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Join Up Dots - Online Business Success Made Easy


Welcome To The #1 Global Hit Podcast Join Up Dots

Mar 27, 2020

Introducing Erin Corn

Today's guest joining us on the Join Up Dots business podcast is an  expert in navigating the micro nuances that make social media so effective, whilst dodging the pitfalls that trap so many people. As she says "Social media advertising has become increasingly complex. Using my knowledge gained from her 14 years of experience at companies including, Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon, I specialize in performance marketing to deliver a higher return for businesses.​ ​While at Facebook, I partnered with startups to Fortune 500 companies to implement marketing solutions and serve as an expert consultant. ​ At Instagram, I led Product Marketing Communications for the Instagram Ads global rollout and developed their first-ever digital marketing campaign.  ​Most recently, I managed the Client Services team at Amazon overseeing Entertainment advertisers.   Over the course of her career, Erin has worked with brands such as Zillow, Disney, Liberty Mutual, PepsiCo, bareMinerals,  USAA, Warner Bros., and ABC. So why do so many people make a complete mess of building an effective social media strategy no matter how large their budget? And where should people start today when launching their own online success, twitter, Tik Tok, Snapchat? Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots, with the one and only Erin Corn. Show Highlights During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Erin Corn such as: Erin shares why social media is so powerful, simply as your customers are on there so go and talk to them....they're are waiting for you. The reasons why Twitter has not hit the ground running, and is in Erin's opinion a pale version of what it could have become. Erin openly discusses the addiction that social media has on us all, and the steps that we can take to control it.. And lastly….. Erin remembers the humbling days of beginning her fledgling business, and why her backstory just gave her a foot in the door and nothing else. How To Connect With Erin Corn Website LinkedIn Return To The Top Of Erin Corn If you enjoyed this episode with Erin Corn, why not check out other inspirational chat with Clayton Morris, Dorie Clark, and the amazing Niall Doherty You can also check our extensive podcast archive by clicking here – enjoy Full Transcription Of Erin Corn Interview David Ralph 0:01 Once upon a time, there was a guy with a dream, a dream to quit his job to support himself online and have a kickoff live. Little did he know that dream would lead him into a world of struggle, burnout and debt, until he found the magic ingredient and no struggles became a thing of the past. I of course, was that person. And now My dream is to make things happen for you. Welcome to Join Up Dots. Intro 0:27 When we're young that we have an amazing positive outlook about how great life is going to be, but somewhere along the line we forget to dream and end up settling. Join Up Dots features amazing people who refuse to give up and chose to go after their dreams. This is your blueprint for greatness. So here's your host live from the back of his garden in the UK. David Ralph. David Ralph 0:52 Yes, good morning. Well, good morning and thank you for being here with Join Up Dots really appreciate you is as always And I appreciate today's guest who we've had a few technical issues but she overcame like a monster. And now she's sitting there ready to be grilled, thrown left thrown right and try to convince me that social media is the way forward because she is an expert in navigating the micro nuances that make social media so effective, was dodging the pitfalls that trap so many people that actually says social media advertising has become increasingly complex. Using my knowledge gained from 14 years of experience at companies including Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon. I specialise in performance marketing to deliver a higher return for businesses. Now while at Facebook, I partnered with startups to fortune 500 companies to implement marketing solutions and serve as an expert consultant. And now it's Instagram I lead Product Marketing Communications, but the Instagram ads global rollout and develop their first ever digital marketing campaign. Now, most Recently I managed the Client Services team at Amazon overseeing entertainment advertisers. Over the course of her career. She's worked with brands such as Zillow, Disney Liberty Mutual, PepsiCo, Bare Minerals, Warner boss and many others. So why do so many people make a complete mess of building an effective social media strategy, no matter how large their budget and where should people start today when launching their own online success, Twitter, tick tock Snapchat. Well, let's find out as we bring them to the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Erin Corn. Good morning, everyone. How are you? Erin Corn 2:39 Good morning. Good. How are you? David Ralph 2:40 I'm very well I'm very well indeed. Yes. I feel like I've come through a dark time in my life every now and now the light is shining on me. And it feels like summers around the corner. Probably not as summary as it does being in Orange County, California at the moment area. Erin Corn 2:59 That's true. I was in shorts yesterday at the pool. So I'm sorry to rub that in. But it's a very beautiful day here in Orange County. How do David Ralph 3:06 you get any work done? I always ask this because it makes me wonder how people shouldn't move to Alaska if they want to create an online based business because what do not go outside all the time why, you know, last thing you want to do is sit here recording a podcast episode. Erin Corn 3:25 You know, it does take time. I'm originally from the Boston area. And if you know anything about Boston, it's extremely cold. And so it did take time for me to