I found a link yesterday to an interview I had with author Karen Putz. During the interview, Karen asked me what advice I would give a deaf or hard of hearing person who was looking for a career like mine. At the time, I was just starting my digital marketing company, Synergetic Business Solutions (SBS), and was fresh out of my MBA program.

The best advice I can give a deaf/HH person who is looking for a career like mine is to reach out to someone who has ‘been there, done that.’ I wish I did this because I would have learned more about marketing before getting into the space. I feel as if I went into my MBA without much experience and really could have used a true mentor in the space. While I am happy where I am today, I believe I may have done things differently that could have advanced me further in my career.

Looking at the answer I gave, I found it quite intriguing I seemed to believe having a mentor was the be-all and end-all to success.

As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20. If I could write a letter to my younger self, I would share it is more important to have faith that everything will work out and things happen for a reason. Even though I’m still only several years into my career, I’m no longer ‘wet behind the ears.’ I learned it is important to simply trust the process.

But what does it really mean to trust the process?

I believe the answer to this question is quite complex, yet so simple. It is the ability to have faith that there are circumstances of life that will unfold in the way it will, and you’re simply along for the ride. One cannot control the unknown, but shall embrace the process wholly and completely.

Since the time of my interview with Karen, much has happened. I lost my father and grandmother, two of the most important people in my life.

Through my difficult losses, I gained clarity and a better understanding that things do happen for a reason. I strongly believe it weren’t for my father and grandmother, I would never have moved back to Chicago from Rochester, NY. I likely would not have met many wonderful people during my journey in growing SBS, as well as finding the opportunity to work as an account executive with Communication Service for the Deaf.

While I miss my father and grandmother dearly, I’m grateful I’m able to trust the process and that I’m in it for the ‘ride of my life!’

The post Trust the Process first appeared on Corey Axelrod.

I trust you will evaluate the thoughts I share and recognize the value in them. I’ve sat on these thoughts for a very long time, and for the first time, publicly shared some of these thoughts during my ‘Online Advertising And Marketing: A Powerful Tool’ workshop at the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) Conference this recent July in Louisville, Kentucky. During my workshop, I mentioned the deaf community needed to reach out to the hearing community. An attendee of my workshop, Ted Holcomb, took note and mentioned this in his latest blog post, ‘Will Deaf Community Take Responsibility?’

In wanting to respond to his thoughts, I decided this would be the appropriate outlet for me to continue the discussion initiated at the NAD Conference.

To borrow a line from Trudy Suggs, my goal is for you, the reader, to be open to “uncomfortable topics, uncomfortable truths, and uncomfortable analyses—whether they apply to you or not.”

I’m a firm believer the best way to advocate is to look within and analyze how the outside world perceives you as a being, collective group of individuals or culture, and then shape messages to respond accordingly.

I say this because upon reading Ted Holcomb’s post, I squirmed a bit. Not because I disagreed with what he had to say, but because he brought up valid questions that were thought provoking and encouraged a healthy discussion.

In replying to this post, I’d like to do so in the context of one of the areas I know best: marketing.

Small business owners have often asked me this question: what do I need to do to get over the hump? My answer has often been straightforward – you need to understand your market and market to them effectively and efficiently.

Yes, it’s that simple!

Unfortunately, businesses are often stuck in a rut and follow their business and marketing plans point for point. This is a double-edged sword as technology and the overall business landscape are continually evolving, making an already difficult venture even more difficult. As a result, regardless of whether one knows their business inside and out, the onus is on decision makers to review and adjust strategic initiatives accordingly.

This merely prefaces one of the main points of this article – to be successful, you as a business owner or marketer need to market your messages effectively to the masses, including people who may not necessarily serve as a customer, but as an influencer.

I’m not saying you should generalize your messages to resonate with every single individual – that’s merely impossible – instead, what I am saying is to make sure everyone has access to your messages.

So for example, if you are a deaf business owner serving primarily deaf customers, you should be making sure any videos (i.e. Vlogs) you make are captioned. You may be thinking… well my everyday customer is a deaf individual. So what?

While there is nothing wrong with a business serving a niche client base by selling products for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, there is something to be said if your marketing collateral is not accessible to all within this market segment. If you’re not captioning your videos, I would like to point out you probably just lost out on the 80-85 percent of the market segment you aimed to serve. This is because these individuals often are not culturally deaf and consequently do not know or are not fluent in ASL.

At the same time, you also possibly missed out on a great opportunity to educate the general masses about your products and services. These individuals may end up becoming customers and/or can serve as brand advocates/influencers. It’s very likely they may know someone who could use your products or services.

In essence, you cannot expect to successfully market your company if your messages are not equally accessible to all.

