Afternoon Pint
Afternoon Pint is a laid-back Canadian podcast hosted by Matt Conrad and Mike Tobin. Each episode, they invite a special guest to join them at a pub or microbrewery to get to know them a bit better. Conversations cover a wide range of topics, including Entrepreneurship, business, Arts, pop culture, music, science, society, Life stories, experiences, you get the idea...
Our aim is to create a show for everyone (even non-Canadians.) We create a welcoming atmosphere where guests can share their perspectives with transparency. Essentially, Afternoon Pint is like heading to the pub after work to catch up with some friends through your headphones or stereo. We are Nova Scotia's #2 podcast, but we pretend we are number 1!
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Afternoon Pint
Anita Kirkbride - Being Flawsome and Helping Businesses with Authenticity (CEO of Twirp Communications, Social Media Strategist)
Meet Anita Kirkbride, the social media strategist who redefines success by embracing imperfections. Join us as Anita shares her unique "flawsome" philosophy, a blend of accepting flaws while celebrating awesomeness, and how she prefers the anti-hero approach in helping a business. Through her candid storytelling, Anita tells us how staying true to one's authentic self can be a good cornerstone for social media strategy and success.
For small business owners and solopreneurs, navigating social media can feel overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. We explore the importance of choosing the right platforms and creating content that resonates with your audience, whether it's a podcast, video, or written post. Through amusing anecdotes like a controversial steak-cooking video, we unpack the nuances of platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn, and how they can both connect and divide communities. We also highlight the value of authenticity and personalization, essential elements for building a genuine social media presence.
The episode rounds off with an insightful discussion on business collaboration and her unexpected journey into political candidacy. Make sure you stay to the end to hear the always fun 10 questions round, where we get to know Anita a little better!
Our conversation delves into the power of community support, emphasizing that both business and political landscapes thrive on authenticity, innovation, and the courage to embrace one's flaws. Whether you're a small business owner, a political hopeful, or simply seeking to foster authentic connections, there's something here for everyone.
Kimia Nejat of Kimia Nejat Realty
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Cheers, cheers. Welcome to the Afternoon Pint. I'm Mike Tobin, I am Matt Conrad, and who do you have with us today?
Speaker 2:Anita Kirkbride.
Speaker 1:Anita Kirkbride that name sounds familiar. Linkedin Again, another one of those LinkedIn warriors, I believe. Yeah, exactly, we've seen you around in them, linkedin posts.
Speaker 2:Yeah, people usually say I see you all over social media, I see you everywhere, yeah. I'm used to that.
Speaker 1:That's because you're like a social media guru of sorts.
Speaker 2:Well, other people can call me a guru. Okay, I don't use guru and ninja and all those things for myself.
Speaker 1:Okay, but. Yeah, but you do use antihero I am an antihero. Oh, there you go. Yes, I am the social media antihero.
Speaker 3:Social media antihero like I'm venom or the undertaker or something that's funny.
Speaker 2:I just watched venom this weekend, well, so okay, first of all, an antihero is not a villain. A lot of people, myself included, think that an antihero is a villain, but an antihero is actually a flawed hero yeah they're a hero that has maybe more authenticity than your typical Hollywood hero or your charming You're talking to two Marvel nerds here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, we're on point.
Speaker 2:So what happened was? I always talked about flossom being flossom in your business and your marketing, which was-.
Speaker 1:Flossom.
Speaker 2:Flossom Accepting your flaws Like flossing.
Speaker 3:Oh, no flaw.
Speaker 2:No I'm thinking it's flaw and awesome I'm in. Which was flossing, flossing. Accepting your flaws? Oh no, I mean, I mean flossing like, flossing like rapper like not flossing like teeth, flossing like the dance.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Okay, Sorry, Some Okay.
Speaker 2:Combination of being, of having flaws and being awesome. So flossing, flossing.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I use that a lot. I even have it tattooed on my arm now. The word flossom, because it's all about accepting that nobody's perfect.
Speaker 1:Sure, you're never going to be perfect Okay.
Speaker 2:And you learn as you go and all of that stuff, and so I talked about that a lot in my business for the last gosh I don't know how long the last seven or eight years. And then last summer I was listening to a podcast as I do and they talked about antiheroes and what an antihero was, and it struck me that being an antihero is the next level of flawsome.
Speaker 2:So being an antihero is just accepting that you're not perfect. You have flaws. You go on, you do the business, or you make the podcast, or you brew beer or whatever.
Speaker 1:Anyway, you do it anyway, right You're?
Speaker 2:just accepting. But being the antihero is more. It's really pushing the fact that you're different, that you're not perfect. It's more than accepting it. It's going with it really leaning into the fact embracing the fact that you're not perfect and you're never going to be perfect. Embracing it, embracing the fact that you're not perfect and you're never going to be perfect.
Speaker 2:And antiheroes tend to do what's right for them and their business or their project or their family, and that doesn't necessarily mean what they're doing is wrong for other people, but they put themselves first, or their family or their business first. And so in business and in social media, what that means to me is you do what you need to do to make it work for your business. So if there's a rule out there that says you have to post four times on TikTok every day but that doesn't work for your business, then the anti-hero says no, I can't do it four times a day, I can do it a day right right because that's what works for your business.
Speaker 2:Or if the if the rule or the best practice says you have to use these hashtags or you have to do this type of video, or you have to build your podcast a certain way, like the anti-hero, is kind of like authenticity.
Speaker 1:It is in yourself and your social media and stuff, without trying to be a big fake frigging everything's perfect and rainbows absolutely right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, it's all about authenticity and just choosing the parts of what works that work for you.
Speaker 1:That's cool yeah, I like that and I forgot to plug. We're at great roads brewing, uh, yes, so uh, we are all drinking, see we're being flossom.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're being flossom, we do the.
Speaker 1:yeah, we flossome. Yeah, we're always flossome on this show, so I'm drinking the IPA 7-Day.
