Chantelle Bell has been a naturopath for 9 years, has been running her own clinic for 7, and has recently launched a new business for her line of herbal teas.

In this episode of Social Media for Small Business, Suzi Dafnis and Cat Matson talk with Chantelle about her social media strategy, which platforms work best for different aspects of her businesses, and how she chooses which platforms to prioritise.

In this week’s year-end episode of the Social Media for Small Business podcast, Suzi Dafnis and Cat Matson interview Mireille Ryan, the CEO of the Social Media Marketing Institute and founder of the Social Media Marketing Awards, about three social media trends she’s going to watch for in 2017: live video, influence in marketing, and understanding and quantifying social media as a return on investment.

Content is more powerful than advertising, and having a solid, cohesive brand story across all your content can mean the difference between a customer being compelled to read on or just clicking away.

In this episode of the Social Media for Small Business podcast, Suzi Dafnis and Cat Matson interview Amey Lee of Heart Content -- a content consultancy firm that helps brands find the story they want to tell, and share it with the right customers -- about how small business owners can create a better brand story.


Jeff Walker is author of “Launch: An Internet Millionaire’s Secret Formula to Sell Almost Anything Online, Build a Business You Love, and Live the Life of your Dreams.”

In this episode of the Social Media For Small Business podcast, Suzi Dafnis talks with Cat Matson about attending Jeff’s LaunchCon – a three-day even with over 800 attendees, where current and potential small business owners can learn and share their experience about launching a product or service.


Digital is more than just a marketing channel. In this week’s episode of the Social Media for Small Business podcast, Suzi Dafnis and Car Matson talk with Holly Tattersall – the founder and CEO of Women In Digital and Digital Talent Co, two digital recruitment agencies that help match clients and companies that understand the value of digital – about unlocking the full potential of the digital medium.


Tim Reid is the host of Australia and New Zealand’s #1 business and marketing podcast, the Small Business Big Marketing show. In this episode of Social Media for Small Business, Suzi Dafnis and Cat Matson invite Tim back on the show to talk about podcasting, social media, and marketing.

Storyboard is a new social media app that matches your photos and videos to the places you visit -- creating a more engaging story than you could get from Facebook, Snapchat, or blogging alone. In this episode of the Social Media for Small Business, Suzi Dafnis and Cat Matson interview Darren Tonkin, the creator and director of Storyboard, about how small businesses can use the app to create more quality interactions between customers and their brand.

Listen in to find out more about:

• Why Darren created Storyboard
• How Storyboard communicates who, what, where, when, why, and how
• Getting people from your social media networks to Storyboard
• Why visual storytelling is so important for small businesses

Videos are becoming an increasingly important tool for small businesses. In this episode of Social Media for Small Business, Suzi Dafnis and Cat Matson interview social media strategist and coach Rachel McLean about why small businesses need high-quality, well-targeted videos, and how to get most from your video content. Listen in to find out more about: Where video fits in a social media content cycle, Using selfie sticks, and other technical tricks for recording high quality videos yourself. Pros and cons of professional vs. DIY videos, Learning from your competition, Why a call to action is so important, and how to use one in your videos.

Melinda Samson of Click Winning Content (www.clickwinningcontent.com.au) is our guest. She speaks to Suzi and Cat about why small businesses should consider advertising on YouTube, how YouTube ads work and tips for not paying a cent for your ads, how long a YouTube advertisement should be and what sort of budget you need to get started. Listen to learn how you can use this really targeted and affordable way to reach new clients. Plus tips and updates from the social media world to help you make the most of social media in your business.

Loren Bartley of Impactiv8.com.au joins Cat and Suzi as they talk about the power of Facebook advertising for small business. We look at why small businesses should consider using Facebook advertising in their marketing mix, the three steps to really effective Facebook advertising and why it starts with building an audience, what kind of budget you need to get started (it’s not as much as you think) and ways to measure the effectiveness of your Facebook ads campaigns. Plus tips and updates from the social media world to help you make the most of social media in your business.