One can look at Russ and Melody Stein of Mozzeria in San Francisco, California. I personally had a chance to talk with the both of them when I was at their restaurant several months ago. The two of them reiterated the point of not only needing to understand the market they serve, but also not limiting themselves because of their deafness.

The two garnered positive PR from both deaf and mainstream media, a feat that doesn’t surprise me. While there is the bit to be said about the owners being deaf, there is much more to Mozzeria than the deaf owners. It’s the food, oven, ambiance, service and much more that make Mozzeria what it is. Russ and Melody Stein understood this and decided to capitalize on the unique dining experience they offer patrons.

Making business accessible to all individuals is a sensible, pragmatic approach to business. It is not impossible for businesses to do, but yet, many businesses often do not realize the wealth of opportunities they are presented with.

To see how easily one can make an influence on the general public, one can look at the impact Adam Jarashow and Megan Malzkuhn made when launching the #captionTHIS social media movement for online accessibility. One can also look at a much more recent example, Adrean Clark’s petition to President Obama to officially recognize American Sign Language as a community language and a language of instruction in schools. These are two prime examples of the deaf community banding together to push a social agenda.

Simply put, the words were heard, felt and understood through accessible communication that reached out to not only within the community, but also transcended beyond.

Now let’s think back to your business and think about how you can maximize your business’ return on investment (ROI).

The obvious solution is to maximize your marketing communications effectiveness and efficiency. One way to do this is to add captioning to all videos. In turn, you will attract a larger population of people. If everything else holds constant, you’ll be generating incremental income that you can in turn reinvest in the deaf community. With this said, I would like to challenge those who preach about needing to up the standards of deaf economics to step up to the plate and lead by example.

If a small company like DeafTechNews, one that was started and is currently run by an RIT student, can afford to outsource captioning services to CaptionASL, why don’t bigger companies and organizations caption their videos?

It shouldn’t be considered an expense of time and money, but rather an investment.

Anyways, back to the point of Mozzeria – not only has their business thrived, but they’ve also been able to give back to the deaf community in numerous ways, including employing deaf individuals. The #captionTHIS social media movement for online accessibility and ASL petition are proof of concepts that deaf people are capable of not only being heard, but understood.

They serve as the reason you should not be afraid to reach out of your comfort zone – you may have an ally who believes in you and wants to support your journey.

The post Breaking Down Barriers of Success first appeared on Corey Axelrod.

I had the privilege of being interviewed by Deaf Social Media about my experiences with Synergetic Business Solutions. Below is the transcript of the interview (can also be found here):

DSM: Tell us a bit about yourself and your role at Synergetic Business Solutions.

Corey: I was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. After graduating from John Hersey High School, I attended the Rochester Institute of Technology and earned my bachelor’s degree in business management and master’s degree in business administration (MBA) with a concentration in marketing and sales management. After working for several years out of Rochester, NY, I decided to return to my roots in Chicago and focus full-time on Synergetic Business Solutions.

As the owner of Synergetic Business Solutions, I work with my team to tailor marketing strategies to help businesses connect with their customers. The focus is on integrating different components of businesses to increase profitability and efficiency. These include, but are not limited to the following: social media and search engine marketing, online advertising and branding.

DSM: How did you get started running your own digital marketing agency?

Corey: The decision to start my own digital marketing agency was quite simple – I saw a need and decided to tackle this by offering services I had a passion for. This need was explicit within the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community, and I was strongly encouraged to initially offer my services on a consultative basis. Since starting the business, we’ve created more than 15 multi-channel integrated marketing campaigns for a portfolio of business-to-business and business-to-consumer clients. I’m truly excited to see where the company will go in the future!

DSM: What are some areas in social media that you noticed most companies have been struggling with these days?

Corey: Engagement is critical. A number of companies struggle with this concept. It’s not about putting out information that is interesting to the person posting on social media, but rather posting content that is relevant and interesting to the target audience. Essentially, your customers are your brand. If you fail to deliver content they want along with the product or services they want, they may quickly go elsewhere.

DSM: What will it take to become a “Best in Class” digital marketer?

Corey: This is a great question! I think that in order to become a ‘Best in Class’ marketer, one needs to be able to be a Jack of all trades. While digital marketing is constantly changing, one should understand the intangibles associated with marketing and evolve with the emerging trends. All components of digital marketing work together and if one does not understand how one component affects the other, they can severely hinder their organization’s success.

DSM: NFL’s regular season’s starting tomorrow, how do you think your Bears would do this year?

Corey: I should have known you would ask me this question! I really think that if Brian Urlacher is healthy, the Bears have a chance to go deep into the playoffs. You heard it here first – Super Bowl Champions!

Thank you Deaf Social Media for this opportunity!