Speaker 3:Matt, I'm drinking the Cobb-Equid Copper, which is awesome. Yeah, you're loving it. I'm drinking the new Normie glasses, too.
Speaker 1:Ooh yeah, that's a classy-looking glass.
Speaker 3:Yeah, cheers right.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And I've got a cider. How do you like them?
Speaker 1:apples yes, good cider, it is a good cider, yeah, really nice cider yeah. Definitely tastes like chill and crisp and all that. So getting back like so you started this, this social media strategist type of company yourself around. I think I was looking on LinkedIn around 15 years ago. Is that correct?
Speaker 2:Pretty close, it was 2011. Okay, my last job. My contract wasn't renewed and the day after my contract was done I jumped into getting my business started mode. So I went into the self-employment benefits program, found out what I had to do to get into that program so that I could be making money while I was starting my business, and that's what I did.
Speaker 1:So, 2012,.
Speaker 2:Was it a few months later? I had the business up and running.
Speaker 1:Where do you love to start working with someone to help them develop their online presence? Where do you like to help them start?
Speaker 2:I mean it's changed so much since when I started, I mean when I started in 2011, 2012,. People were still saying, oh, this is just a fad, it's not going to go anywhere. And I mean, I still get that every once in a while. I don't know how a fad lasts 12 or 13 or 15 years, but Well, I mean social media.
Speaker 3:I mean I joined Facebook in 2007. So yeah. It's been around for a while.
Speaker 2:So yeah.
Speaker 3:I honestly like I you know, I know Facebook isn't necessarily quote unquote cool with some of the younger kids now, but eventually they get older and then eventually they join it.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 3:I honestly I think Facebook's too big to fail at this point. I really do.
Speaker 2:I think someday, eventually, something will come along and replace it, or Do you think so? Something eventually I mean it always happens, do you know?
Speaker 3:do you know why? I don't think it will. Because people have uploaded so much of their lives and their nostalgia is so powerful. Like people, the only place people have pictures of their kids and families and memories and stuff sometimes is just on facebook, because they go through their phones. Their phones are gone. They lose the data, the data's too much. No more photo books like back in the day exactly, so honestly like facebook has become people's family photo albums, and that's why I think it's too big to fail it's, it's totally possible.
Speaker 2:I mean, I back up all my photos. Yeah, I think it's too big to fail. It's totally possible. I mean, I back up all my photos.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think it's a good thing.
Speaker 2:I don't want to be dependent on that.
Speaker 3:But you know what?
Speaker 2:A few years ago, I would have said the same thing about Twitter, that it wasn't going to go anywhere. And I mean it's not gone yet it's not gone.
Speaker 3:but you know I just why do I have it? It's crazy. It's a crazy year for Twitter. Twitter's really great in terms of like the, the news aspect and the instant, like news and like whatever. But again it's like, not that, like, I don't find it offers.
Speaker 1:I was a Twitter fan forever, right, I was Twitter's number one fan. And this year, oh my God, it's like you're trying to make me hate it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, right, like why.
Speaker 1:And you can't even go on it without seeing Elon Musk's face immediately every time you log in. That's a little strange, Well.
Speaker 2:I've blocked him because I don't want to see that stuff. Well, like I shouldn't have to do that though. No, you shouldn't have to block him, right.
Speaker 1:Like I mean I follow him and everybody else, but that doesn't mean the tweets I want to see every day are yours.
Speaker 2:I don else's, I don't think that's fair especially if you're running a social media company like what the heck? And the latest move to get rid of the part of the main reason? We use a block feature, which means that people who you've blocked will be able to see your tweets.
Speaker 1:They just won't be able to interact with them? And what about if you want some privacy from people, especially there's dangerous people out there?
Speaker 2:there's creeps out there, a lot of people block exes that are abusive or all kinds of things and just yeah, it's dangerous the changes that he's made.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you should be able to choose who you want to interact with. I agree with that. So you should have that choice. So I mean, yeah, I didn't even realize that I barely go on Twitter or X or whatever, and it really puts that democracy thing into question.
Speaker 1:It's like when everybody can say everything it is. I mean, you know you want a freedom of speech, but also sometimes freedom can get really stupid, because sometimes there's a lot of hate and no context.
Speaker 2:The one thing I don't understand about any of these social networks is they have the technology to detect bots. They can tell us when they've removed a million bots. So why can't they stop the bots somehow before they post? I don't understand how we have the technology to know to remove them but not to stop them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it preys on us wanting to be emotionally reactive to stuff. So things that make us angry or things we don't agree with are going to be shown to us every day, because it embodies a reaction.
Speaker 3:So there's something to be said about that. So I'm actually I'm, I'm, I'm watching the Mr McMahon documentary, right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, oh yeah. I can't wait to start that yeah.
Speaker 3:I'm just finished in episode five. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I mean you know, obviously there's things that have come out about him that are obviously terrible, but the what I like about this documentary is just his willingness to just give the people what they want and put everything and I mean his, his self-respect, like his family, like everything is all about the business and like so he'll check his own ego as long as it makes money, all right, and I and I mean he has a huge ego and everything too. So I just found it was, but that's the thing he was giving people.
Speaker 3:And there was a really, really interesting quote that was said on that documentary that said who's at fault? He was talking about the late 90s, early 2000s and how they were. The content was really like sexualizing women and it was really really aggressive aggressive like bloody gory and all this stuff. And they were saying, well, it was a reflection of society at the time, like that's what people wanted, right, it was at Avery's Odie in 1999. Yeah, but what I thought the interesting quote that was on there is they said, well, who's really at fault? The person making the content or the people cheering it on and watching it, and I was like it's interesting, like because essentially he's just giving them what they want it's interesting, but yeah, I don't know that's a.
Speaker 1:I don't love that.