You've no doubt heard the buzz about Snapchat. But, before you launch into yet another social media platform, we introduce you to Snapchat, who's using it, what it's good for an how it may work as one of your marketing vehicles. We interview Jo Scard of agency Fifty Acres. Plus what s in the news (LinkedIn is bought by Microsoft) and some great resources for your small business.

Social media is an easy and effective way to build a reputation. In this episode Suzi Dafnis and Cat Matson speak with Mel Kettle of Mel Kettle consulting about how Twitter brought her 95% of her referral business, how she creates meaningful and productive conversations on social media and how to grow the 'know, like, trust' factor using social media. Plus Mel tells us all about the highlights from the Social Media Marketing World conference she attended (the big names AND the big themes).

Nathan Chan, owner of Foundr magazine, has built a following of almost 1million instagram followers using a simple strategy of matching his messaging to his market and posting inspiring quotes that his audience loves and resonates with. In this episode he speaks to Cat and Suzi about the must-dos if you want to use Instagram to grow a following and to cross promote your products and services.

Jack Stone is the co-founder of Bee One Third (named for the fact that one-third of the world’s food is pollenated by bees), a Brisbane-based business that works to educate locals about the role that honeybees play in pollination and how to increase their numbers. To help shift the negative stigma against bees, the company installs rooftops hives, re-homes wild swarms and colonies, produces absolutely delicious raw organic honey, and more.

In this week’s episode of Social Media for Small Business, Cat Matson and Suzi Dafnis interview Jack about how he uses Instagram to foster engagement and excitement in Bee One Third’s audience.

We speak with Jaclyn Carlson of Blog Society about how to use your blog to connect with your community. How long does it take to build sufficient critical mass (or a community big enough) that makes this kind of business model viable? Plus news and views with Cat Matson and Suzi Dafnis

 

The South by South West Interactive Festival hosted President Barack Obama, authors Brene Brown and Gretchen Rubin, the fouders of Under Armour, Wikipedia and the brains behind the super-popular podcast, Serial, Ira Glass. Cat Matson interviews Suzi Dafnis about what she saw, heard and learned at the festival. Plus they discuss post virality according to popular site Buzzfeed.

Queensland Police Media administer an extremely popular Facebook page to provide important public safety and public interest information in a timely and efficient manner. Cat Matson interviews social media manager James Kleimt about how the page works to educate the audience and how the decisions about content are made on a daily basis. Plus news and views on social media.

Ben Bradshaw, CEO of SponsoredLinX is our guest. We talk about the Facebook features small businesses need to know in 2016. There's some great new ones you will want to know about. Plus, the importance of a content plan and a focus on three things - traffic, conversion and retention are key to your social media success.

Georgie Summerhayes of Brandata is our guest. We talk about how Brandata helps you discover, compare and understand your brand's social rank and how authenticity, personality and micromarketing can boost you online presence.Social media marketing is a new and rapidly-changing frontier, and businesses that can quickly interpret and respond to community feedback will be a big step ahead. 

We introduce a system for brands that allows managers, marketing directors, bloggers and influencers to understand the “social hotness” of their brand.

Marc Cowper, Founder at Recomazing is our guest. We talk about how small businesses can use Recomazing to drive word of mouth marketing and how to get started getting recommendations for your business.

Tara Kingi, Director at The Exposure Co is our guest. We talk about Influencer Marketing and how small businesses can make the most of Instragram. Includes great tips and tools for maximising your impact on Instagram.

What is the value of investing the time and resources required in getting to know our personas so well? How can understanding our customer buyer personas allow us to make better choices about our soical media. Anne Mehla of Australian-owned digital agency Zeemo is our guest.

We talk with Belinda Weaver of Copywrite Matters about the secrets to attention-grabbing social media posts and we ask her about video streaming with Periscope. We look at social media copy dos and don'ts and the words to use to get the most shares on social media.

Ryan Bonnici of Hubspot is our guest. We talk about what inbound marketing is and why is it so much more effective than traditional, interuptive marketing? Plus we look at how to talk very specifically to your ideal client in every social media post.

