[SAM]:
Tired of never quite feeling comfortable with your practice financials? I’d like you to meet Green Oak Accounting. Their goal is to empower private practice owners with the financial information they need to make good business decisions. They specialize in working with solo and group private practices in the mental health industry, so they are uniquely positioned to help with figuring out what’s ‘normal’ in your business finances and what’s not. So, if you’ve ever had a conversation with your accountant or bookkeeper that left you wishing that they understood private practice, or had some best practices to share, head over to greenoakaccounting.com and schedule a free consultation to see if they might be a good fit for you. They can help with your accounting needs, from bookkeeping to payroll to profit-first and budgeting and forecasting.

Welcome to the Marketing A Practice podcast with me, Sam Carvalho, where you’ll discover everything you need to know about marketing and branding your business. To find out more about how I can help you brand your business, visit www.practiceofthepractice.com/branding. And if you’d like to see some examples of my design work, be sure to follow me on Instagram @samanthacarvalhodesign.

Hi there and welcome to the Marketing A Practice podcast. I’m so glad you are with me today. Joining me today I have Ryan Cote, who is the Director of Digital Services and partner at Ballantine, a third-generation family-owned direct mail and digital marketing company based out of Fairfield, New Jersey. Ballantine has been serving small business clients since 1966, when it was founded by Ryan’s great uncle. Ryan has been with his family’s agency since 2003 and today he manages the growing digital marketing division. From lead generation to marketing strategy for small businesses, Ryan and his company rise above the get featured quick schemes so often attributed to digital marketing. He loves to geek out on technical marketing talk, as well as work with real world business owners about growing their book of business in today’s online world. Ryan, it’s so great to have you on the Marketing A Practice podcast. Thanks for joining us.

[RYAN]:
Hey, Sam, super happy to be here.

[SAM]:
So, can you tell us a bit about your story and the family history of the business? I mean, it’s so fascinating that it was started in 1966 and it’s still going strong today.

[RYAN]:
Yeah, so my great uncle started the company in ‘66, and then since then a string of Cotes have joined, and, you know, for example, my grandfather joined ‘68, my father in ‘78, Uncle ‘84, just up to the present day, to 2020. While we are recording this, it’s myself, my two brothers, and my uncle are partners in the agency. My cousin is on the team now as well. So, it’s been, you know, it’s been a fun journey. I went to school for marketing. I didn’t go into the family business right out of school, I had two marketing jobs. I honestly didn’t think I was gonna join. It wasn’t, like, something we spoke about. But then, when my when my middle brother Matt joined, I think that kind of planted the seed that maybe it’d be fun to work in the business and…

[SAM]:
Yeah.

[RYAN]:
… then here I am today, 17 years later.

[SAM]:
Yeah, it’s awesome. It’s so amazing how it’s kind of stayed with the times, you know, in terms of how marketing must’ve changed so much over the years, but it’s so awesome that you guys have stayed at the forefront of it all.

[RYAN]:
Yeah, we’re trying, you know, definitely not perfect, but we’re trying. We still do a lot of direct mail. We created a digital division about five years ago, now we have a full team, you know. On the digital side, it’s been interesting trying to, you know, figure out who we serve best, who’s, like, in our sweet spot, and we’ve figured it out. It just took a little while. It’s essentially a startup within an established business, which is sort of interesting.

[SAM]:
Yes.

[RYAN]:
But on the direct mail side, yes, we’ve been doing that for many, many years.

[SAM]:
Yeah, that’s awesome. So, can you tell us what you love about what you do?

[RYAN]:
What I love is every day is different. So, my role is mostly sales strategy. I work with a team, you know, especially with the manager of the team, her name is Larissa. And so, every day is different, honestly. So, I do like the variety. I don’t know if I could do the same thing over and over again. So, every day I come in, it’s like, we’re working on different pitches, going after different clients, just different types of engagements, different projects… So, I like the variety. It makes it very interesting. And now, with, you know, with COVID, I have my own home office now. So, sometimes I go into the office and most of the time I work from home, so now there’s even more variety. So, that’s my answer.

[SAM]:
Yeah, I think it’s an interesting time for everybody. We’re all having to adapt our businesses accordingly.

[RYAN]:
Yeah, yeah, definitely.

[SAM]:
So, I mean, you know, working for a family-run business that’s been going for so long, especially within the marketing sphere, obviously, traditionally, things were a lot more print focused, but, as you said, now, we’re definitely moving to more of the digital side of things, especially now with COVID-19. So, can you speak more into kind of how to integrate print and digital marketing and, and whether print marketing is something that businesses should still be focusing on in the future?

