Show notes
Perhaps digital media is mysterious to you. Maybe you know how important it is, but just haven’t gotten around to it much. Or maybe you’re a digital media rock star. Any way you look at it, digital media is here to stay and is an integral part of all our lives. However, if you’re an entrepreneur or in business for yourself, it will be the most important part of any of your marketing. Often, it can be your savior. Meet Shawn Walchef of Cali Comfort BBQ and Behind The Smoke podcast. He took it upon himself to learn digital media to save his business. Join WTR as he shares his experience. You will learn why digital marketing and branding is so important, insights into the psychology of digital marketing, practical tips for making your business more visible online and more likely to get results from searches, why podcasting can help you to connect with your listeners in ways never before possible, how technology has changed the way we interact with restaurants and businesses, and ending with a value bomb about communication.
Ingenious tactics to accumulate wealth, for people who see things differently
Shawn P. Walchef
Behind The Smoke: BBQ War Stories Podcast
Notes:
- Fortunate to have Shawn today because without digital marketing, we wouldn’t have him here today
- Impressed with anyone who starts their own podcast
- Derek Marso, co-host and I have published 100 episodes
- Weekly “Behind the Smoke”
- Focus on business, digital marketing, digital media, interviewing people we admire, specifically in San Diego area
- People who are moving the needle as far as getting their branding online, getting their business online and really making an impact in the world
- Weekly “Behind the Smoke”
- Podcasting is on-demand radio, on-demand information
- Way for people to learn passively
- During my short commute, for 15 minutes can listen to some of the top minds in the world with whatever field I care about
- Its 2019 and if people don’t think the internet isn’t impacting their business or industry, I feel sorry for them
- We’re always going to have to continue to learn
- People listening to this podcast, Kudos to them because they probably love to learn
- I don’t have a background in internet, IT, not for cooking BBQ, not for running a restaurant
- I went to school for sociology
- Whatever your passionate about, you can find people on the internet, on YouTube, through podcasts, Twitter, blogs, Instagram that are publishing content that influence you
- That make you change your habits
- Changing your habits to do things that you would want to do increases opportunities in your field and for your family that you would have never had the chance for
- We at WTR talk about setting yourself up for opportunities
- Set yourself up financially, habits, skills, abilities
- Set yourself up for success and better things in your life, such as improvements in business, self, family
- We live in the information age and people are going to the internet to find information they care about
- Wife and I ask people where to find daycare, but we go to Google and Yelp to find info on daycares and find them
- We go to Yelp and there’s some daycares to don’t have;
- photos of what the place looks like
- Don’t have updated website
- Don’t have contact form
- Don’t tell us what services they offer
- They are losing the potential for business
- Company that is internet forward and putting their brand online as a priority
- Have great photos
- Have easy way to contact them
- When I message them they message right back
- They make the process easy for my family and I to go tour their facility
- Chances they get my money are much more than anyone else
- The most exciting part, the more I conversations through podcasting, through interviewing guests, the more I realize how much opportunity there is out there
- In San Diego CA, in just 2 years of podcasting, people all over the globe know about our restaurant in an off the beaten path
- Podcasting is a personal medium, a “connection”
- Connection in the same way that we are drawn to a type of music
- We are drawn to things that inspire us, that move us, whether they make us happy, sad or inspire us to make a change
- Where Shawn’s business started, and where and how it changed and implanted digital marketing
- 2008 took over sports bar in area where it’s not expected to be found
- But in order to survive they needed to find ways of marketing and branding
- We know if we didn’t know how to do it ourselves, we couldn’t hire the right marketing company, and couldn’t learn all the opportunities that existed
- Made fun of partner for having a Facebook account
- Through research and Googling, learned business could have a Facebook page, so implemented one
- In 2008 paid money to be in the Yellow Pages
- 11 years later its crazy to think about
- To think what I can do with my iPhone to create 4k video to upload to YouTube and Instagram
- Not necessary to have Call To Action to buy BBQ
- They see what we are doing as a BBQ restaurant
- Example, putting tri-tip ribs on our smoker, they see that
- Then this weekend when they ask where do you want to go for dinner, they say I want tri-tips because I saw CaliComfort put it on their smoker this week