realise this weather stays here in California. So it's a little bit of trading yourself that you do have to keep your head down. And it is tempting to be outside. Oh, I will. I won't deny that. David Ralph 3:43 So when you first moved down there every day, he was, Oh, it's an amazing day that's go out. Unknown Speaker 3:47 Yes, I have to do something. It's not going to last forever and winter is around the corner. And so that's just kind of what happens when you live in the weather that I'm sure you're accustomed to. You just don't think it will last and so even being out in California 70 years later, I still kind of have that East Coast mentality. They think you need to appreciate the weather more, you know, not like some of the people have grown up here. They don't know how rough it can be for you with polar vortexes and, and all types of weather coming out. You David Ralph 4:12 know, today I've had since I've been looking out my window, I've had rain, I've had snow, and now it's beautiful, clear blue sky, but a bit windy. So we were we're very much four seasons in one day, but you're not here to talk about whether or not you're here to talk about social media. So it's a complete waste of time. Aaron, do you agree? Erin Corn 4:32 And that's something that I've battled against on since joining Facebook in 2012. When it was not the behemoth of the advertising platform it is now and to this day with smaller business owners. It's something that comes up quite a bit. And my answer to that the short answer is the platform is where your audience is. And I'll use Facebook as an example. There are 1 billion people on the platform today Tick Tock there as of 2018 800 millionaires users. So social media is where your customer base is, regardless of the type of industry you're in, or the type of customer that you're trying to attract. And so it's not so much about social media, but it's about reaching people where they are. And that's where they're spending their time. So that's really, you know, the way I look at it, and whether it's Facebook, tick tock snap or the next social media platform that we haven't even heard about yet. I really do think that you need to go where your customers are David Ralph 5:24 doing the same cutting edge and trendy area. Erin Corn 5:27 Yes, yes, absolutely. I'm being in a podcast, I think is very trendy, and you have been at it for about seven years. As you've mentioned, I think podcasts are in many ways underrated, but they're becoming more and more a way that people are getting their names out. And I think of podcasts in many ways as a form of social media. People are connecting on their digital devices. They're sharing about it on LinkedIn, and in an extension of people's brand. And so I do think in that way, you're actually on social media, whether you like to admit it or not. David Ralph 5:56 I was expecting just a yes, but that was a very formal answer, which is great. On a podcast, but I don't I feel like I'm trendy. I feel like I'm counting age. But I don't understand so many platforms. I don't understand Tick Tock. My daughter's always on Tick Tock. And it just seems to be that she dances and records herself. And she showed me somebody on there and this woman had like 2 million followers. And all she does is dance and records herself. I don't get it. Erin Corn 6:27 I you know, I think it's these different apps. They definitely attract a certain demographic and i think it's it's very true to say that Tick Tock users are definitely ageing on the younger end, but it kind of follows that the trend that we're seeing on snap before tik tok, and even on Facebook that people are engaging with video short form video, and tick tock does a really great job of that they're in an age that your daughter, for example, are in an age where they have kind of a short attention span. They're looking for the next best thing fast moving So it's a social network but it also allows you to engage in a quick and engaging way and also with a lot of influencers that are on the platform it makes it easier to kind of follow along with a lot of the influencers that this age demographic really interested in. So I think Tick Tock has done a wonderful job at realising the trends and getting ahead of them and many way creating a trend with musically which then became tik tok. David Ralph 7:23 Now, you sound lovely, you sound knowledgeable, you've got 14 years of social media experience. Are there platforms that you look at and go, I don't get it. I just don't understand it. Erin Corn 7:33 Well, this is gonna not come across in the best way to send me your users. But Twitter to me is something that I understand that it's a necessary evil, but to me, it's never grown into the platform that I feel like it could have. And it's still around. It's still a very viable platform. But I feel that Twitter has been kind of a mess in terms of the social network platforms. And the engagement isn't there people login sporadically. And for me as an individual, it's just not Somewhere where I spend much of my time and so, you know, that may be something that people on your podcast may not agree with, but it just hasn't really reached. Its full. It hasn't reached to the point of some of the other platforms that we see out there. But, you know, unfortunately, Donald Trump has made it still a household name always David Ralph 8:16 good on that isn't a I must admit. Yeah, I read hardly any tweets at all. But I was talking to my daughter the other day, I was amazed that Jim Carrey has 18.5 million followers, and Tom Cruise has about 6.7 and I thought, how does that go? Why is somebody as good as Tom Cruise and I love Jim Carrey. I think Jim Carrey is brilliant. But what what is it that makes people sort of go migrate towards certain profiles and not others? Erin Corn 8:48 Yeah, I think it's really about the form that you're using on Jim Carrey. In this example, Jim Carrey versus Tom Cruise. Jim Carrey is a comedian. He is just always producing