Business Tips

Pros and Cons of Video Marketing in 2021

Video marketing has gained a lot of traction over the past years. The popularity has become even bigger as a social media platform, like YouTube, has taken over the internet.

But, what does it mean for marketers?

At GSD Creative, our whole process in reaching your perfect client is built around video/s. We’ve been creating consistent content since 2013 and the biggest pro is that it’s an opportunity for brands and businesses to educate their audiences and to clarify their message. The other main pro is that the internet and social media moves so fast these days that video stands out in the noise. It’s a known statistic that your product/services will be 70-76% more likely to make a sale through video. It is a way to connect and build a relationship, and increase conversion rate, engagement rates, plus it’s an opportunity to nurture your target audience. Also, to build trust and authority within your industry.

Not everyone learns best through videos, so it’s best practice to transcribe your videos and put sub captions when it’s appropriate.

GSD Creative is a digital content creation agency focusing on the strategy, planning, creation & execution of consistent organic content to target your audience & grow your brand.

Stop The Distractions So Your Business Can Thrive

If you are reading this article, there’s a good chance that you are a small business owner, an entrepreneur, investor or expert in your industry. 

And I am so happy you are here. Because if that is you, you are just like me.

Chances are that you are feeling like you:

Don’t have enough time in the day to get everything done. 

Are pulled in a million directions.  

Can’t get through your notifications.

May not be sleeping, 

Find yourself saying yes to the wrong things 

Are Stressed 

Are you asking yourself...is it ever going to end?

Guess what….If your business can’t run without you; you have a job, not a business. 

Well, my friend, you are here for a reason. And that reason is GSD. I am here to help you.  I have been exactly where you are sitting today and I want to share with you what I have learned.

Problems that are procrastinated are only amplified.
Waiting to shift only makes it worse.

You can turn that around and gain control of your time. Because clarity creates action.

You want to make a difference.  An impact.  Leave a legacy. 

You want to get it together and do the things that you want to say yes to.  The clients you want to work with.  The right team members. Surround yourself with the right people. 

I promise that lifestyle does exist. 

But I also know there are some challenges you are going to have to overcome to make that come true.  

By the way my name is Angela Proffitt, Founder of GSD Creative where we help time starved entrepreneurs just like you become more productive so you can thrive in your business and life. 

You know that there has to be a better way. 
You know that you need help. 
You just don’t have the time or the know how.
You don’t even know where to start and you are doing the best you can with the knowledge you have today.

If you are looking for a clear plan of action on how to stop the distractions, how to respond to the distractions and communicate to your team, family, clients, friends and how to turn your life around so you can actually be present, keep reading.  

Now there is a strategy, a formula, a mindset to make this work and I am going to share that formula. 

Top Communication Skills Needed in Business

Business owners and entrepreneurs are constantly juggling a million things at once. They may be working with employees, clients, vendors, or other businesses; they're often on the phone with customers to discuss everything from product details to sales tactics. There's so much that goes into running a business that it can be easy for communication skills to get lost in the mix. 

Understanding who you are – and those around you – is key to communication in business. Understanding individual personalities and customizing and tailoring the message the way the individual needs to hear it will take the communication process in your business from surviving to thriving!

Once you understand how other people think and process information, it feels like the missing puzzle piece that completes the big picture. However, we don’t think of that understanding as the missing piece, but instead as the foundation for everything.

The psychology methodology that we use in our business is based on four personality types, everyone has each but they everyone has one that shines brighter than the rest and that is where they thrive! It is the foundation of everything we do – from team communication to how we assign tasks to place team members in roles that they enjoy. We even use this methodology to help us serve our clients more effectively. 

It has been proven a success because our team members know how to communicate with each other and our clients, as well as, understand and appreciate each other on a deeper level based on their personality.

Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

Hire the right people: You must grow a team.  Start an intern program.  Consider using a psychology tool to prequalify people. Don’t say yes to everything and everybody. Stay focused on your goals; if it doesn't align with your goals then the answer is no. 

