Harnessing Creativity & Strategy for Brand Success w/ Nanette Asbury

Unlock the secrets of successful branding and marketing with our special guest, Nanette Asbury, a master of design, marketing, and event management with over 15 years of industry experience. Learn how Nanette transformed her passion for creating funky jewelry into a thriving career in brand development. She shares her unique journey from the arts to the boardroom, offering expert advice on balancing creativity with business strategy. Discover how compelling copywriting and storytelling can elevate your brand, with real-world examples from giants like Apple and Starbucks.

In our conversation, Nanette reveals the importance of understanding your brand and audience to craft deeply resonating messages. We discuss essential strategies, from including a call to action in every communication to driving traffic to a controlled website. Nanette shares invaluable tips on content marketing, SEO optimization, and the benefits of occasionally boosting posts to broaden your reach. Whether you're focusing locally or aiming for a national audience, this episode is packed with actionable insights to help elevate your brand and engage your audience effectively. Don't miss out on these practical tips to transform your marketing game!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nanetteasbury/
https://www.nanettecreative.com/

A Mosaic is a bunch of pieces, put together, to make up the whole in a beautiful way. Here at Mosaic Business Consulting we discuss the various pieces of a business throughout the course of its life, and throughout all industries, and how these pieces, when put together, can help develop a better, more efficient, and effective running of YOUR business.
Find our more or register for a course today: Mosaic Business Consulting

Be sure to visit BizRadio.US to discover hundreds more engaging conversations, local events and more.

Transcript

Laura: 0:42

Good morning. I'm your host, laura Wagenknecht, owner of Mosaic Business Consulting, and you're listening to the Mosaic Life with Laura W. A mosaic is a bunch of pieces that, when put together, make up this beautiful picture in a really beautiful way. When put together, make up this beautiful picture in a really beautiful way, and this show plans to discuss the various pieces of a business throughout different industries, and how these pieces, when put together, can help develop a better, more efficient and effective running of your business. To reach me, contact bizradious.

Laura: 1:13

Today my guest is Nanette Asbury, and Nanette is a dynamic and results-driven design, marketing and event management professional with over 15 years of experience in brand development, marketing strategy, content creation and copywriting. Boy oh boy. This is fantastic. Recognized for excellence in marketing and community impact, nanette is committed I mean really committed to empowering small businesses and supporting the trade show industry. As the founder of Nanette Creative, nanette coaches small businesses on identifying target audiences, branding, marketing and growth strategies. With specialized expertise in wholesale, she develops and executes branding and marketing strategies that drive business growth, implementing cohesive messaging across social media campaigns, websites and email marketing. And let me tell you, she just does all this. She does the social media, she does the website. She does the emails it's fantastic and she does craft these compelling copy for newsletters, promotional materials and other communication channels, while also managing website updates, seo optimization because we all need that and Google my Business to enhance online presence and visibility. So welcome to the show, nanette, it's great to have you here.

Nanette : 2:39

Well, thank you, I'm happy to be here. Thanks for having me, and what a nice introduction, thank you.

Laura: 2:46

Well, and I'm kind of wondering, you know, how does somebody decide to go into marketing of all things?

Nanette : 2:53

You know, it seems like an interesting, Um career plan um, I started off first as a maker and I did that for about 22 years. I also had a gallery and that was really important. Part of my business was to promote myself, find different ways to get retailers attention for my products. Um, I was so interested in it that I decided to go to school and get better at it. Awesome, that was my first time back, and when I did that I got another job that was on the trade show industry side, in event management. That's kind of where I really stepped it up. I really learned to work with other businesses based on people I already knew, and then, on top of that, many more that I've met, I traveled all over the country looking for artists to be in our show, and a lot of them were so new in business that they needed a lot of help.

Laura: 3:53

And when you say that you were a maker a maker of what?

Nanette : 3:59

I did a line of jewelry and pewter and gift. It was jewelry and gifts and it was really funky and cool. Yeah, it's a good for a long time.

Laura: 4:07

Well, no, I think that's really cool. So when you say that it conjures up a different feel, I think, and I think people who are creative different feel. I think, and I think people who are creative really struggle then with launching their business, because it is the business side of things that makes it more challenging sometimes. So how do you, how were you able to first go that direction? And then, secondly, how? You know, how how can you help others do that same thing? Manage the business side. You know. How are you, how can you help others do that same thing? Manage the business side. You know, in addition to the creative part, it is definitely quite a balance.

