IAM2187 – The Importance of Using Data to Drive Decisions

Title: Transcript - Mon, 29 Jul 2024 13:10:09 GMT

Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2024 13:10:09 GMT, Duration: [00:15:42.84]

[00:00:00.20] - Gresham Harkless

A lot of it the reason I use the word media company, and and it sounds, you know, very broad and and hard to kind of, maybe, you know, chew and and digest and understand exactly what it means is because I think the very first thing you can do is figure out if you're going to be doing yourself especially and you're putting in that sweat equity, what are you passionate about doing? What do you like doing? Do you like writing? Do you like reading? Do you like potentially, talking on podcasts or listening to podcasts? Do you like being on video? Really doing that inspection in the very beginning is so important, and and that's just, you know, asking yourself what type of content do I like? What type of content do I like to create? Do I not wanna be maybe on video? And answering those questions is really the best place to start.

[00:00:40.00] - Intro

Hello. Hello. Hello.

[00:00:40.70] - Gresham Harkless

This is Gresh from the I am CEO podcast, and I wanted to share with you one of the episodes that I was a guest on for someone else's podcast. I always talk about how important it is to build a media company. One of the next best things you could do is be on somebody else's media company. So I had the pleasure of being a guest on this podcast, and I wanted to share a little snippet with you because it would help support the eight business pillars we've really been trying to focus on with a lot more of our content and a lot more of the solo episodes that I'm doing. So make sure, of course, that you subscribe to our podcast, but, of course, you take some time out. Check out the show notes and subscribe to the podcast that I've been featured on as well too and get to learn about some of those eight business pillars and how you can continue to kinda leverage and build that up so you can go from builder to architect to, of course, rock star and luminary. So this is Greg signing out. I hope you enjoy this I am CEO special episode.

[00:01:32.70] - Monique Blokzyl

I know that you're a podcasting star as well. Alright? I mean, daily podcast is amazing. Right? So, you know, what would you say to someone that's just thinking about launching their own podcast? You know, because a lot of people think like, oh my god. You need to know so much. It's so difficult. And all the technical aspects of it, should I really start it? Is it worth it? What would you say to these kind of questions?

[00:01:55.90] - Gresham Harkless

I would say, just go ahead

[00:01:57.40] - Gresham Harkless

and get started. I I I really believe this is definitely a communication tool and a great opportunity. Conversation shop. So if you feel like you can sit down with one of your best friends and have a conversation, the only difference is you're hitting record. And I think one of the things that people sometimes miss about podcasting or just business in general is that it's a marathon and it will evolve over time. So while your podcast and even my podcast, you know, might have been something in the very beginning, it has evolved from where it is. And I think that's one of the the beauties of, business and entrepreneurship and and obviously podcasting is be yourself, be yourself, be authentic to yourself and and really just sit down and have a conversation, hit the record button. And then, don't feel like it has to be perfect because I think, I used to say I say, more than anybody else. So my podcasts are never perfect. And I think once you kinda get past that, it allows you to really get into serving, really, get into, hopefully, distributing your gifts for the for the, betterment of the world.

[00:03:09.69] - Monique Blokzyl

Yeah. I love it. And, you know, even myself, I already about eight years ago or so now, I started a podcast back then and, you know, I and besides, you know, I mean, I grew it quite fast within five, six months. I had like twenty thousand listeners, which was amazing. Never thought that it was probably would be possible. But you know what? It was really like what you were saying. It's like these hard conversations. It's the connections you make. Like, you and I, we got introduced and then, you know what I mean? We are interviewing interviewing each other in a way. Right? And, you know, it's really these these connections we are making, these sometimes lighter conversations that, you know, spices up in the moment. And sometimes it's these deep conversations and deeper connections we build makes it all worthwhile. I'm so with you on that. Right? And, you know, you know, when I asked you upfront, you know, what could people do? You said, hey, you could become your own media company. Right? Your, your own media, you know, company to reach your goals. I know we spoke about podcasting, we spoke about, you know, posting and and figuring out who's where on social media. What are a few more points people should consider if they think like, well, what does it mean building my own media company? What? I don't wanna build a media company. I just want to get more visible. Yeah. You know what I mean? What does that mean to you building a media company, and how can people get going and, you know, get going and really once they are having something let let's talk about the get going at the beginning. So what are some of the things that you really need to watch out for to build your own media company?

