October 2, 2024 • 22 mins
In this episode of 10 Minute Marketing, Sonja Crystal Williams is joined by Carlton Creative Co. Founder, Victoria Carlton.
Victoria shares her insights and tips on how brands can effectively ensure their marketing efforts are consistently aligned with both short-term and long-term business goals. She goes on to share her wealth of knowledge on effective content creation strategies, from maintaining a cohesive brand voice to navigating the latest trends in AI and video content.
Throughout the episode, Sonja and Victoria offer actionable insights from their professional experiences designed to support both in-house marketing teams and business owners. Victoria also offers a fresh perspective on the evolving role of LinkedIn as a powerhouse for content strategy and business opportunities, on breaking down data and analytics for business owners, and more.
Listen to this episode for practical tips, inspiring stories of her entrepreneurial journey, and valuable information on transforming your B2B marketing strategies.
About Victoria Carlton
Victoria V. Carlton is a passionate communications and marketing professional with a flair for creativity and innovation. As the founder and Account Executive of Carlton Creative Co., she leads a talented team that delivers impactful marketing solutions that resonate with audiences.
With extensive experience in advertising, social media, and project management, Victoria thrives on collaboration and strategic thinking. Her adventurous spirit drives her to explore new ideas and approaches, ensuring that every project is fresh and engaging. Whether crafting compelling brand narratives or guiding clients through the ever-evolving marketing landscape, Victoria is dedicated to helping brands tell their unique stories.
Follow Carlton Creative Co. on LinkedIn and learn more here, and follow Victoria on LinkedIn.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sonja Crystal Williams (00:05):
Hi everyone, welcome to today's
episode of 10Minute Marketing.
I'm your host, sonia CrystalWilliams, so joining me today I
have Victoria Carlton, andVictoria is the founder of
Carlton Creative Co.
She leads a very talented teamthat delivers impactful
marketing solutions thatresonate with audiences.
I've watched her build thisamazing, very talented team that
delivers impactful marketingsolutions that resonate with
(00:25):
audiences.
I've watched her build thisamazing, talented team over the
course of several years.
So welcome, glad to have youhere today, Victoria.
Victoria Carlton (00:33):
Thanks, Sonja, I really appreciate you having
me on.
Sonja Crystal Willia (00:36):
Absolutely .
So I'm going to jump right inbecause one of the things as
I've watched your company reallygrow and even just you know how
I first met, just that wholerealm just behind content
creation and content strategy, Ithink has been an area where
I've really seen your teamthrive.
So I want to kind of jump rightin with the first question of
(00:57):
when you are working withclients and you're positioning
them to just deliver strongcontent that's going to resonate
with their audience.
What's the starting point forthat?
If you're piecing together someof the parts or the framework
that goes into a strategy, likewhat are some of the important
areas that you cover when you'reworking with your clients?
Victoria Carlton (01:17):
I think one of the most important areas is
kind of understanding thebusiness side and their goals,
because you need to match themarketing side with that.
So you need to have thoselong-term goals in place, but
then understanding someshort-term milestones of where
is the company working towards,what do they want to get to?
Because we need to be able tocommunicate that now, because
their five-year plan is going tolook very different from what
(01:38):
they're executing right now inyear two, year three, year four.
Sonja Crystal Williams (01:42):
Yeah, I think, especially in the world
of like anything that's onlineor digital, like it's like, be
prepared to pivot, because ifyou go too far out, like, you
need the vision, but if you gotoo far out filling in all the
details, it could look totallydifferent like in a couple of
years.
So I think that's a reallygreat point.
When you walk in to help, let'ssay well, first let me ask you,
(02:05):
what kind of organizations doyou find yourself providing the
most support to?
Victoria Carlton (02:10):
So we're really all over the map, and
it's because of something thatI'm very proud of, which is
we've gotten a lot of word ofmouth referrals from people, so
that means that it's differentbusinesses, but the thing it
always comes back to is it'stypically a B2B business that we
work with the most.
Sonja Crystal Williams (02:24):
Yeah, and so when you walk into that
office, you're working with aB2B business or it's a Zoom call
, you know.
Whatever it is nowadays in thiswork environment, what do you
find?
Are like the missing pieces?
Where do they need help?
Like what's common that you see.
Victoria Carlton (02:40):
It's usually they either have marketing staff
on hand, but it's a very, verysmall team, so they're
overwhelmed or they're in theweeds of something really
important and they're not ableto focus or continue progressing
.
So one of the most importantthings in marketing I think
you'll agree with is beingconsistent and not having
stoppages or gaps, and that'susually the thing that we'll
(03:02):
pick up and say if you can'thandle that right now or you've
never done it, we can come inand have something going
consistently for you so you canreally start to see results and
then keep those results.
Sonja Crystal Williams (03:12):
Yeah.
So what is that thing for youall, Is it?
Hey, we're picking up yoursocial media.
Hey, we're going to do some adsfor you.
Like, what are those differentcomponents that you all end up
digging into?
Victoria Carlton (03:21):
Probably the biggest one is social media, and
specifically with B2B.
It's usually on LinkedIn and inthat sphere, or a lot of the
times it'll be a startup maybe,and they've had really great
success.
They've gotten a lot of bigcustomers, but then they never
thought about the brand or theirwebsite.
And then we're coming in anddoing a brand new website or
communicating the copy side ofthings and writing everything
(03:44):
that they now have pivoted andchanged to as they've started to
onboard those new clients.
Sonja Crystal Williams (03:49):
That makes sense.
