Digital Marketing Trends and Strategies

Speaker 1 0:30

Yeah, my name is Chad Smith. I'm the owner and founder of Five Lions Digital Marketing, and what we do is we help small businesses learn how to structure their marketing strategies so that they can thrive and scale or even automate most processes.

Speaker 2 0:50

I love that. And how did you come up with the name Five Lions?

Speaker 1 0:55

That's a long story, ooh Well, back in the day when I was little, back when I was little Chad, there was a cartoon that I loved called Five Lions. No, I'm sorry, it was called Voltron the Defender of the Universe. It was basically. It was this giant robot that was made from five robot lions. So whenever stuff got, you know, stuff went to hell. You know, these five lions formed this giant robot defender. So I align it with the fact that most of my clients, when I talk to them, they usually have all their marketing and branding. It's all like piecemealed out and everything is its own little thing. But that's inefficient and for the most part it's overwhelming. But that's inefficient and for the most part it's overwhelming. So what I do is I help bring all these pieces together to form one cohesive strategy.

Speaker 2 1:42

We form Voltron in their business. I love that. That's great. I love that your childhood kind of took inspiration there. That's great, and now I would like to ask you can you share the story of how your agency got started and what inspired you to venture into digital marketing?

Speaker 1 1:57

Well, I spent about 25 years in the fitness space, so I was a coach, a trainer and a gym owner for a long period of time, and when I decided to exit the fitness business, I found that I'd collected a very specific set of skills. Alongside the art and science of coaching, I also developed skills in the art and science of marketing, as I was able to grow a multiple six-figure gym business in the middle of an economically depressed area and developed what I call the elite acquisition system to help install this system into businesses, to help them streamline their processes and attract their most desired clients.

Speaker 2 2:44

Yeah, I love that. That's a great answer there. And then the type of services that you do provide for these clients you have, ceo, I'm sorry. Seo, google ads, facebook ads, tiktok ads, listings, social posting content, websites all kinds of good stuff. What are you currently seeing right now? That are some trends that clients are coming to you for when it comes to getting help for their social media or anything that involves being online.

Speaker 1 3:14

The main thing that people are coming to me for is how the heck do we make all this work? Because, if you listen to the gurus, seo is dead, email is dead, organic social media is dead, google's no good anymore. Well then, what the hell works if all these things are dead? But what we find is that, depending on who you are as a business this is what we help our clients understand what's the DNA of the brand that you are creating, what's the brand of your business, and then who's your ideal client, and then what are the channels to which we can get the low hanging fruit to get those clients. So for some people some of my clients they crush it with Google. Some clients they crush it with ads. Some people are awful with ads. With my B2B clients, linkedin is the way to go. So it just depends on who they are, who they want to work with, what they offer and then what the best channel is. So we just help them find the path that's going to get them the most consistent wins.

Speaker 2 4:25

Yeah, I love that. I absolutely do. And then I'd like to ask what trends or changes in digital marketing have surprised you the most in recent years?

Speaker 1 4:35

I was surprised how fast we integrated AI into what we do. It's been amazing and terrifying all at the same time just how fast we've integrated AI into almost everything that we do. It's firmly entrenched into search now. It's firmly entrenched into ads now. It's entrenched into everything except organic and people are wondering how do I leverage the power of AI to help grow my business? And we've been working with various AI platforms, working with how to leverage it, for a number of years. They're kind of like undercover and I feel like we're ahead of the game when it comes to leveraging AI in a lot of the things that we do. It's definitely made processes shorter. It's definitely made things that were expensive and complex a lot less expensive and a lot less complex. So definitely the integration of AI into one's marketing plan. It has changed the game for good.

Speaker 2 5:44

Oh for sure, yes, and at the speed of light too, it seems right. It's just like every day you wake up and it's like there's this new AI tool that can fix this or add this, and it's just like oh, oh, my gosh, like slow down.

Speaker 1 5:57

I know, and slowing down is probably appropriate, because the main issue with AI is just human nature, is over adoption, I think. So I think you really have to, and there's so many tools and you have to decide what tools make sense for you, for what aspect you want to employ in your work, like it should never become its own employee, it should always work for you. So that's my take on things.