Implement paperless processes: Building internal & external processes that are paperless are key. Get everything out of your head and in the cloud. Video your screen to show others how to do things. Do not deviate from your process and continue to make it better. 

Be productive by time blocking and using automation: Invest in the right software programs and productivity tools to ensure that you keep your team accountable. Outline a communication plan that is going to be productive for the team.  

Know your numbers to be profitable: know your overhead, how much you need to run the business, to live, and to save the future. Learn how to charge for your products or services. Don’t compare yourself to what everyone else is doing. There’s a ton of competition, but find what makes you unique and exploit that as much as possible.

Everything happens for a reason.  Failure is an opportunity to grow! 

How to Use Social Media to Generate Leads

How do you generate leads? I bet your answer is through social media, right? Or maybe you haven't started your lead generation journey? Did you know that not all social media platforms are designed for lead generation and some of them will actually make it more challenging to find the qualified leads that are looking for your services? Let's get you on the right path to find qualified prospects and get those potential clients in the door!

What Steps Should You Take to Map Out a Social Media Strategy?

• Sit down and map everything out for at least 90-days, and decide which platform you’re going to focus on for consistency and to build a community.
• Pick the platform on which you think your ideal client avatar hangs out.
• Map out the brand story and the journey of how you want the customer to see your brand through their eyes.
• Create a story on social media and pick 3 categories that you can rotate
• Look at your analytics and see what is resonating with your audience.
• Build a community. Ask questions, poll and involve your audience as much as possible.
• Batch and schedule content and make sure that somebody is available daily to look at the messages and engage on social media to build an organic audience.

You may be wondering which channels work best for certain types of business, or certain objectives? Go back to your client avatar. Where do they hang out? Certain platforms attract people from different industries:

• LinkedIn – healthcare, financial and professional services
• Instagram and Pinterest – creative industries, events and hospitalities
• Facebook and TikTok – any business, with TikTok you have to understand how it works and how you can reach your target audience (and it’s a little bit more fun!)
• Twitter – politics, sports, entertainment

How Can You Determine Whether a Certain Channel Makes Sense for Your Brand?

Reserve or Claim your business name on every platform across the board regardless if you will use it or not. You can still keep your profiles private but you want to own all of your handles in all of the socials. If you’re not quite sure which platform performs the best, you can always do a 30-day trial by consistently posting, building a community and spending time on all of the platforms to see what resonates well with your audience so you can find your community and your perfect client. Or join professional groups and ask other people in the same industry as you on what works well for them.

How Can You Incorporate Social Media into Your Overall Marketing Communication Efforts?

It should be about 50%. What’s really important is that you have to have your profiles, headers, cover photos and bio’s consistent with the brand. Make sure your social headers have a call to action. Say what problem your services can solve and what is the outcome. Change them out every 30-days to keep things fresh on social media. The goal is to connect to your audience on social media but drive the traffic to your website/blogs so they can learn more about your services and your product. Give value and you will receive value. 

The Special Event 2021

I'm so excited to be speaking at The Special Event July 19-22 in Miami, FL! The Special Event (TSE) is an event that celebrates the industry. Bringing the best speakers together for top education, means you’ll learn everything critical to stay competitive. Along with the highest caliber suppliers, awards that celebrate you and events bursting with ideas, this is your annual place to make industry connections and find business solutions.

If you are an event planner, wedding planner, event rental company, caterer, florist, event entertainment company or any other professional working in events, The Special Event is for you.

Join me on July 21, 2021 at 2:30pm EST, in Room 228 where I will be speaking on “Delicate Delegating”. One of the hardest tasks to do as a business owner is to hire the right people and trust them with your business. We have mastered how to outsource in many different areas from on site directors to VA's that live across the world. Let me show you the key processes you will need to grow your team and company.

Podfest Master Class 2021 Speaker

If you are a podcaster you NEED to know about the Podfest Master Class! I was so honored to be a speaker and share more on time blocking and why it is so vital to success! Podfest is a community of people who are interested in and passionate about sharing their voice and message with the world  through the powerful mediums of audio and video. And proudly unites as many people as possible to learn, get inspired, and grow better together!