[RYAN]:
Yeah. So, we still do a tremendous amount of direct mail but we on the direct mail side, we work with very large companies, like Royal Caribbean, that need to use direct mail. On the digital side, we work with small businesses, manufacturers, contractors, typically, industrial companies. So, like, the print side of our business is still very large, it’s just… we work with companies that need to use it, like travel, and nonprofits because they’re trying to fundraise. But we’re starting to see more requests, even on the small business side, for print. We work with a contractor, for example, who does a lot of digital with us, but every quarter or so, they’ll send out a postcard blanketing a certain area that they want business from, and they always get jobs from it. So, if your budget allows, you know, postcards, if we’re talking about small businesses, postcards are very cost-effective way to add a print element to your digital campaigns. In terms of connecting the two – obviously, you know, best case scenario is, if you’re doing a direct mail campaign, you also have their email address, so you can send out an email to piggyback along with the digital mail/the postcard, because you often don’t want to just rely on the postcard getting a response, especially as you think about, like, the typical person right now, including myself, very distracted, and a lot coming at us in marketing, and so, you can’t rely on just the postcards, unless you’re sending out like the most amazing deal of the century, but… Typically, you have to marry up the postcard with an email campaign to the same people, and then, if you’ve got their email, then you can upload that list to Facebook or LinkedIn and you can run ads to the matches. So, essentially, then you’ve got the postcard going out, people getting the postcard in their in their mailbox, you’ve got the email going out, and so now they’re getting the same message in their inbox. And then you upload it to Facebook, and then they’re getting the same offer in their newsfeed. And so, that’s like the most effective way to integrate print and digital. You know, there’s technology coming out now where you could put a code on your site, and you can grab the address information of the person that’s on your site and send them something. We’re just slowly starting to do that, but it’s still – for us, at least – it’s early to talk too much about it.

[SAM]:
Yes. And so, if a company obviously has to come to you, I mean, most of our audience is obviously private practice owners, specifically in mental health. So obviously, if someone had to come to you, you would kind of canvass the company first, kind of see, you know, what they’re about, what current marketing initiatives are working best, and then you’d kind of move forward with a comprehensive marketing strategy that probably does incorporate print and digital, but that then best suits their business model.

[RYAN]:
Yeah, exactly. I mean, so print maybe from the get-go is not, like, the best thing for your audience. Digital is likely going to be more effective. Print is a nice supplement to the digital campaign. We always tell our small business clients that, you know, when you’ve got your digital really cranking, and you’re looking for additional channels to get in front of people, then, naturally, that means print/postcards.

[SAM]:
Yes.

[RYAN]:
But keep in mind, you’ve got the cost of the postage, which is the most expensive part of the job, you’ve got the print, you got the mail, you’ve got the list… And so, you know, it can be expensive, but you know, in the right use, it can be very effective.

[SAM]:
Yeah, I think that’s kind of the message that we get out to our audience pretty much as well, you know, print is a nice-to-have, like, I think, first and foremost, focus on digital, but yeah, definitely, if you’ve got the budget, then you can definitely explore some of the print options.

[RYAN]:
Yeah, exactly.

[SAM]:
So, something else that you kind of speak into is small business marketing does not equal small ideas. Can you speak a bit more into that?

[RYAN]:
Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, it’s sort of… the internet, digital has leveled the playing field – we all have access to the same channels and the same platforms that the ‘big boys’ do. Of course, we don’t have the ‘big boy’ budgets, but we can still use Facebook ads, and we can still use, you know, Google ads, and all the different resources that the bigger companies do. And so, just because you’re a small business doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of all the platforms you have available to you. I mean, yeah, you’re gonna have to start small. But I always tell small businesses, our clients, of course, it depends on the budget, the budget is, unfortunately, it’s going to dictate what you can do. And so it’s, like, one of the first questions we ask like… it goes two ways, either, here’s what we recommend and here’s what it’s going to take, or they give us a budget and we say, Okay, well for that, here’s what we think you should do. Because, if you have a limited budget, you have to use that money, you know, most effectively. But that’s what I love about the internet because we do have access to the same resources and so, you know, for your audience, I would, I mean, we always recommend starting off with search engine optimization and Google ads. That’s what we see, at least at our agency, generate the most leads. It makes sense because someone has a need, they have a pain, or something they’re going through and they need help with it, and so they’re going to turn to Google and they’re going to look for the answer. And so, that person is coming to your site already, kind of, pre-framed to quote-unquote “buy”. And if you’re saying well, I don’t have a budget for both, then I would say probably just do SEO, because that’s more of a long-term strategy, and you don’t have, like, the clicks, you’re not paying for every click. It does take longer, but it’s more of a long-term strategy.