Michelle Falzon of We Are Content speaks to us about we shouldn’t post anything on social media without a clear conversion strategy and why it's important to begin with the end in mind. Plus we look at the importance of really understanding (and speaking to) your ideal client with every communication.

Laurel Papworth, Silkcharm, is a social media veteran, teaching thousands people each year how to harness the power of social media. In this episode she tells us how she connects with over 6million people every month and why engagement is more important than reach (and when).

Twitter still seems to be one of the most awkward social media platform for SMEs to use ... but it's such a rich and valuable platform when used well. Today we talk with Emily Huo, who currently runs the small business markets for Twitter across Asia-Pacific while being based in Singapore.

Phoebe Vertigan, Campaign Manager at Thirst Creative, a full-service marketing, design and digital agency based in Melbourne.  We are talking about how to use hashtags! How do you come up with the right hashtags - the ones that connect you with your perfect audience, what are they good for and common hashtag mistakes.

We talk with Suzy Yates of The Podcast Agency about the the value of powerful podcasts produced in a professional studio using the skills of an experienced radio presenter/producer and an audio engineer. Plus pro-tips that you can use, whether you're just starting or an established professional.Plus tips for make a female voice more authoritative.

David Parncutt of Engage Education Foundation speaks with us about how social media is at the heart of the marketing efforts for a non-profit organisation, how Facebook is actually very much alive and kicking when it comes to young people and how Facebook can be used to generate revenues, even in a non-profit context.

David Earley is a 'traditional news' veteran and currently audience editor at The Guardian Australia. In this episode we talk about how journalism and news is changing, and how those changes are affecting our social media feeds. Listen to hear how small business owners can use social media to build relationships with publications like The Guardian, or journalists, to get the coverage they want.

Daniel Clark is a master of business-to-business marketing and community building via social media. His expertise comes from years of IT and business experience as well as co-founding multiple websites, his most recent project being Townske.com. In this episode we talka bout how to use social media to connect business to business and hwo to build communities online.

Nick Bowditch is the only person in Asia Pacific to have worked at both Facebook and Twitter and the only person in the world to do marketing for both companies. His expertise extends to small businesses as well – not only did he work in small business marketing for both social media platforms but also started and sold three of his own tech startups. In this episode he speaks to us about why being authentic on social media, matters.

Rachel McLean, Director of McLean Social Media is our guest. We talk about the importance of quality content creation in your social media as well as storytelling and how to uncover the great stories behind your products and services.

When Google recently updated its algorithm it decided it will favour mobile-friendly sites in search results. What does this mean for your website? We ask Simon Phillips of Web123. Plus news and social media tips.

If you feel like LinkedIn is the 'sleeping dog' in the social media landscape, then think again. Sue Ellson is out guest and she explains the opportunities that are right there, right now for you and your business on LinkedIn. Plus we talk about why LinkedIn Premium can be a great investment.

Facebook was a fantastic tool for small business marketing. Now, it feels really tough. What is the 'real' state of play for using Facebook as a business in 2015? Loren Bartley of Impactiv8 is our guest. Listen to learn why Facebook is still where it's at in social media for small businesses. Plus the trends out of Social Media Marketing World 2015.

Attended by thousands of tech enthusiasts and early adopters, South by Southwest Interactive is a hothouse of big thinking and practical business technologies. It’s where Twitter was launched and has been a an accelerator for apps, technologies and startups. In this episode Cat Matson and Suzi Dafnis review some of the 2015 highlights. Hear about the big-name speakers, digital mind clones, behaviour changes, Uber, Google X, failing, testing and much more.

Meerkat allows you to stream live video from your phone to all of your Twitter followers. Streams have grown between 20% to 30% each day. And its user base is growing as well. Learn why Meerkat is one for you to watch, how Mashable, Guy Kawasaki and Jimmy Fallon are using it and how to use it in your small business.

Andrew Kolb of Kinfolk Communications is our guest as we talk about organic reach on Facebook plummeting and what to do about it to ensure your posts are seen. We give you tips to boost your results across Facebook (and other social media channels.)

