Have you ever wondered what it takes to succeed in social media?
Want to know how the most successful business owners, savvy entrepreneurs and powerhouse professionals are capitalizing on social media?
Today’s “Breakthrough Social Media Success,” interview with Stephan Hovnanian is designed to invoke passion and purpose into your online presence.
Not only has he created a name for himself in the offline world, but he’s successfully transitioned that reputation into viable online currency.
The goal of this interview is to give you a sneak peek into his life as an online and offline marketer. Plus, offer actionable tips, tools and techniques that you can infuse into your business.
During our chat you’ll learn:
- Why you owe it to yourself to build a solid online presence
- The biggest challenge businesses face online and how to overcome it
- The one thing every business owner and entrepreneur should do right now to succeed
- How to be strategic in your use of social media
- Why Google+ is a vital component to your social media success
Click here to Subscribe to the “Breakthrough Social Media Business” podcast via iTunes!
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Welcome Stephan Hovnanian! Stephan is a web, E-mail marketing and Google Plus strategist, the host of the “Google Plus Business Spotlight,” and the author of Google Plus Pro-Tips.
I’ve known Stephan for quite some time via social media and have come to appreciate his consistent, strategic and forward-thinking approach to business. He’s a wealth of information and someone you need to know.
Below is an excerpt from our time together. Listen in as we discuss how businesses are succeeding at social media
Social Media and Business Strategy
Rebekah:
Share with us a little bit more about yourself. How did you become an expert within your field?
Stephan:
I’ve been in the web business for 14 years now, and what I bring to the table is a full-service approach. Web development is a very fragmented business right now and oftentimes, if your business is having a WordPress site developed, you’re working with a bunch of different teams.
So the fact that I’ve been able to provide a one-stop shop concept has been a great advantage. And what it’s allowed me to do is to get out into social media and into the world of web strategy and understand what works. I also get it from a technical standpoint and can then relay that back to my clients what makes the most sense.
I grew up without the Internet. When I was a kid, you had to go to the library and look in a card catalog to find something. So it’s a different world, and I like working with businesses that work in the real world.
I’m meeting, and talking about the online challenges faced by traditional businesses and helping them figure out how to make the online space work.
The Biggest Challenge for Businesses Online Today
Rebekah:
Talk to us a little bit about your clients. What are the top three problems that you are solving for your clients today?
Stephan:
I work primarily with smaller businesses, mainly nonprofits. Actually I have a variety of churches and religious organizations in our portfolio. And the biggest challenge a lot of these guys have is that the online world this isn’t their world.
You know the Internet is not what they do for a living, and they’re trying to keep up with the constant changes and things like that.
Having someone who knows what they’re doing to manage your online presence and then create, implement and execute an online strategy is essential.
That’s how we work on with our clients, to be that go to, to be that support.
Effectively Merging Online and Offline
Rebekah:
You and I both come from the traditional marketing world. We now work with people to transition all that they’ve worked so hard to establish offline and transition it into a powerful and profitable online presence.
However, making that shift can be very difficult.
Can you offer one tip to on how to effectively merge marketing mediums?
Stephan:
Think it through. You have to know what you want to accomplish and you have to then put the pieces in place to accomplish those things.
The biggest challenge right now for people is that they’re being fed so much information, from best practices to suggestions tips, but they don’t know what any of that means.
Understand your business goal, no matter what you’re getting into, and think it through. Any decisions, whether big or small, should flow back up into your overall goals. Then you can check off against that strategy, against that goal or decision and it gives you something to evaluate.
And then if somebody comes up with something new you can ask yourself how it flows into your goals and impacts what you’re trying to accomplish.
You’ll be more effective with your time, more effective with your money, and you’ll have a better quality product at the end of the day.
Listen to the full interview and subscribe within iTunes!
And connect with Stephan here!
When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now
each time a comment is added I get several e-mails with the
same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service?
Thanks a lot!
Hi Rebekah. I enjoyed this interview – I’ll have to hop on over and listen to the podcast. I completely agree with Stephan on the information overload now. It’s coming at us a million miles an hour, and it can be hard to sort through it. Thanks so much for sharing this information.
All the best,
Leslie
Great interview, I have said it over and over again, the key to 21st century business success or failure is social media. Justine Sacco’s incident is a very clear illustration.
Hi Augustus! You know I completely agree with that. Implementing a social media strategy is the key!
Hello Rebekah! Oh Yeh Information overload SO TRUE! It is important to have a game plan in place and then to follow it to a T! If you just keep on checking out everything that comes along nothing is going to happen HUH?
Great interview my friend, Thanks fr sharing Chery :))
So true Chery! It’s very easy to bing around online from one place to the next. That’s why you need to know why and where you’re spending your time.
Thank you for providing the text of the interview. I too prefer to read than listen. Listening is maybe too passive for me and my attention wanders. With reading I can think about what is being written and stay focused.
I need to treat reaching my goals the same way as reading and as Stephan says always keep them in focus.
I know what you mean Sue. We all consume content differently and it’s important to me to share it in a context that works best for everyone.
Rebekah,
I agree with Marquita and prefer to read the text. Audios and videos take too much time and I start multi-tasking. Social media is important to use properly. I have a tendency to just jump in without first thinking it through and deciding what I want to accomplish. Lately, I am stepping back, waiting and planning – which is a real shift for me.
Warmly,
Dr. Erica
That is really interesting insight Dr. Erica. I do believe in meeting people where they’re at and giving them options…especially when it comes to consuming content.
You’re definitely not alone in just jumping in. It’s a common occurrence. Glad to hear you’re stepping back and planning!
Excellent interview Rebekah and thanks for providing part of the interview in text. I normally don’t bother with audio (or videos for that matter) but being able to read this much of the interview definitely makes me want to learn more. I especially agree with the issue of information overload. I’m an experienced researcher and it’s still tough to work through the tidal wave of content being thrown at us each day.
That’s a great way to put it Marquita…a tidal wave of content. It is so easy to feel overwhelmed with all that we have coming at us every day. Especially when things continue to change on us overnight!
Hi Rebekah,
It’s great to read this wonderful conversation.
We all know that now a days social media plays a great role in the success of any business.
Congrats for this new podcast.
The conversation between you and Stephen is really motivating.
Have a great weekend.
~Ravi
Thank you so much Ravi! I’m so glad to hear it resonated with you.
Hi Rebekah,
Very useful interview, It’s really important to think about your goals before implementing any social media promotion technique. Unless you’re clear about your goals, you won’t be able to accomplish it.
Thank you Pankaj! So true about goals and yet too many start without them. Without a strategy, you will eventually stumble.
Thank you both so much, and a huge congratulations to Rebekah for this new podcast!!
Thank you Stephan for sharing so much amazing information! There isn’t a person out there in the business world that cant’ learn something from this.
Hi Rebekah
Great to see that you are getting on the HOA/podcast wagon.
Loved to hear more about Stephan. Have seen him on Jeff’s shows and know a little about him, but have not really been moving in his circles yet.
Can’t wait to see who you have on next
have a great weekend
ashley
He’s definitely someone you want to know Ashley! A great business man and extremely giving.