Speaker 2 6:28

I love that? No, I agree. I'd like to ask you about marketing. What is something that you are doing, since you're a guru yourself in this? Industry what do you like or what is working, or what have you found isn't working for you when it comes to getting your name out there? Are you an avid social media user? Um, are you more video? Are you more photos or putting posts up there in with info a mix? Talk to me about that.

Speaker 1 6:54

You know what's really working for me personally. I'll talk about two things. What's working for me personally is having more organic conversations with people who are my ideal client. The more conversations I have, the more business I do. So I don't like completely going hands-off with my marketing. I like to lead everything to an organic conversation. So if I run an ad campaign, I want it to end in an organic conversation. If I run a LinkedIn automation, I want it to end in an organic conversation. If I run an outbound email campaign, I want it to end in an organic conversation. I'm old school like that, but I like people who need to get to know you, like you and trust you, and the best way to do that is to actually talk to them.

Speaker 2 7:49

Yes, Simple as that, but kind of a hard concept for some people.

Speaker 1 7:52

Right, and I feel like people that avoid these organic conversations. I feel like they're really doing themselves and their clients a disservice by not creating understanding between two actual human beings. So I think that's what I would like to see people get back to more. It's just getting back to genuine human connections when they're talking to prospective clients.

Successful Digital Marketing Strategies and Tips

Speaker 2 8:20

Yeah, absolutely. I couldn't agree more with that. I truly believe in that as well and just having those honest and real and raw conversations, it's like we're doing right now. Yeah, exactly See.

Speaker 1 8:29

I'm getting to know you, like you and trust you. Thank you Same here the feeling is mutual.

Speaker 2 8:37

And then how do you stay ahead of the curve in such a fast evolving industry, Like we just talked about? What are some resources that you like to use to keep you up to date?

Speaker 1 8:45

I like to make successful millionaire entrepreneurs my best friends. Now ask me how I do that.

Speaker 2 8:52

How do you do that?

Speaker 1 8:52

Well, it's a good question, I'm glad you asked it. Ask me how I do that. How do you do that? Well, it's a good question, I'm glad you asked it. The way I do that is I listen to podcasts. One of my early, one of my actual mentors is like a multi-billion dollar guy now, alex Ramosi. I was in his coaching program years ago when I was a gym owner and I listened to his podcast almost daily, just because he's always so full of great just like what's working now information. I listen to a lot of other podcasts. I follow top people on social. I just recently joined Blue Sky. Blue Sky yeah.

Speaker 1 9:27

I got my marketing starter pack. Do you use starter packs? Yes, Right, I use my marketing starter pack and I and I follow and I learn and I absorb people's content. I read books, Like I just read a great book a while back called Influence by Robert Cialdini. Great book all about human psychology and how to build trustworthy influence within your circle. So that's what I do. I just make friends with with with successful entrepreneurs and I try to learn as much as I can. That's what I do. I just make friends with successful entrepreneurs and I try to learn as much as I can, as often as I can.

Speaker 2 9:59

That's smart. Thank you for sharing that. I'm sure a lot of people who are entrepreneurs and are listening to this will find that insightful, because maybe they're struggling to find out, like, where can I find the best? That will look at some mentors, look at the people who are doing it, take note from them and try to just see if you can get a mentor that can help guide you and steer you in the right direction.

Speaker 1 10:17

I like YouTube University.

Speaker 2 10:18

There you go, that one.

Speaker 1 10:19

You can learn whatever you need to learn on YouTube for free or for what's it like? $14 a month?

Speaker 2 10:25

Something like that YouTube.

Speaker 1 10:26

What's it called YouTube? Premium YouTube TV yeah something like that yeah, you can learn it. It's all there. We there. We've never had a time where we've had greater access to information than right here right now.

Speaker 2 10:42

So there's no excuse to be behind on anything because it's right here in your fingertips.

Speaker 1 10:45

I love that. Thank you, oh, and also Also, what's it called Audiobooks?

Speaker 2 10:48

Audiobooks Crucial to audiobooks. Oh yeah, you don't have to read, you can just listen while you're driving. Listen, right.

Speaker 1 10:53

Right, I compliment it. I like to read the book, listen to the audiobook and go to that office podcast.

Speaker 2 11:00

I love it. Thanks for sharing that. These are really insightful tips.

Speaker 1 11:02

Full immersion.

Speaker 2 11:03

Period.

