.
Don't lean on that.
Do not lean on that. Do the hard thing.
The hard work of buildingtrust with with the community.
(04:05):
So if you're
if you're a business owner right now,
if you're listening and you'rein a small town, something that that needs
to bea part of the DNA of your marketing plan
is to understandthe needs of your community.
in market in that fashion?
Sure.
Now there are tactics
(04:26):
that we do is I'm a by trade.
I guess you can say I'mthe main SEO technician here.
I know how to rank people.
So if, if, if this isn't a sales pitch,this is the truth, y'all.
if, you know,the recent studies have shown
that 68% of seekers on bass
(04:47):
who are looking for service will convert.
68%. That's huge.
Huge. How do you bypass that?
You can't likewell if it's digital mainstreet
it is, it is, it is Main Street view.
If someone had you the keysto the best property on Main Street,
(05:09):
would you say no?
It's.
But nobody nobodynobody understands that, right?
So that'd be a great name for a podcast,by the way.
Digital mainstreet. Oh.
And, well,
you know, we may have towe may have to do something with that.
Don't anyone take that idea.
Very, very good
(05:31):
idea here, though.
This is what we did for sunglasses.
Really hone in on,
their products and servicesand figuring out a way
for people that are looking for themonline to find them.
Yes, I know that sounds rudimentaryand silly
and obvious, right?
Yeah. No.
(05:51):
Now people areI need to be visible online.
That's just kind of what they say.
How do you do it? Right.
That's.
That'swhere a strong partner like us comes in.
Or if you study real hardand learn the ropes yourself.
Absolutely.
Which is attainable.
We are coming.
(06:12):
we'll be sharing with everyone herein about a month or so.
What?
How will we listen to train and educatepeople on how to do it themselves?
Yes, they can,but you know, really what it means is
you have to be able to get yourself onGoogle
Maps, Google, search engine
listings that means the part
(06:33):
after you see the maps and the directions,there's another listing there.
Google uses that as part of your story.
So yeah, some questions like let's startthat, let's rank on maps.
Let's figure out how to do that. Yeah.
Second was how do we do thatwhile performing with businesses.
Right.
So we had to do a lot of research intohow do we bring these localities
(06:56):
and what are Google's rulesregarding those locations.
And along that line,you know, a lot's changed in a decade
for a lot of that stuff.
what are, kind of some of those giftsthat I would say, you and I talk about,
the gifts that Google has given usas a local agency.
you know,that really has allowed us to, to
(07:21):
outshine, national agencies.
you know, for us, you know, for,for these clients.
So what has has been likeworking with agencies?
Because they don't have to be everywhere,right?
And it's a really smart move if they can.
And this was shown recently in their,in their,
(07:42):
divesting with their,their domains websites.
Yes. Right.
They learned they are not small potatoesand they are done working and stuff.
So we'll take that.
Yeah. That's that's where we shine. Yeah.
Well so what they have done is said,okay, agencies,
you handle all the everyday stuff.
We got the big stuff.
Okay.
(08:02):
So really the gift is, is
you need to be able to market yourselfwithin a 50 mile radius, support your app
if you're in a rural community.
If you're in a metro 25 miles.
And so that is the hook where,
you know, understanding small communityis where we're where a company like us
(08:24):
really makes sense because now we're ableto feel the pulse of the rural community.
There's certain thingsthat we're community, that metro areas
and agencies to be frame don't understand.
Yeah.
the the local networking pieces,the local, the way
the city council, the structure,the way the community operate,
the way the community shakes hands,what are they do?
(08:47):
How are they communicating these typesof opportunities?
Well, you've got to be able to understandwhere those opportunities are.
Invest in those opportunities.
Digital speaking.
So that one the 68% is looking for you.
They call you. Yeah.
Think about that on a percentage level.
If people were were to really understandthe power of local search.
(09:12):
Yeah.
their businesses would be
saying, well, and here'sanother part of that that's 68%
converting to one of those listings,right?
and that's, you know, a search.
So, but that also could mean that there'sa higher percentage that are converting.
(09:34):
They just don't convertthrough that avenue.
So having your business even being seenthere is vital, if you're number one,
the amount of clicks
and the amount of callsyou're getting versus being not on that.
The one throughthree list is unbelievable.
You know.
And what's beautiful about,you know, some of these things
(09:57):
that have happenedis it favors locality so much.
Now, that, that, that having a local agency
that knows what they're doing can really,
really help,
boost your SEO sales pitch.
Right? It is the truth.
(10:17):
You have to know what that
what is what it's liketo be in these small communities.
You know, so I'm going to changeyou and do percentage gains here.
88% of people are actually looking. Yeah.
So buyers are the 60% ready to buy.
Right.
So it's it's sunglasses case. Yes.
Now I can talk this way because they don'twant the business anymore.
(10:40):
Yeah, yeah, I know guys that
windshield repair.
Windshield repair?
Yeah. Yeah, we win that to work. Yeah.
Everything else.
So it's part of the reason why the company
you mentioned,
what we're so interested in.
Yeah. That's right.
