Hey, welcome back. It is the follow-up media podcast. My name is Christian Jin Lee. I am sitting here with the birthday boy. >> Oh yeah.

>> Riley Austin. >> Yes, sir. It's old last name, too. I love it. >> Yep. Social security number 1956. I don't even know it. But anyway, Riley is the ripe old age of 23 years old. That's correct.

>> Now, you might ask yourself, why a distinguished gentleman like myself sitting here with such a young buck? Well, Riley is the son of a good friend of mine, and I didn't give Riley the job because of a favor. I actually sought him out like a like I do. I followed up because Riley has got a certain set of

skills that separates him from other people and that is he follows up, he follows through and he does not um give up. Happy birthday, Riley. >> Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate it.

>> We're happy to have you here. Today we are going to touch on a topic that I feel is very valuable. It is going to be an eyeopener I'm hoping to the business owner, the um the business leader, the big company that um has a marketing team or outsources marketing or you know help with their website or their SEO. This is

another common thing that Riley and I are seeing on a day-to-day basis. Obviously, as we've mentioned before, our outreach for establishing contact with certain companies is based on previewing, you know, identifying, looking at what they're doing, you know, establishing contact and and offering to

help them in some way. And most of it is 99% of all industries in business are still not Riley. What are they not doing? >> They don't have any kind of digital presence. And if they do, it's not it's not to any kind of I say horrible standard, but it's definitely on the low

total. >> Riley thinks your stuff is trash. >> Yeah. No, they're not creating any dynamic content. >> Yeah, exactly.

>> Okay. You have your website that probably you've invested at some point in SEO work. You probably have an SEO company that's been stealing from you or not doing what it is you're paying them for and you really don't have any idea.

We've talked about that in previous episodes. And they have a blog on there that just so you are educated is a static piece of content. >> Yeah, >> it is used for search engine optimization. I guess you could say yes.

It's main reason besides helping you with Google search, there's some thought leadership, but who's reading it? >> Yeah. >> Who's really logging in on a weekly basis to see your blog? And even if you create a blog, are you really putting out that blog on your socials to let

people know it's even available? Probably not. It's more of a search engine optimization tactic about, you know, you can insert certain keywords that might help you, you know, but there's another thing that Riley, you see it every day and you might not even identify what you're

seeing and you kind of are because you're going, "Oh, they're not making any content. There is no video content. There's no podcast. There's nothing dynamic." And that's what we're talking about is this episode is the death of the static website and why your site is a media hub and should be a media hub,

not a brochure. Yeah. >> And that's something that you probably when you start to think about it, you're like, "Oh god, my website." >> It is exactly that. It's a brochure.

>> Yeah. >> There's nothing dynamic on it. >> Exactly. >> There's no video. you might and one video about the corporate, you know, about the company or the owner is not enough to say that it's not a brochure.

It's a brochure with one video clip. Okay? You know, because these days audiences no longer want to visit a brand, they want to engage with it. The most successful modern businesses have evolved their websites into living ecosystems. Let that wash over you.

Their websites have evolved. Yeah. Now it is a living, breathing ecosystem. Kind of like one part newsroom, part broadcast studio, part conversion engine.

>> Okay. Here's I'm going to say something real bold, Riley, and then I'm going to let you chime in. >> If your website looks like the same as it did six months ago, you have no digital presence. Oo, that's harsh. You have no digital presence. You have a digital tombstone.

>> Yeah. >> I mean, it's essentially >> Well, think about it like uh if Facebook never updated from when when they started with Facebook or Instagram, you would lose so many people because of the it's the same stale stuff. You can't do this. You can't DM. You can't like you

have to evolve with That's a great point because it's like >> Facebook didn't start off with every feature. No. like DMing somebody or even liking somebody like that thing was a feature. It's just like the Apple. It's like iPhone. At one point you couldn't even copy text and paste. They had to

build that into their updates. >> Exactly. >> And that is the evolution. And that keeps people going, "Oo, new feature. I can do this now." And and look at the iPhones we have now. They pretty much do anything that you could ever even imagine.

