Your brand needs a podcast. Here’s why.

*At the proverbial office watercooler* Is it safe to talk about something other than the Oscars now?

In this week's edition:

• Responding to customer comments on social media like a pro.
• Why big businesses are stealing tactics from the SMB playbook.
• Starting your own podcast — everything you need to know.

SOCIAL CUES

How to handle customer comments on your social media

My social following is starting to grow. #Halp.
Kudos on the budding audience numbers — that’s huge for any business. But with great followers comes great responsibility. Specifically, in your comments section.

Right. But I’ve got a lot on my plate. And I’m not sure where to start.
Totally normal. You're running a business — and most SMBs don’t have the budget for a dedicated community manager or a social media specialist. But it’s absolutely crucial that you respond to your followers diligently and thoughtfully — whether it’s two comments or 200. According to a recent post by Buffer, “how you handle comments is incredibly important because they are a direct way to communicate with your customers, receive feedback, and build trust and loyalty.”

That’s a lot of pressure.
It doesn’t have to be. The good news is, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel with every comment and get bogged down in your feeds. As an SMB entrepreneur, you don’t have time for that.

Here are a few great tips for handling comments (both good *and* bad) on your socials:

• Develop community guidelines that shape your strategy response. Think about things like tone, voice, and personality; guidelines for crisis communications; and when it’s appropriate to block a user.
• Dedicate 15 minutes a day to responding to comments. Or, opt for several 15-minute pockets throughout the day. That way, you’re responding to your followers in a timely manner. And stick to it! Set a timer so that you don’t get sucked into a two-hour scroll through your social media pages.
• Consider a social tool that can help you efficiently manage your pages and comments all in one place. Think: Sprout Social, Buffer, and Loomly.

The returns that come with curating a strong relationship with your online audience are huge — “you’re showing your followers (and customers) that you care, that you’re responsive, and that their feedback matters. All of this helps you build connections and can help you stand apart from other businesses who aren’t as responsive.”

BREAK UP TO MAKE UP

Big companies are breaking up to scale like SMBs

Breaking up can be hard.
But in recent months, more than a few brand name companies have announced decisions to split into two or more smaller companies.

Healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson decided to separate its consumer division from its pharmaceutical business. And U.S. auto industry leader Ford shared its plans to split up its auto business into two units: one for its gas and diesel-powered cars and another for its new electric models.

The reason?
While it may seem backward to break up large conglomerates into smaller companies, these big name brands took their strategies straight out of the SMB playbook — they realized that it was easier to scale when you start small.

A deeper dive.
Here’s why the small business mentality is better for scaling your company:

• A single focus. Breaking up and downsizing allows big companies to focus on a single idea and generate growth through that one avenue. Just like with a small business, you don’t have to divide your time trying to develop, market, and sell multiple goods — your sole focus is concentrated on scaling a specific product or service.
• Responsiveness and flexibility. The bigger your business, the more red tape you have to wade through to make big changes. It’s harder to make changes quickly when you have hundreds of employees and tons of resources focused on other goals. But smaller businesses have the flexibility to take advantage of industry trends and adapt to the market more effectively.

👉 Read the full story here.

CAN YOU HEAR ME? GOOD.

The moment when you want to start a podcast for your biz

A podcast?
Why not? Podcasts are a wonderful source of information and inspiration from experts in every industry. In today's content creation era, podcasts are gaining some serious steam. Seems like everyone has a go-to pod for their work commutes and exercise routines.

There are currently 120M podcast listeners in the U.S. alone (and climbing). Plus, podcasts are great brand building tools and awesome opportunities for people to speak directly to their audience, making them the perfect addition to your business's content strategy.

Intriguing, but where do I start?
One of the best things about podcasting is that anyone can do it, no matter their budget. Here’s a checklist of what you’ll need:

• Equipment. At the very least, you’ll need a computer with recording software (some free options include Audacity and Garageband) and a microphone. You can go as low maintenance as your phone or as high as a professional-grade mic.
• Niche. What’s the show about? Why are you producing it and what will listeners take away? Think about the industry you’re in and the type of customer you serve. Then, decide how you can frame your expertise to help your audience learn.
• Show structure. Assuming you’re looking to release episodes on a schedule, you’ll need to develop a structure. AKA the pattern for how your episodes are framed to promote consistency and repeatability.

👉 Get the complete guide.

Have you heard the news? Organize Chaos is back! Our flagship podcast relaunched this week with episodes covering hot topics like building what your customer wants and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Get daily SMB insight in our short formatted episodes published Monday through Thursday, plus thought leader interviews every Friday.

👉 Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss Friday's interview with Profit for Contractors CEO Andrew Houston and special guest Jay Carter as they discuss helping contractors become champion CEOs.

TL;DR

This week's highlight reel

• Ship happens. Great news for SMBs who rely on shipping. The U.S. Postal Service is launching USPS Connect, a new program that gives smaller businesses an e-commerce advantage — and a path to profitable sales — by providing lower shipping costs than rival carriers like FedEx and UPS.
• Feed(ing) frenzy. Instagram’s ditching its algorithms (sort of) in favor of the much beloved chronological feed. Users will be able to select from two new ways to display posts in reverse chronological order: using their followers list or favorites. It’s a win for SMBs whose posts have been buried in IG’s algorithm avalanche.
• Keep your friends close… Uber has joined forces with an unlikely ally: taxi cabs. The popular rideshare app made a deal to integrate New York City’s cabs in its platform. Meaning, roughly 14,000 taxis will be able to receive trip requests from Uber customers as soon as late spring.
• All out of love. Let’s just say you won’t find Pusha T sliding into McDonald’s DMs anytime soon. In a recently released diss track for Arby’s, the rapper took aim at McD’s Filet-O-Fish after feeling improperly compensated for his alleged involvement in the “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle. Moral of the story: good beef doesn’t come cheap.