2062 – Leveraging the Impact of User-Generated Content with Loud Canvas’ Nick Smith

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1:06With us right now, it is Nick Smith. Nick, you are the president of Loud Canvas. Nick, you're found on the web at loudcanvas.com. Thank you so much for joining us. Josh, thanks so much for having me today. Yeah. Well, give us an overview of what you do at Loud Canvas, who you serve, and the impact you have in the world. Sure. Well, Loud Canvas Media is a little over 20 years old. We've worked with Main Street America brands all the way up to Madison Avenue, Fortune 100 brands that you'd probably recognize if I said their names. And we've got a little over 1 ,000 websites that we support on an ongoing basis, as well as that's distributed across about 400 active clients currently.

1:46And so, Cloud Canvas Media Group is a group of companies that include, you know, different industries, but we all serve the same sort of services, marketing, full service marketing, from discovery and strategy, all the way to implementation data and reporting and analytics. All right. So I would imagine then, you know, at your time with Loud Canvas and, you know, in this industry, you've been seeing some evolution taking place, you know, especially if we're, you know, in the area of marketing, advertising, all of that. What are you seeing trend-wise right now in your world that has maybe picked up a lot of speed or momentum this year?

2:32Yeah, well, we're seeing a lot of brands, whether small or large, focusing more on user-generated content. Everyone is really looking for, you know, how can I be more present within my audience base? How can I get my brand message out there, amplify it more loudly and for cheaper costs? And so you've seen a large uptick in TikTok reels or Instagram reels, a lot of video content and content that's created specifically by the users of the products. And that's fantastic. You see a lot of great returns when you do that. You've got the patient or you've got the customer, depending on what your audience's voice being represented in a unique way and speaking the exact same language as your other ideal customer targets.

3:16But really, the next step from there is the ability to track and compare how well those videos or those different types of media modalities are doing, not only in market against one another in terms of impressions and clicks and average views, but also what happens afterwards. You know, what is taking place post interaction on that media content within your ecosystem, whether that be your website, whether that be your appointment booking or your phones being called? Yeah. So just covering the services that I see on your website. And by the way, to our friend that's listening, if you go to loudcanvas.com, you'll see exactly what I'm seeing here.

4:01But I mean, everything from, you know, obviously paid advertising, pay-per-click advertising, SEO. It looks like you get into social media, video photography. I mean, that's quite a broad suite of services that you're able to provide. Sure. Well, you know, we started really just boots on the ground in only a few services, primarily web support, web design and development. And over time, we found that our clients really needed a marketing partner that they could rely on to help deliver a full suite of services at an accessible, more affordable rate. And so that's really how we became a full service digital marketing company, you know, is by listening to the customers and saying, wow, well, you know, you said you came in here and you needed Facebook ads, but it turns out or you needed a website, but it turns out that you also need headshots for your bios or you also need a video to post on that Facebook.

4:57And certainly we'd love to help you figure that problem out. Yeah. And you do you mind sharing just a little bit more about the scope of work that you've done? And, you know, maybe someone that said, you know, OK, let's go ahead and invest in this effort or this initiative. and what are some of the, what's some of the work that you've done that you've seen the biggest or most stark transformation? I don't know, maybe something that's kind of emotionally satisfying to participate in. Oh, well, you know, we find a lot of value in all the work that we do and it's kind of a part of who we are as a company, a core kind of value of who we are is taking every approach from a real humanistic point of view.

5:45And so one of our core values is that we actually are indebted to those who have entrusted us with their business, right? And so we feel very passionate about the work that we're doing because we recognize that it's somebody's business and it's somebody's dollars and cents, it's somebody's Christmas. Oftentimes that's on the line. And so the satisfaction comes in every aspect, but I would say starting with strategy and understanding what is the business owner or the brand manager's needs and what are their goals? That tends to be something that people say, but when you actually spend time diving into it and understanding what it is that they're trying to accomplish, you recognize that there's a lot of human needs, the natural experience that we have in society, shared common experiences that are driving what it is that we're trying to accomplish.

6:35And so seeing the satisfaction of a business owner who is worried about how they're going to get new customers, new appointments booked, when we show them that we generated 25 new quality customers for them this month, something that keeps us moving. Seeing patients get on therapy for those of our client brands who are bringing new products to launch that are trying to make a difference in those who are sick. And so watching sick people get well, helping new patients get on therapy, that's something that keeps us moving. Watching small business owners scale and go from how do we acquire new clients to how do we acquire new staff members, it changes their lives, right?

7:17And so, you know, again, going back to that humanistic idea, you watch them go from, you know, concerned about how they're going to keep their staff to concerned about how they're going to attract new staff. And you watch them as they post on their Facebook, you know, fun family vacation where their business is running kind of automatically in the background without them when And, you know, six months ago or 12 months ago, they were in the heat of it trying to solve some serious problems and were losing sleep wondering how they were going to make it out of it. Those are the things that really that really excite us and keep us moving on the day to day.