Anxiety leads to procrastination and poor prioritization. When you have a lot to do on your to do lists and post-it notes, you get overwhelmed and don't do any of it! You wind up scrolling endlessly on social media looking at what everyone else in your industry is doing or you start binging Netflix because you can face the lists!

And it's not a matter of having more lists or a better planner. The problem is the disconnect between your to do list and making sure you have time to get those things done. Just writing things down doesn't Get Shit Done! You've got to make a plan to do it.

So, you want more freedom in your business, in your life. But you need to GSD-Get Shit Done. the answer is time blocking.

A Year of Positive Thinking

I'm so thankful for my sweet friend Erika Rothenberger, and excited for her to launch her podcast Grit, Grace & Glitz. She sent me the sweetest book for being a guest on her show A Year of Positive Thinking - Daily Inspiration, Wisdom and Courage with this note. 

Dear Angela, Thank you for being such a bright light in the world! Honored to have you on my Podcast, thank you for all the Grit, Grace and Glitz you bring!

XO - Erika

Social Media Content Guide for Your Business

Do you feel like your social media content is not quite where it needs to be? Do you struggle with the best way to share your message and create engaging content that will resonate with your audience? I'm here to help you get the most out of your social media content, whether you're a small business owner or an entrepreneur, this article will show you how to create engaging posts that will reach and engage your audience.

Working with Influencers

At GSD Creative we are very selective of the clients that we work with. We have a pre-qualification process with people that meet certain criteria with thier existing audience and who are going to follow our process. Because we have case studies and a method to running a business, we only work with people who are going to abide by our process because it will affect the outcome. As far as managing the content that we produce, again, it all goes back to having a strategy with a goal in mind. Some clients have come to us with some content. However, from our experience and what we have found is most of it isn’t cohesive—therefore we go back to creating a strategy with a 90-day plan, which is the requirement to see results and gather data. 

Time Saving Tips When Managing Social Accounts

Time saving tips, that’s what we specialize in— Productivity. We specialize in the Wash, Rinse, Repeat methodology for all of the content. So if you’re managing multiple accounts, having a few platforms to help aggregate the information and data into one place is very helpful. Most of the tools are going to be an investment but it’s a great use of money to save time. Some of the tools we use include: Creator Studio, PlannThat & Sprout Social. Having an analytics dashboard that pulls in all the analytics to make sure that what you’re doing is working.

How to Decide What to Post

It varies based on what you do and what you are looking to get out of it. We have a strategy for every single client. We take their top 3 goals, products or categories and we rotate them on their grid. When there’s a launch, we do a build-up— a 30-day launch and usually that takes a 90-day strategy. It’s different for everybody depending on their goals and what their outcome is and the value they’re providing their audience. Holidays and notable days that are specific to that brand and that industry play a role as well. 

Not Sure Where to Start?

We have an online program called GSD Academy that walks you through how to set the foundation for being productive when producing content, this is what GSD Creative does. We specialize in doing the strategy and we customize the message based on the way the audience needs to hear it based off of psychology which is the foundation of all of our communication. We heavily observe analytics and build the strategy based on data. The data doesn’t lie. 

7 Secrets Of Sisterhood – Polita Boyde

I'm so excited to share this book that my good friend Polita Boyce is featured in. Seven Secrets of Sisterhood features seven stories of seven amazing women from different walks of life who share their stories of what it takes to build and cultivate a true sisterhood. With topics such as jealousy, miscommunication, life changes and even drug abuse. These women share their hearts on the pages of this book so that the reader will know that true sisterhood is indeed possible. We pray that the stories in this book inspire you to find and nurture your own sisterhood.. Click HERE to get your copy! 

Get ready for all the stories that have gotten these women to where they are today and have inspired others to take the challenge and dive into achieving their dreams! Click HERE to get your copy!