Nanette : 4:44

I guess I have a little bit of a red, a right brain and a left brain, yeah, and not every artist has it. So what I felt the need to do was try and help bring that out of people, or at least help them by doing it for them or showing them how to do it. It started like, while I was working for the trade shows, there was also a website, so I would help to enhance their biographies talking about themselves. A lot of artists have a very hard time doing that, so I just sort of realized I had a flair for copywriting and I feel like I learned as I went with that I'd never set out to be a copywriter, but I think I've gotten pretty good at it.

Laura: 5:31

Yeah, yeah. And when you talk about copywriting, I think people have a confusion about what that means. You know, to me it feels like it's just writing new ways of saying things.

Nanette : 5:48

Yeah, there's just a way that you can enhance what you're trying to say to your target audience that resonates with them and makes them want to learn more and be part of your story. And I think that's really the trick is to tell your story so that you're not just trying to sell them. You're trying to convey your brand, and you'll notice some of the bigger companies doing that, but I think it's so subtle we don't even realize it. It's just the more you know about a brand and their like, what their values are like, when that like hits home with you, that's, you know a brand that you want to follow.

Laura: 6:29

Do you have an example for us that might be helpful for us to understand?

Nanette : 6:36

I don't know why I always go back to it. Like either, I'd say, apple or Starbucks an image where people just they just want their products. I don't even like their coffee and I love their logo and I love their like products and it's just the weirdest thing. I will go and consume their coffee, but it's definitely not my favorite, and it's because they cater to an audience that is known for, like, having a little style or, you know, maybe they're the type that, like, are successful enough that they need to like have a meeting at a Starbucks or telecommute from a Starbucks. Do they call that anymore? Yeah, yeah, telecommute, or you know? Anyway, virtual working, right, and the same thing with Apple. I mean, apple has a nice product and I'm a sucker for it myself, but it's further than the product, it's the image and that's really what you want to portray in your small business. It's more than just your product, it's, it's the whole picture and telling that whole story visually and with your copywriting.

Laura: 7:47

Yeah, yeah, I can get that, and in today's market, there's so much noise out there. There's just so many different websites and and people coming at you with advertising and with messaging and in social media and in, uh, on their websites and stuff. What would you recommend for newer businesses, let's say, or even people that are in business but still need to build up traction? What would you recommend for them to increase their audience?

Nanette : 8:22

I would say that they really need to examine who their target audience is. What are their interests? If you don't know who your target audience is, start to really take a look at who you do have so far as customers. What do they do? What do they do for a living? Where do they hang out? What kind of activities do they like? Are they more likely to use Facebook, instagram, tiktok? What age group are they? That helps a lot.

Nanette : 8:52

And then after that, it's just choosing the channels that you're going to market to and being really consistent about it and share about yourself, because that helps them to engage with you. It's an emotional trigger that they want to know more about you and you know some things can be about your product, of course, but like, also like your process, or like behind the scenes. If you're cooking, like how are you making it? And you don't have to give away the whole story where you're giving away your secrets, but let them just see a little bit of what you're doing. Even just a snippet of your, of your, of your way of doing things, helps get the audience engaged with you emotionally. And also, if you have a good sense of humor, definitely show that in your ways of communicating with your audience and I would say, do that in both social media and with your emails.

Laura: 9:50

And when you say like you have a sense of humor, is that somebody who laughs or somebody who tells good jokes?

Nanette : 9:58

I wouldn't say telling jokes, but just, yeah, I guess just a sense of humor. The way they do things, yeah, yeah, it's kind of hard to describe, but you'll see some things, whether it's they're sharing something that is like a graphic post, like a you know, or of them doing something funny. I'm working with one customer who loves to make, you know, crazy faces and do crazy things, and you know she's got this one picture that I'll be posting. Looks like the hedges are like taking over and trying to get her. You know she's making a face and she does that stuff all the time. Or pictures with a calendar that have snarky sayings and things like that.