>> Oh, yeah. Your website has to evolve. This isn't a throw it up one time and leave it. You cannot just sit back because what you're going to get is a digital tombstone. This is what follow-up media as a company has been really focusing on with our clients and people we reach out to. We are trying to

turn their static one-dimensional brochure into an ecosystem that is living, continues to grow and build and it does so for years where every video, every podcast, every post is interconnected strategically and it's designed to keep a brand relevant, searchable, and of course

alive. Right? That is exactly what we're talking about. I'm going to give you a little history lesson, D. Okay, this is going to be called the evolution of digital presence. I like it.

>> You know, 2000's websites, they were billboards that were static, >> linear >> and very copyheavy. I mean, so copyheavy, nobody was going to read it.

But at the same time, in the 2000s, people were so excited about getting their their on online, they're like, "Look at all this. We can say everything we've ever wanted to say, and people are going to read it." Well, maybe at the time it was so new someone's like, "Oo, now this brand has

a website. Let's see what they're saying." So, Riley, what happened in the 2010s? >> They became funnels SEO driven, conversion focused, built for Google's algorithm specifically.

>> Yeah, exactly. That's why you had all these SEO companies come out of the woodwork going, "We can help you show up on searches." >> Yeah.

>> Right. We can help you show up on Google when somebody types in something. It was very relevant and Google had started to dominate. But now present day, they must be media engines. They've got to be adaptive, AI supported, built for both humans and algorithms that reward engagement and freshness. Today, if your

website doesn't publish, it doesn't perform. >> Yeah. And if it doesn't perform, it is literally costing you money every day it sits still. This is why static fails in the modern attention economy. I mean, hands down, like this is the psychology that I'm about to break down to you.

>> Consumers these days crave movement. Scrolls, swipes, short form discovery. Riley, what else does it do? Google favors sites that update often and social media platforms feed on consistency and recency. We say it all the time that YouTube you can put a lot of I mean you have a channel that's got

all these like different things. So you know you've got your podcast integration, you've got your short form videos which are called shorts and then you've got your long form videos. You could do community posts and most of that stuff will live forever. But the shorts feed is kind of like the Facebook

feed. Yeah. Or the Instagram feed. What? Where if you go on to that profile, you can see that they posted something, but is it going to show up in the Revalent feed unless you scroll back >> 50 days? No. I mean, you might be able to find it, but you're going on a treasure hunt. Okay. Static websites

fail because they don't speak in the same rhythm as the world around them. your website is failing because it's not speaking the language that everybody else is speaking. It blows my mind. And when you look at it from this perception and and obviously if we went to a website that was creating content, we

probably wouldn't be having this conversation because there would be an integrated ecosystem of that content, that dynamic content, the shorts, whether it's podcast or video series, you know, thought leadership. Now all of a sudden your static has become dynamic and it's living and it's working and

it's relevant and you are speaking the language that everyone else around you is speaking. So here static websites they were built for readers media hubs. Okay this is kind of a a term that followup media kind of I'm not going to say we coined. It's not like we made it up, but it is something

that we follow. All right? It's kind of our core things like when we're doing an audit or a consultation with a company and you know they've got a tombstone, you know, basically a tombstone.

Static websites were built for readers. Media hubs are built for watchers, listeners, and search engines that don't sleep. They really don't. This thing works for you all night, every day, whether you're there or not. So, here is our framework, right? This is, as I mentioned, it's kind of our model, the

media hub framework. And this is how you can transform a passive site into an active brand engine. Riley, what's number one? >> Number one is always publish. Create regular podcasts, episodes, videos, and short form thought leadership pieces.

>> Yeah, >> it really does live on your site. So, >> it will it will be integrated. Okay, distribute. You're going to syndicate everything automatically to Apple, to YouTube, to Spotify, social platforms, and then you're going to engage. All right? You're going to use interactive

elements like email signups, polls, or any embedded clips to capture attention. That is the main thing. And then analyze. We're going to look at your feed performance data and we're going to look at how that backs into your content strategy and then you're going to let Follow-up Media or you might not. That

was like kind of a shameless kind of like call to action. But then you can let a company like Follow-up Media or your local whichever you know people you decide to use handle the repurposing and posting so you can focus on the message.