[SAM]:
Yeah, absolutely. I was also just thinking when you were talking about budget… but it’s, it’s really cool, I think, and it’s true, what you say, that it’s kind of leveled the playing field, and everyone has access to the same tools and it’s, you know, just how you go about using them. And I think that’s why it’s great for, you know, our audience members to partner with someone like you who has a bit more insight into those tools and how to make the most of them with a small budget, if that’s what you’re working with. But I definitely think SEO can be the most powerful tool to use because I think, especially when it comes to counseling, you know, if you, kind of, can just tap into exactly what people are searching for if they are depressed, or if they are anxious, then that’s going to help you a lot.

[RYAN]:
Yeah. And when we say SEO, I’m including content creation in that as well, like blogging. It’s sort of like… your site should be able to do SEO all by itself, and you still can if you have a big enough site, enough to optimize, build backlinks, all of that stuff. But content creation is really a critical part of SEO. You want to have really good, fresh content going on your site on a regular basis, content that answers questions, content that’s detailed and is, you know, a good resource for whoever lands on it.

[SAM]:
Yes. And we’re also always advising people, well, kind of twofold, like if counselors treat a number of different things, so if they treat, like depression, and anxiety, we always say, you know, have individual service pages for each of those specialties, and kind of niche down as much as possible, because obviously that’s going to help with your SEO and the keywords that people are searching for. And then the second thing is, yeah, just to blog as much as possible, and to speak in a language that your client is speaking because, I think, unfortunately, with some of the private practice owners, you know, they’ve obviously studied and they want to use all the medical tools that they’ve studied, and they forget that that’s not the language that people are using when they’re searching on Google.

[RYAN]:
Yeah, that’s actually a very good point. First of all, your first point is good point. Yes, you want to have different pages for the different, you know, the services or what you treat.

[SAM]:
Yes.

[RYAN]:
That does help you because, for Google, it’s all about relevancy. If you want to rank for keyword XYZ, you have to have a page about keyword XYZ that goes into detail and is a good resource for that keyword search.

[SAM]:
Yes.

[RYAN]:
So, yeah. Those are two good points.

[SAM]:
And another thing you speak into is how business owners can rarely find their target audience online. And I know, for some of our audience as well, who’ve maybe just started out and, you know, they’re not sure if they should be starting a Facebook page, or even having a website or things like that. So, can you speak a bit more into that and how they can find their audience online?

[RYAN]:
Yeah, so there’s different ways. I mean, you’ve got, like we said, with a small business not needing to be small in terms of marketing, we have all these platforms, all this data. And so, it depends… finding your audience depends on what platform we’re talking about. But like, for example, with Google ads and search engine optimization, it’s what keywords are they searching, and what questions are they asking? And there’s different ways you can find that out, there’s, of course, you can talk to your client base and find out what, you know, what they would search for to find your practice. But then there’s tools like, and I’m not affiliated with any of these, but I’m just gonna just throw out some ideas.

[SAM]:
Yeah, sure.

[RYAN]:
Well, here’s one that’s pretty relatively inexpensive, but really good – Ubersuggest.io. It’s by this guy, Neil Patel, who’s a CEO/content marketer. It’s a fantastic tool for like 10 bucks a month, at least right now, it does more than just keyword research, but it analyzes your site, and it just has a whole bunch of stuff. It’s sort of competing with SEM rush, it’s like 80% of the way there, but, like, a fraction of the cost. So, basically, what I’m trying to tie this into is that it helps you find the keywords. You type in keywords and it shows you, Okay, well, here’s what actually people are searching for. So, you’ll keyword research is a very important part of finding your audience because you need to understand what they’re searching for, and it’s not always obvious.

[SAM]:
Yeah.

[RYAN]:
And then, what questions they’re asking. There is another site, I think it’s AnswerThePublic that helps you identify questions.

[SAM]:
Yes. I’ve come across that before, I think.

[RYAN]:
Yeah, it’s like one of the more popular… it used to be free, but now I think it’s paid.

[SAM]:
Awesome, yeah. Those are some awesome tools.

[RYAN]:
Yeah, I definitely recommend checking them out.

[SAM]:
Yeah.