Speaker 2:I don't know that's on social media if you want to see less about the royal family or the kardashians or whoever. If you don't want to see that kind of content, stop commenting on it, stop true, stop popping, stop popping them up, stop rewarding those magazines. It's the same as Trump, if you hate Trump.
Speaker 1:Stop talking about him. He's like a toddler in the room, right, you know, if you've got a bad behaving kid, the best thing you do is ignore their ass until they go away. Yeah, that's the algorithm, it's like we don't like your behavior right now. We're not talking to you and they're. I'm not getting any reaction from you whatsoever. You're not getting angry, happy, mad, sad or pissed. You're just giving me nothing. I got to change my behavior Like that's what kids do. Yeah Right, as a parent, you learn that Right.
Speaker 3:And they have algorithms and the thing is, yes, they can detect, like, if something goes against community standards, but the fact is that you can sit there and write like I hate the royal family or I love the royal family. The fact is that you've engaged with that.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Right, and the algorithm just was like you engaged with it. Now, that's all you're going to see, it's the same thing. Right now, we're talking about it and our phones are listening to us. Now we're going to get nothing but royal family things.
Speaker 2:We're all going to laugh tonight when that happens. Yeah, sure, yeah, a hundred percent no-transcript. And when I say small business, I'm talking about really small businesses, solopreneurs, people that have maybe a couple of employees. I don't work with big businesses, but I really focus on helping them figure out how to use these different platforms to promote their business.
Speaker 2:So I'm training them how to make a reel or how to post or how to tag people, because, even though social media has been around for 15 years, people who are new to business haven't used it that way, and so they need help with that. So a lot of what I do now is training and helping them see the strategy of well, what do I talk about? They just don't even know what to talk about because, it all feels inconsequential to them.
Speaker 2:But if you were to start talking about, if you were to start telling me all about beer and this equipment that's all around us, that's all brand new to me. But you guys probably know a lot about it.
Speaker 1:And you probably think everybody's bored. You'd be surprised how little I know about the things I drink. I'm just joking, but you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Maybe you have friends who are tired of hearing you talk about beer or how it's made or whatever, for sure. But if you were to talk about that to people who don't know anything about it, they'd find it really interesting and useful.
Speaker 2:It's the same for me. With social media, I think it's all very common sense how to do this, but people who have never done it before, never tried to use it for business, have only ever looked at it to see their kids' photos or their grandkids' photos or whatever they're like, I don't understand why I want to tell people what I had for lunch.
Speaker 3:They're like I don't understand why I want to tell people what I had for lunch. Would you say that businesses essentially have to have a social media presence in order to stay relevant?
Speaker 2:I think they have to have some kind of social media presence. They don't necessarily have to be on any one particular network. No, it's all about figuring out where their audience is hanging out and wants to see their content, and it's also more about what kind of content are you actually willing to make? So maybe you're willing to do a podcast, but you're not willing to be on video. Well then, you know, make an audio podcast, don't get into videos. You can work with that. But, you've got to have something out there somewhere.
Speaker 3:I think that's the thing we're constantly trying to figure it out, because we have in one month we have really great success on YouTube, and then another month we have really great success on Instagram and Facebook, and it's all like a rotation of different things. But I think a lot of it has to do with how, depending on how big an episode does on what platform, sometimes depends on the guest.
Speaker 2:Yeah, right, and whether or not the guest shares and whether or not they engage.
Speaker 3:Well, that's obviously huge too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Having it everywhere the way that we do, oh, we have to. So one picks up after the other. I cooked a steak on Saturday and I put it up on YouTube Right and just for fun and I had the YouTube crowd very lovely and endorsing.
Speaker 2:I had the Reddit crowd very critical your steak is overdone, Like what did you?
Speaker 1:do you idiot? You don't even know how to make steak right, reddit has nothing good to say. It's the most toxic social media thing I like laughed like. The first comment was like you know, it's like he's like that wasn't even seared good right. Like it was just like I was like like right, like I mean I, I doesn't bother me that you hated the way I cooked the steak, I love that, so, um, but I feel every social media thing it's like a different type of playground, right?
Speaker 1:so the reddit's uh, reddit's like maybe the the angrier playground, I don't know right. Uh, youtube is super supportive, so youtube, that same steak's going up in this girl is just like that looks amazing. Right, that looks delicious. I'd like to try that is that your experience?
Speaker 2:did you find youtube well? I don't. I don't use youtube a whole lot.
Speaker 1:No, okay, and uh no, but I'm just learning and playing and as I play along I don't touch the facebook stuff. I don't really like facebook personally nobody does.
Speaker 1:No, I just don't find it's like I don't get a lot of fun out of it and I only got in 2020. I mean, I just talked about this the other week, I won't talk about it again, but, like you know, it just doesn't provide a lot for me. But it is good for close friends and family, seeing my older family in Newfoundland and stuff. I love it for that.
Speaker 2:It has some benefits that the other networks just don't offer. And that is, you know the group functions and promoting events and things like that yeah, absolutely. There's no other place really, that we have that ability.
Speaker 1:They don't do it as well.
Speaker 3:They don't do it as well, facebook seems to have it all. It literally is everything. It is Twitter, it is Instagram, it is whatever you want it to be. It's all of those things just in one place.
Speaker 2:So I don't understand why people don't. It just sucks in the background is the problem?
Speaker 3:Well, I think the problem is that you know it's like social media in general. It's like you can have people who are so opinionated, so negative. It gives people who maybe you know wouldn't in the past normally have a platform to like to gather, and then it allows them to gather Right. So you don't get that with Instagram as much. You get it a little bit, but not as much, because it's just pictures and videos. I guess you could say it, and you know there are people who get lots of hate on Instagram, but it's. It just seems like Instagram seems like it's a little bit more chill. I guess Twitter can go the other way. Oddly enough, one that you're really successful on is LinkedIn, and that's actually done really well for us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean LinkedIn is is great because, because it's professional, people generally aren't on there for professional purposes.
Speaker 1:they want to network.
