In this episode, ByrdAdatto’s Brand Marketing Manager Stephanie Torres shares strategies for marketing a business. Stephanie delves into the significance of understanding your target audience, timing for securing domain and social media accounts, various types of marketing available for new businesses, and essential brand strategies. Tune in for valuable tips for starting and growing your business.
Listen to the full episode using the player below, or by visiting one of the links below. If you have any questions or would like to learn more, email us at info@byrdadatto.com.
Transcript
*The below transcript has been edited for readability.
Intro: [00:00:00] Welcome to Legal 123s with ByrdAdatto. Legal issues simplified through real client stories and real-world experiences, creating simplicity in 3, 2, 1.
Brad: Welcome back to Legal 123s with ByrdAdatto. I’m your host, Brad Adatto, with my co-host, Michael Byrd.
Michael: Thanks Bradford. As a business and health care law firm, we represent clients in multiple business sectors, especially health care. This season we’re diving deep into the exhilarating and terrifying process of opening a business. Brad, our theme this season is, Starting a Business.
Brad: Yes, Michael. And as we alluded to in other episode, starting a business really is just the first of many seasons. Maybe you can give everybody the kind of highlights of all four seasons.
Michael: Yeah. There are four seasons of a business. There’s the building season, the operating season, the scaling season, and the buying and selling season. And for fun this year, Brad, every podcast [00:01:00] season for this whole calendar year is going to be geared towards one of these seasons of a business.
Brad: And today building. Cool. Well, today we do have a special guest with us. Today we’re bringing on a ByrdAdatto rock star, a team member who has actually been here, it seems like since the early days.
Michael: Yeah, and O.G. I’m excited before we bring her on. And at the risk of making myself and our audience a little more disturbed and a little less smart, I need to get inside Brad’s brain for a few minutes.
Brad: Okay. First, you know what’s going on in my brain since we both are 13-year-old boys, so that’s pretty easy for you, which means half the time, I don’t even know what I’m thinking. Second, and most times it’s probably chanting Brad is better than Michael over and over again.
Michael: That’s like a mantra of yours. Well, I have to get a little bit of consumer behavior data from you, Brad. Where was the last [00:02:00] place you Googled for something “near me”?
Brad: I don’t know. It’s been a while since I’ve used that feature. I know that when we’re driving off and Michael, my wife will hop on the phone and Google, where’s the nearest gas station or whatever, or something like that.
Michael: So you don’t use the near me in your Google searches very often?
Brad: Rarely. Like I said, I can’t think about it, but what about you? When’s the last time you do? What do you do?
Michael: Well, the last place I Googled near me would’ve been ice cream. This is a go-to move.
Brad: Yeah. Audience members, you probably know this is not a shock. Ice cream is Michael’s kryptonite. He loves it. What else do you use the near me search function for?
Michael: I wouldn’t call it kryptonite because it’s so good. It’s more like a superpower. A super food.
Brad: Yes. So, to speak.
Michael: Yeah, so my go-to searches on the “near me” would be gas stations, ice cream and tennis courts when I’m out of town.
Brad: Okay. And where are we going with this today? [00:03:00]
Michael: Well, Brad, I’m glad you asked. I read an article recently on this topic. Do you know how many times a month people in the US search the term “Thai food near me?”
Brad: I think the answer is 1 million times a month.
Michael: Audience, I think Brad’s cheating. You just totally deflated me, because you actually guessed the exact answer. And so, I don’t know what you did to cheat, but I’m onto you. We’re going to figure this out. Well, this article is actually about a restaurant in New York that was aware of this data, and so they changed their name to Thai Food Near Me.
Brad: Okay. First, I think we need to head to Vegas right now. I’m feeling like a win streak’s about to happen, so let’s go. Second, I do have a lot of 13-year-old boy jokes going through my head right now, but we have this really nice guest in here, [00:04:00] so I’m just going to hold off on today’s show. But naming your restaurant Thai Food Near Me, that’s pretty brilliant.
Michael: Yeah. It’s all driven by Google SEO.
Brad: My gosh, Michael, I think we have our first for vocabulary word of the day. What does SEO mean?