- Its and on demand world, I don’t even watch live sports anymore, I DVD and cut it down so I can have an extra 40 minutes with my son or daughter
- Internet gives ability to get information in a more efficient manor
- People may not be using internet in an efficient manor were they could have more time with friends and family, they’re doing the opposite
- I’m huge fan of Gary Vaynerchuk
- He talks about social media just exposes who we are as humans
- As humans, it’s easy to say that when a husband and wife go to dinner they just look at their phones and don’t talk to each other
- Maybe before the phone they just didn’t talk to each other, they weren’t having an engaging conversation
- I don’t think the internet is the problem with the world
- I won’t be so naive that my kids won’t find bad things on the internet
- Hopefully my wife and I can find a way to teach them wright from wrong
- Hopefully they can find positive people that are making an impact on the world, that are going to inspire them
- Just like my grandfather from Bulgaria in small village
- Born in 1919, should have been farmer
- American man came to village to teach how to read
- My grandfather read every book in village and went to others to read more
- That education/information enabled him to become a medical doctor
- That’s what education does, that’s positive education
- His lifelong pursuit of always learning is something I hope I can pass on to my kids
- People look for an authority figure, they look for someone/ business they can trust
- A lot of good content it helps solidify you/your business as authority, it helps people to trust you
- Local sports radio station lost their signal and show because the company didn’t understand digital. they were focused on radio signal. They figured if people aren’t listening to this signal, then they won’t listen.
- Instead they should have been focusing on creating content for YouTube, creating Podcasts, utilizing the internet in all way possible to help their sponsors grow their impact and brand
- Stations that did do that, survived
- We would never use Alexa
- Got Echo as gift from party, we decided not to use it
- Used it once at bath time to play kids songs, not use it for many more things.
- As a business owner, I need to know how to enable Alexa so that when someone searches for a BBQ podcast or digital marketing I come up as one of those searches
- Why? Because if you don’t, you become irrelevant
- If someone new is thinking about getting into podcasting, why should Podcast Movement be important?
- That is just one example of a conference that could impact the way you think about your business
- You don’t have to attend a conference, Podcasting is valuable to any business
- Because the act of podcasting requires you to Think Differently
- Example: Real Estate agent produces show called East County Eats. Creates production that he puts on Facebook and YouTube and doesn’t ask anything of me. To me, that’s somebody who is thinking differently. It’s promotion for us. He became our agent because he was willing to think differently
- If you start podcasting, you will have to take a look at YouTube and Twitter, etc, and learn them
- How am I going to get people to listen to my show?
- None of this happens over night
- WordPress was empowering because I could manage my own content
- I could set up SEO
- Set up Google alerts for your name, your business, etc
- Now anytime your content is searched, Google will let you know
- Every time the Google Alert comes up with good content or that you’ve been quoted in something important (Forbes) then you’re on the right path
- Tips to help you learn on your own.
- It’s more self-awareness
- You have to be curious and want to know
- “I don’t have time to do it.” “you cannot have time to do it, or you can just figure out a way to do it.
- You should have the best smart phone. If investing in something, it should be the best smart phone. Get over the fact that you might not understand it
- Everyone is playing in a new world.
- In jeopardy; TV, Newspaper magazines
- All these business are closing
- I can’t take my son to Toys ‘R Us. “It’s absolutely insane to me…”
- Sears is bankrupt “Are you serious?”
- Blockbuster, they made fun of Netflix and now look at Netflix
- When we move into our new home we’re not going to have Direct TV. It replaced cable and now we’re just going to stream, cut the cord. We watch stuff on demand.
- Something for our WTR listeners to avoid or not do
- On personal level, communication is the most important thing that anyone can do
- Example: my co-host and I were going to open a butcher shop together. It was his idea, but it made things more complicated. Instead of communicating more, we communicated less. That was tough and we’re still working through it. Now I’m not going to be helping him with the shop as a business partner, just a friend.
- Be as clear as you can
- Closing
- Set up Google Alert on anything you care about, anything you’re passionate about. It will help create the curiosity wheel on how to start hacking the internet on your own terms
- Anyone in San Diego please reach out an let us know you heard us on the podcast and we would love to show you around and treat you like royalty.
The post WTR Interview: Shawn Walchef, Digital Media Will Save and Improve Your Business appeared first on WTR Podcast Website.