So you kind of bring up anotherpart where, like they never
thought about the brand, do youall go that like that deep with
clients and helping them kind ofpiece together their brand from
a visual standpoint and I guessI always call it like the
intangible part, the messaging,like all that other stuff, like
(04:11):
where that intersects with theactual tangible product, which
is social media posts, likewhat's the intersection there
for you all and how do you seethat play out with some of those
B2Bs?
Victoria Carlton (04:21):
Yes, that's so important, and I love that you
bring it up, because a lot ofclients don't know or don't have
an understanding of that tobegin with.
Really and truly, it's eitherwe are going to develop and
bring in that brand or we'regoing to update and refine and
the brand you know is much morethan just the logo or just the
color palette.
Those things are reallyimportant for consistency, like
(04:42):
I said earlier.
But then you know what is thetone of your brand and how does
that correlate into what you'rewriting?
Because being consistent onthat voice side of things makes
a huge difference as well, and Imean anybody.
You don't have to be acommunication or marketing
expert.
You can tell when somebody elseis writing a post on behalf of
a company and it changes frompost to post, and that's
(05:02):
something that you don't wantpeople to see.
Right Like you don't want tobreak the third wall, you want
it to still be part of thecompany.
Sonja Crystal Williams (05:10):
One of the somebodies you bring up, the
somebody writing the post oneof the somebodies I've been
talking about lately a lot isthe AI somebody, because I've
had even in my own experienceworking with clients.
Some clients say, oh, we don'tneed blog writers anymore, we're
just going to have ChatGPT doall the work.
So you've heard this too, Iimagine.
Victoria Carlton (05:30):
Many, many times I'm like retweet, retweet.
Sonja Crystal Williams (05:39):
Oh my gosh, how do you feel?
So I was on a panel at aconference and we were having
the AI conversation and I'llhold what my thoughts were.
Just when it comes to justwriting social media content for
AI, what are your thoughtsabout that and pros and cons to
even using that, or taking thatinto account, and all these
different tools that help peopledo that.
Victoria Carlton (05:55):
This is such a big topic and you can go in so
many different ways with it, butfirst and foremost, when I get
that feedback, it's really aboutanybody can get something from
AI right, Like I agree.
I don't dispute that.
However, what you're going tofind is it's something that
everyone can recognize.
That's AI and that's only goingto become more and more as
(06:16):
people are seeing and using AIand getting to understand that
better, and I just I don't thinkthat it performs well.
It doesn't have the right toneor right voice.
Of course you can prompt them alittle bit better, but
typically the clients who don'tneed writers anymore don't know
how to prompt, so then you getinto a whole new can of worms.
I think that there's a time anda place, and we certainly do
(06:38):
use AI to kind of help with somebrainstorming things or talking
through with the AI.
That's kind of one of myfavorite things is to go back
and forth and say here's my idea, here's how I see it playing
out.
Like what holes do you see inthis, when could we improve on
this?
And that really helps me see itfrom a different angle
sometimes.
But if you're not aprofessional and then using AI
to apply it to somethingspecific like writing social
(07:00):
media, writing blog posts, it'snever gonna be successful.
And the copy is only onecomponent of any social media
posts or anything that you seewritten right.
A lot of times there's a lotmore associated with that, like
a graphic or video.
Sonja Crystal Williams (07:14):
Yeah, I am, yeah, no, I'm with you and I
was on that panel.
My stance was specifically forwriting social media content
like, remember that it's, in a asense, regurgitating stuff
that's out there.
It's not creating per se.
So, to your point, like youcould lose your tone and your
voice in the process.
You know, I, yeah, I'm with you.
(07:35):
Brands need to have that, thatstance and that position.
It's what makes them unique anddifferent.
So, if everyone starts soundingthe same, where do we differ
and how do these algorithms knowwhat to prioritize?
Because that's part of theprocess.
I'm not saying play to thealgorithm, but the reality is it
exists and it has an impact onhow much your post gets seen.
Victoria Carlton (07:55):
So, yeah, that's a really good point too.
Sonja Crystal Williams (07:58):
Yeah, so okay.
So AI is like one thing and wecould look at that as, in a
sense, like a trend.
What are some of the othertrends that you're seeing as it
relates to content development,just, you know, creation things
that people are putting outthere.
As it relates to it.
Victoria Carlton (08:17):
You know video is a thing that people are the
most afraid of.
I think I have tons of clientswho don't want to do it or say
I'm too nervous and they're notwilling.
But that's the thing that justkeeps getting bigger and bigger.
You know there's so muchflexibility and versatility with
it that you can do with videoand it's like you don't have to
be doing the TikTok trend or thedance.
(08:38):
There's so many differentapplications because the video
is a hook and that's somethingthat can get eyeballs for you
immediately on something andactually engage with your
audience.
And you know video is onlygrowing on other platforms like
LinkedIn, like they now have thebuilt in captions that now come
up.
So you know one less thing inthe editing process that you can
(08:58):
have to do with video.
Sonja Crystal Williams (09:02):
Okay, so let's take, let's put on our
hat, as if you're gonna workwith a new client and this
clients in the B2B world -- andI come across this like even
these clients and teams thathave they have a marketing team,
they've got some internal staffbut, like you said, they're
overwhelmed, overworked.
How do you help move them along?
(09:23):
Because the thing that a lot ofbusinesses probably experience
when it comes to video creationis like like how, who, what are
we going to put on video andwho's going to be on video?
Like that's usually the biggestroadblock.
I mean, there's a bunch ofother roadblocks, but that's a
big one.
How do you hold their hand intothe start of that as a trend?
Victoria Carlton (10:03):
Yeah, you make such a good point.
You know that's exactly whatthey say is, who has the time
for this, who can actually do it, who can be a part of it?
But I don't think that theyinitially see the value right.
You can do so much with thevideo.