Today you’re listening to this podcast, but should you be starting your very own? Trevor Young of the Reputation Revolution podcast is our guest. We talk about easy ways to produce a podcast and why it's a secret weapon your small business could be using right now to build relationships with new and existing customers.

Emma Lo Russo is the CEO of Digivizer, Australia’s leading people-centric social technology company . We speak to her about connecting conversations, people, data and decision-making and how to make the information we can gather from our social networks mean something useful. More on this episode at http://www.abn.org.au/smsb/digivizer

Andrew Ford of Social Star joins us to speak about how to be a star on LinkedIn. He explains the key success factors of a winning profile and what you can do to use LinkedIn to build referrals and thought leadership. Plus we look at personal branding and why, when done well, it creates more opportunities for you and your business.

If everyone can tweet and communicate directly to their market, what is the role of PR in the small business marketing mix? And more specifically, what is the role of social media when it comes to small business PR?

Should you jump into social media as a new business and use it to help market and grow your business? Adam Franklin, coauthor of Web Marketing that Works is our guest. We ask is there homework to do before you dive into social media. Plus, we ask why Twitter is a tool that will revolutionise your communication and how to mine the gold that is available for you through using Facebook.

Shannon Belew, author of The Art of Social Selling is our guest. Social networks are changing the way consumers make purchasing decisions. Tapping into these online communities has become a necessary part of any integrated sales strategy. We look at finding and engaging customers on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networks.

Janine Warner, author of Social Media Design for Dummies joins us. We look at the keys to creating a professional, effective, and cohesive design that will better communicate your brand's story. Plus we introduce new social network ello and a new book by Ann Handley that'll revolutionlise your writing skills.

Mark Babbitt, author of A World Gone Social - How Companies Must Adapt to Survive explains why social media is like an asteroid that has slammed into the earth and will take out the businesses that are like dinosaurs. (Ouch!) Plus we show you two new new Facebook features that'll make using Facebook for business, easier.

Guy Kawasaki, author of numerous bestselling books joins us to talk about Canva, the powerful free design tool that is democratising design and allowing each of us to create beautiful, compelling images on our social posts, websites and even print materials. If you aren't graphically inclined (many of us aren't) this is definitely a design service you're going to want to use. Plus we speak to Guy about the new social network, ello. Guy tells us why we should be jumping on board, now.

We know that YouTube is the second largest search engine (after Google) and we know that video is an exploding channel. But, how do we get video and YouTube to work in our social media strategy? Jason Miles, author of Pinterest Power, Instagram Power, and Youtube Marketing Power speaks to us about why you should consider using YouTube as part of your marketing strategy.

Ken Burgin of Profitable Hospitality shares how to go deep within your niche and market to a very targeted group through social media. If we can't be all things to all people, how do we approach our ideal client? Ken shares two customer traits that make a big difference to your business.

Nick Bowditch, former head or Small Business at Facebook Australia tells us why he believes that Facebook has really changed everything, it’s one of the only brands that people can’t live without. Nick gives us the inside scoop on how small business should be using Facebook and why being shareworthy is important.

Melinda Samson of Click-Winning Content explains how to make the most out of the opportunities provided by Google+ and why its the one network the studies show small-business owners want to know more about.

When beloved clothing brand, Black Milk, thought they’d post a fun, tongue-in-cheek photo in honour of May the Fourth - International Star Wars Day, there was a (loud and online) backlash from their usually dedicated followers. Cameron Parker of Black Milk speaks about the mistakes he believes they make, the impact on the brand and the systems that they’ve put in place to win back the trust and love of their audience.

There are many business types that social media is 'obviously' perfectly suited for. But what about industries that are less interesting and those that deal with confronting issues the public doesn;t like to talk about? Damon Klotz of Spur Projects is our guest today and talks about how, despite small budgets and limited resources, he's successfully used social media to generate awareness, conversation and action in very tough environments.