[00:04:38.60] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Absolutely. I I definitely appreciate that that question. And I I think a lot of it, the reason I use the word media companies, and and it sounds, you know, very broad and and hard to kind of, maybe, you know, chew and and digest and understand exactly what it means is because I think the very first thing you can do is figure out if you're going to be doing yourself especially and you're putting in that sweat equity, what are you passionate about doing? What do you like doing? Do you like writing? Do you like reading? Do you like potentially, talking on podcast or listening to podcast? Do you like being on video? Really doing that inspection in the very beginning is so important, and and that's just, you know, asking yourself what type of content do I like? What type of content do I like to create? Do I not wanna be maybe on video? And answering those questions experimenting, you know, with different ways that you can do that because I think we a lot of times people and and especially in the podcasting world, people will get started with podcast because they hear that they should do a podcast, but many podcasts don't make it don't make it to twenty episodes largely because people aren't really passionate about it. So I think when you start to do that work in within first and then you start to figure out what fits with with who I am and what I'm trying to do, then it gives you a lot more power to do that. So it could be a blog. It could be, a podcast. It could be just important Well, it's just not trying to do everything but staying true to yourself, I think, is the most important thing.

[00:06:09.39] - Monique Blokzyl

Yeah. So the the most important is and, you know, I mean, I I see that again. You're so aligned with things, you know, you said, hey. It's such a powerful question to ask. You know, what do you like doing? Right? You like to write write posts, write or write articles or, you know, write, you know, yeah. Whatever you can write a little paper or something. And you know, if it's speaking or, you know, if you, if you like to be a host, I mean, podcasting is perfect if you wanna interview others. Right? But let's bring again, you know, for everyone that's already a everyone that's already a little bit more advanced. Let's bring our conversation already to a little bit of a higher level. So let's say people have figured out what they want to do. You know, maybe they have a few things they say, for example, Hey, I post, You know, maybe they have a few things they say. For example, hey. I post, irregularly. I have a podcast, and, you know, I, you know, whatever else they choose to do, a third one could be, like, you know, social media posting and then blogging. Let's say they do these three things already and they have a website. So what what are some of the things because a lot of people say, oh, you know what? I tried that. You know, I I I seem to trigger a little bit of interest, but it's not really having me to take this next bigger jump to a different level. So what are maybe some suggestions from your side to not just get going, but to really, to really accelerate, you know, getting more visible and, and, you know, attracting clients you want. You know? What what do you do to bring it really to that next level from your personal perspective?

[00:07:32.89] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah. I mean, if if somebody is definitely, you know, already being active and they're already creating, you know, tremendous amount of content, then I think the the very next thing that you should probably be looking at is the the data. So if you haven't installed things like Google Analytics on your website, if you're not looking at, you know, Facebook, data or Instagram, you know, data and figuring out what's actually working or not because once you drill down into that information you can start to see exactly, what's performing better, what's not performing better, what copy might be performing better or not. And if you haven't

[00:08:03.10] - Intro

heard of this phrase, it's called AB testing. One of the things that you can

[00:08:03.39] - Gresham Harkless

can do is, for example, if you have an ad, you basically have two, different ads, ads, and you change one variable on that ad so that you can see what performs better. Mhmm. So it might be the the the, the ad copy. It might be the image itself. But when you start to really look at those things, it allows you to further grow your success because you can see straight from the data. So once you get started, especially if you've had an analytics, you know, had analytics, installed on your website, Google Analytics, then you really want to start to mine and look into that information and see what's performing, what's not performing, using things like Google Trends so you can see what people are searching for at that specific time. So you can start to really drill down. And even simply, you can go to Google, and if you know exactly what you've created as far as content and you know what people are searching for, type in that question, and then a lot of times you'll see there's an autocomplete of what you're asking for. Often, that's because a lot of people are asking and looking for, those questions or that data. So it's your opportunity to not just create again, again and I would say the same thing as as somebody starting. You don't have to create an entire blog post if that's not what you're gonna do right there, but you can work into that. Maybe it's just a Facebook, status updates that you're gonna do. You're gonna see how people are interacting with it. You're gonna see if it resonates with people, if people are liking it. And then you say, okay. This performed really better than something else, so let me create this into a blog post. So this blog post performed perform better. So you really start to look at that data and that starts to be, the, the measure by which you are, garnering your success and hopefully increasing your success from there.

[00:09:51.10] - Monique Blokzyl

Beautiful. I love it. And you and I are action takers. Right? We love to not only learn constantly, we also like to actually implement what we learn or learn right away. And, this is why we're also asking a question here for single time. You know, what is one thing people can do right here, right now, today? You know, let's assume, you know, let's let's assume they are already out there and they wanna look more into their data and to really figure out, you know, what what messages connect with their audience, what do they really need and want to learn more about? Now what is the one thing people can do today to bring everything to the next level?

