This week on the ‘Your Pet Business, Your Way’ podcast, I’m chatting with Natasha Courtenay Smith, a journalist turned digital marketing expert who owns several businesses, including Buddy and Lola, a pet supplement brand.
Natasha is a powerhouse with a capital ‘P’ when it comes to marketing, and we discuss content monsters and the lessons small business owners and solopreneurs can learn from big brands and gurus like Gary Vaynerchuk in terms of visibility.
Natasha shares how she grew Buddy and Lola, how she keeps up with the demands of the content monsters, her predictions for social media and marketing for the next three years, and ways to repurpose your content to lighten the load.
Plus, we explore why having a pet business is a gift when it comes to landing press coverage and going viral on social media.
And we discuss how letting go of caring about how you look and what people think will enable you to keep up with big brands and feel less overwhelmed.
Listen in on the player link below.
Key topics and timings in this episode:
Natasha’s businesses, including Buddy and Lola, a pet supplement brand (2.06).
Behind the scenes of Buddy and Lola and what Natasha and her team have learned from launching on Amazon, moving to Shopify, and having a successful small team (3.43).
Why pet brands are in a brilliant position when pitching to the press as they have so many fascinating stories to package and share (4.48).
How Natasha and the Buddy and Lola team have been gathering stories to approach the media and examples of the ideas they’ve discovered from their community (7.57).
Why giving a journalist an easy life will help you and help you get in the press (10.45).
The content monsters and the challenges they give to small business owners (12.57).
Natasha’s advice when it comes to comparing your business to other brands that were created at a different time and were able to capitalize on algorithm opportunities (14.33).
The opportunity presented (and challenge) to businesses by vertical videos and why Natasha believes this organic opportunity is here to stay for the next three years at least (16.06).
Why viral content doesn’t happen overnight, and we need to keep dropping assets into the cauldron that is social media (17.32).
Case study – Kerry Whitney from Franky’s Bowtique and how she went viral and how pet brands have a far stronger chance of going viral (18.11).
Why Natasha decided to put together a White Paper on Content Monsters and the challenges for creative teams and e-commerce brands (19.42).
How setting up your own offshore production can help, and Natasha’s work with The Edit Squad (21.38).
Why Natasha is focusing on organic content over paid ads, how she manages her content, and a behind-the-scenes look at her content creation process (25.27).
The importance of getting regular ‘underlying bass drum’ content out every day for Natasha (26.40).
Letting go of worrying about what you look and sound like and why you don’t need to be ‘done up’ on every video (28.50).
How stopping listening to other people will stop you feeling anxious about putting yourself out there – unless it’s Gary Vaynerchuk (30.05).
The future of long-form content and changes in SEO (32.19).
Why people do still want to read more and the best ways to invest your time when it comes to repurposing your content (38.24).
What to expect from Natasha’s White Paper, The Conundrum of Creative Production – Why your brand struggles with creative production in the Tik Tok era and three solutions that work (38.57).
Why picking up your phone and mastering creating your own content and being uncomfortable is the way to keep up (41.45).
How to find out more about Natasha and know when the White Paper is live (44.16).
Links mentioned in this episode:
Natasha’s website: https://natashacourtenaysmith.com/
Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tash_courtenaysmith
Follow Natasha on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natashacourtenaysmith/
Find her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tash_courtenay/
Subscribe to the Bolt Digital Newsletter: https://www.boltdigital.media/
Learn about Buddy and Lola: https://www.buddyandlola.co.uk/
Visit Biz Kids: https://www.biz-kids.co.uk/
Check out the Notting Hill Company: https://thenottinghillcompany.com/
Further listening if you want to know about PR
How to write a press release for your pet business
Dos and Don’ts when dealing with journalists
How to find stories in your pet business
Three ways I can help you get press coverage
Keep in touch:
Find me in my Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/publicitytipsforpetbusinesses
On Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/rachelspenceruk
On Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/rachelspenceruk
On LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelspenceruk/