Speaker 2:They want to be supportive. They're not on there to. It's not like reddit. They're not on there to be angry and discredit and complain, although they're. I mean, of course all that stuff's on there, but it's not the same yeah, I find people are a little more careful.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because the business is right there.
Speaker 1:Careful is key, right Careful is exactly why you get a pretty safe and fun ecosystem to play on. No one's going to criticize my stake on there, right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, not too harshly. I don't think we put it up there, though, what we don't put it up there.
Speaker 1:But you know what I mean, right, it seems like a nicer playground, right For sure for sure, everyone's polite it's more professional.
Speaker 2:We just don't see a lot of the junk that we see on the other platforms.
Speaker 3:Yeah, honestly, I would encourage out of anything. I think if you don't have a LinkedIn and you're a business professional or something like that, I think you're missing out.
Speaker 2:I'm always shocked when I go to look somebody up. I just looked somebody up yesterday who was an engineer of some kind, and I couldn't find them on.
Speaker 1:LinkedIn. Totally should be on LinkedIn, even if you don't need a huge network of friends on there or anything like that. You should just be on there. You should be engaging in content.
Speaker 3:I've got a ton of valuable insights off LinkedIn more than anywhere else, it's my favorite place to waste time. People are sharing lots of wisdom on there, like constantly.
Speaker 2:It really had a really big resurgence when twitter started going downhill that makes up two years ago, a lot of people jumped ship and said I'm going over here in a network. Yep, and so it had a.
Speaker 3:It had a resurgence yeah, I honestly didn't have like I didn't enjoy that. I started linkedin account like I don't know. Did you ever hear that?
Speaker 1:rumor where linkedin like they wanted to be like a pay-per-use model only and they wanted to be extremely expensive. I've heard this.
Speaker 2:I haven't heard that as a rumor, but every time they change their rate plan it gets more expensive. And the free version gets less and less fewer and fewer features so the free plan right now is. I mean I'm on the free plan. I tell most people they can stay on the free plan yeah but even now I only get I think it's five, maybe ten. We use it to find guests.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like I like, I only get I think it's five, maybe ten. Well, we use it to find guests. Yeah, ten reach-ups. I only get a couple tokens a month. Is that all it is? Oh, yeah, yeah, is it ten?
Speaker 2:I think it's ten. I run out of them all the time. Yeah, I do too.
Speaker 1:Because we're always trying to reach out and try to find that guest. You know who I know, but I think it'd be fun as shit to talk to the Cheesy guy. You know I love the Cheezys. They're great Cheezys I want to meet the man behind the Cheesy. So it's like these three generations down now, right and anyway, that'd be cool to meet him, but I can't get him. But you know you'll spend your tokens really quick on LinkedIn and then you feel like, should I get the gold?
Speaker 3:And I never have. I don't even try to. That's why it's good for the two of us, though, because at least we double up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2:I usually just go ahead and send the connection request without the message which is not best practice, but LinkedIn did it to themselves. Yeah, yeah, interesting though.
Speaker 3:That's an interesting what you said there. You said it's not best practice to do the connect versus the reach out.
Speaker 2:So why did you say that?
Speaker 3:Well, it's not best practice to connect without adding a note?
Speaker 2:Okay, right, so if you're going to connect with somebody and you don't know if they know, who you are. You met at networking or whatever best practices. You send them a connection, but you include a note that says, hey, it was really nice to meet you at the networking thing the other day. I'd love to connect and talk about whatever that's best practice.
Speaker 1:No, and that's genuinely appreciate when they come my way too, yeah.
Speaker 3:Some of them are some of them are a little too much, honestly sometimes a little thick, but oh, like we get so much stuff because of the podcast, for the podcast, yeah, we get so many people that come in and they're like, hey, we can do this for you, we can do this for you, and it's like every second day and it's just kind of like you just added me so you could try to sell something. Oh, absolutely, we call it the pitch slot. Yeah.
Speaker 2:As soon as you're in there, they start pitching you things. And what gets me is, if they did the least little bit of research on my profile, they'd see that, hey, I already offer that service, or B, I don't offer those services. Therefore I don't need a white label or C. I'm not big enough to need those services. I get industrial cleaning pitches. The other day I got one for it.
Speaker 2:Network support I wrote back because, it was a local company, but I wrote back and I said look, I work from home yeah, I don't really need it.
Speaker 1:Network support but you do, I was just joking. We opened up the afternoon by the support I could. I could go to still it.
Speaker 3:No, but you know I think, um, and I think that, and I think that seems pretty fair to me, I think, for, like, I try to reach out and I do try to send messages and stuff like that, but the I think the thing I don't like is when you get the pitch and I've gotten better at it and you ask them something back. It's like, oh, I really love your podcast, and they're just fake, right. It's like I really love your podcast. That's what I don't like about it. It's like, oh, your podcast is so great, but it's not getting enough hits. We can do this. First of all, you really need to do some research and I'll ask them okay, great, what was your favorite episode, what was your favorite quote? And then I never hear from them again.
Speaker 2:I used to get the phone calls from Google support where they'd want to help me get my Google ranking up. And I remember one day I was feeling feisty so I answered the call. I knew it was going to be some kind of spam the guy's trying to sell me on SEO services. And he said we can get you ranking number one on Google. And I said oh well, that's interesting. I'm already number one on Google for my chosen keywords, so how are you going to improve that? And he hung up on me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so that's a great segue, seos.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, the biggest thing about SEO is writing your. It wouldn't be writing your podcast, but writing your posts on your website in a way that answers the questions that people are typing into Google. So if people are typing into Google, what are the top five podcasts where?
Speaker 1:they record in the back of a brewery.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you want to have posts on your website that say we record in the back of a brewery.
Speaker 1:There's actually only one.
Speaker 3:Yeah, just this one.
Speaker 1:You're actually the first person to ever search for that Exactly, but that's how it works, so if I want to, you have to figure out.