Speaker 1 11:11

How do you developing a customized digital marketing strategy? When it comes to a client, that is a great question and it's something that I get asked a lot, and really it's just getting back to the basics. People tend to make their marketing way too complicated, Like the first step is who are you? Who are you? A as an entrepreneur and B? Who are you as a business? Who's your ideal client and why? Why should they run through a wall to get to what you're selling? And that's it Really. Who are you? Who are you as a business? Who's your ideal client and why should they run through a wall to work with you?

Speaker 1 11:45

If you can answer those four questions, that is a solid foundation for a plan. Now it's all about how do I go to market. So that's the hard part. The work is in those four questions, and most people that I work with have never even asked themselves that they have a great product or they have a service and they have. If I build it, there will come mindset and that doesn't work right. You might get lucky and you might get some business, but for the most part, you have to sit and just do a deep dive into those four questions. Who am I, who am I as a business? Who's my ideal client and why should they run through a wall to work with me? So if you just sit with that for a good period of time and flesh it out, put it on paper, right, the execution plan begins to form itself. Make sense.

Speaker 2 12:37

Yes, I love that. I love the fourth question, like why should people run through a wall for you? That's a good one, that's a great one.

Speaker 1 12:42

Yeah, because you don't just want them to work with you, you want them to be excited to work with you. You want them to have like pride of ownership. You want them to be excited to work with you. You want them to have like pride of ownership, you want them to be like man, this is my guy. Like, oh no, your guy stinks. Like, for instance, like you know, like, for instance, think about who was the last person that gave you a good service, who was it?

Speaker 2 13:05

I'd say my haircut girl.

Speaker 1 13:07

Your haircut girl and the hair looks amazing, by the way.

Speaker 2 13:09

Wow, thank you.

Speaker 1 13:10

How long have you been seeing this particular stylist?

Speaker 2 13:12

Honestly, maybe two years, now Two years. I switched because the other one was a little bit farther.

Speaker 1 13:18

Ah, okay, but maybe if you weren't as far, would you have switched.

Speaker 2 13:22

No, no, why? Because of the convenience and being on the road, I just wanted to be closer and I made sure. I did my research and I looked at this new girl's work and I liked it. So I was like, okay, it's just as good as this girl, so let me go ahead and make that switch because she's closer to home. Did you send referrals Did?

Speaker 1 13:41

I send referrals To your stylist.

Speaker 2 13:42

Actually no, I should Wow okay.

Speaker 1 13:45

See, now that's an example of just being okay.

Speaker 2 13:48

What about leaving damn?

Speaker 1 13:50

See what about leaving a good review.

Speaker 2 13:51

Does that count?

Speaker 1 13:52

I mean that counts. However, what I want is for someone to be so excited about working with me that they become my flag bearer. Have you ever watched like Game of Thrones? You know you've got your banner.

Speaker 2 14:03

My husband has, but I haven't.

Speaker 1 14:05

Yeah well, listen, we can't be friends. Listen, we can't be friends, listen. Well, you have bannermen, people who carry your banner to war, and that's what you want to create with your clientele. You want people who will go to war for you. If someone says one bad thing about you online, they're coming for them. Like if you look at Beyonce, the beehive right the beehive, don't mess with them.

Speaker 1 14:27

Look right, but that's what you want, because you want people to be excited. You want people to feel like they're a part of something bigger than them. Right, they're a part. So if you don't have that, I feel like you got to go and you have to examine. What can I do to make people fiercely in love with my brand?

Speaker 2 14:45

Yeah.

Speaker 1 14:45

And go to war for me.

Speaker 2 14:47

Oh yeah, I love the how you just clocked me. You're just like that was okay.

Speaker 1 14:50

I mean, it was just an okay. It was just an okay service.

Speaker 2 14:53

Damn Okay.

Speaker 1 14:54

All right.

Speaker 2 14:54

Damn. I hope she didn't hear this.

Speaker 1 14:56

It's okay.

Speaker 2 14:57

No, it's all good, it's all good. We're just getting real and raw here. That's what I like. So we're here. That's how we do it. That's how we do it, and that, let's see. What do you believe is the most overlooked element in a successful marketing campaign?

Speaker 1 15:15

Good question. I think the most overlooked element is maintaining a solid website that is your best salesperson. That is your best salesperson Most. According to research, about 95% of websites that are online get no organic traffic.