Michael: So, SEO from a non-marketing person, yes, I can define it that way. The lay person’s term, so it means search engine optimization, and these are strategies so that consumers will find you when they search on Google or some other platform. So the ultimate strategy of SEO optimization would be the one employed by this Thai restaurant where they actually change the name of the business to the name that they think people are searching.
Brad: That’s pretty interesting that you go through that effort just to change your name for SEO purposes. But I guess the more important question, Michael, is did it work?
Michael: Yeah. You would think it would be like, oh, genius. That’s got to work. And actually, the article said they had mixed results. [00:05:00] So they did kind of some testing of it to see how it worked. And when they searched Thai food near me from Brooklyn, it did not show up. So pretty nearby, and it didn’t pop up, but when they searched it from Wisconsin, it did show up.
Brad: Okay.
Michael: And so it seemed to have some effect, but mixed. And then the article went on to note that there’s actually several businesses that they found that do this. In fact, in Texas, there’s a few affordable dentists near me businesses. There’s plumber near me, Christmas trees near me, and even psychic near me. Which, basic question, why would they need SEO?
Brad: Yeah. Well, the psychic knew you were near them. That was the opposite. Well, Michael, did I tell you that we’re changing the name of our law firm to Law Firm Near Me?
Michael: Okay. Well, now, thank you for reminding me why you’re not in charge of marketing, and nice segue. Let’s bring [00:06:00] on the person who is in charge of marketing at ByrdAdatto. Our guest today is a first time guest. She is the ByrdAdatto brand marketing manager, Stephanie Torres. A little bio. Stephanie Torres is the brand marketing manager at ByrdAdatto, as I noted. She’s from Dallas. She graduated from the University of Arkansas, and so she has a lot in common with my kids who, so far three of my college kids going to Arkansas. She has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. Stephanie’s been with the firm for five and a half years now, and she worked at two other law firms prior to that in administrative roles. She has three dogs with their fiancé and soon to be husband. Stephanie, welcome.
Stephanie: Hi. Thank you for having me!
Brad: All right, Stephanie. You know how this works. We’re jumping right into it today. We want to know the last place that you searched near me. What did you search for on Google?
Stephanie: [00:07:00] Probably ice cream, actually.
Michael: Oh yes.
Stephanie: We’re a big ice cream family and so always, always looking for ice cream.
Michael: We can have an entire conversation on the best ice cream in Dallas, but I digress, yes.
Brad: That would be a really good podcast.
Michael: You should try, Brad.
Brad: I love ice cream; I just don’t have to Google it.
Michael: Yeah. Well, and you don’t really appreciate it as a super food. Well let’s get into some marketing-related questions. So Stephanie, well I guess first, let’s give some context because you know I love context. You’ve been with ByrdAdatto since the early days. Talk a little bit about your journey at ByrdAdatto and your current role.
Stephanie: Absolutely. So I have been with the firm, as you mentioned, about five and a half years now, and I started off as a legal secretary, so I was really focused on the administrative side. And it was in that role that I was first introduced to marketing. And then a year later, I was in a client services coordinator role where I was really working [00:08:00] with people that were interested in working with the firm. So, helping them answer questions, and it was also at this time that the firm was really considering new marketing opportunities. And so, I was fortunate enough to be able to help with some of those. And then two years later, I was promoted into my current role of brand marketing manager, where I am able to fully focus on all things marketing. And you guys know we have a lot of fun with it. We have a lot of clients that are in these really fast moving industries that love utilizing every marketing platform out there, and we do a really great job of keeping up with them and really meeting them where they are.
Michael: Yeah. And I’ll say audience, that part of the evolution into this role is that you’ve seen kind of different sides of marketing because you helped a few times with website projects and by helped, led.
Brad: [00:09:00] She was voluntold.
Michael: Yes. And so, you got to learn through that process. And then even on the sales kind of lead generation side, you helped implement our tool, our CRM tool, and so I’m curious how that all has kind of influenced and helped you prepare for your current role.