(11:00):
Because of the digital.
So, speaking of that,let's let's go to that just for a minute.
Well, we won't go too far.
But, but but here's, here's a reality
because business owners are oftentalking about the sale of a business.
And if you are to sell a business,
(11:22):
one of the things that areoften are overlooked
is this area that you and I discuss a lot.
And so what would you say?
Like when you were consulting with clientto help him sell,
you know that what what was the thingsthat, you know, our work
brought to the table for that companythat attracted them to that?
(11:45):
Yeah.
So you have I can't speak specifics, but.
Yeah. And how that types of
acquisitions is they're not only goingto look at that, that
that profitability rate is considerable,but that, that percentage of,
of, of net profits that you're bringing into be a viable business.
(12:07):
But they're seeing the natural conversionrates from different sources. Yes.
All of why is this market available?
They can qualify that with advertising.
That's right.
Advertising islet's say you just run Google Ads.
That's it.
So I know an ex company, real company,that they invest
about $5,000 into conservative that a lot.
(12:29):
They do not invest in localorganic marketing. Yes.
Yes. Which is at around $1,000 so
that he gets to keepthese additional assets he gets. Yes.
We don't do ranking,renting rank and renting means that we pay
an agencyto buy a market and work for the market.
But you rent the market?
(12:49):
Yeah, you pay for the leads.
Basically like windshield. farmington.com.
They build that business, that buildthat mask, profile the local leads
you gain up for about $4,000, right them.
And then when you can't pay they withhold
that to resell those to your competitor.
Ethical practice is very effective people.
(13:10):
Google has markedthat as a valid policy. Yep.
It's a good thingwe never got to Reagan, right?
Yeah. Yeah. and so,
that whole
businessline is converted into legit businesses,
and the generationfocused businesses have taken over.
Yep. Model. Yep.
the only difference isthat they're just telling the truth.
(13:32):
You're going to buy the leads, but you'renot going to trick your business assets.
So one of the most important thingsis to understand that your traffic,
that you own the marketin matters in an acquisition.
That's right.
When someone looks at it,
says, well, how much of the marketare there ready to convert?
Yes. If you dumping it all on AdWords
(13:52):
is that we have to spendfive came up to four weeks from it.
Because if you're market. That's right.
Is that lead equity reallywhat it comes down to is you have this
natural equity that has been builtbased around your, continued marketing,
efforts and, and past marketing effortsthat have built this brand.
(14:13):
It's really brand strength.
SEO strength, authority, online authority.
And all of a sudden,know you you have a gift really?
Like this.
This asset in your business that can youit should be almost be able
to be counted as an,
as part of your assets becauseyou're going to get 100 leads a month
(14:35):
no matter what.
Basically, you don't you don't have to run$5,000 of advertising
to get 100 leadsconfused with the word right?
Yes. What's organic about it?
Is it service based?
That's right.
That feeds the soul of your business. Yes.
For the water on anything sold on it.
It takes a long time.
(14:55):
I love a great. Yeah.
It just makes so much sense.
I think that'swhy you find a lot of that in the Bible.
You know,you see, you see it in God's word.
And he always uses these metaphors,but it applies to business and marketing.
Yeah.
It's the trust building.
It's the planting seeds.
You still have to pay somebodyto to ten, ten to the things.
(15:18):
Right. But but is not the same.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But it's not the same as, as that,advertising spend, which is insanely
costly most of the time for a businessdoing it in the right timing.
We were opening advertising.
Absolutely. Yeah.
But it's undergirded by the marketing.That's right.
Because if you don't have something,that's why you have.
(15:40):
What are you advertising tois what I tell people.
That's right.
What are you advertising to. Yeah.
that that's a really important marketing.
Well. It's great.
well, I going along with this ten yearsthat you got to spend with them.
what's what's another, just peacethat you feel like, of the puzzle
(16:02):
that, just moved their business from,you know, that next step.
What was, what was another one of those moments?
Maybe for you?
that just led to some, great successfor for them.
Definitely treating each localityas a local business.
Okay.
Could have went the corporate route,which, you know, hey, let's go to.
(16:26):
And really they leaned on mehappy on this.
And he asked a great question.
What is best for SEO?
You know.
Yeah.
Yeah. And, you know, he was a believer.
Yeah.
I said we named the businesswith the city in it.
He's like, what?
Know Western NGOs,and that's for every one of us.
(16:49):
He got glassand a keyboard, both in the names,
and we get to allow each
each locality have its own digital.
That universe.
Goodness. What would that would be?
it's really their ownsphere of influence.
Yeah.
(17:09):
Each brick and mortar is the waythe Digital Authority.
now, is that,
the digital space worksvery similar to the brick
and mortar space that has to be validatedby brick and mortar.
Right.
Anything in local digital marketingneeds to be bound to an actual physical.
Just in fact, you know, that'sbecause when we're on board, it
(17:30):
something you have a brick and mortar,right?
Word address? Absolutely.