[RYAN]:
So that’s, like, for SEO and Google ads, it comes down to like identifying the keywords that your audience is going to use. But then, for social, take advantage of the advertising platforms. And so, for LinkedIn, what groups do they belong to? What are their job titles? For your audience, it’s more, like, Facebook, but I think, you know, there might be a way to use LinkedIn as well, but with Facebook, what are their interests? What are their demographics? Things like that, you could build up the exact audience. Of course, add the Facebook pixel to your site, and then you can create a lookalike audience off your traffic. So, you put a Facebook pixel on the site that identifies people that come to your site, in terms of when you can’t see who they are, but it builds an audience for you in Facebook advertising. And then you’ve got that audience of people that have come to your site. So obviously, they’re thinking about using you.

[SAM]:
Yes.

[RYAN]:
Or coming to you, I should say. And then you can build a lookalike audience off of that. And so, there’s just different ways, it just depends on the platform. I think those are some ideas to get your audience started.

[SAM]:
Yeah, that’s awesome. I didn’t actually know about that lookalike audience, that’s really cool. For everybody listening, if you are driving or something now, we’ll have all these tools mentioned in the show notes. So, you can just go check that out if you’re not able to write it down now. But Ryan, can you give us some real advice on how to improve your website ranking on Google, kind of over-and-above, or if there’s anything you’ve missed out from what you’ve already said?

[RYAN]:
I could definitely add to that. So, I mentioned the keyword research. That’s the first step for SEO. I mentioned Ubersuggest, so I’ll go on to the next point. Make sure your site’s mobile responsive, secure URLs, and loads fast. Google likes fast websites that look good on mobile, because a lot of traffic is mobile now, and they like secure URLs. So, if you hit those three things, then you’re in a better spot. Pay very, very, very close attention to Google My Business. That is becoming, like, your second website. Very, very crucial. So, get verified on Google My Business, fully fill out the profile, like, everything, literally everything. Photos, primary category, secondary category, address, website, services… the whole thing. Just, spend hours on it, you have to fully fill it out. And then, lastly, get reviews. It’s like the blogging, Google likes sites that produce good, fresh content on a regular basis. Same thing with reviews – they don’t like to see something get like two reviews, and then five months later get another review, you know. It’s more the velocity that counts, you know, the steadiness of getting the reviews. So, you know, that’s important. And the last thing I would say is link building. And so, that’s other sites linking back to you. It’s, you know, if we were having this conversation in like 2010, it was all about the links, it was only about the links. Now, it’s more SEO, it’s more difficult. You have to do the right keyword research, have the right content, the pages need to be well-structured, but links are still important. So, in terms of how to get links, think like submitting your site to directories, writing for other blogs that are relevant, and then getting them to link back to you, if there’s trade publications try to become a columnist, and contribute your content in exchange for a link back to your site. If you ever donate to charities, if you ever speak at events or you’re able to sponsor events, typically you get a link back from that, it’s like, “here’s the logo, they’re a sponsor”, and they link back to your site. So, those are some ways I think most of your audience can use to get links, and they’re a pretty critical part, still, of SEO.

[SAM]:
Hmm. Yeah, that’s awesome. That’s some really cool advice, and I think it’s definitely relevant to our audience. Just as a side note, I was just thinking now with, obviously, this whole COVID-19, I think it’s going to be interesting to see how it changes the digital landscape. I think, with so many businesses now having to jump online, as well, that maybe previously weren’t online. Have there been any kind of immediate things that have, you know, kind of worked its way into your business and any adjustments that you guys have already had to make to your marketing initiatives or, or how you’re working with clients?

[RYAN]:
I mean, in terms of our sales efforts, we used to stay within the Tri-State Area of New Jersey, you know, around our office. And now we’re, you know, we’re getting clients all over the US, because we’re all, like, video chat experts now, so it doesn’t really matter where we are. That was always the case, we always went local. So, it’s sort of an interesting dynamic, I know this isn’t, like, a sales podcast, but, like, trying to build trust and earn their business when you can’t see them and it’s only done through video. And so that’s been some, internally, just interesting discussions. But we’re seeing, like, on the manufacturing side, and just, like, things that came to my mind when you asked the question, on the manufacturing side, where we have clients that typically sell through distributors, like they have a product, they don’t sell it – they sell to the distributor and a distributor sells it. We see some trying to turn their site into Ecommerce so they can sell it directly.

[SAM]:
Okay.

[RYAN]:
So, I think that’s gonna be maybe a growing trend is everyone’s…

[SAM]:
Yeah.

