IAM570- SEO Expert Helps Businesses With Digital Marketing

Originally from the suburbs of Detroit, Leigh Genetti Byers is a graduate of The University of Michigan, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in History. Byers started District Maven Marketing + Creative during her sophomore year of college and has continued to grow the business ever since. She is an expert in search engine optimization, marketing strategy and brand management, with a flair for web development. Byers is also a seasoned writer, crafting dynamic pieces for Guest of a Guest and Localeur.

• CEO Hack: Starting my day in a certain positive way and utilizing my planner
• CEO Nugget: Put yourself out there and go for it
• CEO Defined: Everything, always learning

Website: https://districtmaven.com/

Blog: https://districtmaven.com/blog/
Portfolio: https://districtmaven.com/portfolio/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/leighgenetti
https://facebook.com/districtmaven
Instagram: https://instagram.com/lgb8806
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leighgenetti/

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Transcription

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place, Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:29

Hello, hello, Hello, this is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today, i have Leigh Genetti Byers of District Maven marketing and creatively. It's awesome to have you on the show.

Leigh Genetti Byers 0:41

Thank you so much. It's great to be here.

Gresham Harkless 0:42

Yeah, super excited to have you on and what I want to do is just read a little bit more about Leigh, so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. And she's originally from the suburbs of Detroit. Leigh is a graduate of the University of Michigan where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in history.

Leigh started District Maven Marketing and Creative during her sophomore year of college and the team to grown the business ever since. She is an expert in search engine optimization, marketing strategy, and brand management with a flair for web development. Buyers is also a seasoned writer creating dynamic pieces for the travel magazine Local Lower. Leigh, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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Leigh Genetti Byers 1:19

Absolutely, let's get started.

Gresham Harkless 1:21

Good. Let's make it happen. So to kick everything off, I wanted to hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story. And what led you to get started with your business?

Leigh Genetti Byers 1:29

Sure, I started District Maven, when I was going into my junior year of college, and at the time, I was just under a lot of pressure to go to law school or to do something that was very conventionally expected of me, if that makes sense. When I was when I was in high school, you know, my speech had just come out. And I was really, really interested in just networking, and how it lent its ability to communicate with people all over the globe. Also, it gave you basic HTML skills, working with MySpace, and my mom used to tell me go get off the computer, go read a book, you're never going to use it.

And I really didn't listen to her at all. Throughout, you know, I really, there were no real opportunities in the digital marketing space, there really wasn't a word for it. It didn't necessarily exist. And the University of Michigan as great as it is does not have a specific marketing major. So I started I studied history, which I thought was one of the greatest things to study, lending itself to a business because it really taught me how to analyze change over time, and how Group A transforms into Group B and the XY and Z things that happened to them because that transformation, in sure that's the basis of every History test I ever took.

But it's also the foundation of business analytics, trend forecasting, things like that. So when I I came to pass, I thought I was going to law school. And I was working amongst law clerks when I was 1819 years old. And they pretty quickly realized I should not be a law clerk, especially when I was that young in college. But what they did want to do since they had website experience, was they moved me to work on the firm's website instead. And that effect became my very first client.

So once I got kind of on a roll with things with that one client, I looked around as I was working in class and noticed that I had more time on my hands. So by the time I graduated, I had kept accruing clients, or specifically originally in the legal sector, I thought it was gonna be a part of a bigger job and not a job. So I really didn't think I was starting a business at that time, he honestly just thought I was getting extra beer money. You know, I didn't think I was doing it. I didn't think I was doing it at that time. It's just kind of what came naturally to me.

Once I finally saw, hey, this could be a viable thing. I immediately reached out to my good friends who were serial entrepreneurs, and students at the prestigious law school of business. And I said to them, Hey, I don't know what to do next. What do I do next? And I know we'll probably talk about it. But one of the best things you can do as a CEO is to constantly be learning and ask people who are doing what you want to be doing, or similar things to what you want to be doing, what advice they have for you.

And the advice they gave was invaluable. By the time I graduated, I had enough revenue to support results. So I never had to look for a job. I just have always kind of stuck with the business. I moved to Washington DC shortly thereafter, in Washington, DC 12 years now. And I love it and it was the best place to really grow and redefine my business but it's taken on a life of its own and from where we started to where it is now but I certainly have the makings of an entrepreneur and a CEO.

