We caught up with the brilliant and insightful CJ Gilbert a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
CJ, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you manage your own social media?
This is a great question. This is actually a service that we offer people who are too overwhelmed or too busy to handle it themselves. And yet, I really believe the greatest value you can receive is by doing it yourself. You see, I think social media became so successful is because it allows the average person to connect directly to a celebrity (or a company) without a middleman, manager or gatekeeper. This level of connection and availability skyrocketed social media to the current level that it is. So when you hire someone else to do this for you, I think you’re giving away a little bit of the power of that direct connection. Of course we’ll help anybody that needs it, whether it’s some guidance getting started or a completely done for you service. And yet, I believe the greatest results come from that direct connection.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I’ve been a website developer for over 25 years. I’ve had my own company since 2006 serving local business owners and the San Diego community.
I very quickly realized that most business owners know they need a website but they have no idea what to do with it. I started writing down some of my thoughts and ended up writing my own book on the topic. Now I’m an author and speaker, and I have the amazing opportunity to teach and speak to business owners all over the world about how they can use their website as their number one tool to grow and support your business.
I believe it is crucial in today’s age to have your own website that you own and can completely control. This is one of the greatest things that I teach people… Your website is the only thing you can fully own and control on the internet. Please allow me to repeat myself on purpose because of how important this is… Your website is the ONLY thing you can fully own and control on the internet. I see my purpose as teaching and assisting business owners in using their website and other online tools and technologies to grow and support their business — attract new customers, make more sales, improve their customer service, increase their efficiency and productivity, and serve their clients better, faster and easier.
I’m constantly looking for new opportunities to speak and teach. And I would love an introduction to a podcast that you know of that would be interested in having me as a guest. I have a lot of resources and videos that are freely available and I want to get them into the hands of as many independent small business owners as I can.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
It’s been my pleasure to join several business networking groups locally in San Diego (and beyond!). And over the years, those relationships have developed into referrals and warm introductions to other business owners and groups. The greatest thing that I’ve done for my business is learning how to use a networking meeting as an opportunity to build relationships with other business owners. Not to sell to those in the room but instead view them as my own personal sales team. By educating them and teaching them about the services that I provide and the benefits that my clients receive, they are prepared to be on the lookout for others that could use my services and educational resources. This idea has proven so beneficial to me and my network.
I would absolutely encourage you to find both an exclusive networking group, like BNI or LeTip. As well as a non-exclusive networking group, like Exceptional Entrepreneurs based in San Diego (look us up on MeetUp!).
Both of these types of networking groups will introduce you to people who are passionate about what they do and are very interested in gaining more resources for their own clients. You could become one of those valued resources and benefit from a lifetime of continued referrals and warm introductions.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Whatever social media platform you choose, please recognize that this is a group of people that is already in the middle of a conversation. Recognize it as a community of people that you do not know and they do not know you. One of the greatest mistakes that I see people make is to barge into the room and start screaming, “Buy my stuff, buy my stuff, buy my thing, buy my thing!” This turns people off. This ruins your reputation on social media. You would never do that in a room of people that is in the middle of a conversation. (Or at least I hope you wouldn’t.)
Instead, view this community as a group of people already in the middle of a conversation and you need to first get to know them. You need to get to know how they are communicating with each other. It’s like learning a foreign language.
I would encourage you to first spend some time learning HOW they communicate with each other. Find and follow others that are like you or that serve a similar clientele. See what they post; like their posts; share their posts; and begin to build relationships with them. Then you’ll have enough of a foundation to begin sharing your own information, resources, products and services.
Again, this is a community that’s in the middle of a conversation. Get to know them, tiptoe into the conversation and add value before you ever think of trying to sell something or shove something down someone’s throat that they don’t want.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gilbertstudios.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gilbertstudios/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cjgilbertwebpro/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilbertstudios/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/gilbertstudios
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/AskAWebGeek
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/gilbertstudios-website-design-la-mesa
- Other: https://www.cjgilbert.live/ https://www.mywebsitesafari.com/
Image Credits
Sarah Morgan Photography, Louis Nava, CJ Gilbert