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Soulati-'TUDE!

Social Listening Is Key To Engagement, Long-Term Business Growth

03/20/2020 By Jayme Soulati

ALT="Soulati Media blog post image on social listening with 2 toddlers talking on a string phone"

Social listening has risen to the top of the ladder as a critical component in program strategy for every business affected by COVID-19. Where before, you surfed social media and merely brushed against key conversations in your stream. Now, deeper dives into conversation provide the pulse of the conversation that not only builds awareness but also opportunity.

What Is Social Listening

What does social listening mean to you?

As social media engagement tightens up into niche groups and smaller streams, these “virtual dinner chats” provide meaningful conversation with a lot of emotion and feelings bared in more comfortable channels.

Perhaps you invite 10 people to join you in a video conference on Zoom, Skype, Whereby, Calendly, or other really cool app. You ask two questions, “So, how is everyone coping?” And “What are you putting in place to ensure you don’t collapse from stress?”

And, the floodgates open widely as people isolated in their self-quarantine want to share with others and feel the strength of community. During these conversations, your job as host is to find the pulse of the conversation. To help, you don your PR strategist hat, you determine how to address the problems with solutions.

Solving the issues surrounding COVID-19 seems particularly impossible. Therefore, building relationship and community solve the immediate issue of isolation. Within that relationship building, you invite everyone to chat about their business. What do they do on a normal business day? Ask about products and services they offer others on a normal business day? What tips can everyone offer that others can adopt?

Social Media Does Offer A Solution During Isolation

Social media, in my book, has always, always been about engagement and NEVER a one-way street. Frequently, many peeps lazily post on channels and rarely respond or share one-to-one. Connectivity with true humans softens the chaos and jagged edges of our own psyche.

And, if you don’t mind me asking, how is yours? Psychologically, COVID-19 wreaks great havoc on the psyche. Mine is suffering greatly with enormous stress as a self-employed business owner. I worry for my daughter working in a grocery store as a cashier. My thoughts go daily to my 80-year-old mother hoping she copes well through quarantine. Even more, shuttered businesses I used to frequent for my livelihood and clients with closed doors due to the pandemic contribute to my stress. That means I worry for the health of my business and ability to pay my bills and mortgage.

In conclusion, I am turning to social listening to see that I’m not alone in this global crisis. I am reaching out to connect with old friends and business peers. I am blogging more frequently and having fun designing Instagram posts on Canva for the first time. Will this help me bring in money to my dying business? Perhaps or perhaps not, but, no one said Rome was built in a day, right?

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: business growth, Digital marketing, Jayme Soulati, Public Relations, social circles, social listening, social media engagement, Social Media Strategy

Should Bloggers Write With Key Words?

06/10/2014 By Jayme Soulati

ALT="confidence thermometer, Jayme Soulati"Back in the day on Spin Sucks, I wrote a piece about authenticity and my fear that analytics would rule the word (that was “world” but that works better!). Alas, my fears are now reality.

Bloggers who want to get anywhere online need to write with key words handy. It’s what my colleague and digital marketing partner Jon Buscall of Jontus Media dictates every day.

In fact, he’s been lecturing me that I don’t blog with key words enough. My writings are what strike me. I’m writing for my peers. Indeed. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blogging 101 Tagged With: Blog, Digital marketing, Jayme Soulati, Jon Buscall, Jontus Media, Public Relations, Social Media, SpinSucks

What’s Happening With @Soulati?

04/02/2014 By Jayme Soulati

Jon-Buscall.jpgHas anyone missed @Soulati?  I know a few have and thanks for the well wishes. But, guess what? I’ve not been sick; thank my fortunate stars.

Where I have been is under a rock in the dark trying to muddle through an intense time at my blogging house and for my brand. It’s what every company must experience. You can call it transformation, and it’s a journey that takes awhile…a long while, with lots of introspection and grappling with the demons of the past that form you into today’s persona.
Message-Mapping-Book.jpg
As a result of this experience, my blog has been basically dark since prior to January. I can’t say I’ve missed worrying about what to write on a near-daily basis, but I’m feeling the absence of expressing myself and communing with you, too.

Today, I can honestly say, I see the light. It’s just around the bend, but
having brand new digs is making the light waves brighter.

I need to give my second child (to be born in my next life) to one astonishing businessman, friend, colleague, and partner by name of Dr. Jon Buscall of Jontus Media. Jon is the consummate digital marketer, a brutal editor, and a whiz at website design. His team, anchored by an adorable man named Juanjo, made my new website and me simply gorgeous.

Hire Jon Buscall of Jontus Media

Please hire Jon Buscall for ALL your digital marketing needs and to assess your future journey with digital. Better yet, hit this landing page and schedule a free Marketing Intensive with him!

Essentially, long story short, the lights are back on.