Stephanie: Yeah, I mean, it gave me the opportunity to really understand what it is that people that are reaching out to us, interested in working with us are coming to us for. And so I think coming from that sales intake background really set me up for success for marketing. I have this knowledge and I utilize it on a daily basis when I’m thinking about marketing and strategy.
Brad: I love that. Well, Stephanie, as our brand marketing manager, you’re well aware that this season we are focused on starting a business. And from a marketing perspective, we’d love for you to share some of your thoughts. So [00:10:00] what’s one big issue you think most people should be understanding about marketing when they’re starting a business?
Stephanie: Absolutely. I think a big issue that people really need to be aware of is the importance of understanding your target audience. Marketing is not just about promoting your product or your service, but it’s also connecting with the right people in the right way. And so when you really know your target audience, you can really cater your strategy around them. And so, who are your target audience? These are going to be the groups of people and individuals that you want to reach and that are interested in your business. And so there’s a lot of ways that you can go about this, but I mean, you want to research the market, figure out who are the people that are going to be interested in what you do and what you offer. And then from that, you want to start getting very granular. You want to understand everything from their demographics, where they’re located, what they value, [00:11:00] what their interests are, and what their pain points are. And then, solve for those pain points through your business and what you’re offering.
Brad: So what you’re saying is, for a business that wants to sell ice cream to Michael Byrd, they just have to be on Google.
Stephanie: Yes.
Brad: Okay. That makes sense to me.
Stephanie: Byrd ice cream, maybe.
Michael: And we can also extend it the other way too, and think like ByrdAdatto is a niche, we’re a boutique firm business in health care. So if a founding partner suggested that we change the name of the firm to law firm near me, would that meet that target market that you were just mentioning?
Stephanie: You know, we are a national law firm, and so I don’t know how successful that would be. It would probably work in short term, but I think bigger picture, we’d probably want to stick to our current brand.
Brad: But they might be able to find us in Wisconsin.
Michael: Yeah and they might be calling us for ice cream law or something else. [00:12:00]
Stephanie: We’ll figure that out when we get there.
Michael: Okay. That’s awesome.
Brad: Yeah, that’s really good.
Michael: Let’s kind of continue the journey about starting a business and things that people should be thinking about. I’d love just for your perspective on when they should start securing domain names and social media accounts. And for people that might be like Brad, like what is a domain name and social media account?
Brad: Is that a type of ice cream?
Michael: It is not.
Brad: Okay.
Stephanie: Absolutely. So your domain name is going to be that address that people use when they’re searching for your business online. And so, this is a really valuable asset because it’s a first step to establishing your online presence, maintaining it, and it really helps with your branding. And so ideally, you want to secure this early on. So once you determine what your business name is or you’re close to finalizing that business name, go ahead and search, figure out if that domain name is available. [00:13:00] And you can utilize services like GoDaddy, Google domain name search, and if it is available, go ahead and secure it. Even if you’re not ready to build your website or launch it, having it is going to make sure that again, you have it and you’re protecting your brand around it. And then when it comes to social media accounts, very similar. You know, as soon as you figure out what that name is, go ahead, get on all the different platforms. It’s free, search for that name, if it’s available, go ahead and create those accounts so that when you are ready to utilize them, they’re there. And again, you’re protecting your brand because the risks that you run into is someone else might take it in between the time that you’re setting up your business and whenever you’re ready to search, and so you just want to secure that. And then something really important for social is consistency. You want your name to be the same across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, [00:14:00] whatever you’re using. And so for us, you’ll see, you know, ByrdAdatto is going to be ours.
Brad: What are your thoughts when someone says, well, what if we have our domain names here, but we go start buying up all these other similar domain names and just have it pushed towards us, you know, how often is that a conversation you think about?
Stephanie: Yeah. it really depends. You know, some people are in these industries where those names might get snatched up, and so the more unique your name is, the less you run into that risk. But I am also aware that it could be a risk for people. And so if you just want to protect that, want to make sure that yes, we have byrdadatto.com, but we don’t want someone to take byrdadatto.net or other options, then if it’s in the best interest of your company, then absolutely.