On commercial, plots of land,coded commercial. Yep.
if it is right or if you're able
to rent a spaceand add a suite to it. Yep.
what Google requires is
(17:50):
its own office spacethat's inaccessible by anybody.
So it's a huge freebie here. Yeah.
If you're wanting if you're on the fenceabout launching your own business,
you know you're going to want to havesome of these things as well.
Yeah.
often the mistake people makeis they launch it from their house,
which I understand.
It because obviously cost. Right.
(18:11):
But if you can rent a officefrom an from a place that has a few open
and put your sweet number on the door,you literally have given yourself
a big gift to set.
Find your local co-working space. Right.
Doesn't work anymore.
they have not a lot better than that.
So you're going to need a real brickand mortar office room
(18:33):
with the door lock that you can put
a sign made from Microsoft Word.
Yeah, at the very least.
Yeah.
work on it.
You know,that's an important facet to this thing.
but essentially, think of your brick andmortar and your website as a one space.
(18:55):
Yeah.
Digital brick and mortar,which is your website
and your real brick and mortar,which is your physical address?
Yeah. They work hand in hand.
Once those are validated,then you can start building,
you know, intended a web of connections
that say you're realand that your service is the best.
I'm proud to say that.
(19:16):
That every business for, for,we're ranking.
Yeah. So, you know, there's
these things are can change your businessforever.
Yeah. Help you get on the right path.
It's not a silver bullet in the sense
that it's not the only thing you rely on.
Like you're telling correct or hearing.
(19:37):
And explain to us about the 360marketing process
really isyour focus is health has to be endorsed.
Sure. Absolutely.
but having that model,
each little web universe
had a brick model and website is hugeand important for you marketing.
So if you're not doing that,you know, pause this podcast,
(19:58):
figure out a way, make some phone callsthat'll change your business forever.
On speaking about you know thatyou said treating each one locally.
You did that digitally in the SEO space.
But there was also did that in thein the messaging
and the the types of campaignsyou guys did.
You know, so and so one of our communitiesthat we really love is Cortez, Colorado.
(20:21):
Yeah.
And small farming ranch community.
what do they value for it?
Yeah. They value that. Yep.
We're going to invest in for andwe're going to have it over the speakers.
Sunglass.
You know your your local for each sponsor.
You know supporting.
Absolutely. Right. Yeah.
That community response.Well to that. Yes.
doing that in in Durango.
(20:45):
Maybe not so much in Durango. Yeah.
we go we get a bit of club,
events and the fundraisers there.
we we do different activities.
Yeah.
Community to say, hey,we are a part of this community.
Right. So. Yeah.
Tell the truth. Do the right thing.
(21:05):
Yeah.
Community and your online resources will.
You'll help them.
The way you make those two meet is.
And this is kind of getting in the weeds.
But it's importantI want to people understand the holistic.
Yeah, yeah.
Okay, great.
We got a booth at the local golf club.
fundraiser. Awesome. Okay.
On the website.
(21:26):
Ask for back to your website.
Absolutely. Booyah!
We just gave you that huge.
Don't forget they made. That's what they
said.
That you get back on forever. Yeah. Yeah.
So, And that, like, it's huge.
Yeah. Yeah. Always has been.
Yeah. Yeah.
So, yeah,I mean, that's literally what made Google
(21:49):
literally the, the,the fundamental thing that made Google.
yeah.
So I totally agree authority.
knowing the communities you're in,you know, knowing what what
the audience that,that is, community wide.
so important, so critical.
And if you're working with multi, multicommunity businesses,
(22:09):
treat them differently,interview them differently.
interview their managers, interviewtheir, their staff
so that you know what is happening.
There's always someone on staffthat knows the inner workings better
than almost everybody elsebecause they're connected in a better way.
And if you, if you, take the timeto get to know those people, you get a,
(22:32):
you get a gold nuggets that just help youin, in those, those areas.
Absolutely. It's great.
I would say to somethingthat helps, glass.
And then we'll start to wrap it up,because this whole idea of,
understanding the
community and delivering the right thingsto them. Yes.
It's, you know, from early on, a company,like I said, we have several others.
(22:56):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You're going to learn moreabout these companies as, as we keep going
and, and we'll have some, guests aroundthe country as well.
is understandinghow media and marketing okay? Yes.
Because now that that was the benefitthat they had.
Yes, yes. Hey, run a commercial for us.
(23:16):
But where do we put a.
Oh, let's put on YouTube pre-roll.
Yeah. What into pre-roll happens on it.
The second most search engine that
second most users in the world. Yep.
How do you knowwhat's coming up on a third?
Which is weirdbecause organically just makes sense.
Tick TikTok. But.
(23:39):
But, just the idea of, okay,
you need to be able to have a mediumand creatives that are done, well done.
Right.
We can create not. Yep.
Just for the sake of doing it. Yep.
And then distribute.
So yeah, it was an all hands approach.
It's got to be a great message.
Very end.
Yep. Social media means media development,TV, advertising, even media as one.
(24:03):
That's kind of funny because, I mean,
you started out as a as a photographyand video company predominantly.
I mean, your first beginningswere, were really in,
in, wedding photography and video, right?
