Taking Your Offline Business Online

Social Media is changing how I work and talk about the businesses I work with, both online and offline. It’s been a bit of a mystery for me to think and work differently. How is this space different? For the better part of 20 years, as a consultant, there is this “outside consultant” who comes into a company to assist where the need is. Outside of my work with a company, I did not speak about the brands in which I work with at cocktail parties or even on a golf course. Even my closest of friends had no idea of the companies I have worked with in the past. I have been a vault for all these companies over the years. I carry NDA’s and what I can speak of and to whom. NDA’s have no place for being all chatty about what project you are working on with a company.

As I am learning and growing how to take my offline business into the online space, I am also bringing more and more of my clients with me, as they become more comfortable and trust my kind of chatty. For many who work in this space every single day, this is clearly a no-brainer. Yet there are many large and small corporations who are still trying to gauge and value the effectiveness of this space. To trust that the message online is going to be consistent with their message offline.

For the past two years I have had to learn and grow in my knowledge of all things social media online, using my own business to test the waters, trying new streams and rivers to flow information in and out of. One thing I have learned is that many online “professionals” in online media ( Social Media)  are not so savvy or professional. Let me apologize now if I offend anyone. There is a script that many use to sell their services in this space. Having the ability to understand how to turn the dials, click the buttons, play with widgets, and get excited about the latest social network, or app is not qualifying, nor is it sustainable to a company.

Several months ago I was hired by a company to work on an online project. They had the dial turner and button pusher of social and they were not seeing any value. It pains me to hear this. Once I did an analysis of their accounts I was shocked of the inconsistencies, no strategic message, and each platform looked like a different business. You see, that dial turner and content pusher is not a strategist, nor do they have any experience in branding, marketing and the experience of telling a good story, your story. They WILL NOT know how to take your offline marketing and implement into an online campaign. Unless you have an online professional on your staff to teach and train the culture of how you will bring your offline business into online awareness, you will not really see the effectiveness.

Being an online brand & marketing strategist requires a lot of research, off line experience and developing a strategic message and plan. Many companies, both large and small have not known how to learn, nor do they have the time. Successful companies will always be the hardest to bring on-board, as their companies are reaching goals and benchmarks without taking care or attention to the online space.
I love that what comes natural to me, being chatty, and what my work involves is NOW allowing me to talk more about both offline and online about the companies I am working with. Today is a perfect example. Years ago I would never have posted a pictures like these.

Hanging out with Eddie Bauer Jr. and Emily Otteson

Working on an online campaign for Copa Di Vino. I love my home office workspace and working with a local The Dalles, OR client.

One built the Obama’s vacation home, one a major NW utility company and one worked  for Johnson & Johnson. Imagine the work it took to convince these old-school fellows that a picture does not always tell a thousands words. Everyone smile.

My work in writing and building a strategic plan for a company  requires me to have spot-on writing skills, approvals, and editors. (Thank you Emily Otteson for editing this post.) Here, now with my own landing page, website, and blog, my sharing is from my own voice–not the voice, content, or add behind a brand. It’s like knowing who is wearing the Ronald McDonald costume. Often we do not know who a “brand manager” is at all. Yet being that voice and that spokesperson is becoming more and more common. I am getting more comfortable with it. Add in the selfies and pictures and you learn more of who I am and who I am working with.   The evaluation and score card is being made public.

When I first started working online I thought I should only say I was working, but not who I was working with. My thoughts have changed on this. Taking your offline business into the online space with a clear marketing strategy is one of the most important decisions your company will make.

Now for the “Paid Sponsored” part. The companies or individuals above did not pay me to write this post. They will discover this post like you have, and I am grateful to work with great companies and individuals who trust my words in this space. After all, if each one could say one thing about Elizabeth Traub, it would be “that girl is chatty.” However, I do work with and for the examples I have shown in these pictures. Am I a marketing and brand strategist? Of course I am. Why would I share images of companies I have no passion for?