Michael: Yeah. Great question, Brad. We [00:15:00] do have clients that it’s almost like they’re kind of putting up a hedge of protection around their business by getting all the different names out there, whether they end up using them or not.
Brad: And especially the aesthetic market, we see that often the case. That’s the thing that’s fascinating, the aesthetic market, because they’ll have something similar. And I’ve had that question come up from clients, even though it’s not on their website, they get names all surrounding that. And especially in the aesthetic market too, when they do say, you know, it’s funny but the aesthetic shop near me, I’d be very curious to see how many places start getting domain names like that on top of their actual website.
Stephanie: And that’s a good point, because then the other thing that comes up is, well, what if I didn’t do it early in the process? Or what if, well, I finalized my name and then I realized that another business has that [00:16:00] domain or that social media account, and so what can I do then? And so then I recommend looking at variations. So ByrdAdatto is taken and they’re a floral shop. Okay, well, ByrdAdatto Law that’s available, let’s go ahead and use that. And so, there are options if the name that you’re looking for is already taken.
Michael: Got it. Okay. For the audience, this can be a kind of a quick hit, but kind of give a marketing perspective for a business on kind of the advantages or disadvantages or pros and cons of the different social media channels. So, what does LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram? No, Brad, we’re not going to do MySpace. Yeah, I know you want to know, but just – and TikTok, you don’t have to cover all of them, but I’d love to just to hear your kind of perspective on that.
Brad: And then are you focusing it on from the business perspective or interpersonal?
Michael: Business.
Stephanie: [00:17:00] Yeah, so for the aesthetic space, you know, Instagram is a no-brainer. That’s where a lot of people are; that’s where we see a lot of success. And so, then the other platforms really vary, again, just on what your business goals are, what those demographics are. You’ll find that on Facebook, it is tailored to an older audience, whereas Instagram really works for millennials, people in their thirties, forties, they really consume that. And so I would just look at, again, figuring out what your target audience are, what they’re doing, and then with X, you know, and even Threads now, so those are very conversational, very quick hits. Also figure out what kind of content you’re looking to post. Are you looking to have videos? And then will Instagram reels be what you choose? Or maybe you’re getting a TikTok. If you want to build authority by sharing your thoughts, X or Threads could be a great option for that.
Brad: [00:18:00] Interesting. Well, so we focused on website, we focused on social media, let’s start talking about different type of marketing tactics. So obviously there’s digital, there’s print, there’s media, and as Michael knows, like the bane of whatever.
Michael: You can’t even say it, can you?
Brad: Direct mail? Oh, it hurts saying it, but do you have a preference for if you’re talking about a startup or any, I guess, really organization, but we’re focusing on startups today. What would be the things for them to consider?
Stephanie: Yeah, absolutely. So just going through them very quickly, digital marketing is using online resources and channels available. So that’s going to be your search engine optimization, SEO, that we were talking about. Using social media accounts email, email newsletters, developing articles, videos and content for your website. And then you have print, which is what it sounds like. It’s using print materials to market yourself. [00:19:00] So that can be an ad on a newspaper or a magazine, or maybe you have flyers, brochures, even business cards really fall under that. And then you have media, which is more traditional; it’s your radio, it’s your tv, it’s your billboards. and so out of all of these, and going back to direct mail, it’s what it sounds like, or mail, our favorite, you’re actually mailing something to an individual’s mailbox. So, flyers, again, kind of fall under that. Anything promotional that you guys typically see in your mail and might throw away falls under that.
But then for startups, I mean, digital marketing is really the place to be. It’s the most low, cost effective, and there’s so many resources available. It’s free to create a social media account for your business. if you have an email, go ahead and you have an email list; that’s also very low cost. And it also gives you the [00:20:00] opportunity to really target the specific groups of people that you want to. All of these digital platforms available are so robust and you can get very specific as to what you want to put out there and then who you want to target.
Brad: Yeah. And follow up on that. I know you probably hear this a lot, so if I’m really using digital marketing, I’m using my social media, should I pay to increase it being seen? Like, how should someone think about that piece?