I mean, that's understanding.
Yeah.
And, and but it,it kind of led, led itself into
(24:24):
all these different things that,you know, progressed into these worlds.
I mean, like the video.
Yeah. Yeah.
But I had, like, tell you. Yeah.
He was like, hey,we need to change some things up
because he wanted his his videoto be seen.
Yeah.
And so that's where you need these videos
(24:46):
and to
have marketing and to develop an idea,it's not worth
it just to make something coolbecause you need something to work.
And, you know, it's that push and pull.
I've had to learn a lotabout the creative side.
Sometimes you gotta foregoor develop a better term,
and that's hard for creativesto let go of that.
Yeah.
(25:06):
And so, you know, finding the rightcreatives is going to be important.
The people that can and can do a good jobwriting a script for you.
Yeah. And shooting great video.
Like we use cinema cameras,you know, real cinema cameras.
Not just prosumer.
Yeah. Cinema cameras.
We actually have avenues for, to developgreat media for it.
(25:31):
And so that's a that's a huge deal. Yeah.
If people grab a hold of the opportuneneed to get make a business like
Clint Freeman's,
you have to believe in your business,
and you have to do what it takesto tell the story of people.
Yeah, that's really what it is.
Finding the right people at the righttime.
(25:51):
Yeah.
Which just kind of reminds melike one of the things I often
get to talk to clients about,they there's clients
say, hey, I don't really need marketing,
and I understand that they say that,but really,
when you when you take marketing
down to that base of communication,
(26:13):
if you are selling a product or service,
which is the definition of a business,
you essentially needto hone in your message.
You have to hone in.
And one of the greatest thingsto hone in a message like you and I know,
make a 32nd commercial, make a 32nd,even if it never played for anyone.
(26:34):
The you gain something so big out of itbecause that world of of
of having to figure out that messagein 30 in a 32nd
communication is like itjust it hones it in perfectly.
You can't.
30s is just not long enoughto to have to mess around.
(26:54):
Right.
You have to be able to saysomething substantial to somebody in 30s
that makes you think you have to.
You have to figure out who you're talkingto, right?
If I was talking to a child,I'm going to talk very differently.
And I'm going to like if I was if we weredoing a marketing piece for a toy, right,
that we want a kid to,to tell their parents they want,
(27:16):
we know we're not marketing to the parent.
We're marketing to the kid. Right?
That's a whole different messaging
and thought processthat we're going to put into that versus
this adult or that adult, you know,and then every adult is different,
like in who we're going in.
So when we start to segment that, it's
like all of a suddenyou start to have to hone in your message.
(27:36):
So, well, that
if you're payingfor a video that no one ever watches,
it would still be worth it,because ultimately,
you're going to be ableto communicate your product
a hundred timesbetter than you would have otherwise.
And I could say, you know, definitely
some of my seminary trainingon the art of teaching.
Yeah.
(27:56):
we need better marketer
because at home, a lot of your audience,you don't have
those bridges and and understand barriers.
Yeah. Yep.
That's right. Similar to sales. very.Yeah.
Makes it likeyou sound like a televangelist. so.
But but what I mean is, isyou want to communicate something.
(28:19):
Yeah.
That helps people understandsomething and believe in something.
You know, hopefully lead to some typeof transformation.
And so. Absolutely.
but anyways, I know our time is up.
Yeah, I know it's going to happen.
But then I hope, like, for all of us,you know, understanding some of these,
core core marketing values is goingto change some businesses out there.
(28:41):
So, yeah.
And I think that's
we gave our nuggets away today. So.
Bye for now.
Welcome toepisode three of the Main Street Exchange
Group podcast,where we talk about small town America
marketing, advertising,and all of the above.
And last week we had some blast here.
Yes. Freeman.
my mentors and someone heregrown to know all the time.
Yeah.
and we thought it would be really great
(00:21):
to inform our listenersa little bit about, peaking in a bit.
Yeah.
A behind the scenes.
Growth, of course, is prowess.
Yeah, yeah. Partners in that thing?
Yeah.
In that shift that we thoughtwe would just kind of hammer out
a few of those things and yeah,give our listeners some tangible resources
(00:44):
to make their next stepsand what they need to do.
And, and so, yeah.
What were your thoughtsabout the development of our conversation?
Well, yeah, I mean, I think the uniquenessof that is, is ten years, right?
You guys have, you know, Clint, partnered with you ten over ten years ago
now. And so there's longevityin that relationship.
And so the the, you know, having youanswer some questions
(01:07):
about some of those ups and downs,some of the things you've learned,
over the marketing time period,you don't always get a client necessarily
that you get to work withfor ten years and work with them
from that low end kind of,you know, time to this high growth curve.
that they've had over those yearsand all the acquisitions.
(01:30):
And then, of course, you get an even amore detailed, experience,
I think because of, of your relationshipwith client side of the other business.
Right.
And so I think, the value
life cycle is a death rate perpetuating.
So I think the value, you know,I mean, one thing I'd be interested in as,
(01:51):
you know what?