It's really hard for you to focus in on the message, especially if you haven't been creating content and then have to worry about how it's going to integrate into your your static tombstone of a website right now. And also the repurposing of the content because your site should sound like you. It should

speak for you and it should sell for you 247. >> And why is that? Because it's lives on forever. >> Yeah. I mean >> without you logging in it should be doing that.

>> Yeah. Exactly. >> And so here's the human connection element. Move the conversation from tech. You building a digital presence which is static most likely 99% that would fall into the category of static. One video clip or two video that's not enough. That's that was a

oneoff. Right. If you haven't updated your website in over a year that is a problem. Like that is an absolute problem. Google is counting points against you because there's been no action or movement.

>> Yeah. >> Right. And so that was the tech. You signing up and and creating a website and a digital home, an address so to speak, like your domain. That was the tech part. But now we need to move the conversation to trust. Yeah. And consumers, if you have not figured this

out yet, will connect more deeply with voices, faces, and transparency than written copy. You get an email from your boss or your partner and you know it's like a text message like what is is he implying? Is he being rude? like or maybe it is from the boss and maybe he's saying that we have to cut you know a

thousand jobs which is not actually unheard of and I believe even in radio I think they just did that over the last few days or maybe it was even more than a thousand jobs. Do you think the CEO got on video and said guys radio right now is hurting? Yeah, >> we are barely inching by now. Even

though I'm getting five million a year for running this thing into the ground, I'm going to have to hate to do it to you. >> I'm going to we're laying off 2,000 jobs. Now granted, you might not like his message, but if you saw maybe what an arrogant prick he was, or

maybe he was sincere with having hating to have to do it. I'm not saying you're going to like him any less or more based on the action he's letting you know, but it would go a lot further than an email that was very distant and very non-personal and very So therefore, it's the power of seeing, hearing, and

listening to authentic. Yeah. >> Nature and and what that person is. Are they being authentic or are they being fake? Right. You'll be able to determine text content, text messages, emails.

It's really hard to put a >> a pulse on exactly how they're feeling that moment. But I could sum it up in about two minutes of watching somebody. Is that person looking shady? Right. So, you know, that's what we're talking about. Connect with your clients, connect with your book of business,

connect with your audience. And you do that not through written copy. The written copy is there to support and help because you're not going to make your website be a complete video. Like I mean you yes there's stuff to read and reading is important. Um but you're giving people the ability to see the

face of the company, hear the voice of that person's face and really connect on a why you should be used. Why should they hire you versus Riley? >> So, a modern website's real power is that it becomes a relationship platform and one that's going to build familiarity

and authority. Yeah. >> Through ongoing content. And people go, "Okay, well, a podcast." Well, anything can be a podcast. Like audio, audio, and video done consistently. And it doesn't even have to be that consistent. I mean, you could do weekly, bi-weekly, but there are some podcasts that come out

and that is just a series. Might be a series of six or a series of four, you know, with two-month gaps. But at least you're starting to create content. >> Yeah.

>> And from those pieces of content, the amount of content that you can cut up and get is just it compounds. If you got 20 pieces of content, maybe 30 pieces of content from one 30 minute episode, you did that times four. Well, and if you posted it on all your platforms and on your website, what do

you got? I mean, you've got a lot of content. I'm just going to do the math because I don't even remember the example I just gave out. But anyway, so people don't trust logos anymore. They trust voices. And when your voice lives inside your website in every episode and every clip and every update, your brand

stops being a thing and it starts to be a person >> and it starts to be something that people like, relate to, seek out because they want information or truth or your perspective because they connect with you. You know what I'm saying, Riley?

This is really important. The business case for change. Riley, give me some numbers here. >> Active content boosts organic traffic by 60 plus% backed by SEO and dwell time metrics.

>> Yeah, regular podcast embedding is going to increase visit duration and return rates. You know, you need to create a user experience. Clients who convert their websites into media hubs, you will see exponential improvement in not only your brand recall, but your lead quality. Now granted, there are clients

of ours and there are content initiatives that aren't converting leads into sales. If you're just trying to build an authentic audience based on your opinion or your perspective, whether you know whether it's an entertainment, you know, show, news, or politics, you your main focus

is audience growth. Now, with a business and lead and, you know, lead conversion into sales, well, yes, you're still building an audience, but you don't have to have a million people to to get a beautiful ROI.