So if you're going to do acustomer testimonial, nobody
from the team has to be involvedat all.
So you know, checked one boximmediately.
You just need to have someonethat loves your work and is a
big supporter of you, and everyclient I've worked with has
people like that who are readyto jump.
(10:24):
And even if those people arenervous about video, they
usually will agree to it and say, yes, I'm in, I'll do this for
them because it means a lot.
And then, on the other side,you know we work with the sales
teams when it's product demos,so then they can run through and
work on something.
And usually salespeople are theright person with video because
they're so comfortable alreadyspeaking in front of others or
they know the product so wellthat they can nail it
(10:46):
immediately.
But yeah, it just depends.
If there's not that one person,that's okay.
We can come up with a strategyfor that.
Sonja Crystal Williams (10:53):
Yeah.
So salespeople great, that's anawesome nugget.
Cause some organizations don'teven think about that.
Like, go to your sales people.
They're out in the field, theytalk about it all the time, they
know what to say.
And then those customertestimonials would be a good one
.
And it's kind of like thatnervousness that people
experience because no one feelslike they want to, as far as
(11:13):
people working there, be infront of the camera.
So it's like who do you find?
So those are some really goodtakeaways.
So you all are on the agencyside of things.
And then you have companies, asyou mentioned, that might have
some staff in- house.
How does a company one like,what do you find by the time
they come to you as an agency?
(11:34):
What have they gone through?
What have they encountered?
Like, what helps a company getto that space where that's part
of the decision-making process?
Victoria Carlton (11:43):
I think you have probably gone through this
and seen this at your clientstoo.
But the number one thing thatI've encountered, surprisingly,
is someone will say we workedwith an agency before, we worked
with somebody in some piece ofmarketing and it was a horrible
experience or a waste of money,waste of time.
Like how do I know that workingwith you isn't going to be the
same result, and so that'ssomething that is super
(12:04):
important to talk about upfrontand say, well, what went wrong
there?
And usually it's something thatCarleton Creative and my team
members we don't go there.
We would never make that samefatal mistake that they have.
So that's the number one thingthat usually helps to reassure
them and understanding thatdon't worry, it's not going to
take me three weeks to reply toan email.
I replied to all my emailswithin 24 hours.
(12:26):
But that's like reallyimportant, right, to reassure
them.
And so usually they've beenburned before is the biggest one
or the second one.
They finally are starting tosee like, oh, I saw the value of
this at another person'scompany that I know and I just
don't have anybody yet, and Ithink this would be better to
outsource right now or when theydo have that person working
with them.
You know, this person's workingon this very important project
(12:48):
with me and they just don't havethe capacity.
So then that's when they startworking with an outside agency.
And that's awesome too, becausethen if there is a marketing
person there, they can kind ofbe a part of the process too and
drive that, and then there's alittle bit less of that
educational piece if you'reworking with another marketer.
Sonja Crystal Williams (13:06):
Very true, very true.
And in the case where maybethere's not a marketer, how do
you find things flow when you'reworking, maybe directly with
the business owner?
Victoria Carlton (13:15):
So when it flows that way, there's a lot
more of the educational piece upfront and I tried to do a lot
of visuals with them or take ita step back and start explaining
the finer details of like whatdata points mean.
And again, something else thatcomes up tons for everybody in
marketing is you know, I justwant to lead or I just want to
see the conversion, but there'sso many other metrics that are
(13:35):
associated with that.
And then breaking that down andsay, how is this a value- add
to you or what does this meanfor you in your bottom line.
That's probably the biggestelephant in the room,
immediately with working with anowner.
Sonja Crystal Williams (13:52):
Okay, so that's a good point, but it
leads to like, so the owners dowant to see the conversions, but
that is it.
When you get to that spacewhere it's like, okay, we've
been publishing content, it'sbeen three to six months, we're
in there, we're comfortable, weknow each other, we trust each
other, how do you start tofigure out and even maybe
explain to that client what'seffective, what's not, what to
(14:15):
keep, what to abandon, and isthat enough time even to start
making those determinations sothat they have a realistic
outlook?
Victoria Carlton (14:24):
Yeah, absolutely.
I think you've got to havethose three to six months of
content generating to evenreassess and reevaluate.
And that's another piece istypically businesses aren't that
patient, right, like they wantto see the result in three weeks
, four weeks and/ or make apivot from there.
And I like to say, you know,let's get some trends because we
base things everything atCarlton Creative on analytics
(14:46):
and data, and we'll providemonthly reports.
We'll review that with them andgive them key takeaways and
we're not afraid to say here'swhat's working, but here's
what's not working, and we'llsay let's keep an eye on this
because it's nothing horriblethat's maybe changed in the
trends, but let's understand, isthat something for next month
that we should reconsider, is itnot?
And then if they want to pushback and say I want to change
(15:07):
now, then we have to reevaluatethat again and then understand
okay, does that really makesense or does it not?
And here's the data that backsit up.
Usually, when you talk aboutthe numbers, that helps because
it gives them something concrete, because so many things in
marketing it's not black andwhite, right, like everything's
a little gray and you have tonavigate that way.
Sonja Crystal Williams (15:26):
Just for fun, I want to ask you, well,
you kind of mentioned LinkedIn,but where are you all enjoying
like, just like the work you do?
In terms of, if you were tobreak it down per social network
, where are you having the mostfun, versus, maybe, where you
feel like I'm getting the bestbang for my buck for my clients
over here?
Victoria Carlton (15:46):
Yeah.
So I mean really it's LinkedIn,because I just think it's so
undervalued and people don'trealize like the value of
LinkedIn, even if I can get aleader like a leader from the
leadership team to take part inthat, they can have a really big
impact for their organizationand usually people at that high
level are invested in thesuccess of the company.