Speaker 2:What would people be typing in?
Speaker 1:that you want to appear for.
Speaker 2:And then you answer that in the text on your website and if you treat it that way, it's probably always going to do like that part is never going to change.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:The techniques in the background, the software in the background might change how you do ads and pay for stuff might change. I mean, I know this.
Speaker 1:Afternoon Pint. When we started using that word, we used to be like page three or four on Google, but we've used it for long enough now that we're the first thing that comes up and I've done it with other IPs so I could look and see what it looks like in BC. It looks like. What does it look like in Vancouver? Ap number one? Okay, good, so we're in Canada. We're actually not in some other countries yet. So if you go to UK IP and you put an afternoon pint, we're not number one, right, there's not another afternoon pint.
Speaker 1:It's just people that are tweeting, having an afternoon pint before us, because we're not relevant at all there. Right, so it's very interesting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and a lot of people don't realize that it is very much based on near me.
Speaker 1:IP and region and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's very much based on your search history and all of that stuff, yeah.
Speaker 3:Cool. So, uh, I guess the other thing is we've been talking a lot about like kind of what you do, but I guess if someone was to reach out for your services, like what is it like? Give them kind of a, like a layout of what you offer to businesses and how you can help them? Yeah Well, but like a layout of what you offer to businesses and how you can help them.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, right now it's all training. I have a couple of clients that I do their daily posts for them, but I'm really not taking clients on for that anymore, so right now it's training, one-on-one training or group training to help people understand how to set up a Facebook page, how to make posts, how to make graphics that work and how to run the page or the Twitter or the Instagram mostly Facebook, instagram and LinkedIn at this point. Also do some training on how to make reels. A lot of discussions around the things that seem more difficult, like hashtags, what the heck is a hashtag and how does that help me and how do I figure them out?
Speaker 2:Or I don't understand why. You know, a hundred people in my Instagram feed are all using the same piece of music and copying each other, so the culture of different platforms.
Speaker 2:there's a lot of discussion over helping people understand why that, how that could benefit them and how much of that to do versus educational content. It's a lot about helping them figure out what their strategy is going to be and then what their content schedule looks like in a way that they can manage it themselves, Because most of the people that I work with don't have yet enough budget to be hiring somebody like me to do their social for them they're trying to cobble it together themselves, but they don't even know what they don't know right so it's helping them understand the basics of how to run a page, how to make content, how to figure out what kind of content to do and turn that into something but that's a real practical application.
Speaker 1:That's really good that you're helping people with that, because I mean, I can imagine like a maybe a family running a pizza shop, uh, carpenters, uh, that do beautiful work but don't know how to put it out there folks like that could really take advantage of that right, because they need someone to just say how the heck do I do this stuff yeah, right, yeah, because it's not easy.
Speaker 2:I've actually got I I do a course through a local program called seed that has a national program called Leveling it Up.
Speaker 1:I have three electrologists. Electrologists, electrologists in that course. That's a weird vertical, so maybe I should do a whole thing.
Speaker 2:But it started with one and she brought two friends and so on. In that program I've had everything from restaurants to electrologists, to coaches and artists. They're all just people trying to start a business and be an entrepreneur and they've just never used social media that way before. So it's been just about connecting with friends, and now it's about something bigger.
Speaker 1:But it is a mental shift from connecting with friends to using it for, for, for commercial gain, and getting people interested is the hardest goddamn thing.
Speaker 2:It is it is, and I don't have the magic key for that either because it's going to. It's going to be different for every business. What does somebody who likes beer want to see for content versus somebody who who likes to cook? Right right it's going to be totally different types of content. Maybe people want to see funny reels of people falling down drunk. I don't know. And this person wants to learn how to cook.
Speaker 3:So just videos of Tobin on Saturday. I'm sure you're going to get a steak.
Speaker 2:Listen how many times do we watch videos of people who fall down right.
Speaker 3:Oh right, it's the second funniest thing. Yeah, how to reserve? America's funniest videos yeah, it was a whole show based off people getting hit with stuff and falling down and stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, now it's just in our pockets so do you have?
Speaker 3:do you have like uh currently, do you have uh business partners that are kind of like business consultants or, like you know, help with business efficiencies, that kind of refer you over to help with their social media specifically?
Speaker 2:Uh, yes and no. I mean I, I have lots of entrepreneur friends, so we all just when the when the project is right, we say you need to call this person or that person, or you need to go on this podcast and talk to this influencer, but nothing, nothing official. It's really twerp is just me.
Speaker 1:It's just me sitting on my couch. Twerp's a great name too.
Speaker 3:It's funny, you're a twerp. It goes with the anti-hero thing, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, more of a twerp. That's what my sister said to me when I came up with twerp. She said do you really want to be known as the twerp? And I said I think I do. That's cool, I like it, it's a good name, do you want?
Speaker 1:to play a game Sure.
Speaker 3:Well, before we play a game. I just wanted to ask because, on top of your consulting and your educating and all that other stuff, you also host a day.
Speaker 2:I have a few other projects on the go, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:The social media day thing. Yeah, do you know? We applied for that. You rejected us. I know you called us losers. You wrote the word loser in capital letters?
Speaker 2:I don't believe I did. You said not yet. Dear losers, I'm pretty sure it was all lowercase.
Speaker 1:That's even better. Best response Good.
Speaker 3:Dear losers no.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I am one of the co-founders of Social Media Day Halifax, a conference for small business owners who want to learn more about all things well, it's really all things online marketing now. And it is the best and worst project I've ever started.
Speaker 3:I mean, I love it, I do, it's brilliant. It seems quite popular.
Speaker 2:It is very popular. We get up to 300 small business owners in the room in June. We are going ahead with next year, so we've started. It's June 6th, I think.
Speaker 3:And we'll be there. I was going to say you know what? Totally reformat. You just get Mike and Matt up there interviewing all our guests while we drink beer.