What's one of those,extremely valuable lessons you've learned?
That was something that took, sunglassto another level.
You know, what was one of those tidbitsin the marketing world?
I want to treat a little bitwith tenderness.
Sure. Because,
(02:11):
you know, the
the richness of this place,
that's not what we do is really.
Yes. Yeah.
You don't have to give all the secretsaway.
Hey, maybe just expose the woods for this.
For the auto glass. Don't worry about the.
You know, we've learned
some major lessons that we are using nowfor a lot of our service based business.
(02:33):
Yes. particularly those in a small town deal
with different pressuresand distinct digital marketing struggles.
Yeah.
And the reality is, isif you're in a small town,
the way you do marketing is different.
There is no way about there'sno way around on a business level
that was talking about last time how,
(02:57):
that executive decisionmaking, there's different pressures.
One of the pressures he was explainingwere very specific to the senior leader.
and why would I get to have himcome and share with all of us,
some of those life lessons?
The things I learned that very specificto marketing.
Sure.
And aren't always sharednecessarily in detail with leadership.
(03:20):
But what I can tell youin a bird's eye view is that marketing
to a small town is very
loyalty based.
it's itis not the spam filled marketing tactics
that you're going to hear on Instagramand TikTok.
Yes. Or YouTube.
(03:41):
it's the long run.
It's the trying really hard.
It's thinking through metrics.
It's trying to figure out if this methodwill work here and not copy and paste.
Copy and paste from metro communitieswill not be your answer. Yes.
Don't lean on that.
Do not lean on that. Do the hard thing.
The hard work of buildingtrust with with the community.
(04:05):
So if you're
if you're a business owner right now,
if you're listening and you'rein a small town, something that that needs
to bea part of the DNA of your marketing plan
is to understandthe needs of your community.
in market in that fashion?
Sure.
Now there are tactics
(04:26):
that we do is I'm a by trade.
I guess you can say I'mthe main SEO technician here.
I know how to rank people.
So if, if, if this isn't a sales pitch,this is the truth, y'all.
if, you know,the recent studies have shown
that 68% of seekers on bass
(04:47):
who are looking for service will convert.
68%. That's huge.
Huge. How do you bypass that?
You can't likewell if it's digital mainstreet
it is, it is, it is Main Street view.
If someone had you the keysto the best property on Main Street,
(05:09):
would you say no?
It's.
But nobody nobodynobody understands that, right?
So that'd be a great name for a podcast,by the way.
Digital mainstreet. Oh.
And, well,
you know, we may have towe may have to do something with that.
Don't anyone take that idea.
Very, very good
(05:31):
idea here, though.
This is what we did for sunglasses.
Really hone in on,
their products and servicesand figuring out a way
for people that are looking for themonline to find them.
Yes, I know that sounds rudimentaryand silly
and obvious, right?
Yeah. No.
(05:51):
Now people areI need to be visible online.
That's just kind of what they say.
How do you do it? Right.
That's.
That'swhere a strong partner like us comes in.
Or if you study real hardand learn the ropes yourself.
Absolutely.
Which is attainable.
We are coming.
(06:12):
we'll be sharing with everyone herein about a month or so.
What?
How will we listen to train and educatepeople on how to do it themselves?
Yes, they can,but you know, really what it means is
you have to be able to get yourself onGoogle
Maps, Google, search engine
listings that means the part
(06:33):
after you see the maps and the directions,there's another listing there.
Google uses that as part of your story.
So yeah, some questions like let's startthat, let's rank on maps.
Let's figure out how to do that. Yeah.
Second was how do we do thatwhile performing with businesses.
Right.
So we had to do a lot of research intohow do we bring these localities
(06:56):
and what are Google's rulesregarding those locations.
And along that line,you know, a lot's changed in a decade
for a lot of that stuff.
what are, kind of some of those giftsthat I would say, you and I talk about,
the gifts that Google has given usas a local agency.
you know,that really has allowed us to, to
(07:21):
outshine, national agencies.
you know, for us, you know, for,for these clients.
So what has has been likeworking with agencies?
Because they don't have to be everywhere,right?
And it's a really smart move if they can.
And this was shown recently in their,in their,
(07:42):
divesting with their,their domains websites.
Yes. Right.
They learned they are not small potatoesand they are done working and stuff.
So we'll take that.
Yeah. That's that's where we shine. Yeah.
Well so what they have done is said,okay, agencies,
you handle all the everyday stuff.
We got the big stuff.
Okay.
(08:02):
So really the gift is, is
you need to be able to market yourselfwithin a 50 mile radius, support your app
if you're in a rural community.
If you're in a metro 25 miles.
And so that is the hook where,
you know, understanding small communityis where we're where a company like us
(08:24):
really makes sense because now we're ableto feel the pulse of the rural community.
There's certain thingsthat we're community, that metro areas
and agencies to be frame don't understand.
Yeah.
the the local networking pieces,the local, the way
the city council, the structure,the way the community operate,
the way the community shakes hands,what are they do?
(08:47):
How are they communicating these typesof opportunities?