great content, whether it's on Twitter or other platforms and so I think it's really about your engagement on the platforms not just putting content out but engaging with other people, other comedians and having a reciprocal relationship. And so I think for someone like Jim Carrey, it's really just a way that he can practice some of his jokes, practice some of his act and, and put that out to his audience in a really easy way. And you know, the same with some of these other platforms like Tick Tock or Instagram, they're really short form. Now having the ability to post stories that disappear within 24 hours, it gives people the ability to test a little bit more and not have as much risk because they know that that won't necessarily live on like it previously had with just having the option to post on your Facebook feed and you're a little bit more precious about what you put out there. So you know, the Jim Carrey example I think, just the fact that that is his medium, his comedy and putting out content in one liners, it makes sense that you would have a big following. David Ralph 9:55 He's not Tom Cruise is a Tom Cruise can do no, Tom Cruise is about too and looks exactly the same as he did four years ago. I don't know what he's doing. He really does a must be the American way of life. That's what we should do. We should all move to America. So with yourself, Aaron, when did you decide? Obviously, this is an entrepreneurial programme? And when did you decide actually, to leave working for people and actually create your own company? And why is it called shore bird? Erin Corn 10:25 Yeah, so it's always been, which I'm sure is the case. For many entrepreneurs. It's always been this nagging voice in my head that you should go out on your own. You like to have more ownership of your schedule for your kind of destiny as I would put it on. And really the impetus for me just finally ripping off the band aid and doing it was a year and a half ago, when I was at Amazon. I had an incredible experience there. But I had been at these larger tech companies, one tech company after another and I felt like nothing was changing in terms of the impact that was making whether I was on a small team or a large team, and I felt a bit of frustration that I wanted To feel more ownership over my future and and what kind of clients I worked with. And so it really pushed me to have some hard conversations with myself about what's the next five to 10 years look like? And also in terms of work life balance, what do I want for my future as a grow my family. And so finally I started schwarber media. And about a year and a half ago, as I mentioned, as I was on my way out of Amazon, I kind of made that decision that it was time for me to move on, with incredible support from Amazon. And I picked shorebirds because I've always lived on the coast. I've always lived, whether it was the East Coast or the west coast and I feel like it was a name that really rang true to me because I kind of am a shortbread. I'm always living by the water. I don't like to be landlocked, and I think it kind of has a lightness to the name and so that's why I picked it and I've gotten a lot of compliments and it kind of makes people think twice rather than it just be another digital, you know name or something about technology. It's a little bit more open ended, which I also appreciate it now. David Ralph 11:57 So like to say start up business but you're you you're a family lady, you're a mom. You're a mother. That that's it. That's a juggle isn't it, you know, even as a dad, and I think that's a different from moms, dads can just go, I've got work to do and go off to do the work. But moms have to juggle all the other stuff. And I don't know why it works like that. But it always did with me. I always took work as priority and it was kind of accepted where my mom and my wife has to sort of deal with everything else. How do you deal with that? What's a normal day in your life? Erin Corn 12:31 Yeah, I'm very lucky. I have extremely supportive husband. But you know, I think that dynamic is true even if your husband is trying to carry as much of the load as he can. My morning start with my you know, my son wakes up and we spend some time together but he does go to a little school right down the road. And so I have the ability to have time that I can really focus on on work and have him half time where he can spend time with friends. And then when we are together I feel like I don't have the distraction of always trying My email and wondering what's coming in, because I've put that time in, when he's at school where I can really try to cut out that time just focus on my career. And it is a juggling act. I'm going to Social Media Marketing World next week based here in San Diego. And just the preparation to go away for a few days you kind of realise, or my husband might be realising how he takes for granted when he has a workshop, he'll just tell me he's going away for work. And that's that but you know, with me going away, there's a little bit more preparation in the background about you know, that writing out the schedule, putting together the lunches, and so it is kind of a good, good balance, though for me to get away as well just so he can kind of understand what's involved. David Ralph 13:41 Now I see a lot of women walking along and I had to go to a post office about Christmas and a parcel tried to be delivered to us and it wouldn't go through our letterbox I had to go and collect it. And the room was full of women with their babies and their kids jumping up and saying Mom, Mom, mom, and they were just scrolling up and down their phones, they were just oblivious. Now with yourself, bear in mind, I imagine that you are dealing with other people's campaigns and the effectiveness of their campaigns. How do you detach yourself from that? And being the mom, holding the kid with one hand looking at the phone or the other, and not really sort of engaging with life? Erin Corn 14:23 Yeah, I think it's really about balance. And again, I started working at Facebook in 2012. And so when I first started, it's very easy to get pulled into work and Facebook and social networking. 