  • I have a #RockHot new brand — the Message Mapping Master. You can download my FREE e-book with that link!
  • I have a new website — it’s all mobile, responsive and built for conversions.
  • I am doing digital marketing the right way because I hired Jon Buscall.
  • I have a project manager on my team who is also the consummate writer and knows my fears and challenges about failure in Jenn Whinnem. Tweet Jenn @TheJenn, but don’t hire her, she’s mine.
  • I give a mega shout out to Cathy Tetrick for spending a Saturday as my photographer.
  • I have a new auto-responder series I wrote all by myself, and you can sign up for it via my blog page right here in the sidebar. (That was an astonishing feat, mind you!)
  • I am building my email list because the experts said I have to; so, if you don’t mind, sign up and see how it’s done!

I’m so happy in my new house that just launched not even 24 hours ago!!

Find any kinks? Please do share. It’s always great to have fresh eyes on a labor of love. And speaking of love, I have missed you and love you to pieces.

In gratitude…

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Filed Under: Branding Tagged With: Digital marketing, Jenn Whinnem, Jon Buscall, Jontus Media, LinkedIn, marketing, Public Relations, Social Media

The Dark Side of Blogging

03/13/2014 By Jayme Soulati

BSteel-Girl.jpgack in my Chicago agency days, public relations was the dark side. When journalists crossed over, they took a big ribbing.

Bloggers have a dark side, too.

It’s oriented to the lightness of writing tone and levity. If there isn’t any, then a blog post can turn into a complete whine with negativity rampant.

Other times, life happens. Some people choose to push through the negativity and write like normal. Others, like me, can’t find the inspiration to be light and informative because personal emotion gets the best of that.

Another reason there may be a dark side is due to transition. Did you know I’m in digital marketing hell? Getting a crash course in the world of auto-responders and email campaigns. Not too fun for me, as it’s a completely different way of life than what I’m used to. I’d rather hire the experts!

So, there are a few reasons why I’ve put aside the pen awhile, but I didn’t want to leave you hanging not knowing why.

See you sooner than soon.

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Filed Under: Blogging 101 Tagged With: Blog, Blogging, Chicago, dark side, Digital marketing, Public Relations

Digital Marketing Kicks My Ass

02/28/2014 By Jayme Soulati

soulati-kick.jpgNo one said life was easy, and if it were we’d be at the beach partying all day. But, you’re not, nor am I, and that’s why you haven’t seen me here in awhile.

I’ve been in a rut as digital marketing has been kicking my ass, and it’s doing it so royally I had to put that A-S-S word in the headline. BTW, is A-S-S even a cuss word any more? I know no five-year-olds are reading this blog, so maybe I’m safe.

Meanwhile…

How do you feel when completely out of your element? Here are a few emotions I can share from first-hand experience – humility, humbleness, embarrassment, frustration, annoyance, anger, fear, and tears. Then comes the resignation that all these emotions are purely obstacles to success.

Indeed.

We (that means I) are our own worst enemies. If anyone is somewhat of a perfectionist (gulp, I’ve never admitted that even partially to anyone and I know it’s not true) who likes to be in control because that’s a true comfort zone, then things we don’t know are addressed with obstacles.

And, so, I found out right quick I don’t do digital marketing and to overcome my fear of it, I would just toss bricks in my way. I did, I am, I was.

I recently hired an expert to help me elevate my business to a new level. I had hit a brick wall on my own trying to grow my business online.

In the past I’ve worked with some really good people, but everyone reaches a point in their knowledge where there’s a deficiency; I had hit mine.

Digital Marketing Struggles

Digital marketing is a tough nut. Who are the people doing it well and making money at it?

It requires huge analytic thinking oriented to testing, sorting, list building (gah, my least favorite thing of all) and development of landing pages with calls to action and the software platforms to make it all work.

How copy is written is so different than a blog post and it requires short and punchy quip that entices but doesn’t sell.

Digital marketing is not for the feint of heart. You need to be trained as an expert to master it and you have to live it every day to know what the heck.

Here’s what happened:

  • My fear of failure put me in a deep, dark hole. I was unable to write like I was supposed to. I did not want to be judged. I did not like to be edited. The style of writing was foreign to me.
  • I wrote and it stunk.
  • I was edited brutally and hated it.
  • I wrote again and it stunk more.
  • More brutality and people totally rewriting my work.
  • I ignored everyone.
  • I tossed bricks in my way and cried about it. I whined some more.
  • Then I took a deep breath and finally wrote again.
  • It flowed and was acceptable to my utter shock and amazeballs.
  • The brutal editors and experts said they loved it, high five. (I secretly didn’t believe them.)

I wanted to quit, fire everyone and walk away from the challenge; exactly like I feel in Taekwondo every Tuesday and Thursday.

It’s a slow boat to China, and no one reaches it in a day. Yeah, Jayme, so get on a plane.

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Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: China, Digital marketing, inbound marketing, Jontus Media, Kick-Ass, marketing, online business

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