JGrayDigital

Social media users are becoming increasingly skeptical of things they see online. Advancements in AI alone are enough to justify this skepticism. This MAY seem like bad news for small business owners, artists & creators... I consider it good news & see it as a massive OPPORTUNITY. You may be thinking.... J. Gray, as a small business owner who depends on social media to market my product or service, build relationships, communicate with customers & generate revenue, HOW is this good news?!? The brands that are willing to invest time & energy into gaining trust will win. It highlights the value in long term consistency & authenticity. More "good ones" will win. Authenticity will win. Ethical marketing will win. Community builders will win. You AND your customers will win. #jgraydigital

Top 3 reasons NOT to use unrelated hashtags in your social media content captions. 1. It's inauthentic & could be considered unethical. Internet users don't want to be "tricked" into viewing content. Especially if it doesn't align with their interests. Tactics like this have no place in an authentic, ethical & effective social media strategy. 2. People that use hashtags to search for a certain type of content are looking for content related to the hashtag they searched. Unrelated content that pops up in the results of that search is seen as SPAM. There is very little chance they will appreciate, engage with or connect with "bad" search results. 3. Social media platforms & algorithms do not consider this to be authentic behavior or proper use of hashtags. I'm not saying you will get banned, but it's something to consider. #jgraydigital #hashtags #marketing

In case you haven't realized it yet.... That video that didn't get many views wasn't for your audience, it was for YOU. Change the way you think about your under-performing content. #content #marketing #jgraydigital #socialmedia

Your customers or community members will have issues, that's just reality. If you view them as opportunities, everyone wins. #jgraydigital #customerservice

If you are dipping your toe into AI, IGNORE creators that are pushing the latest hype, big new side hustle, $300k a year narrative. If you want to improve what you get out of AI & improve your AI prompts, improve your copywriting skills. (you can thank me later) #ai #jgraydigital #prompt #promptengineering #copywriting #marketing

The fact that I was successful at starting a small business did NOT mean I was guaranteed to be successful in the areas that would enable me to grow that business. #jgraydigital #smallbusiness #marketing

Prob the BIGGEST mistake I made as a new small business owner AND the lessons I learned from it. #marketing #mistakes #smallbusiness #jgraydigital

If you produce specific content in a niche, you may want to avoid consuming unrelated content with your main account... #marketing #jgraydigital #niche

If your #1 goal is to "Build a large social media following" this video MAY be helpful.... *you will have a better time if you focus on 100 dog grooming enthusiasts instead of 20,000 concrete enthusiasts* #jgraydigital

Budweiser doesn't think they "messed up" regarding their latest Bud Light marketing campaign. (imo, read on) They for sure expected "pushback" on social media from opinionated current customers. (their products & branding is ALL over TikTok rn) I think they see a lot of value in capturing new (& younger) customers that are unbothered or supportive of the campaign. More importantly, they understand consumer behavior. They bank on most customers forgetting about their outrage within a cpl weeks. #jgraydigital #budwesier #budlight #marketing

You don't need the algorithm, the algorithm needs YOU. #ohithinktheylikeme #jgraydigital #algorithm #marketing

MOST social media users have more pressing things to work on BEFORE they should be worrying about the algorithm. The Twitter Algorithm code release is huge, but most people will find more success focusing on the fundamentals instead. #jgraydigital #marketing #algorithm #twittercode

They are talking directly to & are hyper-focused on their target audience. #jgraydigital

Take some time this week to sort of audit yourself in terms of your social media activity. Are you getting closer to reaching your goals or are you just socializing online? *not trying to sound judgmental, I support you no matter what the answer is. #jgraydigital

Hear me out on this & tell me what you think. The question was worded poorly which led to a poor answer from the CEO, BUT when the real question was asked, the CEO deflects a bit and speaks to industry norms instead of specifically answering. I am not dragging the ceo and I'm not sticking up for the politician. Just approaching it the way I approach things normally. #jgraydigital #criticalthinking #ceooftiktok #congressionalhearing

For artists & creators wanting to offer physical items, print on demand is popular, but there are other options. Check with small, local vinyl / print shops, see what all they produce IN HOUSE. You may be surprised at how affordable short runs can be. #jgraydigital

There is a lesson to be learned in regards to the potential TikTok ban. We are responsible for making sure our business survives & thrives. We have to do our best to NOT be dependent on any one platform. *same goes for Youtube yall ;) #jgraydigital

Your people ARE out there. Don't be discouraged by a lack of engagement, focus on your target audience, focus on your message, focus on your content. #jgraydigital #targetaudience #marketing

Building a brand is hard. Building a brand based on new technology is harder. Maybe we should lead with things most modern consumers already understand. Then they may be more receptive to following us on a journey into web3. #jgraydigital

Passion can be hard to communicate. It can be hard for enthusiasts to explain things to non-enthusiasts, but it's a worthwhile endeavour. Great marketing fixes this. #jgraydigital #marketing #passion

Are you "bad at marketing?" Often this points to a need for folks to improve their relationship with the concept of marketing. I find it helpful to break it down into smaller pieces... Community: Identify, locate, study & cater to your target audience. "Everyone" is not your target audience. The sooner you realize this the better & the easier it is to build an engaged community. Communication: Social skills matter. Remember, everything you do, say and content you post on social media is (modern) communication. Knowing exactly who you are communicating with helps a ton. (target audience) Consistency: Keep doing your thing, don't stop. "It" will likely take longer than you think. Make a long term plan and stick to it for months / years instead of days / weeks. Working on these = working on your marketing skills.

Does the content you consume & engage with on social media align with your brand? The content we consume & engage with on social media matters. Don't confuse the algorithm, make it easy for them to understand who we are and what we are all about! #jgraydigital #contentmarketing #socialmediamarketing #marketing #thealgorithm #content