(16:06):
So then they're willing andthat's where we get to have the
most fun, because then we get towork with the person one-on-one
and really understand moreabout their personal life and
what defines them as aprofessional, because usually
those experiences go hand inhand, even though people try to
turn it off, but there's outletsand things that build you into
the professional you are today.
So that's the best part isworking with someone where we
(16:27):
get to share more of their likestory, of what led them on this
path for that particular client.
Cause, usually the clients aresolving some sort of business
problem or a pain point and thenunderstanding like how did they
get led to this pain point andwhat did it mean for them
personally?
Sonja Crystal Willia (16:43):
Absolutely .
So, Linkedin is the winnerright now.
Now, I agree, I've always toldpeople it's like, although I
will say probably over the pastthree to five years that
platform has grown phenomenally,but prior to that, I would
always tell people like it's oneof the most underutilized
platforms and I think people arestill figuring out, more so
than before, people understandhow to use it.
But it's one of those platformsit's like, yeah, why aren't you
(17:06):
here?
Like you know, it's socialmedia, just like everything else
, and it doesn't have to be asstuffy as people think it has to
be where it's, you know, yourcommentary and your captions are
very boring, so absolutely yes,and that's that's the other
thing.
Victoria Carlton (17:23):
Right, they're like well, I don't want to
share a Facebook post, likeFacebook's not LinkedIn, and I
completely understand that.
I promise you, what we're goingto post is never going to look
like a Facebook post.
There's ways to make it a lotof fun, and it doesn't need to
be something that's like acanned response or it doesn't
need to be something that you'reafraid of.
Corporate sees this like it'sLinkedIn.
They're going to be reallyhappy that you're interacting
(17:44):
and updating in this way.
Sonja Crystal Williams (17:46):
Yeah, and talking about what you do.
So thank you so much forsharing, Victoria.
I want to wrap up ourconversation with a few
questions that I like to callour lightning round, and the
first question really the kindof the first two questions I
have for you are kind of aroundthe work you do at Carlton
Creative Co.
, and the last one is just likepure fun.
(18:06):
So first question is what doyou love about the work you do?
Victoria Carlton (18:13):
I feel like I just answered that, so I'll try
to make it a little bitdifferent.
But what I love most about thework that I do is we were
completely remote at CarltonCreative, so I love when we can
break that barrier and be in-person with either a client or
even with our team.
We're about to go on ourcompany retreat soon this fall
(18:33):
and so that's the most rewardingpart is when you get to see
people in person and understandthe impact that you've really
had and you get the feedback ofhey, I went to this event and
somebody knew about our companybecause of what you've been
posting on LinkedIn.
Or hey, because I shared thatmore personal thing on LinkedIn
and related it to professionally, I was able to start a
conversation with somebody elsewho had that same experience and
(18:55):
that turned into a businessopportunity.
So that's the part that Ireally love the most about it.
Sonja Crystal Williams (19:00):
Yeah, I mean it's what you said earlier,
like about how you all get alot of business word of mouth,
but like to some degree, socialmedia kind of is, when people
see it, even though they don'tcomment, like they'll call you
if they have your number,they'll email you if they have
your email address, and thatwill turn into a private
conversation that can lead tonew opportunities.
Victoria Carlton (19:19):
So I think that's really good and you stay
top of mind at the same time,right Like that's.
That's so rewarding for peoplethat you know you're first on
the list when they have a need.
Sonja Crystal Williams (19:29):
Yes, exactly, and that's and that's
what we all want.
Second question, and I know,like you have, I don't want to
(19:59):
say it's like, it's not a brandnew business, it's a young
business, right, I think you'vebeen in being someone who worked
independently to now having ateam in place and growing your
organization.
Victoria Carlton (20:03):
I think my biggest takeaway that I just
didn't know is I didn't knowwhat entrepreneurship was going
to be all about.
It was not about continuing todo the same work that I loved in
digital marketing andcommunication.
It was more so of learning.
What does it take to actuallyrun a business?
What's the behind the scenes ofa business?
All the other things that everyentrepreneur goes through.
(20:24):
But in my case, I just wasn'tthinking and I wish that I would
have known a little bit moreand taken some entrepreneurship
classes in college so I couldunderstand and have that
perspective.
But thankfully, like I told youearlier, I've worked with a lot
of startups, so I get to learnand grow besides them sometimes,
or they're nice enough to tellme some great tips that would
really be beneficial for usinternally.
Sonja Crystal Williams (20:45):
Wow, that's awesome, okay.
Final question is you have thewinning lottery ticket.
You hit it for five mil.
That's what, about two and ahalf after taxes?
What are you doing?
Victoria Carlton (21:00):
I'm totally going to go live in Italy,
particularly Florence, Italy.
I love to travel, I love to seethe world, but I would
definitely try to move abroad,over there, and get a place
there and work remotely there.
Because if I'm working remotelynow, why couldn't I do it over
there?
It's one of my biggest passionsand I've been uncovering my
family roots recently and I'mactually in the process of
(21:22):
getting my dual citizenship withItaly, so I'm really excited
and really proud of my family'sheritage that that's an
opportunity for me.
Sonja Crystal W (21:30):
Congratulations .
When you get that place, inviteme over.
I love Florence.
Victoria Carlton (21:36):
Thank you.
I have to hit the lottery afterI get my citizenship.
Sonja Crystal Williams (21:39):
There we go, let's get it in order.
I will fly into Milan and ridethat train down.
So it's so beautiful.
Thank you so much, Victoria.
So where can people find you ifthey want to get more
information about CarltonCreative and learn about your
services?