Speaker 2 15:40

Well yeah like none.

Speaker 1 15:43

So that tells me that people are building these websites and they're just sitting there. They're not doing anything with them, right? So they spent who knows how much money. I've heard as much as like $12,000, $15,000, $20,000 for a website, which is ridiculous. We'll do for far less, but then they don't do anything with them.

Speaker 1 16:06

So what's the point in spending all this time and all this money getting this beautiful website created? Then you send no one to it or you put all your best content on social media which you don't own. We saw recently with the TikTok problems. Oh, yes, right, that's the single basket theory. You're putting all your hopes and dreams into a single basket. If that basket goes away, your whole business is wrecked, right? So people, you own your website, use it. It's still legit. Google still loves websites, right?

Speaker 1 16:41

So put lots of content on your website. Make your copy compelling and make sure it converts. Make sure that you have enough testimonials on your website. That builds authority, right. Show people what you can do and what you have done and who you do it for. So that's the elements of a great website. It's when they get there do they stay? When they get there and they stay, do they consume your content. When they get there and they stay and consume your content, are they converting into either joining your email list or booking a phone call? Number two the most overlooked thing is email. People email. Email is still a thing.

Speaker 2 17:21

Yes, it is.

Speaker 1 17:22

People have been declaring email dead for like 20 years, but email still has the highest ROI over time of any marketing channel. Email is still the king and you own your list. Like. No matter what happens, you own your list.

Speaker 1 17:38

You can take your list to dozens of various email marketing platforms it's still your list right, yeah, so take it away if you took away everything, if you take away social media, if you take away social media, if you take away the newspaper, if you take away whatever you want to take away that people are using nowadays. If you own the email list, you can restart your business from zero if you have a solid list. So focus on cultivating that list, focus on producing great content for that list and focus on writing your email copy so that it converts on demand.

Speaker 2 18:10

Absolutely. Yeah, I know Email is so powerful. I love email. I love getting like those promo codes if you wouldn't sign up, or just getting information and newsletters from some of them, the ones that obviously offer something and stand out right. Because sometimes you're just like, okay, this email keeps coming and I don't, it's just spamming, it's not really doing anything for me.

Power of Storytelling in Marketing

Speaker 1 18:28

And email's evolving. Like we're looking, what's working right now with email is making more interactive emails, so that might be interactive quizzes. That might be like any kind of. There's lots of interactive content that you can build into the emails now, so definitely experiment around with that.

Speaker 2 18:47

For sure. Yeah, thank you so much good insight here. I'm glad you came.

Speaker 1 18:51

I'm glad you came. I'm glad I came too. I appreciate it.

Speaker 2 18:53

Yeah, of course. And then let's see how important is storytelling in digital marketing and how do you help clients craft their brand's narrative.

Speaker 1 19:02

Whoever tells the best stories wins.

Speaker 2 19:05

Period Point blank Period.

Speaker 1 19:07

Whoever tells the best stories wins when, point blank Period. Whoever tells the best stories wins. Where I learned this was years ago. It was during the. I can't even remember what Super Bowl it was, but I think it was a Ford. I can't even remember it was such a long time ago, but I think it was a Ford or a Chevy commercial. Okay, you probably don't know who this guy is, paul Harvey, right? No, you have no idea, you're like 19. Now, paul Harvey he's one of the great orators of our time. He had a radio show for a long time. He passed away years ago, but he's a brilliant speaker and he had a famous speech called the Farmer. And this commercial. It was gritty. It didn't have any music behind it, it was just scenes of farmers working with this particular truck and it had a Paul Harvey speech playing. And it was so powerful and it was just telling a story. They weren't talking about torque, they weren't talking about hauling capacity, they weren't talking about this Hemi engine. It was just Paul Harvey telling a story. They weren't talking about torque, they weren't talking about hauling capacity, they weren't talking about this Hemi engine. It was just Paul Harvey telling a story and it was one of the most highest viewed videos on YouTube that year. And it was just telling a story Like stop talking about the features, stop talking about the benefits of what you do.