24 seven, it's just the nature of these platforms, unique it very addictive, but I've had to kind of as I've built out my own career and have to create some boundaries for myself, and I'm not perfect at it and there's days where I kind of feel like they've blended together but really managing my calendar making sure that when I am with my son, if you know there's a day that he's not at school, for whatever reason, I block it out. I don't take meetings, making sure that I I have a support team under me that's able to manage the campaigns or some of the tactical pieces, or the design work. So I know that it's in good hands, and I don't have to micromanage everything. So I think it's really about delegating, and also making sure you own your schedule, because it's very easy as an entrepreneur for that to kind of bleed into your everyday life. But there still are those late nights and early mornings, that I think that's just part of being an entrepreneur, but it's something that I enjoy, and I wouldn't change it all. David Ralph 15:26 Yes, listen to Oprah Winfrey. And then we'll be back with Aaron, Oprah Winfrey 15:29 the way through the challenge is to get still and ask yourself, what is the next right moving? not think about, Oh, I got all of this stuff. What is the next right move? And then from that space, make the next right move, and the next right move and not to be overwhelmed by it because you know, your life is bigger than that one moment. You know, you're not defined by what somebody says, is a failure for you because failure is just there to point you in different direction. David Ralph 16:00 So you're sitting at Facebook or you're sitting at Instagram and you're looking around and you're thinking I should be doing this myself, you know, I don't need these people I can go and create sure bird and things will be just easy. How easy was it? Was it harder than you imagined? Erin Corn 16:19 It was definitely harder than I imagined. And to be completely honest, you know, the people I worked with that Facebook, Instagram and Amazon are some of the smartest people I've ever had the opportunity to work with. And so I think that's something that I took for granted as well being on your own, especially as social people like yourself and I are, it is a shift in many ways. I think having that camaraderie around you when you are working at these larger companies and the resources available to you is something that especially having been in it for 14 plus years you become accustomed to and you take for granted. And I would also say I definitely was humbled in the early days of going out and reaching out to new people. clients or potential new clients, because previously, who wouldn't want to talk to Facebook? Who wouldn't want to talk to Amazon, I had the backing of these large tech companies. But now I really had to prove myself outside of those companies. Well, what have you done lately on your own? Where are the case studies? And so well, my resume and my background, maybe got me a foot in the door, I think it was really focusing on building out those early success stories. So I can be taken seriously as a business owner separate from these companies. So to answer your question, it was harder, I think, than I expected. And as people often say, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. And I think that's very much the case. David Ralph 17:37 I don't know if it is the case, because I think even if it was easy, there's more lazy people than anyone. It's really struck me how many just people that expect it on a plate, they expect to click a few buttons and get it I expect it to occur within two or three weeks. I think it's the persistence But the laziness, and I'll explain this because this is my new theme that really works in building a business. I think that once you become lazy and you become focused on doing the right things at the right time, like Oprah says, that's when your business really scales and that's when life becomes easier for you. But at the beginning, you can't see that What's up, Erin Corn 18:22 I absolutely agree with that. And someone had said to me, you'll look back at you know, the early days of starting this business, it will be completely different the way you operate and what you do. And that's a positive thing. I think it's a growing experience and, and being able to kind of cut out some of the clutter like you mentioned, and focus on the things that are really impactful and will help you grow. And for me, you know, it may be obvious but when you're in the middle of it for me, it was really taking a lot of the tactical pieces off my plate and focusing on business development being the face of my business and, and making that time to speak with clients rather than being in the weeds of my existing business because that's not a way that I can scalar grow. And so I agree with you kind of having those very clear goals, how many new clients will I reach out to where am I spending my time and making them very clear and actionable steps so that way I can see growth year over year. David Ralph 19:12 Now, when I started Join Up Dots many, many years ago, there was a guy and he stood around called Pat Flynn. And he had Smart Passive income. And I think he's, he's based in San Diego, so you're probably bump into your net, net network. And he used to say, be everywhere. That was his big thing be everywhere, you know, whatever platform you can be on, just be on. I'm not sure if that's right anymore, because I think people are more strategic. And I want to circle back to what you said or join up the dots of what you said that your customers are on the platforms. Is it as simple as saying to the people out there who get caught up with overwhelm in social media, don't be everywhere, but just be exactly