DOWNSTAGE MEDIA BLOG
SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY, MESSAGING, AND EMAIL MARKETING TIPS
Stress-Free Social with the Simplify Your Social Media Webinar
So many people are paralyzed by what they should put on social media that they don’t put anything at all. “I hate social media” they tell me after I give keynotes. Here you’ll find out how by employing the concepts covered in the Simplify Your Social Webinar you can have a social media presence without the social media pressure.
NEW! Downstage Media Certified in Mailchimp Automation
Are you time-strapped, looking for help with your email marketing campaigns? Look no further – Downstage Media has gained another certification with Mailchimp - Automation. Learn about Annie Schiffmann's Mailchimp certifications and see how they can help you free up valuable time and make email marketing easier!
Using AI to Save Time Creating Content
AI is revolutionizing how we tackle our daily tasks, like creating posts for social media and emails. This blog post will teach you to leverage the power of Artificial Intelligence so that you can spend less time worrying about hitting publish - freeing up more space in your day to focus doing work that energizes and inspires you!
What You Missed at the Most Recent StoryBrand Marketing Livestream
If you’re marketing on a budget, then you’ve probably heard of the StoryBrand framework. It’s a methodology designed to help businesses get their messaging right using the narrative structure we all know from movies. Recently, StoryBrand hosted a livestream focused on how any business - no matter what niche or how small - could clarify their message. As a StoryBrand Guide I was able to facilitate a small group. Here's a peak into our Zoom room.
Why A Sales Funnel is Just the First Step
You're kind of annoyed because now that you have your messaging in place people aren't showing up in droves. I've got good news for you - nothing is wrong. This is actually when the marketing work begins. You built your house with your messaging. Now you've got to invite people in with your marketing. Here are the fundamentals that all marketers know that will bring in and nurture new audience members.
Why Should I Attend Creator Economy Expo? 5 Reasons.
You’ve never heard of Creator Economy Expo before. So… is it worth your time? You don’t want to take days out of your business attending an event that won’t yield results for you in the upcoming year. In this blog post, I’ll talk about what it is, why it’s worth considering, and how to get it at a discount. So you can decide if it’s a good fit for you and your brand.
Curate Content and Reclaim Your Time
Creating social media content on your social media channels can be very time consuming. But if you don't have regular content going out in your feeds, you could lose audience. Learn what curated content is, the benefits of using it, and how to find the best sources for your needs. You'll be able to reclaim time you previously spent creating content - time you can now spend on more important things.
Books by Inspiring Artists to Keep You Motivated All Year
Right about now is when many people let go of their New Year's Resolutions. But that doesn't have to be you! Here is a list of books by and about artists to fill your head throughout the year and keep you motivated and inspired.
Distributing Blogs, Podcasts, and Videos on Social Media With the PAGER Method
When you’re putting out a big piece of content each week: a podcast episode, blog post, or YouTube video, you can feel pretty distressed having to distribute it on social media. But if you don’t, no one will know about this content you work so hard to create! How do you make the most of your long form pieces? Learn how to distribute them with the PAGER Method so you always have your freshest content in your content mix.
Promoting Events, Sales, and More on Social Media
So many people are torn when it comes to social media. They want it to drive their business goals, but they don't want to seem spammy. If they go too far in one direction, they're investing a lot of time without a great return. If they go too far in the other, their audience (and the algorithms) will get turned off. Here you'll learn how to promote your company on social media without turning your feed into an annoying billboard.
Using StoryBrand for Social Media
It’s not always clear how you can use StoryBrand on your social media. Much of the StoryBrand Framework is based around using marketing to increase sales - but social media is different than a website. And no one wants to turn their social media channels into a spammy billboard. Here you’ll learn a StoryBrand-inspired formula for writing copy on your social media posts, as well as different ways to use existing assets in your marketing - lead generators, BrandScripts, and more - in a way that works on social media.
It's Curtains on 2022: Here's What Downstage Media Did for Its Clients
You don't really know where a company's strengths lie until you see what they regularly get hired to do. This can help you understand if you want to work with this company to solve your marketing issues. So as the curtain draws on 2022, here's a look back on the kind of work that Annie Schiffmann did with Downstage Media, and how it helped clients get the social media marketing, email marketing, or overall branding results they were looking for.
Why Should I Take the StoryBrand Marketing Assessment?
It’s aggravating filling out long, unnecessary forms on websites. But you keep getting pointed towards the StoryBrand Marketing Assessment and its promise to show you why your marketing isn’t working. In this breakdown you’ll learn what the assessment asks, why bother to take it, what you get in the marketing report, and how it’s used in our work together. By getting comfortable with the assessment, you can know the steps to take to build your brand on solid ground.
4 Social Media Marketing Problems with 1 Solution
Social media marketing is constantly putting obstacles in front of brands. It is hard to navigate. but it’s vital for your brand to have a presence on at least a couple of platforms. The PAGER method solves four main issues that brands face with social media marketing so that you can get help your bottom line while at the same time build a community of fans.
What is a Content Stockpile for Social Media? And Why Do I Need It?
Here’s what few people talk about when it comes to social media content: organizing posts after they’ve published. Think about it, if you’re making two to five posts each week on about three different social media platforms, that can add up to 750 different files in a year (Check my math on that). If you don’t have a handle on them, they will get out of control quickly. In this blog post, you’ll discover a way to not only store your social media content, but will collect your thoughts, and backup the social media content that you’ve already scheduled.
Why You Need a Brand Playbook
Among one of the most annoying daily occurrences in work is knowing you have a piece of information somewhere on your computer and can’t find it. It becomes especially frustrating when you’re trying to come across it in a hurry: the font you need to make today’s social media image, or the logo you have to submit to the podcast producer. A Brand Identity Playbook helps you have all of this information - plus vital messaging for your organization - in one place. Let’s break down how to create one, and what needs to go into it.
Marketing Tools to Be Thankful For: Email, Social Media, and More
You wouldn’t try to make a Thanksgiving meal with all new recipes and kitchen tools - you’d be frazzled and scrambling before you even put the turkey into the oven. You shouldn’t make marketing materials with all new platforms and software, either. Here’s a list of the tried and true tools, that I’m grateful for this season. Plus, a few new ones, since it’s always fun to have something new to keep things fresh at the table.
Taking the Headache Out of Email Automations
When you don’t have a big marketing team, the idea of coming up with, writing, and sending out weekly - or even monthly - emails is reason enough to lie down. You’re doing so many other things to keep your brand afloat and now you gotta do that too?! Turn out the lights because there’s a migraine coming on. In this blog post, you’ll learn about three different email automations to set up once and put on autopilot. You’ll be able to nurture your audience while you’re working on other aspects of building your brand. (Or, you know, just lying down.)
What Does it Mean to “Variate” Content
Putting out social media content is a grind. You know how important consistently is - both to your audience and to the almighty algorithms. The trouble is, keeping up with that content can be a time suck. Here’s the thing: it doesn’t have to be so hard. By making different versions of your content you can save yourself hours every week. In this blog post, I’ll define “variate” and give you some examples of how that can work in your social media marketing strategy - especially if you are using the PAGER Model.
What are Monthly Live Q&As Like? A Breakdown
There are only twenty-four hours in a day. And building a brand can eat up many of them. Are the Monthly Live Q&As really worth blocking out your limited hours for? Once a month, Annie Schiffmann hosts a group to learn business and marketing strategies with best-selling authors. Afterward, participants get small group coaching from Annie to personalize the material to their brands. Here’s a breakdown of what those events look like so you can decide if it’s worthwhile.