Victoria Carlton (21:55):
Well, we're keeping this with the same
platform right.
All on LinkedIn.
I try to be really active onthere myself, but then the
company page obviously iskeeping people posted and
educated.
If you want to learn a fewthings, of course you can always
email me to send me a message,but it's easy nowadays with
social media.
Sonja Crystal Williams (22:12):
Yeah, so everybody, I'll drop the links
so you can find Victoria onLinkedIn, find her company.
I will drop those links on ourdescription.
So be on the lookout for thatif you want to reach out or drop
any questions you have for us,and maybe we can get Victoria
back for another episode in thefuture.
Until then, everybody, thankyou so much for listening.
Victoria, thank you for beinghere.
(22:32):
Have a great day everybody.
Victoria Carlton (22:34):
Thank you, Sonja.
Have a great day, guys.
Hi everyone, welcome to today's
episode of 10Minute Marketing.
I'm your host, sonia CrystalWilliams, so joining me today I
have Victoria Carlton, andVictoria is the founder of
Carlton Creative Co.
She leads a very talented teamthat delivers impactful
marketing solutions thatresonate with audiences.
I've watched her build thisamazing, very talented team that
delivers impactful marketingsolutions that resonate with
(00:25):
audiences.
I've watched her build thisamazing, talented team over the
course of several years.
So welcome, glad to have youhere today, Victoria.
Victoria Carlton (00:33):
Thanks, Sonja, I really appreciate you having
me on.
Sonja Crystal Willia (00:36):
Absolutely .
So I'm going to jump right inbecause one of the things as
I've watched your company reallygrow and even just you know how
I first met, just that wholerealm just behind content
creation and content strategy, Ithink has been an area where
I've really seen your teamthrive.
So I want to kind of jump rightin with the first question of
(00:57):
when you are working withclients and you're positioning
them to just deliver strongcontent that's going to resonate
with their audience.
What's the starting point forthat?
If you're piecing together someof the parts or the framework
that goes into a strategy, likewhat are some of the important
areas that you cover when you'reworking with your clients?
Victoria Carlton (01:17):
I think one of the most important areas is
kind of understanding thebusiness side and their goals,
because you need to match themarketing side with that.
So you need to have thoselong-term goals in place, but
then understanding someshort-term milestones of where
is the company working towards,what do they want to get to?
Because we need to be able tocommunicate that now, because
their five-year plan is going tolook very different from what
(01:38):
they're executing right now inyear two, year three, year four.
Sonja Crystal Williams (01:42):
Yeah, I think, especially in the world
of like anything that's onlineor digital, like it's like, be
prepared to pivot, because ifyou go too far out, like, you
need the vision, but if you gotoo far out filling in all the
details, it could look totallydifferent like in a couple of
years.
So I think that's a reallygreat point.
When you walk in to help, let'ssay well, first let me ask you,
(02:05):
what kind of organizations doyou find yourself providing the
most support to?
Victoria Carlton (02:10):
So we're really all over the map, and
it's because of something thatI'm very proud of, which is
we've gotten a lot of word ofmouth referrals from people, so
that means that it's differentbusinesses, but the thing it
always comes back to is it'stypically a B2B business that we
work with the most.
Sonja Crystal Williams (02:24):
Yeah, and so when you walk into that
office, you're working with aB2B business or it's a Zoom call
, you know.
Whatever it is nowadays in thiswork environment, what do you
find?
Are like the missing pieces?
Where do they need help?
Like what's common that you see.
Victoria Carlton (02:40):
It's usually they either have marketing staff
on hand, but it's a very, verysmall team, so they're
overwhelmed or they're in theweeds of something really
important and they're not ableto focus or continue progressing
.
So one of the most importantthings in marketing I think
you'll agree with is beingconsistent and not having
stoppages or gaps, and that'susually the thing that we'll
(03:02):
pick up and say if you can'thandle that right now or you've
never done it, we can come inand have something going
consistently for you so you canreally start to see results and
then keep those results.
Sonja Crystal Williams (03:12):
Yeah.
So what is that thing for youall, Is it?
Hey, we're picking up yoursocial media.
Hey, we're going to do some adsfor you.
Like, what are those differentcomponents that you all end up
digging into?
Victoria Carlton (03:21):
Probably the biggest one is social media, and
specifically with B2B.
It's usually on LinkedIn and inthat sphere, or a lot of the
times it'll be a startup maybe,and they've had really great
success.
They've gotten a lot of bigcustomers, but then they never
thought about the brand or theirwebsite.
And then we're coming in anddoing a brand new website or
communicating the copy side ofthings and writing everything
(03:44):
that they now have pivoted andchanged to as they've started to
onboard those new clients.
Sonja Crystal Williams (03:49):
That makes sense.
So you kind of bring up anotherpart where, like they never
thought about the brand, do youall go that like that deep with
clients and helping them kind ofpiece together their brand from
a visual standpoint and I guessI always call it like the
intangible part, the messaging,like all that other stuff, like
(04:11):
where that intersects with theactual tangible product, which
is social media posts, likewhat's the intersection there
for you all and how do you seethat play out with some of those
B2Bs?
Victoria Carlton (04:21):
Yes, that's so important, and I love that you
bring it up, because a lot ofclients don't know or don't have
an understanding of that tobegin with.
Really and truly, it's eitherwe are going to develop and
bring in that brand or we'regoing to update and refine and
the brand you know is much morethan just the logo or just the
color palette.
Those things are reallyimportant for consistency, like
(04:42):
I said earlier.
But then you know what is thetone of your brand and how does
that correlate into what you'rewriting?
Because being consistent onthat voice side of things makes
a huge difference as well, and Imean anybody.