Krista Neher, author of Visual Social Marketing speaks about why visual social media has emerged as a powerful marketing tool, what makes effective visual posts and the challenges that visual marketing can overcome. Shownotes can be found at www.abn.org.au/smsb/visualsocial

Dr Anita Heiss is the author of new book, Tiddas and was named in the Top 20 Women Shaking Things Up on Twitter. Anita was a finalist in the 2012 Human Rights Awards and the 2013 Australian of the Year Awards. In this interview she speaks about the subject of identity and the language that we use to describe ourselves. She explores how can we use social media to strengthen the identity we want to develop and which speaks to who we truly are. Shownotes can be found at www.abn.org.au/smsb/identity

Dionne Kasian-Lew is the author of new book, The Social Executive and the guest on this episode of Social Media for Small Business. Listen to hear some of the commonly held myths about social media and the most damaging myth many small businesses are held back by. Show notes can be found at www.abn.org.au/smsb/myths

Brylee Clelland of Traffika speaks to us about how to build the audience personas of the customers you're reaching and trying to reach, and how to use that information to improve your social media results in this episode of Social Media for Small Business. Listen to hear how to start creating profiles of your perfect cusotmers and where to look to find who is already in your network and their specific demographics, Show notes can be found at www.abn.org.au/smsb/persona

Yelp Australia's Brisbane community manager explains how to use Yelp to help people find your business. Learn how your free listing can drive interest and traffic and customer love to your business. Shownotes at http://www.abn.org.au/smsb/yelp

Baked Relief is a movement started by Danielle Crismani after severe flooding devastated parts of Queensland, Australia. Using Twitter and Facebook she enabled home cooks and bakers to feed more than 10,000 people during the flood clean up. #bakedrelief continues to provide disaster aid and leverages social media to make an impact. Shownotes at: http://www.abn.org.au/smsb/baked

Jean-Vida Douglas of Filtered Media speaks to us about the elements of a good content marketing strategy. We look at Content Marketing - that is, the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire customers and why you should focus on people and their interests rather than your product. Plus, why we're loving Instagram, Slideshare and why this is the year to start content marketing strategically.

Our guest today is Trevor Young, author of microDOMINATION: How to leverage social media and content marketing to build a mini-business empire around your personal brand us about thee emergence of a new breed of entrepreneur — one who is creative and connected, and socially savvy. Plus latest social media from Facebook and 22 Social Media Facts and Statistics You Should Know in 2014.

Paul Rand, author of Highly Recommended - Harnessing the Power of World of Mouth and Social Media to Build YourBusiness and Your Brand is our guest. Learn what it takes to be the most recommended business in your niche.

Jess Whittaker, Head of Digital at iSentia explains what we should be listening for on social media and what actions to take on what is being said about out business, our competitors and our industries.

Alexandra Kinloch, creator of Cinch Video speaks about the elements of a good video and how Cinch makes filming, editing and sharing video easy. Plus tips on how to use video as part of your soical media mix.

Sam Shazzam of GoodFunnySmart.com tells us how to keep your Facebook community energised, what analytics metrics matter and how she monetises her facebook page.

James Fitzgerald of Social Media Knowledge outlines when we should combine free and paid social media services- even when on a tight budget, and what to do if you're not getting the results you like.

Steve Hibberd of Tiger Piston explains how to get value - real value - from your Facebook activity. We look at when to pitch, when and what to measure when making offers for customers to buy.

What should your small business be doing on LinkedIn? Selina Power of Blue Wire Media explains how to use LinkedIn to build your business and how your business can benefit from a LinkedIn page.

Shona Mackin of Socialface explains why having a good understanding of the behaviour of your customers is critical to your success with social media.

Facebook continues to be king of social media. Loren Bartley of impactiv8 exlains how to increase the likes on your page and what posts work best for small businesses. Plus we look at the elements of a perfect post.

Problogger Darren Rowse is our guest on this 50th episode of Social Media for Small Business. We discuss the little actions you can take that will make a big difference to your social media results.

Andrew Dowling of Tapestry speaks about niche social networks and the implications for marketers.

The 2013 Yellow Social Media Report from Sensis covers the full spectrum of the social media environment in Australia and reveals new patterns of usage and behaviour, particularly the impact of mobile devices on social media.Christena Singh of Sensis is our guest.