The post Exclusive Interview with Deaf Social Media first appeared on Corey Axelrod.

Last Wednesday I had the privilege of being on the LinkedIn Lady radio show. While regular host Carol McManus (@linkedinlady) was away at a conference, a friend and former colleague, Ken Herron (@KenHerron), was the guest host. I couldn’t turn down Ken’s request that I be his special guest on the show.

Ken and I talked in lengths about how small businesses need to incorporate social media as part of their integrated marketing mix, and I’m writing this blog post as a summation of the conversation we had during the show.

Ken opened the discussion by asking me which social media platform a small business should be on. Unfortunately, there is no right answer. Social media is not about you or your business, it’s about your customers, audience, and whoever you are trying to reach. Simply put, you go where your customers are. If your customers are on Facebook, you should be on Facebook. If they’re on Twitter or Pinterest, you should be as well.

Communicate with your customers to find out which networks they are on, as well as the type of content they want from you on social media. This will enhance engagement, a process critical to your success on social media.

The next portion of the show focused on standing out from the competition on social media. While one can go the route of focusing on the ‘trends’ (YouTube or other video platforms) or on ‘conventional’ social media platforms by going with Facebook and Twitter, my professional recommendation is to be on multiple platforms and simultaneously utilize video. Part of video’s appeal for social media is that it lets your potential customers see, hear, and “touch/feel” your business. These are all important ways that people can learn about you and your business. From there, you can take your videos and cross-promote these videos on other social media platforms. It’s essentially about tying all the social media platforms together while maximizing the tangible components of your brand.

With your presence on social media, it is always important to measure success. My definition of success is not measured by the number of followers I have. Instead, it’s how many people I engage with on a daily basis. It’s how many people are retweeting what I’m saying or responding to a tweet I’ve sent out.

Success on social media does not come overnight, instead, it’s a process that requires commitment and dedication to the craft, at least fifteen minutes twice a day to grow your business by interacting with your customers online. Small business owners are their own brand, and they should share their expertise with customers regardless of the social media platform they are on.

One way to measure impact on social media is by looking at one’s Klout score – Klout basically takes different components of your digital influence and tells you how much of an influence you have on your audiences. There’s a lot of back and forth between supporters and naysayers, but the algorithms Klout uses provides insight into your online presence.

While there are no magic tricks to improving your Klout score, there are a number of ways small business owners can be effective on social media. The first is to take their time to learn the different platforms. Take whatever time you need to learn a given social network before worrying about being on multiple sites. The savvy will come, just be patient and learn all the different ways to maximize the effectiveness of the network.

This experience can be enhanced by joining Twitter chats and reading blogs to learn from social media experts. Twitter chats are beneficial to users worldwide as they are a two-way street: either you learn or strut your stuff by sharing what you know. Twitter chats are essentially what you make out of them, and can help increase your company’s visibility. Here’s a list of 15 Essential Twitter Chats for Social Media Marketers: http://mashable.com/2012/04/11/twitter-chats-social-media-marketers/. Continuing on with the train of thought of learning, reading blogs are another critical component of being successful on social media. Below is a link to a list of some of my favorite social media blogs: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/top-10-social-media-blogs-the-2012-winners/.

Before we concluded, Ken and I quickly touched on GM pulling their advertising money from Facebook and the implications this has on online advertising from here on out. The one important nugget I’ve taken away from all of this is that you need to ask yourself the question of whether paid advertising will work for your business to reach your customers, regardless of whether it is through Facebook, Google AdWords, etc. You cannot answer this question without trying, and it is worth your time, money, and effort to determine if paid advertising is worthwhile for your business. GM determined that it was best not to pay the $10 million towards Facebook and instead continue to grow the presence of their branded pages on Facebook, an initiative they’ve poured more than $30 million into during the last year. GM found something that worked better for them and it’s important that you do the analysis and allocate monies/time towards something that will maximize the effectiveness of every dollar invested.

To listen to the free LinkedIn Lady Show podcast featuring Ken Herron and Corey Axelrod, visit iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-linkedin-lady-show/id433664232.

The post LinkedIn Lady Show Guest Appearance: Streamline Small Business with Social Media first appeared on Corey Axelrod.

Ask someone what they think the word ‘inspire’ means and you’ll get a wide range of answers. For me, it’s what makes you want to get up in the morning. It’s what makes you want to go that extra mile just to complete the project to please your boss. I know it sounds cliche, but inspiration can be drawn from just about anything.

The one thing that struck my eye a few weeks ago is the following picture:

This picture has been my screensaver on my phone for the past two months – it’s purpose that’s been my inspiration. What’s yours?

The post What’s your purpose? first appeared on Corey Axelrod.