Speaker 1:Terrible yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, we can talk about that after. But the hard part about it is that I've made so many friends in this industry.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:Halifax is a small, like Nova Scotia is a small community got it, so I know most of the people who are my competitors Right, and this is an event that everybody in this business wants to be part of because it looks good.
Speaker 1:That's excellent Right, and you usually do it at the Cineplex too. We do it at the Cineplex, so it's a pretty big event.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so they're applying to this. And then I have to look at we get 50 to 70 applications every year for 15 spots. Wow, and I have to look at all of those and go how many applications. I think we had 70 this year 70.
Speaker 1:We didn't make it in 70 applications 15 people better than us.
Speaker 3:Yeah, 15 people, yeah, yeah, yeah, we were number 16. She told me we were number 16.
Speaker 1:I was just going to say you were number 16. Okay, 16, okay, good, good, um, but I have to look at these and look at all these friends who are applying, that's sure.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's daunting, okay, I've got three friends who have all applied to speak about the same thing. How do I choose between these people that I I know and respect all of them? How do I decide which who's going to get to speak this year?
Speaker 2:and we do we do try to spread it around and you know we every year we have new and we do try to spread it around and every year we have new topics and we try not to keep the same people all the time, so that part of it is really stressful for me, because Linda Daly is my business partner on that. She does a lot of the background stuff and we work together choosing the speakers based on topics to make sure we've got a nice spread of topics and everything, but it's usually me saying okay it's down to these two people. I think we have to go with this one or that one because, I know most of them and I know who can speak 100%.
Speaker 2:I don't like that part of it.
Speaker 1:No, that's tough, that would be tough, but you are putting on an event that that's there to help others and I think you sound like you have a really good handle on what you're doing and I'm just doing that yeah this year will be the eighth year, okay, yeah yeah, like what?
Speaker 3:I guess what inspired you to kind of like put that together, because I mean it seems like it would be a pretty daunting task.
Speaker 2:It was and like how many people showed up first year well, the first year, uh, literally I walked into another event at cineplex. It was a very small event, like 20 people in there for some kind of networking day to learn about cineplex events. And before I even went into the event itself, I'm getting my coffee, talking to the guy that runs the events at cineplex and I said I think I have an event I'd like to have here, just let it out like that. And next thing, I knew I was hosting that event there, but we had had a, an online marketing conference in Halifax for a few years before that.
Speaker 2:And they had gone out of business or whatever they stopped and I just knew there was a big gap. We needed that. I was traveling all the way over to San Diego every year to get this kind of education and that's not a fun trip.
Speaker 3:San Diego is lovely. That's about as far away as you can get. When you come to North America, it's usually a couple flights and hangovers and all that. Yeah, it's a lot Layovers. Might have been both, probably both. Yeah, there could have been both.
Speaker 2:But I finally said there's a gap here, we need this here for the local businesses. It was a way for me to collaborate with all of those other experts in town who all have different things that they're really good at. I'm not really good at all of them, so I can bring in an SEO person.
Speaker 1:I could bring in a podcast person. Right, you had Giles on this year.
Speaker 2:Giles was there this year.
Speaker 1:Yeah, my previous guest Awesome episode if you listen, yeah, and I want to go back and check it out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and Aaron Trafford was our keynote speaker the first year.
Speaker 1:Wow, aaron's been on the show also, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think there's probably been a few of your past guests that have been there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just not you guys, just not you guys.
Speaker 3:Just not us yet. Wow, sorry, you brought it up. She's like keep trying, that was awesome.
Speaker 1:Well, we'll definitely apply next year.
Speaker 3:All your guests are worthy, just you guys. Aaron, that was awesome.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was awesome yeah, Keontae was there last year.
Speaker 1:He's a nice guy.
Speaker 2:He's great.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, he's great.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, it was just that there was this big gap in opportunities for people to learn and we thought this is a really good way for us, linda and I and we had a third person the first year Really good way for us to all work together to service that community that we all work with and collaborate and it just the first year we did it. We thought if we get 100 people we'll be really happy and then we'll decide whether or not to do it again. But we knew before the event happened that we would do it again and we had 250 people the first year.
Speaker 1:Wow, it's going to be even bigger next year. I hope so. I think so. It sounds amazing 300 is about our maximum, just because of space, what you can fit, but I mean it's something that's going to grow and it's always going to help businesses of any size Love it. Can I ask my final?
Speaker 3:questions, jeff, one more thing we've got to explore. You're currently, when this comes out, the election's going to be over, but currently you are running.
Speaker 2:I am.
Speaker 3:I just wanted to kind of explore a little bit about, like you know, obviously you're putting yourself out there all the time for your business anyway, but it's very different when you put yourself out there for politically. Yeah, you know it's way different. I did it. I did it four years ago. I ran four years ago, so I know what it's like. I know what it feels like when, when you see people who you thought were friends, that don't vote for you or support someone else and all that stuff Been there already.
Speaker 3:Yeah, just talk a little bit through that stuff. I guess like what you're going through, because I imagine someone in your position who relies on friends and networking and all that stuff.
Speaker 1:Just keep in mind before you answer it you may or may not be a counselor right now.
Speaker 2:That's true, I know. Yeah, that's true it's hard, but I don't think that changes the question, because in the end.
Speaker 3:People didn't support you and you thought they would Sure Right.
Speaker 2:And I've had that conversation with a few people, because I do know a lot of people in my district.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I've written to different people and said hey, I don't want to assume that just because we're friends, you're going to vote for me. So I'm checking with people and I've had people write back and say sorry, I'm going to vote for another person yeah, or I haven't decided yet right and that it's almost that I haven't decided yet. That hurts worse you know what.
Speaker 3:that's true because you know what I've had when I did it. I had people who were like, well, I know this person too, and they already asked for my support, and like they basically just beat you to it. I'm like, okay, well, that's fair, yeah, but I'd rather you have an answer.
