Build Your Audience First Before Program Launch
By Cheval John
When a company or a solopreneur is launching a new program or service, they want to make sure that everything goes well.
Another thing that they will do is launch their product in beta form to get feedback from the users.
That is how many companies have successful launches.
Many companies don’t have a product in beta that is very open to the public.
Unless you are Blab.
They are very smart in having the live streaming app in beta form because they get a chance to hear the feedback from many of the users.
Just because there are not many people using Blab, (about 2,500 compared to 10 million users of Periscope), does not mean that the live streaming platform is not important.
I tend to say that it is good news because those who are on blab at the very moment whether they are sports professionals, marketers and entrepreneurs are setting themselves up to be the “experts” of using blab.
In the same way, many musicians are now following the same path like many companies when launching their music.
They now can bypass the decision makers in major record labels and use SoundCloud, Spotify, YouTube, iTunes, Periscope and even Blab to build an audience.
They are releasing their singles first to get feedback to see if the singles would be great when they are about to launch their albums.
Krista Earle is among the independent music artists who have grown her fan base through releasing her singles first.
Krista shared with me on What’s The Word? about her recent singles, “Just People” and “Dear Santana” and also shared about her plans of launching an album next year.
You can listen to the interview below which was not recorded on blab, but on BlogTalkRadio:
Live Streaming Stars To Pay Attention To In 2016
By Cheval John
Photo Courtesy of blog.ditley.com
As we are 28 days away from 2016, we can reflect on how much live streaming changed the way we look at media.
We knew about live streaming from major media platforms like ESPN, who broadcast their sporting events using their apps.
And marketers indicated that they were going to focus more on doing live video this year according to the Social Media Examiner’s Social Media Marketing Industry 2014 report.
That same report indicated that marketers were using YouTube to showcase their expertise and promote their business.
It makes sense to a large degree because YouTube is the second largest social media platform in the world behind Facebook.
Plus, YouTube is owned by Google, the world largest search engine.
So if you are on YouTube, you have a huge opportunity to get your business more exposure due to Google Algorithms.
That is great news if you are a small business owner.
At the same time, you will have to work twice as hard to build your audience on YouTube because you are competing with other business owners.
According to Expanded Ramblings, there are 1 billion people who uses YouTube.
You are among the number of people who are trying to gain an audience with your uplifting message and building a tribe.
So if live streaming is going to continue to be more important going into 2016, how do you stand out from the crowd?
You will have to be more creative on how you use video to gain a loyal following.
This year has brought out live streaming platforms like Meerkat, Periscope and Blab.
Meerkat has in a way become more irrelevant.
So I will only focus on Periscope and Blab.
Periscope is raw video where people can share their lives with the world.
It has allowed many business owners to showcase their expertise and grow their business for the better.
The catch is that the video only lasts for 24 hours and then it is gone.
That allows a person to grow a loyal community and increase their business for the better also.
And with Apple TV now integrating Periscope into their product, your periscope shows will have a much wider audience.
Though I have not used periscope personally, I can say that the live streaming app is a one way street because there is not much engagement with the audience.
Which now leads to blab.
Blab is a combination of Meerkat and Periscope that was launched in April.
The live streaming platform allows four open seats plus you can actually see who is in the room of your show.
You can also see what people are saying about the topic that you are chatting about in your blab.
Plus, if a person that is in the room of your chat wants to join in on one of the four open seats, they can join in the open seat with the host’s approval of course.
That makes blab in my opinion more interactive.
What is also cool is that if you recorded your blab show, they send you the audio and video file of the show.
That gives the person the opportunity to turn their blab shows into a podcasts.
And since podcasts have a much smaller competition compared to YouTube (about 300,000 to 1 billion), respectively, they are able to stand out from the masses of people who are on YouTube.
The biggest difference is that blab is still in beta form and the staff are making improvements to the live streaming app.
That means small business owners, who are using blab in beta, are way ahead of their competition because they are building a loyal community.
Periscope and Blab have allowed people to become thought leaders.
I can guarantee that these live streaming stars will go to the next level in 2016 and continue to uplift people to build their business to profitably for the better.