Stephanie: Absolutely. Paying is always an option. You know, you can promote your post, you can boost your posts. And then I would always consider, you know, what are the things that you’re already trying. With social media specifically, you have hashtags that you can use, and that can really go a long way. If your business is local, you can tag your location, and that’s another way to engage with people. And then going on a free journey, you can also connect with [00:21:00] other people in the industry. You can find them, you can like their posts, get that recognition out there. And then if you think you’re ready or you’re in a spot where, you’re like okay, I’m ready to ramp it up, yeah, absolutely, look at paid options. LinkedIn, Facebook, they all have them. And then like I tell you guys all the time with marketing, track and then just keep tracking and seeing what’s working and what’s not, and adapting accordingly.
Michael: Brad wanted me to ask you your thoughts on advertising in the phone book.
Brad: Wait, I mean, I think it’s awesome, right? Because every time the new phone book comes in, everyone immediately opens it up and goes through it immediately, right?
Stephanie: I haven’t seen a phone book in years.
Brad: Cynthia, do you know what a phone book is? Okay, so Cynthia knows, she’s a recent grad in the room, so at least she knows. Thank you for making me not feel too old.
Michael: Okay. Let’s continue that last little kind of train of thought. [00:22:00] I want to focus in on SEO. We started the conversation today on that. Talk a little bit about kind of where that fits into the digital strategy.
Stephanie: Yeah, absolutely. So, SEO is essentially the process of making your website easily found by search engines. So, the way I like to think about it is, the internet is this huge library with just billions of books and resources available. And so when you go to this big library, you’re going to lean on the librarian and to help you find what you’re looking for, and that’s where all these search platforms come in, your Google, Yahoo, whatever it is that you’re using. And so when you optimize your SEO, you’re making it easier for that librarian to find the book for the person that needs it. And so, there’s a lot of strategies around that. It’s making sure that your website is, I mean, can get very technical, but making sure that your website is utilizing [00:23:00] words and terminology that your target audience are looking for. So for us, business, law, health care law, we help in the aesthetic space. Any industries that we’re serving, we want to make sure that our website has those keywords up. And then also its content; it’s creating content that your audience wants to read, consume, and then using those keywords again, because the more you use them, the more, again, this big library you’re going to be found whenever that time is right. And it can get very technical very fast. But I think at a basic level, making sure that you’re utilizing keywords, creating content, blogs and videos, whatever it is that you’re going to do. And again, just keeping the audience in mind, utilizing the language that they use when they’re trying to connect with you or someone who provides the services or offers the product that you offer. [00:24:00]
Michael: Is it a balancing act trying to have an effective SEO strategy and trying to design a website to look good?
Stephanie: Yeah, that’s a great point. So you want your website to be aesthetically pleasing because it’s easier to navigate, it’s a better user experience, and so they’re going to come back. And when your website is easy to navigate, you can find information quickly who they are, what they do, who are the people there. And then again, you can build authority through your blogs. And then they can say, “Okay, here’s ByrdAdatto, this is what they do. Oh, this is an article they wrote. It really resonates with me. Okay, now they’re the people to go to when I’m ready to just find solutions.”
Brad: And you used the word earlier, keywords, will you let the audience know what keywords mean when you’re talking about the SEO world?
Stephanie: [00:25:00] Yeah. So a keyword is going to be a term or a phrase that people use when they’re searching for a service. So again, just going back to ByrdAdatto, maybe they’re looking for a business attorney or a health care attorney or someone who can draft an employment agreement. And so, they’re using that language, and so those are the keywords that we’ll want to have on our website.
Brad: Makes sense. All right, we’re almost out of time. We have one more question for you, I think you kind of been building up to it. Talk about some brand strategies or other things a startup business should think about from a marketing perspective.