You don't have to be acommunication or marketing
expert.
You can tell when somebody elseis writing a post on behalf of
a company and it changes frompost to post, and that's
(05:02):
something that you don't wantpeople to see.
Right Like you don't want tobreak the third wall, you want
it to still be part of thecompany.
Sonja Crystal Williams (05:10):
One of the somebodies you bring up, the
somebody writing the post oneof the somebodies I've been
talking about lately a lot isthe AI somebody, because I've
had even in my own experienceworking with clients.
Some clients say, oh, we don'tneed blog writers anymore, we're
just going to have ChatGPT doall the work.
So you've heard this too, Iimagine.
Victoria Carlton (05:30):
Many, many times I'm like retweet, retweet.
Sonja Crystal Williams (05:39):
Oh my gosh, how do you feel?
So I was on a panel at aconference and we were having
the AI conversation and I'llhold what my thoughts were.
Just when it comes to justwriting social media content for
AI, what are your thoughtsabout that and pros and cons to
even using that, or taking thatinto account, and all these
different tools that help peopledo that.
Victoria Carlton (05:55):
This is such a big topic and you can go in so
many different ways with it, butfirst and foremost, when I get
that feedback, it's really aboutanybody can get something from
AI right, Like I agree.
I don't dispute that.
However, what you're going tofind is it's something that
everyone can recognize.
That's AI and that's only goingto become more and more as
(06:16):
people are seeing and using AIand getting to understand that
better, and I just I don't thinkthat it performs well.
It doesn't have the right toneor right voice.
Of course you can prompt them alittle bit better, but
typically the clients who don'tneed writers anymore don't know
how to prompt, so then you getinto a whole new can of worms.
I think that there's a time anda place, and we certainly do
(06:38):
use AI to kind of help with somebrainstorming things or talking
through with the AI.
That's kind of one of myfavorite things is to go back
and forth and say here's my idea, here's how I see it playing
out.
Like what holes do you see inthis, when could we improve on
this?
And that really helps me see itfrom a different angle
sometimes.
But if you're not aprofessional and then using AI
to apply it to somethingspecific like writing social
(07:00):
media, writing blog posts, it'snever gonna be successful.
And the copy is only onecomponent of any social media
posts or anything that you seewritten right.
A lot of times there's a lotmore associated with that, like
a graphic or video.
Sonja Crystal Williams (07:14):
Yeah, I am, yeah, no, I'm with you and I
was on that panel.
My stance was specifically forwriting social media content
like, remember that it's, in a asense, regurgitating stuff
that's out there.
It's not creating per se.
So, to your point, like youcould lose your tone and your
voice in the process.
You know, I, yeah, I'm with you.
(07:35):
Brands need to have that, thatstance and that position.
It's what makes them unique anddifferent.
So, if everyone starts soundingthe same, where do we differ
and how do these algorithms knowwhat to prioritize?
Because that's part of theprocess.
I'm not saying play to thealgorithm, but the reality is it
exists and it has an impact onhow much your post gets seen.
Victoria Carlton (07:55):
So, yeah, that's a really good point too.
Sonja Crystal Williams (07:58):
Yeah, so okay.
So AI is like one thing and wecould look at that as, in a
sense, like a trend.
What are some of the othertrends that you're seeing as it
relates to content development,just, you know, creation things
that people are putting outthere.
As it relates to it.
Victoria Carlton (08:17):
You know video is a thing that people are the
most afraid of.
I think I have tons of clientswho don't want to do it or say
I'm too nervous and they're notwilling.
But that's the thing that justkeeps getting bigger and bigger.
You know there's so muchflexibility and versatility with
it that you can do with videoand it's like you don't have to
be doing the TikTok trend or thedance.
(08:38):
There's so many differentapplications because the video
is a hook and that's somethingthat can get eyeballs for you
immediately on something andactually engage with your
audience.
And you know video is onlygrowing on other platforms like
LinkedIn, like they now have thebuilt in captions that now come
up.
So you know one less thing inthe editing process that you can
(08:58):
have to do with video.
Sonja Crystal Williams (09:02):
Okay, so let's take, let's put on our
hat, as if you're gonna workwith a new client and this
clients in the B2B world -- andI come across this like even
these clients and teams thathave they have a marketing team,
they've got some internal staffbut, like you said, they're
overwhelmed, overworked.
How do you help move them along?
(09:23):
Because the thing that a lot ofbusinesses probably experience
when it comes to video creationis like like how, who, what are
we going to put on video andwho's going to be on video?
Like that's usually the biggestroadblock.
I mean, there's a bunch ofother roadblocks, but that's a
big one.
How do you hold their hand intothe start of that as a trend?
Victoria Carlton (10:03):
Yeah, you make such a good point.
You know that's exactly whatthey say is, who has the time
for this, who can actually do it, who can be a part of it?
But I don't think that theyinitially see the value right.
You can do so much with thevideo.
So if you're going to do acustomer testimonial, nobody
from the team has to be involvedat all.
So you know, checked one boximmediately.
You just need to have someonethat loves your work and is a
big supporter of you, and everyclient I've worked with has
people like that who are readyto jump.
(10:24):
And even if those people arenervous about video, they
usually will agree to it and say, yes, I'm in, I'll do this for
them because it means a lot.
And then, on the other side,you know we work with the sales
teams when it's product demos,so then they can run through and
work on something.
And usually salespeople are theright person with video because
they're so comfortable alreadyspeaking in front of others or
they know the product so wellthat they can nail it
(10:46):
immediately.
But yeah, it just depends.
If there's not that one person,that's okay.
We can come up with a strategyfor that.
Sonja Crystal Williams (10:53):
Yeah.
So salespeople great, that's anawesome nugget.