Speaker 1:When Matt was running. He was running in like where you know I lived and you know he didn't vote for me.
Speaker 3:No, no, no, I totally did.
Speaker 1:But in this instance, actually a was running, that's right and a really nice guy. I actually really liked him. And he came to the door and asked me for his vote and I was like sorry, bro, and I'll tell you exactly why. This is my friend 15 years. And I got you know like, yeah, I had explained the whole story and he respected that right because, it's a really honest answer as long as people are getting out voting yeah that's.
Speaker 2:That's the best thing. I just want people to get out and vote, because our voter engagement is at 40%.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:Which is awful I know 2020, it was up to like 42.
Speaker 1:And that was an actual it was below 40, wasn't it?
Speaker 3:No, no, no, according to Wikipedia 2020, it bumped up over 40. Before that, it was trending under 40. It was 38. 2020, because of the pandemic and basically no one had anything to do. It bucked the trend, Okay. I think actually, maybe even when we made it down to 36%, but it was above 40 and, like every election, it says 39.5 on LinkedIn.
Speaker 1:I only know this cause I just did the mayor episode, produced it and went on LinkedIn to do the research.
Speaker 2:It depends on which election maybe.
Speaker 3:It was the municipal 2020.
Speaker 1:I'm pretty sure that they talked about it.
Speaker 3:recently there was an article out and they talked about how 2020 was the only one that went the opposite way.
Speaker 1:I'm just fact-checking you, man. I just did the Wikipedia.
Speaker 3:Whether it was over 40 or not, the fact is that 2020 was a different makeshift, where it actually went up the last three elections. So that means 12 years. The last three elections. It was trending down every time and 2020 went back up. So I'll be very interested to see what this year provides.
Speaker 2:I'm really interested too, not just because I'm running, but also because we've had in District 16, where I'm running, we've had a councillor for forever for four terms and he was acclaimed the last two elections he didn't even have anybody we don't know, running against nobody ran against him the last two.
Speaker 3:That happens a couple times because they just they're like I can't win, so what's the point?
Speaker 1:of wasting money, right yeah yeah, I get that yeah, that sucks so when you don't have nobody running and just one person just kind of going through the whole, well, I think part of it was we had.
Speaker 2:I mean, I think he was a really good counselor and he he worked really hard for the community and I think the community saw that.
Speaker 3:So talk about a guy with social media presence well, I mean, at least he answers people right. He did like honestly, yeah, tim answer people like whether he liked it or not, whether you disagree with him or what, but when I saw like when? But when people call him out on social media, he responded.
Speaker 2:He's still there.
Speaker 3:It's true.
Speaker 1:Is the Tim guy running again? No, no he's retiring.
Speaker 2:He's going on, he's stepping down. So there's six people running.
Speaker 3:I'm surprised there's even that few, honestly. I'm surprised there's that few, because generally when an incumbent a long-term incumbent comes and says they're not offering. I mean, look at the mayor, there's 16, right 16, yeah, and when I ran, there was like four years ago, there was 12. And that's because the guy who was in there was 29 years, so 12 people ran.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So it's a big thing, but yeah so I mean I guess it's really tough, eh. It is Going through that mentally, people don't realize it changes.
Speaker 2:It changes everything. I mean. I'm constantly saying, oh, I can't say that anymore I can't, I can't tweet that anymore this this tweet. It's true, but it's not worth it.
Speaker 2:It's not worth the the backlash I might get for this right or you know, I just can't be quite as casual as I used to be on there and I have everything. I have to think about everything differently, but I'm also getting a completely different kind of email from people. So where I used to get emails of people, oh my gosh, could you please help me with such and such, now it's rawr. You've got to do something. I got one the other day that said something like people in your line of work and I'm like, like I'm not even there yet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're not a politician yet, right?
Speaker 3:yeah, that was that's. The thing is, people would say that to me and you know, I'm 39 and so I was 35 when I ran and uh, I had people who were like, oh I, I know why you want to do it, you're a young guy and you want a good job. And I'm like, uh, I have a good job and it pays more than what this job pays. I'm actually taking a pay cut to do this. So it's all these assumptions that people think that they can just talk really shitty about you just because you're putting your name forward, which really it's a service, like I saw it as like I'm doing a service because I want to make my community better and then all of a sudden you flip from being an antihero to just being a villain.
Speaker 2:Yeah, A lot of people will see you as a villain. I just wrote a comment on Facebook, before I came here, actually to one person who was saying well, it doesn't matter who we vote in, they're all going to do the same thing, which is nothing.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:And I said look, that's yeah. I'm cynical, I'm jaded, the same as everybody else. Community, I'm never going to make everybody happy no matter if there's at least two sides to every issue, and no matter which side I vote with, the other side's going to be mad. So, there's always going to be somebody out there that says you didn't do anything for me, you voted against whatever it was.
Speaker 3:I wanted right, that's a great thing. With democracy, it's very different.
Speaker 1:It's a great thing. Well, I'm going to wrap up this therapy session for politicians. All right.
Speaker 2:You can play your game now you want to play a silly game?
Speaker 1:Sure, I love silly games Okay cool. So we've been doing this lately and it's been really kind of getting popular. People are saying hey we want you to ask more of these questions at the end of every show. So these are questions you can answer.
Speaker 2:Maybe I should have some more. Yes, have a drink.
Speaker 3:You're going to have some, because if you don't answer it, you've got to drink.
Speaker 1:Yeah so you can answer these questions. Don't answer these questions, Just take a drink if you don't answer. Mostly these are fun. They won't get you in any trouble. I don't think. Maybe one or two. Where do you hide the bodies? Question number one if you could appear as a guest on any tv show, new or old.
Speaker 2:Which one?
Speaker 1:would you choose, and why? Oh my gosh, if you could just appear on the show just be part of the show you like the show as a kid or an adult too many that I I really like.