Stephanie: Absolutely. And so your brand is going to be the way that your company and business is perceived by others. It’s that look and feel, but it’s also the emotion and the way that they feel towards your brand. And so what you want to do is make sure, first of all, that your brand, your logo, your name, really speaks to your business and really represents [00:26:00] your values, what it is that you’re doing. And ways that you can do this is, again, make it unique to you. It’s going to stand out. You have competitors, so make sure that your brand, again, is unique while it’s true to what it is that you do. That’s very important. And you also want to identify your brand’s identity. So you want to know what is the purpose of your business, what are your values? What is the personality of your brand? And I know that’s an exercise that as a firm we do on an annual basis. And so even though at the beginning this might be your brand’s identity, it’s okay if it changes and just adapt to that based on what you’re seeing, based on what’s going on in the industry, based on the results of whatever marketing that you’re doing.
Michael: Well, that’s amazing. And audience members, that have complimented us on our digital strategy for ByrdAdatto. [00:27:00] Well, you just got to hear from the person that’s created it. We get so much positive feedback, so thank you very much. We are going to go to commercial and on the other side, Brad and I will do a little legal wrap up. Thank you.
Stephanie: Thank you.
Commercial Break: Many business owners use legal counsel as a last resort, rather than as a proactive tool that can further their success. Why? For most, it’s the fear of unknown legal costs. ByrdAdatto’s Access+ program makes it possible for you to get the ongoing legal assistance you need for one predictable monthly fee, that gives you unlimited phone and email access to the legal team so you can receive feedback on legal concerns as they arise. Access+, a smarter, simpler way to access legal services. Find out more, visit byrdadatto.com today.
Brad: Welcome back to Legal 123s with ByrdAdatto. I am your host, Brad Adatto, I’m still here with my co-host, Michael Byrd. Now Michael, as you know, this season’s theme is: Starting a Business. [00:28:00] And you know, we had a rockstar, of course, she works with us, Stephanie, come join us and really drop massive knowledge on understanding all the aspects of a great marketing campaign just across the board, including from the very beginning of time when you start your business. One of the things I thought was fascinating is individuals out there who, when they start their entity, they might put it in Michael Byrd, you know, in your name, but then you start acquiring names that aren’t your name. In fact, they’re not even close to your name, they’re actually your competitors. Why don’t you kind of dive deeper into that as to what’s right, what’s wrong and how that works in the industry.
Michael: Yeah. So audience, what we’re talking about here is purchasing AdWords or keywords to help your SEO strategy. And so, there’s been a lot of controversy over the years about, you know, can you buy the keyword of your competitor to then drive the business to you. And surprisingly, [00:29:00] thought it’s kind of frowned upon, there’s very few laws that prohibit it, except I would caution for anyone that’s providing medical services or that are governed by a licensing body. Because most professional boards, including most medical boards, have this catchall, unprofessional conduct clause. And so, if you had a physician buying the keywords of another physician to mislead the patients; that’s certainly something that is a heightened risk. And so, as it relates particularly to the keywords, you definitely want to watch out for that.
Brad: Yeah. And thing about this, audience, not only is it can be considered unprofessional because of the medical advertising rules, it could be even considered false deceptive or a misleading. So again, be real conscious of when you have a strong marketing group out there who’s trying to get you to purchase all your competitors’ names and push it to your website, that that may end up blowing up in your face in the long run. [00:30:00] But Michael, we are basically almost out to time. Any final thoughts for the day?
Michael: Yeah, I’m not coming around on law firm near me, Brad, I’m sorry, man. You got a compliment during the deal, but that was not one of them.
Brad: Fair enough. Well, Michael, next Wednesday, it will just be you and me, we don’t even have a guest, but we’re going to continue on this journey to better understand the building season. And we’re going to focus on something that you need from marketing perspective, and more importantly, how to develop your business’s intellectual property.
Michael: 13-year-old boys coming to you next week.
Brad: Thanks again for joining us today. And remember, if you like this episode, please subscribe, make sure to give us a five star rating and share with your friends.
Michael: You can also sign up for the ByrdAdatto Newsletter by going to our website at byrdadatto.com.
Outro: ByrdAdatto is providing this podcast as a public service. This podcast is for educational purposes only. This podcast does not constitute legal advice, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship. Reference to any specific [00:31:00] product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by ByrdAdatto. The views expressed by guests are their own, and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Please consult with an attorney on your legal issues.