Laura: 10:42

I see. So what about like self deprecating humor, thinking, you know, saying don't do what I do, just do what I say, kind of a thing, because because here I made all these different mistakes, something like that? Would that also be sort of?

Nanette : 11:00

I guess. So I mean, it really depends on what it is, but, like, being authentic is really important. So, like you could say like, hey, this is what happens when things go wrong. This is a you know. This is a. You know I forgot the food on the. You know on the wrong. This is a you know. This is a. You know I forgot the food on the, you know on the stove too long and you know I was making a new sauce and it's wrecked. Or you know the kiln didn't work right and everything broke inside. Yeah, those kind of things are interesting to people. It's authenticity and people want to know that you are real.

Laura: 11:32

Yeah, yeah, I think that's very true that this. It seems like people are always surprised if they hear oh no, no, I did. I definitely made that boo-boo, you know, but they're also. It suddenly makes this connection easier, because then they realize if I'm giving them ideas, it's because I did the boo-boo Right.

Nanette : 11:56

Yeah, that's part of the learning curve. Even in like one of my first videos and I used my portfolio because I felt like the overall video looked really good the whole editing part of it, but the sound quality there was a leaf blower in the background it was worse and I spent so much time editing it.

Nanette : 12:16

So, like to be real, I wanted to share it because I think the overall production of it turned out really cool, but the sound's awful, so I'll fess right up to that. Yeah, I know the sound sounds terrible, but overall this is a good video and I learned from it. Like now I know Find out what's going on in the area. If you're going to interview someone outside, use the place.

Laura: 12:37

Yeah, yeah, yeah, so true, so true, boy, we've all been there, I think. But I am kind of wondering you know you do a lot of different things which you know not every person does in their marketing business. Some people focus on website design, some on email marketing, some on social media or social media advertising. Of those different ones, which one do you think is the most important for businesses?

Nanette : 13:09

I think that, like if if someone was to pick only one thing, I would say their branding is really important, cause that carries through everywhere. And so you can be taught to do better social media or work with someone like me and I could do like strategy for you. I don't have to actually manage your social media. I can just kind of mentor you and do some strategy, audit your pages and see where you're at so far, that kind of thing so you could always get help like that. And there's so much on YouTube and just you could Google and find so many blogs that will help you.

Nanette : 13:45

But in the end, your branding is the most important thing. That's what speaks to people. That's the first impression that they get, and your brand is how you interact with people. Your logo is very obvious, your brand, but also just how you interact, like how are you talking to your target audience on social media in person? What's your customer service like? Do you stand behind your product? Those are all things people want to know. Do you, you know? Are your pieces sustainably made? Are you taking certain measures with the energy you consume? Are things like eco-friendly? Those are all part of your brands and like how you're telling your story to your customers, and those are all things that get the buy-in from the customer that they want to be part of what you're doing and have one of your products.

Laura: 14:36

Yeah, yeah. And so you're saying it's all important. The question is if you know you, or the issue is if you know yourself and your brand really well and how it can reach your audience and resonate with them. That's the most important, and then that permeates through all of your messaging and your website, etc yeah, yeah.

Nanette : 14:58

And then also, when you're talking in on your social media and when you're sending out emails, have a call to action. Oh yeah, ask for the scale like it's not you're not being a bad sales, like you're not being over salesy. You don't have to be really direct about it, but always give them how to buy or how to learn more. If you're on social media just like, make sure that your website is on every post near the bottom. Just always have some form of way that, if they are looking at this ad, that you've got your post or your email for the very first time.

Laura: 15:37

Don't let it be a mystery of how they, what steps they should take next yeah, yeah, and you know, as I went through this process, I found people telling me you know, get your website up, make sure it's in good condition and and then start driving traffic to the website. But I've also heard lately some people don't have websites and find themselves doing fine with just a Facebook or Instagram account and things like that. What would you recommend for folks there?

Nanette : 16:10

I would say that you are depending on a platform that's not yours and you want to drive business to you. You control who your customers are by getting them on your mailing list or having them get in the habit of going to your website line like on, like Facebook or, you know, instagram or wherever you were. They're always going to go there instead of like to you, and it's hard to retrain people once you get them in the habit. So it's always good to have them come to you, direct the traffic to your website. Even if it's a simple website, that's the most important thing, because those customers, when you get that list, that's like how you grow and you keep taking care of those customers, staying in touch with them. You just never know what would happen with a platform. Their algorithms change and then you might not be hitting those customers anymore. They're not seeing you. So it's really important to have a website, even if it's a simple one.