Cause some organizations don'teven think about that.
Like, go to your sales people.
They're out in the field, theytalk about it all the time, they
know what to say.
And then those customertestimonials would be a good one
.
And it's kind of like thatnervousness that people
experience because no one feelslike they want to, as far as
(11:13):
people working there, be infront of the camera.
So it's like who do you find?
So those are some really goodtakeaways.
So you all are on the agencyside of things.
And then you have companies, asyou mentioned, that might have
some staff in- house.
How does a company one like,what do you find by the time
they come to you as an agency?
(11:34):
What have they gone through?
What have they encountered?
Like, what helps a company getto that space where that's part
of the decision-making process?
Victoria Carlton (11:43):
I think you have probably gone through this
and seen this at your clientstoo.
But the number one thing thatI've encountered, surprisingly,
is someone will say we workedwith an agency before, we worked
with somebody in some piece ofmarketing and it was a horrible
experience or a waste of money,waste of time.
Like how do I know that workingwith you isn't going to be the
same result, and so that'ssomething that is super
(12:04):
important to talk about upfrontand say, well, what went wrong
there?
And usually it's something thatCarleton Creative and my team
members we don't go there.
We would never make that samefatal mistake that they have.
So that's the number one thingthat usually helps to reassure
them and understanding thatdon't worry, it's not going to
take me three weeks to reply toan email.
I replied to all my emailswithin 24 hours.
(12:26):
But that's like reallyimportant, right, to reassure
them.
And so usually they've beenburned before is the biggest one
or the second one.
They finally are starting tosee like, oh, I saw the value of
this at another person'scompany that I know and I just
don't have anybody yet, and Ithink this would be better to
outsource right now or when theydo have that person working
with them.
You know, this person's workingon this very important project
(12:48):
with me and they just don't havethe capacity.
So then that's when they startworking with an outside agency.
And that's awesome too, becausethen if there is a marketing
person there, they can kind ofbe a part of the process too and
drive that, and then there's alittle bit less of that
educational piece if you'reworking with another marketer.
Sonja Crystal Williams (13:06):
Very true, very true.
And in the case where maybethere's not a marketer, how do
you find things flow when you'reworking, maybe directly with
the business owner?
Victoria Carlton (13:15):
So when it flows that way, there's a lot
more of the educational piece upfront and I tried to do a lot
of visuals with them or take ita step back and start explaining
the finer details of like whatdata points mean.
And again, something else thatcomes up tons for everybody in
marketing is you know, I justwant to lead or I just want to
see the conversion, but there'sso many other metrics that are
(13:35):
associated with that.
And then breaking that down andsay, how is this a value- add
to you or what does this meanfor you in your bottom line.
That's probably the biggestelephant in the room,
immediately with working with anowner.
Sonja Crystal Williams (13:52):
Okay, so that's a good point, but it
leads to like, so the owners dowant to see the conversions, but
that is it.
When you get to that spacewhere it's like, okay, we've
been publishing content, it'sbeen three to six months, we're
in there, we're comfortable, weknow each other, we trust each
other, how do you start tofigure out and even maybe
explain to that client what'seffective, what's not, what to
(14:15):
keep, what to abandon, and isthat enough time even to start
making those determinations sothat they have a realistic
outlook?
Victoria Carlton (14:24):
Yeah, absolutely.
I think you've got to havethose three to six months of
content generating to evenreassess and reevaluate.
And that's another piece istypically businesses aren't that
patient, right, like they wantto see the result in three weeks
, four weeks and/ or make apivot from there.
And I like to say, you know,let's get some trends because we
base things everything atCarlton Creative on analytics
(14:46):
and data, and we'll providemonthly reports.
We'll review that with them andgive them key takeaways and
we're not afraid to say here'swhat's working, but here's
what's not working, and we'llsay let's keep an eye on this
because it's nothing horriblethat's maybe changed in the
trends, but let's understand, isthat something for next month
that we should reconsider, is itnot?
And then if they want to pushback and say I want to change
(15:07):
now, then we have to reevaluatethat again and then understand
okay, does that really makesense or does it not?
And here's the data that backsit up.
Usually, when you talk aboutthe numbers, that helps because
it gives them something concrete, because so many things in
marketing it's not black andwhite, right, like everything's
a little gray and you have tonavigate that way.
Sonja Crystal Williams (15:26):
Just for fun, I want to ask you, well,
you kind of mentioned LinkedIn,but where are you all enjoying
like, just like the work you do?
In terms of, if you were tobreak it down per social network
, where are you having the mostfun, versus, maybe, where you
feel like I'm getting the bestbang for my buck for my clients
over here?
Victoria Carlton (15:46):
Yeah.
So I mean really it's LinkedIn,because I just think it's so
undervalued and people don'trealize like the value of
LinkedIn, even if I can get aleader like a leader from the
leadership team to take part inthat, they can have a really big
impact for their organizationand usually people at that high
level are invested in thesuccess of the company.
(16:06):
So then they're willing andthat's where we get to have the
most fun, because then we get towork with the person one-on-one
and really understand moreabout their personal life and
what defines them as aprofessional, because usually
those experiences go hand inhand, even though people try to
turn it off, but there's outletsand things that build you into
the professional you are today.
So that's the best part isworking with someone where we
(16:27):
get to share more of their likestory, of what led them on this
path for that particular client.
Cause, usually the clients aresolving some sort of business
problem or a pain point and thenunderstanding like how did they
get led to this pain point andwhat did it mean for them
personally?
Sonja Crystal Willia (16:43):
Absolutely .
So, Linkedin is the winnerright now.