>> True. >> You could have 50 people, the right people, and it could turn into a tremendous amount of revenue increase for you. That's the difference. Like, because >> what if you had 50 people that were on their way to being a billionaire? I

mean, like, do you need 51? Like, if you had the attention and the traction to get those people to tune in to the content you were dropping every week or bi-weekly, who cares about the 51st person? If someone comes along, you've got >> how many billions of dollar decision

makers? >> You have an audience with them and you have their attention. >> Definitely. >> So, the ROI is a little different. But when you are building audience that you're going for ad revenue, well, it's a bit different. You're not converting

leads to sales kind of. You're going for ad metrics based on listeners and audience. And those numbers got to be real high. So, you got to gain traction. So, that's the ROI, right? Like, you know, is it ad spend? Is it lead to uh leads converted to sales? But either way, you're still building an authentic

audience and connection with that audience regardless of which ROI you're going for. And I mean, let's talk about ROI. You wouldn't spend $10,000 on a video that sits on a hard drive.

>> No. >> So, why would you spend $10,000 on a website that never updates? >> That's a million dollar question. >> That's a 10,000 hour. That's a million.

No, it is a million-dollar question because maybe not now >> and you'll never be able to know what you've missed, >> but maybe it has cost you a million dollars in red >> in over the years.

>> Over the years, right? I mean, like we have clients right now that are starting this content thing, but their website is exactly what we're talking about. It's a digital tombstone. Now, we are going to change that with a podcast. So, they know that what what they need to do.

They do, but their website is way outdated, doesn't work right. So, really, they kind of need, even though we're going to add digital content, and we could add some video to that existing website. And I don't even know their answer back to my proposal yet. That's the way that they might go, which is

fine, but they need to invest in a new website because that's how we're just kind of outdated and just it could be way better. It could be way better to support this new, you know, dynamic living ecosystem. So, you know, so that is a million-dollar question. You wouldn't spend 10,000 on a video that

just sits on the hard drive and no one sees it. Why would you spend 10,000 on a website that never gets updates? And now, this is important. I want you to think like a media company. Think like follow-up media. Right? So, this is what you're going to do. You're going to treat your homepage

as your front page, right? Think in episodes, not pages. Like your front page of your website. Granted, you want people to stay on there, click in, get more information, but it should capture the most important things right there on your homepage. Because I guarantee if we look at the analytics of your homepage,

even though it might be a digital tombstone, I'll bet where do you think anybody who goes to your website's going first? Your homepage. >> Yeah.

>> But do they stay longer than 5 seconds and go anywhere else? And if not, that means your homepage isn't giving them the information they want for the most part. Yeah. they're not like there's nothing there to keep their attention to have them clicking through like oo that makes sense right like oh wow so think

in episodes not pages and you want to build campaigns that are going to drive traffic right into your content >> not just through it and then Riley what else >> you got to repurpose everything one 45 minute podcast equals let's just say 10 clips three blog post 15 social assets

and one's newsletter that I I mean that's a lot in just one 45minute episode that you could repurpose and re reuse. And actually to be honest with you depending on you know what we're doing but that 45 minute podcast that 10 clip metric >> could really be like 30 click

>> because like we have content and distribution um verticals like YouTube optimization that we do for our clients that I would call them full out optimization. So, like they might do weekly podcasts or weekly videos or bi-weekly, but when we're optimizing a YouTube channel, it is very much

predicated on we need content to dial in to YouTube's algorithm every day. And that means on average, let's just say bi-weekly podcast for example, 45 minutes as used in this example, we will produce almost 60 to 70 shorts >> out of those two episodes every month because that means we need to do two a

day. We are creating two clips a day almost every day to drop into YouTube's algorithm to show YouTube and Google which YouTube is owned by Google that we are producing content that aligns to this targeted audience. So when somebody searches for something that is even relevant, they are going to serve up

follow-up media as the solution to what they're searching for. And that is huge. Really, a 45minute episode gives us even way more than the numbers you just stated, if needed. Now, every business is now a media company. That's how you should look at it. And every business is going to become a media company

whether they know it or not, whether they believe it or not. So you can wait and you know hold on to your digital tombstone that is literally costing you money on a daily basis. And that's how you look at oh I don't I want to budget this year. We don't have a budget. It's not added into the budget

to create content. Well, I would say we probably want to take a hard look at what your marketing initiatives are and do we really have a metric on what that is actually doing to bring fresh eyes and business leads in and are you converting those leads to sales and if not why not? Is it your team that is

executing and following up with those leads or are the leads that are coming in really valuable leads that are your target audience? Because you could have a bunch of vanity leads come in and you're like, "Well, this guy has no money." >> Yeah.

