Show notes
Today I'd like to share with you the recording of a live interview I did yesterday with Brandon Pecharich from Promo Corner, in which we discussed The Four Levels of Content. If you need to get clients on social media, this will explain how to do it. It's available below as video, audio or text. I hope you find it helpful.
Brandon: Hey everybody, Happy Tuesday! I hope you're having a super productive week out there. You are watching Express Training Bites here at Promo Corner. You're probably watching it on Promo Corner's Facebook Page, Promo Show's Facebook page or maybe Promo Corner's LinkedIn or YouTube. So we are on all types of different social media. And we have today on Express Training Bites an industry icon. Somebody who I have looked up to as a sales professional in the industry. And it is Mr. David Blaise. Thank you so much for being here today. And you're actually going to be speaking about something that you spoke about in January at Expo. Is that correct?
David: Yeah, it was part of what we covered at Expo. At Expo, we were talking about just this whole idea of migrating people from social media into your sales funnel, essentially, and how that happens. Because it's not like throwing spaghetti against a wall and hoping it sticks. There's actually some strategy to it, methodology to it. If you choose to go in that direction.
Brandon: That is awesome. That is such a huge and valuable piece of content that we've got here today on Express Training Bites. So for people that don't know who you are -- because this industry is constantly evolving and there's new people almost every day -- why don't you take a couple of minutes and kind of introduce yourself, David?
David: Sure. David Blaise from TopSecrets.com, also SmartEQP.com. I've been in the promotional products industry since 1988. I feel like I should be sitting down instead of sanding up , but, I've just been in the industry for a long time. Love the industry. Started speaking at some of the major industry trade shows back in 2001. I've spoken at nearly every one of them since. I was at Expo in January. And that's what led to this discussion.
You know, in the early days of the training that I did, a lot of it was related to people who were just getting started in the industry. And we created a training program called Getting Started: How to Launch a Wildly Successful Career in Promotional Products Sales. And to this day we have new people who are coming in and they go through that training. And within about six or seven hours, they're pretty much grounded and up to speed, so that you wouldn't be embarrassed to have them stand in front of a prospect and represent your company.
But over the years, what I've found is that a lot of the training that I do, particularly for private groups, I love interacting with people who have been doing it for a long time, who may be running into different struggles that they hadn't encountered before. And to say, "okay, where do we go from here?" One of my favorite trainings that I did, of all time, was I was hired to speak in front of a group of people who've been in the industry for 25 plus years. And this was easily 10 years ago. I was quite a bit younger myself. The people that I was speaking to were older, and we were trying to figure out what am I going to talk about to these people?
And, we finally decided I was just going to bring a flip chart and go around the room and say, "okay, what's the biggest issue you're dealing with?" And we just did that. We went around the room and it was fantastic. Because when you're able to interact with people who understand the industry and who know the ins and outs, but who perhaps have gotten stuck in a tunnel or funnel or somewhere it's, "I'm so used to doing things a certain way." You lose sight of the fact that there are a lot of different things that are going on. The industry has changed. And the things we do to interact with people have to change as well.
Brandon: That is so true. And we learned it the past two years, right? Everything kind of switched.
David: Right.
Brandon: We weren't able to see people face to face, so we had to figure out another way to communicate to people. And one of the things that came out was a ton of new content creators, right? A bunch of people out there creating podcast, videos, all of that stuff, to help their distributorship kind of keep going. To help their supplier company keep going.
The Four Levels of Content
Brandon: So you talked about four. There are four different types of content and how you can take those viewers and make them customers. So let's kind of go through those four different types of content.
David: Sure.
Brandon: And kind of break them down, and how each one can help you get new customers. Sound good?
David: Perfect. Yeah.
Brandon: Awesome.
David: I tend to think of it as Four Levels of Content. And the reason I define it as "levels" is that each level sort of goes deeper and deeper and deeper. And you start out at sort of the top level, which is more superficial. But it's also the thing that everybody sees.
Level 1: Public Content
So the first level would be Public content. That's content that you put out there that anybody can see. If I post something to my Facebook page and anybody who's connected with me can see it, or if I post it publicly, anybody on Facebook could theoretically see it. So that's the first level of content. And that's where a lot of people tend to think that things start and end. But it's really just the beginning. And I think one of the things that I've struggled with over the years in hearing people talk about "content" is the idea that... I mean, when I think of content, I think of a bucket. Right? Now, whatever's inside that bucket is your content. It could be gold, or it could be cow flop. It could be whatever is in that bucket. And so all content is certainly not created equal. And so the idea of saying, well, "content, content, content," to me, I was always like, well, yes, but what is your content? And what is it designed to do?
And when we think about the way that things have evolved, as you were talking about, particularly in our industry, the way that prospecting has changed over the years. And in some ways, it hasn't changed. Because there are people who have done business all over the country in the past. They did a lot of work by phone and email previously. So that's not really different. But there are a lot of people in our industry who work locally or regionally. And they're used to getting out in front of people. They go to networking functions. So they do different things. They get in front of people physically. And when that went away, it was kind of terrifying for some people.
Brandon: Yeah.
David: And particularly for the industries that were impacted. We won't go there, because that's a whole different thing.
Brandon: Yeah.
David: So when we think about the different levels of content, it starts with public content. What am I putting out there to get people's attention and to let them know that I'm taking in air on the planet? I'm breathing, I'm here and I can help them with what it is that they're looking to do. But if you just put out content, if you're just constantly throwing stuff out there, it's not going to accomplish your goal. Because the goal, ultimately, is to get people really into your sales process. Whatever your sales process is. To get them on the phone, or to get them into your office or do you see them? Whatever that is. And so when we think about the Four Levels... Originally, when I talked about this, probably close to ten years ago, I really identified three primary levels of content, but more recently I've added a fourth. And that's the second one that we'll cover here.
So we're starting at the top. We're saying there's public content. Then the next level, the one I added fairly recently is Protected Content.
Level 2: Protected Content
Protected content only goes out to the people who have made themselves known you, and expressed interest in what you do. So for example, if you have a Facebook group and people have to apply to get in, that's an example of protected content. Because the only people who see what's in there are the people who registered to be there and who are approved and accepted to be able to come in.
Brandon: Yep.
David: So the difference between public content and protected is that with protected, you now have some idea of who you're talking to. It at least limits it. Instead of however many hundreds of millions of people are on Facebook, now you know it's limited to the 60 or 500 or 800 or a thousand, however many people are in that group. And so it limits it. It also allows you to get more focused. If it's a group that is related to an industry that you're selling to, you can become known to that group of people and you can establish yourself as an expert within that protected content.
Brandon: I think that, so I'm super pumped that you added that, because that is something that I feel like you can use the public realm to practice and refine your skill. And then as your content starts to grow, then you can slide it or share it to multiple places like this piece of content. This is out in public and for anybody who follows Promo Corner. But I also share it over to a small subset of groups that we are a part of, and that is kind of more directed towards distributors and learning.
So right now, those people, it's kind of like a little captive audience. They get to see that as well. It's just another place to kind of connect with more people. So I'm super pumped that you added that because this is a very powerful level.
David: Thank you. And I agree. It's a very powerful level, often overlooked.
Brandon: Yeah.
David: And so if we think about that, so we've got public and then we've got protected. And also when I talk about flow,