Now, I agree, I've always toldpeople it's like, although I
will say probably over the pastthree to five years that
platform has grown phenomenally,but prior to that, I would
always tell people like it's oneof the most underutilized
platforms and I think people arestill figuring out, more so
than before, people understandhow to use it.
But it's one of those platformsit's like, yeah, why aren't you
(17:06):
here?
Like you know, it's socialmedia, just like everything else
, and it doesn't have to be asstuffy as people think it has to
be where it's, you know, yourcommentary and your captions are
very boring, so absolutely yes,and that's that's the other
thing.
Victoria Carlton (17:23):
Right, they're like well, I don't want to
share a Facebook post, likeFacebook's not LinkedIn, and I
completely understand that.
I promise you, what we're goingto post is never going to look
like a Facebook post.
There's ways to make it a lotof fun, and it doesn't need to
be something that's like acanned response or it doesn't
need to be something that you'reafraid of.
Corporate sees this like it'sLinkedIn.
They're going to be reallyhappy that you're interacting
(17:44):
and updating in this way.
Sonja Crystal Williams (17:46):
Yeah, and talking about what you do.
So thank you so much forsharing, Victoria.
I want to wrap up ourconversation with a few
questions that I like to callour lightning round, and the
first question really the kindof the first two questions I
have for you are kind of aroundthe work you do at Carlton
Creative Co.
, and the last one is just likepure fun.
(18:06):
So first question is what doyou love about the work you do?
Victoria Carlton (18:13):
I feel like I just answered that, so I'll try
to make it a little bitdifferent.
But what I love most about thework that I do is we were
completely remote at CarltonCreative, so I love when we can
break that barrier and be in-person with either a client or
even with our team.
We're about to go on ourcompany retreat soon this fall
(18:33):
and so that's the most rewardingpart is when you get to see
people in person and understandthe impact that you've really
had and you get the feedback ofhey, I went to this event and
somebody knew about our companybecause of what you've been
posting on LinkedIn.
Or hey, because I shared thatmore personal thing on LinkedIn
and related it to professionally, I was able to start a
conversation with somebody elsewho had that same experience and
(18:55):
that turned into a businessopportunity.
So that's the part that Ireally love the most about it.
Sonja Crystal Williams (19:00):
Yeah, I mean it's what you said earlier,
like about how you all get alot of business word of mouth,
but like to some degree, socialmedia kind of is, when people
see it, even though they don'tcomment, like they'll call you
if they have your number,they'll email you if they have
your email address, and thatwill turn into a private
conversation that can lead tonew opportunities.
Victoria Carlton (19:19):
So I think that's really good and you stay
top of mind at the same time,right Like that's.
That's so rewarding for peoplethat you know you're first on
the list when they have a need.
Sonja Crystal Williams (19:29):
Yes, exactly, and that's and that's
what we all want.
Second question, and I know,like you have, I don't want to
(19:59):
say it's like, it's not a brandnew business, it's a young
business, right, I think you'vebeen in being someone who worked
independently to now having ateam in place and growing your
organization.
Victoria Carlton (20:03):
I think my biggest takeaway that I just
didn't know is I didn't knowwhat entrepreneurship was going
to be all about.
It was not about continuing todo the same work that I loved in
digital marketing andcommunication.
It was more so of learning.
What does it take to actuallyrun a business?
What's the behind the scenes ofa business?
All the other things that everyentrepreneur goes through.
(20:24):
But in my case, I just wasn'tthinking and I wish that I would
have known a little bit moreand taken some entrepreneurship
classes in college so I couldunderstand and have that
perspective.
But thankfully, like I told youearlier, I've worked with a lot
of startups, so I get to learnand grow besides them sometimes,
or they're nice enough to tellme some great tips that would
really be beneficial for usinternally.
Sonja Crystal Williams (20:45):
Wow, that's awesome, okay.
Final question is you have thewinning lottery ticket.
You hit it for five mil.
That's what, about two and ahalf after taxes?
What are you doing?
Victoria Carlton (21:00):
I'm totally going to go live in Italy,
particularly Florence, Italy.
I love to travel, I love to seethe world, but I would
definitely try to move abroad,over there, and get a place
there and work remotely there.
Because if I'm working remotelynow, why couldn't I do it over
there?
It's one of my biggest passionsand I've been uncovering my
family roots recently and I'mactually in the process of
(21:22):
getting my dual citizenship withItaly, so I'm really excited
and really proud of my family'sheritage that that's an
opportunity for me.
Sonja Crystal W (21:30):
Congratulations .
When you get that place, inviteme over.
I love Florence.
Victoria Carlton (21:36):
Thank you.
I have to hit the lottery afterI get my citizenship.
Sonja Crystal Williams (21:39):
There we go, let's get it in order.
I will fly into Milan and ridethat train down.
So it's so beautiful.
Thank you so much, Victoria.
So where can people find you ifthey want to get more
information about CarltonCreative and learn about your
services?
Victoria Carlton (21:55):
Well, we're keeping this with the same
platform right.
All on LinkedIn.
I try to be really active onthere myself, but then the
company page obviously iskeeping people posted and
educated.
If you want to learn a fewthings, of course you can always
email me to send me a message,but it's easy nowadays with
social media.
Sonja Crystal Williams (22:12):
Yeah, so everybody, I'll drop the links
so you can find Victoria onLinkedIn, find her company.
I will drop those links on ourdescription.
So be on the lookout for thatif you want to reach out or drop
any questions you have for us,and maybe we can get Victoria
back for another episode in thefuture.
Until then, everybody, thankyou so much for listening.
Victoria, thank you for beinghere.
(22:32):
Have a great day everybody.
Victoria Carlton (22:34):
Thank you, Sonja.
Have a great day, guys.
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