>> This guy's not who we're looking for. Why are you calling us? Oh, he's just just just cruising by. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. We don't we don't want that. We don't need window shopping.

>> We want people that need our services. You want people that need your services or products, right? Thought leadership, be the expert, but you're not going to convert and you're not going to be able to relay that to them through text on your website. Just not going to happen.

And so, you know, websites used to be where people went to learn about you, but now they're where people go to learn from you. That is so powerful. >> Yeah. Websites used to be where people went to learn about you. But now your website should be educating those same people and they should be

learning from you. >> Yeah. >> Why you? Why now? Why this company? Why your company? It's so maybe it's so common sense to me, but maybe because I'm just so ingrained in it, but also it's just one of these things where it's like these industries are so slow to

catch on and it's like, oh, we don't need to set aside this marketing budget for this. Well, I don't have time. Well, I mean, >> if I told you that you're going to lose out, guaranteed $30,000 next month in pure profit or

revenue if you didn't cut this content. Do you think you'd make time? >> Yeah. >> You'd probably spend even $1,000 to make the content so you could make 30 grand, right? Exactly.

>> You absolutely would. You'd make time for it. It would be priority number one. of it's right. Right. So now I'm not saying you're going to bust out a piece of content and 30 grand is going to come just mailed to like like u was it random house? What were those like we're just going to show up at your door with big

ass check. That's not how it's going to work. But it could, >> it might not show up in that form of a big ass check, but it might be that person that needs help comes knocking on your door, goes to your website and fills out a 30 minute consultation or sign up form and chooses um your

financial service or your attorney. Um you need help, they need help from a family attorney or an injury attorney or any other service product. I mean any industry. If you go to followupmedia.com right now, we have case bycase studies by industry of how you would apply. And I know it says podcast by industry. So

don't be, oh god, I don't I don't have time for a podcast. >> Remove the word podcast. Just put in video. Video content >> by industry and how you could use it.

We've got automotive, healthc care, universities, and if we don't have a particular industry, just ask us and we will have our team put a case study together >> and post it on our site to address that industry to help educate you on how you can use content to expand your the

industry's overall footprint, your individual business's footprint, digital presence, revenue, all that. So, you know, stop thinking of your site as a place people visit and start seeing it as a platform that people will subscribe to.

>> Right? This is Follow-up Media's philosophy. At Follow-Up Media, we build living systems. We'll turn your digital tombstone into a living, breathing ecosystem that works while you sleep.

That is what you want because brands don't grow on pages. I got news for you, buddy. They grow through presence. expand your digital presence. And you're never going to do it with a static >> tombstone of a website that hasn't been updated in a year is probably being graceful. I

would say almost years. >> If someone were to tell you that just because of your website that you didn't get to sale, I would I would sure as hell revamp that website. Say you got a Delta's looking at a few people or or any kind of big enterprise company. You could be the best salesman. You you have

the most knowledge. You get them all all to that and then they go, "Hey, let me check out this website to see." >> Why? Why are you bringing up Delta Riley? Are you trying to poke some like inner like >> I'm just saying pain that I have like >> I'm just using as a case.

>> No, no. Well, actually, it's very funny you bringing up this example because like I was getting in front of Delta a few years ago and I even mentioned because I knew I felt very insecure about our web presence at the time and I said our new website is being worked on now. the person at Delta who was going

to make a connection to a big decision maker at another department in Delta. >> Yeah. >> I think looked at my existing presence and said, >> "Yeah, >> I would probably wait until that new site is up and running." And I was like,

"Thank you for that." I didn't want to embarrass me. Sometimes you get this person was protecting my first impression and not counting where I was or what our web presence was at the time and this was years ago against me.