Always but there was little resource for people at the time or, you know, young adults at the time to really put a word on what that is, and what that means and how to go for it. It blows my mind said there are entrepreneurs in classes now or even digital marketing classes when I had to fight so hard to be recognized as viable when I first started.

Gresham Harkless 5:25

Yeah, it makes so much sense. And I think we were, you know, vibe and a little bit before we started about just, you know, being around the same age. And then I say, myself, I had on my MySpace page, and I think Facebook came out, maybe my second year, or I was a freshman when I think it was a second or third year that Facebook came out in the way that technology.

Leigh Genetti Byers 5:48

They send you a university email.

Gresham Harkless 5:50

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And there were no Facebook pages, there were barely any groups. But it's crazy how has it evolved so much. And of course, it's evolved from a Facebook standpoint, from a digital marketing standpoint, but educational and like, now there's entrepreneurship classes. Now, there are digital marketing classes. Now you can, you know, major in this, and there's certifications, this is crazy.

Leigh Genetti Byers 6:11

things that they have these classes, I think it's so interesting that they have these classes, because to be honest with you, by the time the textbook comes out, it's already outdated. I didn't go to school for web design or SEO, but I am an expert in it because I've literally done nothing else for the last 15 years of my life. And you really have to do that with digital marketing, get your hands and go mysteries all get messy, you really have to, you know, have hands on experience with it to just see how it's evolved.

So I think those classes are very interesting, because they give people a perception of what they should be focusing on. But largely the kids that I've met, or people that I mentor, I'm usually coming in and debunking things that they have learned in those classes, there really aren't based on any specific hands-on experience.

So when it comes to digital marketing and business, the key is you know, it's just really to do what you say you're gonna do, and be who we say you're gonna be. And you say you are, and then you have to demonstrate that online, not only to the human viewer but to the search engines as well. And that's something that people haven't really been able to grasp as, as easily.

Gresham Harkless 7:21

Yeah, it makes so much sense. And a lot of people forget these universities. And yes, people that put out these programs are businesses, a lot of times they are putting them out because they see that they value their knowledge, or they're not necessarily teaching expertise, there's teaching, the ability to be you know, a master at your craft. And a lot of times and most of the times and really any just skill, I think you need to continue to chop at the tree, continue to do the work to roll up the sleeves to be able to reach that mastery level. So I know.

Leigh Genetti Byers 7:52

It never ends for a CEO, and you're always in a research and development phase. It never ends you're constantly wanting to learn and that's really, you know, it's a lifestyle. It's a mentality. It's a way of thinking, and you have to it takes a lot of work to constantly be wondering Hmm, I wonder why this works? It does.

Gresham Harkless 8:10

Absolutely, that makes so much sense. So I know I touched on it a little bit. But I wanted to hear a little bit more about District Maven and Marketing Creative. Could you tell us a little bit more about what you do with your clients and then also, what you feel is kind of like your secret sauce and makes you in your organization unique?

Leigh Genetti Byers 8:26

Sure. District Maven provides an array of marketing, branding and creative. Everything from brand conception and big graphic design that goes into it. All the way down to website design. SEO, which is our foundation is truly a nation of all marketing, social media, email marketing, you name it, I've done it I've worked with I've worked with a variety of clients over the years I started in the legal firms, medical profession, landscapers, anything, water filters, custom. there's nothing I can think of I definitely know specifically focuses on the hospitality, and lifestyle space.

So bars, restaurants, nightclubs, catering event planners, hotels, things like that. And, and really what I do bring in in these in my special secret sauce is that people know a lot about what makes them unique. It's very easy to kind of see your own distinguishing peers but to get people to put it out there in a way that is others and gets them to engage in ROI-producing behavior. Because I always tell my clients, I don't really care how many visits you get to your website, if you're not selling it doesn't mean anything.

And oftentimes clients are very capable of doing a lot of these things themselves, especially with marketing, whether they have you know, the gumption or the attention span, the time the willingness to learn as part of it is another story, but they really do have all the tools. So what I would say is one of my company's special secret sauces, if you will, is not only are we very handy, and outsource, right, I'm designing the one who's building it and know what to expect.

But I also provide a lot of education to clients I will break down exactly with diagrams written out how a search engine looks at a site from a macro and a micro level, how they understand a website because optimization is just a fancy word for formatting a website in the way search engines can read it, they can't read it, they can't return it for you. And by giving that education to clients, not only did they grow your understanding of the process, but they gave me a lot more information that helps me market them better that I wouldn't have otherwise done, because they thought it was important or necessary to mention them.