[RYAN]:
…trying to sell, like, on Ecommerce. I think I read a stat that Shopify is, like, exploding right now for Ecommerce, like people trying to create a website. So, I think that’s definitely a trend that’s going to continue, and I think we’re going to see more and more people, like, I mean… we do digital for industrial manufacturing companies and so, you wouldn’t think they would do digital, but like, no matter how obscure your product is, there’s always someone searching for it online as a buyer, especially as the buyers are younger, you know. They’re looking online. So, I think, no matter what business you are – a therapy practice, manufacturer, you know, whatever the case is – your online presence is gonna be so crucial right now. That’s good.

[SAM]:
Yeah. Absolutely. And I think, obviously, just in the counseling world, there’s obviously been an increase in online counseling now as well, which, I’m sure, is also an interesting dynamic, as you were saying, you know, trying to earn trust over video. I think this is, now, trying to still maintain that personal connection with your client over video. So, that’s also going to be a whole new world.

[RYAN]:
That’s actually a good point. So, to piggyback on the SEO, for your audience to be proactive, you’re right, I expect to see a growing search volume for those types of keywords, like, not telemedicine, though, that is for, like, for doctors, but for like video therapy via video chat, or whatever the keywords are, those would make some good blog topics to get those keywords in there.

[SAM]:
Yes.

[RYAN]:
Have a page on your site that makes it clear that you do therapy and counseling via video. And even if the keywords aren’t showing as exciting, like Ubersuggest, assume that it’s probably going to happen, like, the search volume will grow. So, get ahead of the curve, and create blog content and create pages around counseling via video. And yeah, that’d be a smart move in my opinion.

[SAM]:
Yeah, that’s an awesome advice. And I think, as you say, kind of just keep an eye on those keywords, and even if you see that you’ve maybe included, you know, you create the blog post and you see maybe you’ve included keywords that aren’t ranking as well but then, in a few weeks, you know, something that’s still to do with online counseling, but a different kind of phrase, the you can always go back and edit and include that. But, as you say, then at least you’re already ahead of the curve, which I think is really smart.

[RYAN]:
Yeah.

[SAM]:
So, Ryan, if any of our audience wanted to get in touch with you, what’s the best way that they can contact you or find out more about the services that you provide?

[RYAN]:
Yeah, absolutely. So, we put together a page for your audience. On there is an offer to get a free video review, where I personally go through your site through screenshare and just look at your SEO, look at your content, social, all that stuff, whatever I see that I think will be good feedback. So, like a free video analysis. If you go to that page, I’ll give it to you. They can request that. There’s also my LinkedIn profile, you know, please connect me on LinkedIn. I’m there often. So, it’s ballantine.com/marketing-practice.

[SAM]:
Awesome. Yeah, we’ll definitely have that all included in the show notes. That’s an awesome offer, so, guys, definitely make use of that if you’re wanting to improve your marketing. And then, Ryan, if every private practice owner in the world were listening right now, what would you want them to know?

[RYAN]:
I’m actually gonna throw a curveball here, I’m going to go completely different to we’ve been talking about, because I’m like a big personal development, gym, rowing nut. And so, I’ve seen big improvements in my own life by adapting a morning routine. And every morning routine’s a little bit different, but like mine’s meditation, journaling, exercise, to name a few things, gratitude practice. And so, I start every morning with a series of things that I do, and it just starts my day off right and it’s funny, like, it improves my mindset, I seem to just do better at work. I’m not sure what the reasoning is there, but, morning routine, I’d say look into look into creating one. It’s been a game changer for myself, at least.

[SAM]:
Awesome. Yeah. Thanks so much. I think now more than ever, we need to look after our mental health. Even if you are a mental health professional, you still need to look after your mental health. And yeah, I definitely think a good morning routine is a good step towards that.

[RYAN]:
Yeah, very true.

[SAM]:
Awesome. Well, thanks so much, again for being on the Marketing A Practice podcast, Ryan. We really enjoyed having you.

[RYAN]:
Yeah. Thanks, Sam, for having me. And thanks, everyone, for listening.

[SAM]:
Thanks for listening to the Marketing A Practice podcast. If you need help with branding your business, whether it be a new logo, rebrand, or you simply want a print flyer designed, head on over to www.practiceofthepractice.com/branding. And if you’d like to see some examples of my design work, be sure to follow me on Instagram @samanthacarvalhodesign. Finally, please subscribe, rate, and review this podcast on iTunes if you like what you’ve heard. Talk to you soon.

This podcast is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regards to the subject matter covered. It is given with the understanding that neither the host, the publisher, or the guests are rendering legal, accounting, clinical, or any other professional information. If you want a professional, you should find one.