Speaker 2:I guess right now I'd have to say maybe outlander oh, okay, that's. Yeah, it's a really niche show.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it is, I know it. My wife likes it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think my partner likes it as well. I believe there's a lot of nudity in that show. We'll just leave it at that.
Speaker 2:There's not a lot of nudity.
Speaker 1:There's a little bit of nudity. Yes, Nothing wrong with that. There you go.
Speaker 3:Okay, this is a great question.
Speaker 2:Question number two, if you woke up tomorrow, a famous rap artist, what would your rap name be? Lil' Twerp. Lil' Twerp is bomb Lil'.
Speaker 1:Twerp in the house. I love it. Okay, awesome. Okay, who do you prefer to see as your?
Speaker 2:next Prime Minister Trudeau or Polyev Boy, that cider's looking awful good.
Speaker 1:You can have a drink if you want. Yeah, it's okay.
Speaker 2:No, if I had to choose between those two, I'm going with Trudeau.
Speaker 1:Okay, very good. Yeah, yeah. So a lot of people take a drink on that one, so good job.
Speaker 3:You know that takes some guts, yeah, Okay. So question number four Stuck on a deserted island, but you have one album and one book with you.
Speaker 1:Which are they?
Speaker 2:Oh, for the kids, by album, I mean like a thing that you play music on, like a CD or a record.
Speaker 3:Probably Greatest Hits by Queen. Oh, very cool yeah and one book.
Speaker 2:I mean I might have to go with outlander again.
Speaker 3:It was a book first I mean it's a good book, awesome I would, I would. I would pick lord of the rings and then try to make it into a religion there you go.
Speaker 1:Question number five have you ever been arrested?
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 3:No, that's not what your LinkedIn tells you.
Speaker 1:That's not what this tells you.
Speaker 3:Question number six how can Afternoon Pint get more followers on Instagram?
Speaker 1:Sorry, we had to get that in there. You could buy them. Buy them, oh yeah, that, no, no, no, we haven't yet. No, don't get scammed out of that. Yeah, I mean honestly.
Speaker 2:The answer to that is is just making more content that people like so getting more followers on instagram, the. The key is engaging with other people who would like your content, and a lot of people use any of the social networks as a broadcast medium, so they put their message out there, but they don't actually spend the time engaging with people.
Speaker 1:In the community, whether it's the beer community or whatever.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, and it doesn't mean just answering the comments on your post, but going around and engaging on other people's stuff, Commenting on others and liking and loving and supporting yes and sharing and all of that. That's a terrific answer. That's how you're going to grow in Instagram and probably making the occasional trending video Sure.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 3:Copy the trends or whatever. Yeah, cooking a steak Next.
Speaker 1:Sunday I'll be boiling a hot dog.
Speaker 3:ladies and gentlemen, Okay, question number seven. I like this one.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay, yes, do you hang toilet paper over or under? You know what I mean by that right.
Speaker 2:Okay, this is going to be really, really controversial.
Speaker 1:Sure.
Speaker 2:I don't pay attention, I just put it on.
Speaker 3:Hey, no, I do that you know what when people ask me that. I'm like you know what I mean. People ask me that I'm like you know what I care about it being there. Yeah, exactly, I don't really think about it either.
Speaker 1:I don't, we're all in the same. We're all in the same boat there. I really don't. Yeah, I don't care, I just thought it'd be a fun question. Yeah, okay, um, no, let's go ahead, get out of here, sorry, do you?
Speaker 3:did you read?
Speaker 1:this, which one I probably didn't.
Speaker 3:I I wrote these really fast well, do you, do you have or have you ever had an imaginary friend? If she says she currently does, whoa this podcast going longer I don't think so.
Speaker 2:I don't remember having one when I was a kid I definitely don't think I have. I think everybody's real. Are you real?
Speaker 1:yes, yeah, we're real. Yeah, real, a hundred percent. Oh, I'm not, I'm a figment of both of your imaginations?
Speaker 3:No, I don't think I ever had a dimensionary friend.
Speaker 2:Okay, I don't remember. Cool, I didn't either. Did you ever imagine a friend? No, never.
Speaker 3:I don't recall ever. No, no, I don't think so.
Speaker 2:I just okay. Number nine do you think aliens exist? Definitely, definitely do you think?
Speaker 1:they're exhibit a. Oh, the actual question. Uh, that I wrote, I forgot among us. Do you think they're among us?
Speaker 2:I think it's possible it's possible, okay, possible, I think it's impossible to look at the universe outside of earth and say there's nothing else out there oh yeah, okay, that, okay Fair, that's fair.
Speaker 3:I think that's fair, I like that.
Speaker 2:All right.
Speaker 3:So, question number 10,. This is the same that everyone gets. So what's one thing that every person can do to make the world a better place?
Speaker 2:Get out and vote.
Speaker 3:It'll be too late, I guess.
Speaker 2:It'll be too late, but get out and vote.
Speaker 3:Listen, there's lots of voting. I love that, though. Get engaged in your community. Go to the open houses.
Speaker 2:Pay attention to what's going on Run.
Speaker 3:Put your name out for office. I think that's a good idea.
Speaker 2:I think, honestly, anyone who puts a name Volunteer with a cause or a board that's important to you. I mean it doesn't have to be office, but volunteer somewhere that's important to you and your family and get out. I mean, that's how you make your community better, more connected 100%.
Speaker 3:I think you're the first person to not take a drink.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:No, I don't know.
Speaker 2:You'd be hard-pressed to ask me anything I wouldn't answer, I think.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, no, we won't try.
Speaker 3:Will we be at Social Media Day next time?
Speaker 1:She's drinking, Okay there you go.
Speaker 3:We got to take a drink there. You go, all right, well, I think that's a perfect time to end this episode. Thank you, anita. It's been a pleasure meeting you. That was really fun. Thank you, that was very fun All right, thank you.
Speaker 1:Well, I hope to talk again soon. Cheers, bye.