>> Mhm. >> But she said then let's hold off. Why? Because somebody like Delta an account think about how big a Delta account could be. you might get one offset and you know or okay or what if you become their big production outsourced marketing arm and you start handling all

their stuff that is a massive account. Oh yeah, >> right. Well, you get one first impression and to your point, >> but thanks for bringing up the paying that >> digital tombstone dictate your next million. I mean that's

>> you evolved in the 2000s, right? Look at history. Everybody the website everybody needed that online presence to learn about you right that was the big rush and then Google took over dominated SEO companies like let us handle the backend so you are at that top of that search when people are like how do I do this or

who's around me or whatever how do we be one of those first choices we don't want to be eight pages back eight pages back and under all the sponsored heads right not only do you still want that search engine optimization initiative helping you show up, but now you need to also come into the 2025s, right? The the 2022

AI is everywhere and I use AI, he uses AI. Your neighbor, your boss, everybody you work with is using some form of AI at the moment. Yeah. Right. Are you asking an AI bot chat GPT or Gemini or or you know any of these other ones claude to get you results like who are the best

you know creativeled sonic branding marketing powerhouses production powerhouses in the United States. Well, we follow-up media would want AI to be like first one follow-up media.

>> Yeah. >> Now, we're not I don't think it's there yet. I don't think if you put that in as a prompt, you're going to probably get the answer I want. But guess what? We do have a living, breathing ecosystem.

>> Why do you think I'm sitting here talking to this screen right now, right? We are creating content to give you the ability if you so desire to learn from us or our team who I might not be the expert probably not. I'm a great mouthpiece.

>> Yeah, >> I know this space um on some of the technical sides of things. I go to my team because they're experts at what they do in that particular vertical like YouTube optimization. I don't go look at metrics. I have my team give me the metrics because they study the metrics.

I can't wear that many hats. >> Yeah, >> I don't got time. But that being said, you've got to have that AI initiative. You need to continue to move into an evolving ecosystem. So people don't learn about you, they learn from you.

And while they're learning from you, they'll learn about you, right? And that's what we do. So, hit up followupdmedia.com for more information. Subscribe. You know, request a mediahub audit.

>> Yeah. >> You know, actually, we would just normally call it an audit, but you know, fine. We'll coin it a media hub audit. >> Yeah.

>> Let us audit your media hub or lack thereof, >> right? Which Riley can do in about probably 20 seconds. >> Yeah.

>> I mean, how many media hubs out of all the websites? And because you are reaching out telling them, hey, you guys aren't creating content. Have you ever thought about using content as a marketing tool? Well, that means there's no media hub.

>> Exactly. And it's so funny that I mean, sometimes I'll get on the phone and this is like one in a million. I'll get on the phone and say pretty much what you just said about why aren't you creating content? Say, "Oh, we do. We have a YouTube." Well, I'm pretty good at looking at websites. And say someone

that's not as good as me looking at a website, they're sure as heck not going to find that if I barely could find it. So, >> well, what does you have a YouTube even mean?

>> Yeah, that's true. >> I mean, like you have a YouTube what? You have a handle and you have something that has your >> company on it? Yeah.

>> So, you have it, but is your YouTube content embedded into your website? >> Is it easily available? Is it even No one's going to go down a rabbit hole trying to find your one video. I mean I mean at all. Is it important? Probably not. If you don't think it's important enough to put on your website, why would

anyone give a about like or go Yeah. Well, why would they give a about going on a chase for it? True. I'm not going to go look your archived files of maybe I get a glimpse of something that I can learn from you. No one's got that time in their life. Everyone's attention spans are like fleeting. For

sure. Scroll. Scroll. Oh, stop. >> You want the quickest way to the quickest way. >> Yeah. And you've got to provide them that. You've got to turn your static dead website. Not only I mean at least update it. Update the head shots. Take the person you fired a year ago off.

They probably don't need to still have a presence on there, you know, but check us out. Follow-up media podcast. Followupmedia.com. Subscribe on our YouTube channel. Like us. Find us. We're available on all podcasting platforms. Happy birthday, Riley.

>> Thank you.