The most important thing that I do is that truly when marketers get axed and get fired a lot, it's very difficult to determine a residual, hard ROI, a tangible ROI. And I've found that a lot of marketers are very opaque with what they tell their clients, they don't really tell them the value of what they're doing, or how they're doing it, or why it's important. And I take the complete opposite approach, I really want my clients to know exactly how things work exactly how to operate it, and I spend a lot of time as much as they're willing to give them that consultancy.

And that education, because the more they understand the value of what I bring to the table, the more likely they're going to trust me, when I tell them, you know, we shouldn't do that in response to something they want me to do, or, you know, have an opinion that they may not agree with, but it's in the best interest of their marketing, if they if I teach them with that process, it's really created them. It's garnered the loyalty in return because they've learned something new expanded their minds in that way.

Gresham Harkless 12:01

I wanted to switch gears a little bit, and I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app or book or a habit that you have. But what's something that makes you effective?

Leigh Genetti Byers 12:12

You only need one? because I have a million.

Gresham Harkless 12:14

Sure. Just a few. Yeah.

Leigh Genetti Byers 12:17

Okay. In terms of habit, I live and die by my planner, I still have a nerdy little planner that everything is just you got when you were in school. But also I give myself in the morning, I started the same way with the song Good Day by Nappy Roots, and an episode of Ellen DeGeneres. I know it's kind of weird, but it puts me in a good mood and a good frame of mind.

When I'm starting today, starting on a positive note, because any CEO can tell you the amount of fires we have to put out in a series of a day is crazy. And so to get myself in that mind space, I really recommend that when you start your day, you start on the good foot and something that puts you in some sort of zen mode.

Gresham Harkless 13:03

I appreciate those hacks. And now I want to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. And this could be like a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. It could be around digital marketing, branding, and creativity. But what would you kind of tell your younger business self or maybe even tell a younger version of your client?

Leigh Genetti Byers 13:20

You just gotta go for it. You'll never regret putting yourself out there. Because at the end of the day, you're going to learn something good, bad or indifferent, you're going to learn something about the experience. And I've had a lot of doors open to me simply because I chose to go for it.

Gresham Harkless 13:37

Now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on the show. So Leigh, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Leigh Genetti Byers 13:46

See, being a CEO, means everything I couldn't imagine, having more love, hating stressful relationships with anything, it really does seem life-consuming. And in some ways, it really is. But being a CEO, to me means the ability to constantly learn to constantly expand my mind and expand my point of view, and I need and interact with new people all the time. I'm always learning and I know so much more about the world and people in general because of being a CEO I'm hungry to listen and I'm hungry to learn.

Gresham Harkless 14:22

Absolutely, why thank you so much, Leigh, I think that's an incredible definition of perspective, and especially the evolutionary part of that as a business has grown. And as you have grown, it sounds like you know, so too as a definition of perspective, what it means to be a CEO.

So, again, I appreciate that I appreciate your time even more. What I want to do is pass you the mic so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you can let our readers and listeners know and then of course how best they can get all of you in contact with you to find out about all the awesome things you're working on.

Leigh Genetti Byers 14:51

Sure, again, just go for it. I just really encourage people if they have an idea if you're interested in starting a business, the best thing you could do is ask somebody, people always ask for a job or handout. One thing CEOs love to do is we love to talk. And we love to give advice. So it's a lot easier when you reach out to someone and say, hey, I want to learn from you. And that's something that I encourage not only people who are budding entrepreneurs, what established entrepreneurs to do, you should constantly be learning and growing.

And I really encourage everyone to do that. And if you guys have any questions, I encourage you to reach out to me at any time. My website is districtmaven.com. And my handle for Instagram, and Facebook is District Maven. And we're pretty active on those. So I really encourage you guys to, you know, visit the website and also read the blog has a lot of good SEO tricks and tips and tools on there as well. And I'm more than happy to answer any questions that people may have about marketing, and really help them get started.

Gresham Harkless 15:57

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Well, thank you so much again, Lee. We will definitely have those links and information in the show notes but definitely appreciate the reminder to definitely you know, go forward and go and do it. And a lot of times, you know, you get things just by taking action. So thank you for the reminder for us to do that. And I hope you have a phenomenal day.

Outro 16:14

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO podcast powered by Blue 16 Media tune in next time and visit us at our iamceo.co. I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE And leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co This has been the I AM CEO podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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