Here are the 10 live streaming “stars” everyone should look out for in 2016
1. Vicki Fitch-Author, Speaker
2. Robert C. Stern-Owner of Social Leader, USA
3. Victoria Taylor-Owner of Blend Social
4. Jennifer Quinn-Host of The Daily Q Show
5. John Kapos-Owner of Perfection Chocolates
6. Melodee Meyer-Founder of the Fit Free Project
7. Adel de Meyer-Social Media Specialist
8. Saba Sedighi-Founder of iStreamSocial
9. Sarah Moore-Digital Strategist
10. Kohleen Liddell-Social Media Strategist
Do you agree with the list above. Who am I missing from this list? You can leave your comments below.
The Resilience Of Kansas City
By Cheval John
The Kansas City Royals was facing elimination in the first round series against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.
The Royals, who won the American League Central Division, all of sudden was down 6-2 after a two-run home run by Carlos Correa and a solo home run by Colby Rasmus.
Many thought that the game was over.
I felt confident that the Astros was going to move on that I had posted this video on Instagram of the home run.
And even the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott posted a early congratulations to the Astros with this Tweet reported by the Houston Chronicle
The Royals had other ideas.
They slowly chipped away at the lead with straight singles that loaded the bases and then scored each of the baseball players to 6-4.
Then the ultimate shock came when hit a sharp ground ball that was deflected off the glove of reliever Tony Shipp and then took a strange bounce and went off the glove of Correa that allowed both runners to score to tie the game at 6.
A batter later, Alex Gordon hit a ground ball that was deep enough that allowed the go-ahead run to score to make it 7-6.
Then in the ninth, Erik Osmund hit a two-run home run that put the nail in the coffin for the Astros and forced a Game 5 in Kansas City.
The Royals believed that they could make a comeback to win the matchup and have the opportunity to win the series against the Astros.
We can have the same mindset like the Royals in believing that we can be successful in our business even if we are drowning in debt or are struggling to be profitable with our business or our lives.
When we keep the positive mindset of believing that we can be successful in our business and life for the better, everything will start to work out for the better.
What’s The Word Episode
Here is the episode of What’s The Word? with guest Gordon Tredgold, author of FAST.
Mr. Tredgold shared about how the “FAST” method has helped him to turn around fortune 100 companies and also run his first marathon at age 52.
Blabbing Towards Success
By Cheval John
I recently had the opportunity to share about the live streaming platform called Blab on SEMRush’s blog.
SEMRush is an SEO and Analytics company that provide analytics reports and also competitive research on different companies.
I shared about how Blab has changed live streaming and also the do’s and don’ts’ when you are participating in a Blab chat.
I’ve been using Blab to record my podcast, “What’s The Word?” for almost a month and have an account with them for 66 days.
I can say that Blab is a game changer for podcasters and even for sports writers in a huge way.
Once they are finished with their blab shows, if that same episode was recorded, the blab team will send you the replay of your blab show in audio and video format.
This is an example of one of my episodes that was recorded with guest Kayla Chatkewicz of Smyelin Media, Inc on Blab.
Later, I uploaded the same interview with Ms. Chatkewicz for my podcast on BlogTalkRadio.
All I have to say is that Blab will be one of the most popular live streaming platforms in the future because they are making improvements to their platform everyday.
To see more about the dos and dont’s when you are participating in a live blab chat, you can check out the article here on SEMRush.
Yogi Berra Was A True Influencer
By Cheval John
Photo Courtesy of www.frontiermedia.com
Yogi Berra was one of the most recognizable people in the sporting world.
He personified what it meant to be a great baseball player and a great person.
This past Tuesday, Mr. Berra passed away at the age of 90.
Mr. Berra won 10 World Series championships with the New York Yankees.
He also was a part of history when he caught Don Larson’s no-hitter during the 1956 World Series.
Many can say that he was Mr. Yankee because he had the heart of the champion and also played a huge role in making the Yankees the most recognizable brand in the world.
And he even transcended the sports world in a good way.
For example, ESPN’s College Football live did a segment of Mr. Berra’s famous quotes as it pertained to each college football team who were vying for a chance to make it in the College Football playoff.
And many people whether in the sporting world or outside of the sporting world had their reactions to the passing of Mr. Berra.
And each of the Major League Baseball teams had a moment of silence for Mr. Berra
One of the things that many should understand is that Mr. Berra lived his life to the fullest and stayed true to himself.
He will be truly missed by everyone.
And to close this post out, here are some of Mr. Berra’s famous quotes below that everyone including entrepreneurs can live by:
“It ain’t over till it’s over”
“If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
“In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.”
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