7:49So I know that for a friend that's been listening to our conversation, you know, it can be challenging to choose a partner. And I think if I speak for most entrepreneurs that have been in this space for a decade or more, we've all likely been burned. We've all invested in something that hasn't worked out. And that's really frustrating. Are there any maybe tips or tricks that you would recommend to make sure that if you're going to hire a marketing solutions provider or consultant, how can we de-risk that a little bit? Yeah, it's about managing the perceived likelihood of achievement, right? And then monitoring, am I getting the results that I expected, that I was promised?

8:41Oftentimes, we'll deal with a situation where a client will come to us and they'll be running paid media. And the only reporting mechanism that they have on that is by the vendor who's running it for them. And so, you know, we like to say that's a lot like having the fox guard the hen house. If the person who's doing the performance ads is reporting on the performance, then it doesn't leave much room for you to actually quantify that and qualify it to see if it's truly hitting the goals that you are looking to see. And so oftentimes one way that you can, you know, you can kind of mitigate risk or deescalate some of that risk is by having an independent data capture and analytics system that's allowing you to see what's happening as opposed to relying on the vendor themselves to report on it and tell you how well they're doing.

9:28I like that. I like that. So the question is, it's almost like, and even just, you know, being insistent upon how will we know by month three, month six, month 12, that this is successful? How can we measure that so that we can make course corrections if necessary? And it's almost like working. I mean, I'm just kind of thinking this out, but, you know, I know we've done this, you know, We've gotten wiser, but just like, you know, you know, and also plans like, you know, if we, you know, what are those? What's the word I'm thinking? Not mitigation, you know, but just, gosh, you know, if this doesn't work, we got a plan B like that we can solve that.

10:17So like if we don't hit this metrics, like what would you advise us to do? Like those are really good questions. Yeah, again, starting with contingency. See, that's the word I was thinking of. Goodness, not a terribly difficult one. And I know that we're speaking, you know, kind of generically, but I would say when you start with a real sound strategy, you put together a roadmap, you understand, hey, here are the target audiences that we're trying to reach. Here's the goals that we hope to achieve. You can start to work out a formula where you can just say, you know, what is it going to cost to reach?

10:47How many touch points is it going to take? What do we expect the conversion rate? What does industry standard conversion rates look like? And then you can start to math out, you know, what is this going to cost? How should I estimate if I want 10 new books, you know, cash collected agreements, it's going to take me maybe 15 or 20 actual books appointments, which means it's going to take me 100 digital downloads, or however that that sequence looks again, speaking generically here, but there is a formula and you don't have to go in blind. And you can hold, you know, if you're working with multiple vendors and you're doing multiple media buys, you have a different set of modalities, a segmented marketing approach by way of maybe TV, radio, brochures, in-person field agents, as well as digital, web, you know, websites, phone calls, Facebooks, things of that nature.

11:42then, you know, yes, those contingency plans are important. Being able to qualify the traffic that's coming from each and every single one of those marketing efforts, being able to understand what the level of effort went in for you to put that marketing effort out there. And if you're getting that return on your investment is crucial. I don't know how else you can, you know, run your business without having access to those insights. Yeah. LoudCanvas.com to our friend that's listening. Where do they go from here? What would you recommend they do? Well, we just like making relationships, partnering up with other business owners, people who are out there making a difference in the world.

12:19Again, we have a mission. We want to make our communities better. We want to thrive within the work that we do. We want our creatives to be excited about the work that they're doing. So we love the Super Bowl ads and all of the fantastic things that make us smile when we see advertising and marketing done well. and then behind every single one of those ads is made by a creative who had to come up with that. And so keeping those creatives excited about the mission and the work that they're doing. And so if you've got something that you're passionate about, if you've got a business that you feel like is bringing value to your local community in one way or another, you stand out, you're unique and you need help in any way, we're always just open for a free conversation just to see what it might be and how we might be able to help you.

13:01And so you can head over to loudcanvas.com. There's a chat bubble there at the bottom of the website and I'm on the other side of it. And love to have that conversation with you and just see if there's anything we can do to help you out. Nick Smith, your website, loudcanvas.com. Nick, it's been a great conversation. Thank you so much for joining us. Josh, thanks for having me.

13:26Thanks for listening to the Thoughtful Entrepreneur Show. If you are a thoughtful business owner or professional who would like to be on this daily program, please visit upmyinfluence.com and click on podcast. We believe that every person has a message that can positively impact the world. We love our community who listens and shares our program every day. Together, we are empowering one another as thoughtful leaders. And as I mentioned at the beginning of this program, if you're looking for introductions to partners, investors, influencers, and clients, I have had private conversations with over 2 ,000 leaders asking them where their best business comes from.

14:07I've got a free video that you can watch right now with no opt-in or email required where I'm going to share the exact steps necessary to be 100 % inbound in your industry over the next six to eight months with no spam, no ads, and no sales. What I teach has worked for me for more than 15 years and has helped me create eight figures in revenue for my own companies. Just head to upmyinfluence.com and watch my free class on how to create endless high ticket sales appointments. Make sure to hit subscribe so that tomorrow morning, that's right, seven days a week, you are going to be inspired and motivated to succeed.

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