Whether it's a tweet, an article a Q&A on yoru website, small businesses are creating more content than ever. Cas McCullough of Content Marketing Cardiology explains the best types of contents small business should publish to really add value to their clients.

There are many reasons why it's important for small businesses to have a presence on Google Plus. Edmund Pelgen of Traffika explains why Google+ is much much more than a social network.

There has been a new trend of businesses working with bloggers. Are bloggers the new media? Katrina Allen of Social Callout talks about this new trend.

Jen Bishop of popular blog, Interiors Addict, tell us how to get tangible results using photosharing app Instagram. She also explains how she go over 6000 photos posted to her Instagram competition and drove traffic to her website through Instagram.

Karen Lacey, co-author of Pinterest Power, explains how to market your business, sell your product and build your brand on the world's hottest social media network.

Jo Saunders of Wildfire Social Marketing explains how to set up your LInkedIn profile to maximise its effectiveness and to ensure you're found in searches.

Cameron Parker of successful online site explains how they've grown to over 400,000+ Facebook followers, 40 user groups and built a multi-million dollar online business with a zero dollar budget.

Louise of Foxy and Fabulous is a social media mentor for small-business owners. In this episode she suggests New Year Resolutions for small businesses that want to get more out of their social media.

Kirsten Trethowan of Chit Chat Media highlights where to focus to get the best results from your social media in the least amount of time. You can manage YOUR social media in just two hours a week. Plus 2013 social media trends.

Troy Dean of Tonto Digital tells us the first thing you must do before wasting time on social media, the role that engagement should play in your social media and how he manages his social media in one hour a week.

Can you make an entire business out of blogging? Nikki Parkinson of stylingyou.com.au started her blog to support her styling business. Today, the blog has become popular and profitable enough to BE the business. Learn how she got started and her tips for business owners who want to monetise their blog.

Twitter has been said to be great for finding current affairs and real time information. But, can 140 character messages lead to lasting relationships. Guest: Alycia Edgar, Roaly Group.

Social media has it's place however, a lot of time and money can get wasted on social media with no return on investment. Should your business use social media? Four reasons not to use social media. With Cat Matson.

Catriona Pollard of CP Communications explains how to use social media to build your authority and credibility using social media tools and platforms. Plus news and cool social media tools.

Liz Lynch, author of Smart Networking explains how to leverage social media for networking and how to maximise your networking results and minimise effort. Plus news and cool social media tools.

Andrew La Porte of La Porte Creative tells us the top three social media trends and their impact on small business. Plus we look at the difference between trends and fads.

QR codes: What are they good for, and how do you use them to encourage engagement with clients and prospects. Great tips from Aliza Sherman, YourDigitalDiva.com. Plus great new apps and social media tools.

In the social media space we hear a lot about the benefits of social media but can it really impact the bottom line? Kate Vandervoot of Socialmediology explains what can (and should) be measured and how to cut costs using social media even if you’re time and money-poor.

How to take what works in games to achieve business objectives such as engagement, loyalty and productivity at work. Why adding a badge and rewards alone to a program, doesn’t work. Dr Jason Fox, author of Game On - using games to execute ideas & Accelerate innovation.

How to build an engaged social media community on Facebook. Sam Zivot of athletic-wear brand Lorna Jane explains how they went from 0-350,000 fans on Facebook in 18 months and how they keep their fans engaged.

Crowd funding platforms allow those with creative, commercial, charitable, and community projects to use their networks (and the greater internet audience) to raise funds for a range of initiatives. Guest: Bryan Vadas, iPledge

The way we watch television has changed. TV shows are creating ways for us to engage with their content and with each other as we watch. ABC TV's Q&A program is a great example of a show doing it well. Guest: Anna Klauzner, Interactivity Producer, Q&A.

Every time you publish a tweet, a blog post, a link on your Facebook business page you're saying something about your brand. Are you taking the same steps to enhance your brand online as you do offline? Today we look at how to approach brand management across social platforms. Guest: Cheryl Hayman, Hayman Strategy.