where your customers are. Erin Corn 20:00 Yes, and and i think that that's a trap that a lot of people fall into, especially, you know, as business owners or marketers have larger businesses, they feel like they have to be on the next shiny object or they have to be everywhere. But really, if you're everywhere, you're not doing it well. And so when I especially when I talk to new clients, they asked me, well, where should I start? What platform should I be on? And it's really, what can you do very well, and what can you do consistently, I'd rather that than have you on seven different platforms where you kind of had one foot out the door. And so I think just you know, whether you're on multiple platforms right now, or you're just starting small and testing out a Facebook or a tik tok to start, it's really having a concerted effort in one area, and then seeing what works and then scaling that, you know, I do see that there is a benefit to potentially being on Twitter, and Instagram and tik tok to reach different audiences. But you have to figure out what is it that's working for you first, what type of content what type of message because at the end of the day, your content doesn't change its discipline. For me what you're delivering it, whether it's through print, or it's a video, or it's a podcast. And so I'm an agreement that it can be a bit frenetic. If you feel like you have to be on every single platform at once. It's just as an entrepreneur, it's very difficult to do until you grab a team to help you with that. David Ralph 21:16 And also is the thing I think that people struggle with. And I certainly am speaking from my own experience, have, you turn the microphone on, and I can give you content for eight hours a day, I can just keep on going. It just seems a natural fit. When I look at Facebook, and I just think, you know, what are you really posting I because every time I go out for a meal with my wife, she has to put her drinks together, and then post it and I look at it. Why does anybody want to even see that? But she does that all the time? Where am I going wrong? Erin Corn 21:52 No, I think that you have to be true and authentic to what works for you. And if podcasts and speaking works well. I think that that It makes sense. But think about how that can be transformed to Facebook or Instagram or some of these other platforms like LinkedIn, you're already doing a podcast, why not turn on your camera and have it be a live conversation between you and your guests? Or have some kind of show? Oh, you know, people watch anything, David. I mean, you see Gary Vaynerchuk in you know, he's not the most handsome model, but he is extremely, extremely engaging. And I think if you have the message there, and you're comfortable speaking, why not? And David Ralph 22:30 I love the fact that you didn't come straight back with no, I don't believe that's true. But you came back with people will watch anything. Unknown Speaker 22:39 Well, I you know, I'm just to say that I think you're very handsome. David Ralph 22:44 Thank you, me. Thank you and I'll edit that up a bit. But no, that is that is something that people struggle with, isn't it? Yeah. How they look and you know, it's a hair done well and stuff. Erin Corn 22:55 Yeah. And and I think that you have to if you at the end of the day, truly feel uncomfortable. Being in front of a camera, and you just it takes so much for you to really make that happen. It's not something you're going to stick with, it's not going to be authentic. And so like you mentioned, if that's just something that's just not for you think of other ways that you can promote what you're already doing. So promoting your podcast with, you know, great imagery or videos, and rather than just having it be you or promote the videos of your guests, but I think that since you're already doing a podcast and you have the audio and you have the reach, there's ways that you can bring that to life on platforms like Facebook and Instagram that are more visual, and there's ways to do it to capture attention that might not just be a talking head there's there's a lot of different ways that you can kind of engage people with images or video that might not just be us speaking. David Ralph 23:43 Now, as you said, you will you alluded to that you are more strategic now and so you have got people working for you that do all this kind of stuff, and that the changing of a podcast into images and images into because otherwise you'd go mental Erin Corn 24:00 Absolutely, I think where, you know, it's a simple exercise, but it took some time to let go of the reins is looking at my day, my week, my month and figuring out where I was spending my time and, and where that you know what type of value that was adding. And a lot of my time, you know, as it was at Facebook and these other companies was the tactical pieces. And so in the same exercise I would have done at these companies looking at where I can take some of these things off my plate that weren't value add. And I do have a team that oversees some of the campaign setup and management. But at the end of the day, my value that I bring to clients is that my background and my experiences in this field and so I don't have a team that does it without my oversight. I'm the person that speaks with my clients at the end of the day, because having that hands on experiences is very important to me, but there is no way that you can grow a business unless you have a team to help kind of take on some of that extra work. Or you'll drive yourself crazy. Unknown Speaker 24:54 We're speaking to Evan Cohen and we'll be back after these words. Are you ready to make a full time time living online, check out the amazing Join Up Dots business coaching. Unknown Speaker 25:04 Hello, my name is Alan. And I've just completed the excellent eight week course with David. Unknown Speaker 25:09 Before I started working with David Actually, I had no idea at all where to start. Unknown Speaker 25:14 I