Well, you've got to be able to understandwhere those opportunities are.
Invest in those opportunities.
Digital speaking.
So that one the 68% is looking for you.
They call you. Yeah.
Think about that on a percentage level.
If people were were to really understandthe power of local search.
(09:12):
Yeah.
their businesses would be
saying, well, and here'sanother part of that that's 68%
converting to one of those listings,right?
and that's, you know, a search.
So, but that also could mean that there'sa higher percentage that are converting.
(09:34):
They just don't convertthrough that avenue.
So having your business even being seenthere is vital, if you're number one,
the amount of clicks
and the amount of callsyou're getting versus being not on that.
The one throughthree list is unbelievable.
You know.
And what's beautiful about,you know, some of these things
(09:57):
that have happenedis it favors locality so much.
Now, that, that, that having a local agency
that knows what they're doing can really,
really help,
boost your SEO sales pitch.
Right? It is the truth.
(10:17):
You have to know what that
what is what it's liketo be in these small communities.
You know, so I'm going to changeyou and do percentage gains here.
88% of people are actually looking. Yeah.
So buyers are the 60% ready to buy.
Right.
So it's it's sunglasses case. Yes.
Now I can talk this way because they don'twant the business anymore.
(10:40):
Yeah, yeah, I know guys that
windshield repair.
Windshield repair?
Yeah. Yeah, we win that to work. Yeah.
Everything else.
So it's part of the reason why the company
you mentioned,
what we're so interested in.
Yeah. That's right.
(11:00):
Because of the digital.
So, speaking of that,let's let's go to that just for a minute.
Well, we won't go too far.
But, but but here's, here's a reality
because business owners are oftentalking about the sale of a business.
And if you are to sell a business,
(11:22):
one of the things that areoften are overlooked
is this area that you and I discuss a lot.
And so what would you say?
Like when you were consulting with clientto help him sell,
you know that what what was the thingsthat, you know, our work
brought to the table for that companythat attracted them to that?
(11:45):
Yeah.
So you have I can't speak specifics, but.
Yeah. And how that types of
acquisitions is they're not only goingto look at that, that
that profitability rate is considerable,but that, that percentage of,
of, of net profits that you're bringing into be a viable business.
(12:07):
But they're seeing the natural conversionrates from different sources. Yes.
All of why is this market available?
They can qualify that with advertising.
That's right.
Advertising islet's say you just run Google Ads.
That's it.
So I know an ex company, real company,that they invest
about $5,000 into conservative that a lot.
(12:29):
They do not invest in localorganic marketing. Yes.
Yes. Which is at around $1,000 so
that he gets to keepthese additional assets he gets. Yes.
We don't do ranking,renting rank and renting means that we pay
an agencyto buy a market and work for the market.
But you rent the market?
(12:49):
Yeah, you pay for the leads.
Basically like windshield. farmington.com.
They build that business, that buildthat mask, profile the local leads
you gain up for about $4,000, right them.
And then when you can't pay they withhold
that to resell those to your competitor.
Ethical practice is very effective people.
(13:10):
Google has markedthat as a valid policy. Yep.
It's a good thingwe never got to Reagan, right?
Yeah. Yeah. and so,
that whole
businessline is converted into legit businesses,
and the generationfocused businesses have taken over.
Yep. Model. Yep.
the only difference isthat they're just telling the truth.
(13:32):
You're going to buy the leads, but you'renot going to trick your business assets.
So one of the most important thingsis to understand that your traffic,
that you own the marketin matters in an acquisition.
That's right.
When someone looks at it,
says, well, how much of the marketare there ready to convert?
Yes. If you dumping it all on AdWords
(13:52):
is that we have to spendfive came up to four weeks from it.
Because if you're market. That's right.
Is that lead equity reallywhat it comes down to is you have this
natural equity that has been builtbased around your, continued marketing,
efforts and, and past marketing effortsthat have built this brand.
(14:13):
It's really brand strength.
SEO strength, authority, online authority.
And all of a sudden,know you you have a gift really?
Like this.
This asset in your business that can youit should be almost be able
to be counted as an,
as part of your assets becauseyou're going to get 100 leads a month
(14:35):
no matter what.
Basically, you don't you don't have to run$5,000 of advertising
to get 100 leadsconfused with the word right?
Yes. What's organic about it?
Is it service based?
That's right.
That feeds the soul of your business. Yes.
For the water on anything sold on it.
It takes a long time.
(14:55):
I love a great. Yeah.
It just makes so much sense.
I think that'swhy you find a lot of that in the Bible.
You know,you see, you see it in God's word.
And he always uses these metaphors,but it applies to business and marketing.
Yeah.
It's the trust building.
It's the planting seeds.
You still have to pay somebodyto to ten, ten to the things.
(15:18):
Right. But but is not the same.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But it's not the same as, as that,advertising spend, which is insanely
costly most of the time for a businessdoing it in the right timing.
We were opening advertising.
Absolutely. Yeah.
But it's undergirded by the marketing.That's right.
Because if you don't have something,that's why you have.