[00:10:26.70] - Gresham Harkless

Absolutely. I mean, I think the the biggest thing, you know, that anybody can do to really, take things to an entirely different level is really, look after you look at that data and you have an idea of exactly what that is, then you start to implement those things right then and right there. Don't be afraid to to test out things. I think what we're turning into in this world is just gonna be really, content driven. So I would say take everything you're doing and times it by two at the very least and try to create even more. Try to automate a lot of those things, but be really, really engaging with your content and information. Because once you have that data, that's really gonna be what's gonna, you know, determine what you're gonna do in the future, and and really pay attention because I think people forget that data is basically a response to what human activity is. So because people are searching for it, then it's going to show up in Google. So if you're really dialed into the human aspect of business, you really are paying attention having those conversations with your clients and your potential customers. Not only does that arm you at that specific time, it's also gonna allow you to be ahead of the curve. So after, you know, you you've nailed it and you you are having starting to see that success, have those conversations and figure out what are those next potential trends that people maybe aren't looking for. And as you said, like an action taker, you're always gonna test out those things. So don't be afraid to just jump in and kinda test out, a lot of those, platforms and things that are available that maybe haven't become mainstream as of yet. So I hope that definitely, you know, helps out a little bit.

[00:11:57.60] - Monique Blokzyl

So what is one concrete action they can take today? I mean, they could, for example, just look at their last ten posts and really look into, you know, how many people clicked it, it, how many responded to it. Right? I mean

[00:12:07.29] - Intro

Yeah.

[00:12:07.50] - Monique Blokzyl

You know, what what is a concrete thing people could do today?

[00:12:10.79] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah. I mean, outside of that, you meant outside of, like, looking at their data?

[00:12:14.50] - Monique Blokzyl

Yeah. Yeah. Like, let's say you know, I mean, let's say people haven't really started to look at data. What is one thing they can do today to start getting a grasp on their data?

[00:12:21.79] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Definitely install that. If you have, then go into your report. It's really robust.

[00:12:25.70] - Intro

robust. Don't a lot of times you'll get

[00:12:26.20] - Gresham Harkless

get reports. Usually, the reports don't have as much information as far as, much information as far as, going to Google Analytics forward slash, Google dot com forward slash analytics. And that'll allow allow you to kinda go into to your reports even even more and you can see all that information from there.

[00:12:45.39] - Monique Blokzyl

I highly recommend you do that. Okay? So again, even if you're not technically savvy, you know, just have a look at, you know, how, you know, how does it, it's a, as Greta is saying, you know, how's, how does your content perform? You know, how do people actually connect with it? Do a little bit of deep dive in your numbers today. That's what we recommend. Okay? Great. I know. I'm I'm sure a lot of people would love to connect with you. How can they connect with you? Where would they find you?

[00:13:08.79] - Gresham Harkless

Absolutely. So I have a, a a website that has, you know, links to everything that I'm working on. It's at I am gresh dot com. That's I m g r e s h dot com, and I have links to everything. You can get in contact with me, set up and book a time, whatever, you know, works best for

[00:13:23.89] - Monique Blokzyl

everyone. Perfect. Good. So thank you so much for giving us a little bit of a glimpse on, you know, how to really become your own media company and how to bring everything to the next level. That was really an inspiring conversation. And it's been it's always great to have you here with us today. If you're not part of our hard power global nation yet, yet, please make sure that you join us. K? You're gonna also meet Gresh and a lot of other entrepreneurs from all over the globe there to get inspired and connect with each other. Gresh, anything at the end? Anything any inspiring long thought you wanna share with everyone before we round it off?

[00:13:55.79] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah. The only, additional thing I would say is about before, just take action.

[00:13:59.00] - Intro

action. I I think most of the people I found out that have been the most successful have

[00:13:59.20] - Gresham Harkless

been the most successful have been those that have taken action and built up

[00:14:01.29] - Intro

built up to their success. So don't feel like it

[00:14:01.60] - Gresham Harkless

like it has to be perfect for you to to start. I always say, my boss used to tell me don't let the perfect get in

[00:14:11.29] - Intro

in the way of

[00:14:11.60] - Gresham Harkless

the possible. So I try to remind myself of that all the time.

[00:14:14.60] - Monique Blokzyl

Beautiful. Okay. Guys, let's go go take action and take Grash up on his suggestion today. Okay. So thank you Grash for being with us. It was really, I love to talk to you. I could always talk to you forever. And, no. I hope that also everyone that was here with us today, we hope that you took this one golden nugget away. You know, it's gonna get you and your business to the next level. Again, just, you know, ask Resha saying, let's just take action. Don't just get inspired. No follow our suggestion every single time and take us up on the challenge we're giving you and sharing with you because we care about you and your success and the impact you make in the world. Because if you make a bigger impact, we make a bigger impact together. So, guys, all of you, okay, speak up, scale up, make a bigger difference, make a bigger impact. And great to have you with us today. And all of you have a fabulous day, and we are back soon with another heart powered inspiring interview.

[00:15:08.60] - Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh again, and I hope you enjoyed that special episode of the I am CEO podcast. Just like I mentioned in the beginning, we're really trying to laser focus on these eight pillars to show you as a builder how you can leverage these eight pillars and really level up there so it helps to level up your business and organization. So hope you enjoy this episode, and definitely please check out the show notes so you can learn more about the pillar, learn more about the person that I guested on their episode, and, of course, learn more a little bit more about us as well too. This is Grass signing out. Hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.