Laura: 17:14

And speaking of algorithms, things change so dramatically on social media all the time and I'm also, you know, and Google and all these things what would you recommend to people who, you know, just get lost in all that terminology and all the all the different facets to SEO or other things you know?

Nanette : 17:40

um, that's another reason why your post should have a good amount of text in it, not a ton, but don't just put a picture up with two words, because that does come up in SEO.

Nanette : 17:51

So, if you go searching, your social media posts come up as well as people's websites, and so you do want to use a lot of good like descriptive text. Um, and by posting consistently, eventually you'll hit that person, hit that search where people are picking up on you in one way or another. So it might not be every post that's doing it, but they're searching something that does bring up one of your posts and that's why consistent content marketing is really important for you. Yeah, and as far as like, and even on the website, having descriptive text on your website, not just pictures, that's pretty important Because, again, that's how you, that's like free, free ways of being searched and having good content as well. So, like if you have a blog, just putting a few articles on there, even if you don't have time, like just once in a while putting an article on there, all those things make your website have more authority because there's more um information on it than like they.

Nanette : 18:58

The google will compare you to other websites and so you have more information on it that's relevant to those searches you're going to come up earlier that's relevant to those searches you're going to come up earlier.

Laura: 19:11

Yeah, yeah, and you know I was just thinking about you, were talking about marketing strategy and things like that, and you know there are so many things that a person needs to learn about marketing. It's like this huge umbrella of different things, of the different facets to marketing. What do you think is important for an entrepreneur to consider in general, other than the target audience that you've already mentioned? You know, what else do they need to consider their target audience, their brand? What's another facet for them?

Nanette : 19:56

Well, I guess the location too. Are they marketing to people in their area, like within a few counties around them? It just depends on what their product is. Are they hoping to market to the whole country? That changes a lot about how they're marketing and, unfortunately, that changes a lot about how they're marketing. And unfortunately, organic ads don't always reach everybody. So you should do consistent content, but eventually it doesn't hurt to boost a few of your posts if they're performing well. So you really need to go into your dashboard and see which one's getting the most interest, and that might be an ad that you want to boost and that will help you hit the larger audience. And you can choose how much you're spending. So you don't have to spend a lot and you could just do that a little at a time as you feel like you can justify it.

Laura: 20:39

Yeah, and now I've also heard from some people that paying for ads is the only way to go to get exposure, to reach your audience, to get more noticed. And then I've heard from other people that's not the case. What are your thoughts about that? And then we're almost out of time, so I just want to-.

Nanette : 20:56

Yeah, I would say boosting ads is important, but if you can't afford it, then of course don't do it. Just keep making some good content and getting it out as much as you can and liking other people's posts, commenting on it, like if you find things that are the same interest as your target, like if you're looking at a competitor, that, or even just something similar to what you are, whatever the product is that you are selling, commenting on posts where your audience is gets your name out there a little at a time. So do that and, um, I do not recommend people like hiring companies that are like just pretty fly by night to uh spend thousands of dollars a month without them actually knowing anything about you. If anyone's going to do your marketing, they need to understand your company. Um, otherwise you're not going to get what you need out of it. They really need to get to know you, get to know your customer, really do an analysis before they start talking about you.

Laura: 22:00

Great, great. Well, how can people reach out to you? How can they reach you if they need to learn more about you?

Nanette : 22:07

They could go to Nanette Creative. It's N-A-N-E-T-T-E creativecom. That's my website. I also have an Instagram and, oh, I'm really active on LinkedIn. So, nanette Asbury, on LinkedIn. You'll find me there. Fantastic, yeah.

Laura: 22:25

That's great. Well, I want to thank you so much, nanette. We could keep talking and talking about stuff, so thank you very much for your time and your clear expertise about marketing. Thank you very much. Yeah, this was fun, thank you, and thank you for listening to the Mosaic Life with Laura W. You can listen to this episode again and get this great content, or listen to other great hosts and their shows by going to bizradious and click on shows. Thanks so much for listening and have a great rest of your day.