(15:40):
What are you advertising tois what I tell people.
That's right.
What are you advertising to. Yeah.
that that's a really important marketing.
Well. It's great.
well, I going along with this ten yearsthat you got to spend with them.
what's what's another, just peacethat you feel like, of the puzzle
(16:02):
that, just moved their business from,you know, that next step.
What was, what was another one of those moments?
Maybe for you?
that just led to some, great successfor for them.
Definitely treating each localityas a local business.
Okay.
Could have went the corporate route,which, you know, hey, let's go to.
(16:26):
And really they leaned on mehappy on this.
And he asked a great question.
What is best for SEO?
You know.
Yeah.
Yeah. And, you know, he was a believer.
Yeah.
I said we named the businesswith the city in it.
He's like, what?
Know Western NGOs,and that's for every one of us.
(16:49):
He got glassand a keyboard, both in the names,
and we get to allow each
each locality have its own digital.
That universe.
Goodness. What would that would be?
it's really their ownsphere of influence.
Yeah.
(17:09):
Each brick and mortar is the waythe Digital Authority.
now, is that,
the digital space worksvery similar to the brick
and mortar space that has to be validatedby brick and mortar.
Right.
Anything in local digital marketingneeds to be bound to an actual physical.
Just in fact, you know, that'sbecause when we're on board, it
(17:30):
something you have a brick and mortar,right?
Word address? Absolutely.
On commercial, plots of land,coded commercial. Yep.
if it is right or if you're able
to rent a spaceand add a suite to it. Yep.
what Google requires is
(17:50):
its own office spacethat's inaccessible by anybody.
So it's a huge freebie here. Yeah.
If you're wanting if you're on the fenceabout launching your own business,
you know you're going to want to havesome of these things as well.
Yeah.
often the mistake people makeis they launch it from their house,
which I understand.
It because obviously cost. Right.
(18:11):
But if you can rent a officefrom an from a place that has a few open
and put your sweet number on the door,you literally have given yourself
a big gift to set.
Find your local co-working space. Right.
Doesn't work anymore.
they have not a lot better than that.
So you're going to need a real brickand mortar office room
(18:33):
with the door lock that you can put
a sign made from Microsoft Word.
Yeah, at the very least.
Yeah.
work on it.
You know,that's an important facet to this thing.
but essentially, think of your brick andmortar and your website as a one space.
(18:55):
Yeah.
Digital brick and mortar,which is your website
and your real brick and mortar,which is your physical address?
Yeah. They work hand in hand.
Once those are validated,then you can start building,
you know, intended a web of connections
that say you're realand that your service is the best.
I'm proud to say that.
(19:16):
That every business for, for,we're ranking.
Yeah. So, you know, there's
these things are can change your businessforever.
Yeah. Help you get on the right path.
It's not a silver bullet in the sense
that it's not the only thing you rely on.
Like you're telling correct or hearing.
(19:37):
And explain to us about the 360marketing process
really isyour focus is health has to be endorsed.
Sure. Absolutely.
but having that model,
each little web universe
had a brick model and website is hugeand important for you marketing.
So if you're not doing that,you know, pause this podcast,
(19:58):
figure out a way, make some phone callsthat'll change your business forever.
On speaking about you know thatyou said treating each one locally.
You did that digitally in the SEO space.
But there was also did that in thein the messaging
and the the types of campaignsyou guys did.
You know, so and so one of our communitiesthat we really love is Cortez, Colorado.
(20:21):
Yeah.
And small farming ranch community.
what do they value for it?
Yeah. They value that. Yep.
We're going to invest in for andwe're going to have it over the speakers.
Sunglass.
You know your your local for each sponsor.
You know supporting.
Absolutely. Right. Yeah.
That community response.Well to that. Yes.
doing that in in Durango.
(20:45):
Maybe not so much in Durango. Yeah.
we go we get a bit of club,
events and the fundraisers there.
we we do different activities.
Yeah.
Community to say, hey,we are a part of this community.
Right. So. Yeah.
Tell the truth. Do the right thing.
(21:05):
Yeah.
Community and your online resources will.
You'll help them.
The way you make those two meet is.
And this is kind of getting in the weeds.
But it's importantI want to people understand the holistic.
Yeah, yeah.
Okay, great.
We got a booth at the local golf club.
fundraiser. Awesome. Okay.
On the website.
(21:26):
Ask for back to your website.
Absolutely. Booyah!
We just gave you that huge.
Don't forget they made. That's what they
said.
That you get back on forever. Yeah. Yeah.
So, And that, like, it's huge.
Yeah. Yeah. Always has been.
Yeah. Yeah.
So, yeah,I mean, that's literally what made Google
(21:49):
literally the, the,the fundamental thing that made Google.
yeah.
So I totally agree authority.
knowing the communities you're in,you know, knowing what what
the audience that,that is, community wide.
so important, so critical.
And if you're working with multi, multicommunity businesses,
(22:09):
treat them differently,interview them differently.
interview their managers, interviewtheir, their staff
so that you know what is happening.