Speaker 1 20:29

Start talking more about the transformation that it made in your clients' and customers' lives. Yeah, start talking about if you sell life insurance. Start talking about the stories that you know about where your life insurance that you sell actually kept a family's home in their family because they had life insurance at the time they needed it. If you're a therapist, start talking about the families that you've kept together because people got the treatment that they needed when they needed it. So, whatever you do, tell stories. I don't know, it doesn't really matter what religion you may like identify to or whatnot, but if you think about it, they call it the greatest story ever told, like the christian bible, and it's lasted for thousands of years it sure has that should tell you the power of a story power of story, for sure

Speaker 2 21:23

exactly wow you're like expanding, like my, the way I, the way I'm thinking, because I don't think of things in that way. You're just like think of the Bible and you're like my gosh, that book has been around so long. It's a story. It's not like glitz and glamour, it's like just the raw, real story of what happened.

Speaker 1 21:40

It's the greatest story ever told and, if you think about like you know, wars were fought over that story.

Speaker 2 21:45

Oh, yes, if you think about it.

Speaker 1 21:48

So that tells you the power of a story, and that's when you have even your own personal story. So your personal story tends to be your best selling point to your clients, because they can identify with you. So most people get involved in a certain venture because of their personal story. You know so, but people are so afraid to share it.

Speaker 2 22:21

But I'm like but that's what's going to differentiate you from your competitors because they're afraid to tell their story.

Speaker 1 22:24

And when you become brave enough to tell your own story, right, people are like, oh, wow, yeah, I like man. Yeah, I relate to that. I've been through the same thing. Yeah, I get that. Like you know, I've had a failed business, you know, because of the things that I help to teach my clients to avoid doing what I did and do this better than I did. No-transcript create a shorter distance between startup and success because you won't make these same mistakes. Yeah, make sense.

Speaker 2 22:59

Yes, it makes absolute sense. Stories is way more powerful than we think. Even if we're scared to say them, you better say them or practice Exactly. Because that's going to be what's going to differentiate you, like you said.

Speaker 1 23:08

And also tell the stories of all your successes, tell your stories of your failures. Tell your stories of what you're doing right now to help grow your own business. Tell the stories of man. Well, that didn't work, you know, let me tell you a story about it. You know, let me. So that's it. You know what they say. Facts tell, stories sell.

Speaker 2 23:24

Absolutely. Thank you Again. Thank you so much. I could talk to you all day. Literally, time has already like flown by. I'm just like what?

Speaker 1 23:31

Nah, forget that timer, let's keep going. I got all day.

Speaker 2 23:34

It's just, we have people coming.

Speaker 1 23:37

Yes, I wish.

Speaker 2 23:39

Is there anything that I have not touched on that? Perhaps you would like our listeners to know about you or your business. Or maybe you've got a product coming out, maybe you're writing a book.

Marketing Speaker Goals and Strategies

Speaker 1 23:48

Take this opportunity to talk about those things, oh wow, I've got so much stuff going on right now. But one thing is that I was selected to be a part of the Constant Contact Local Expert Program, so I'm officially a certified Constant Contact. You know that's the OG email marketing platform, so they restarted their local expert program, so they'll be tapping us to help spread the word about what the power of digital marketing is. So it's a great partnership. I'm really excited to be attached to their brand. So you know, look out for me in your hood.

Speaker 2 24:27

That is awesome Already big things for 2025. Big things coming up.

Speaker 1 24:30

I love speaking, I love teaching. So you know if you need some, you need a dynamic speaker to come in and teach your crew how to get it done in the marketing world. Let me know, I'm all in.

Speaker 2 24:40

Love it. Thank you, and where can people find you? Where is the best place to reach out to you?

Speaker 1 24:44

All over the place. I'm all over social media. Look for Chad W Smith in Frederick, Maryland, or hit the website www.5lionsmarketingcom. No numbers, all words.

Speaker 2 24:55

Love it. Marketingcom no numbers, all words love it. Last question is there a goal for 2025 that you have kind of planted the seeds for, or anything that you're hoping to achieve this year with your business that you'd like to share?

Speaker 1 25:07

my goal, my big goal this year, um is to write, is to write my first book. So that's the big goal this year, and I've got certain financial goals that I have also, which I will keep to myself.

Speaker 2 25:19

Yes, you know yes, until it happens, then you can share.

Speaker 1 25:22

Don't let them know your next move Exactly, but the big goal is to write and finish the book, so that's coming soon.

Speaker 2 25:28

Wonderful. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. I really appreciate your time coming here and so much wisdom and knowledge that I'm