There's always someone on staffthat knows the inner workings better
than almost everybody elsebecause they're connected in a better way.
And if you, if you, take the timeto get to know those people, you get a,
(22:32):
you get a gold nuggets that just help youin, in those, those areas.
Absolutely. It's great.
I would say to somethingthat helps, glass.
And then we'll start to wrap it up,because this whole idea of,
understanding the
community and delivering the right thingsto them. Yes.
It's, you know, from early on, a company,like I said, we have several others.
(22:56):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You're going to learn moreabout these companies as, as we keep going
and, and we'll have some, guests aroundthe country as well.
is understandinghow media and marketing okay? Yes.
Because now that that was the benefitthat they had.
Yes, yes. Hey, run a commercial for us.
(23:16):
But where do we put a.
Oh, let's put on YouTube pre-roll.
Yeah. What into pre-roll happens on it.
The second most search engine that
second most users in the world. Yep.
How do you knowwhat's coming up on a third?
Which is weirdbecause organically just makes sense.
Tick TikTok. But.
(23:39):
But, just the idea of, okay,
you need to be able to have a mediumand creatives that are done, well done.
Right.
We can create not. Yep.
Just for the sake of doing it. Yep.
And then distribute.
So yeah, it was an all hands approach.
It's got to be a great message.
Very end.
Yep. Social media means media development,TV, advertising, even media as one.
(24:03):
That's kind of funny because, I mean,
you started out as a as a photographyand video company predominantly.
I mean, your first beginningswere, were really in,
in, wedding photography and video, right?
I mean, that's understanding.
Yeah.
And, and but it,it kind of led, led itself into
(24:24):
all these different things that,you know, progressed into these worlds.
I mean, like the video.
Yeah. Yeah.
But I had, like, tell you. Yeah.
He was like, hey,we need to change some things up
because he wanted his his videoto be seen.
Yeah.
And so that's where you need these videos
(24:46):
and to
have marketing and to develop an idea,it's not worth
it just to make something coolbecause you need something to work.
And, you know, it's that push and pull.
I've had to learn a lotabout the creative side.
Sometimes you gotta foregoor develop a better term,
and that's hard for creativesto let go of that.
Yeah.
(25:06):
And so, you know, finding the rightcreatives is going to be important.
The people that can and can do a good jobwriting a script for you.
Yeah. And shooting great video.
Like we use cinema cameras,you know, real cinema cameras.
Not just prosumer.
Yeah. Cinema cameras.
We actually have avenues for, to developgreat media for it.
(25:31):
And so that's a that's a huge deal. Yeah.
If people grab a hold of the opportuneneed to get make a business like
Clint Freeman's,
you have to believe in your business,
and you have to do what it takesto tell the story of people.
Yeah, that's really what it is.
Finding the right people at the righttime.
(25:51):
Yeah.
Which just kind of reminds melike one of the things I often
get to talk to clients about,they there's clients
say, hey, I don't really need marketing,
and I understand that they say that,but really,
when you when you take marketing
down to that base of communication,
(26:13):
if you are selling a product or service,
which is the definition of a business,
you essentially needto hone in your message.
You have to hone in.
And one of the greatest thingsto hone in a message like you and I know,
make a 32nd commercial, make a 32nd,even if it never played for anyone.
(26:34):
The you gain something so big out of itbecause that world of of
of having to figure out that messagein 30 in a 32nd
communication is like itjust it hones it in perfectly.
You can't.
30s is just not long enoughto to have to mess around.
(26:54):
Right.
You have to be able to saysomething substantial to somebody in 30s
that makes you think you have to.
You have to figure out who you're talkingto, right?
If I was talking to a child,I'm going to talk very differently.
And I'm going to like if I was if we weredoing a marketing piece for a toy, right,
that we want a kid to,to tell their parents they want,
(27:16):
we know we're not marketing to the parent.
We're marketing to the kid. Right?
That's a whole different messaging
and thought processthat we're going to put into that versus
this adult or that adult, you know,and then every adult is different,
like in who we're going in.
So when we start to segment that, it's
like all of a suddenyou start to have to hone in your message.
(27:36):
So, well, that
if you're payingfor a video that no one ever watches,
it would still be worth it,because ultimately,
you're going to be ableto communicate your product
a hundred timesbetter than you would have otherwise.
And I could say, you know, definitely
some of my seminary trainingon the art of teaching.
Yeah.
(27:56):
we need better marketer
because at home, a lot of your audience,you don't have
those bridges and and understand barriers.
Yeah. Yep.
That's right. Similar to sales. very.Yeah.
Makes it likeyou sound like a televangelist. so.
But but what I mean is, isyou want to communicate something.
(28:19):
Yeah.
That helps people understandsomething and believe in something.
You know, hopefully lead to some typeof transformation.
And so. Absolutely.
but anyways, I know our time is up.
Yeah, I know it's going to happen.
But then I hope, like, for all of us,you know, understanding some of these,
core core marketing values is goingto change some businesses out there.
(28:41):
So, yeah.
And I think that's
we gave our nuggets away today. So.
Bye for now.
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