We recently connected with Deanna Hinsz and have shared our conversation below.

Deanna, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?

There are a few key trends that we are seeing in the digital marketing industry that are worth paying attention to.

1. Social Media will be a way for consumers to contact businesses. Social media is the new face-to-face communication for consumers. With social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at our fingertips, it’s easier than ever to reach out with a question or concern without being stuck on hold.

And businesses have had more urgent questions from customers about their products that they can answer conveniently in real-time through these channels too! But there are still some who refuse this shift towards digital interactions – so many people rely heavily upon call centers just because most of us don’t know how else to communicate effectively outside traditional forms such as emails and phone calls.

There are predictions that 60% percent of customer service requests will be managed via Digital Channels by 2023

2. Increased Use of Artificial Intelligence. Recent advances in artificial intelligence, marketing tasks are becoming easier and more effective. AI can now monitor your site traffic to determine when a problem occurs, so you know about it before too many people have logged on for the day or weekend – this saves both time and money from having an unhappy customer! It also helps with search engine optimization by boosting keywords that are relevant but not overused, which increases their organic reach as well as their click-through rate (CTR). It can also create content such as social media posts, ads, or even blog posts!

3. Short Videos. TikTok has shifted the landscape of social media away from status updates and curated photo grids in favor of short video posts. It didn’t take long for other platforms to jump on board with this trend, as Instagram launched its Reels feature last year while Youtube leans into ‘shorts.’

Short videos emphasize fast-paced consumption; we’re always looking for simple yet engaging content—whether it be through a quick dance lesson or a poll where you could win some great prizes!

Deanna, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started my business in December of 2015. It actually happened by accident. I never planned to be in marketing. I left my corporate job in 2010 to be more present with my boys. I loved my job, but I was missing school events and things that were important to them. I thought that I was giving them everything that they needed because they had the latest video games, took vacations and we had the money to do whatever they wanted.

But I completely missed the mark when my son, Alex, who was 10 years old at the time, told me the only thing he wanted for Christmas was to be able to spend one day home with me, sitting on the couch, drinking hot cocoa and watch a movie. My heart shattered. I called my other son, Petey, into the room to discuss it and learned that they both felt the same way. They opened my eyes and made me realize that all of the material things meant nothing, what they really wanted was me, their mom.

So, I quit my job. As a single mom, with no safety net, this was pretty crazy. I looked for a job but couldn’t find anything that paid enough to cover the bills and provided the flexibility that I needed to be available to my boys. I decided that if I couldn’t find it, I would create it. I started making Cake Pops out of my home and shipping them.

Now, cake pops were not around in Ohio or most of the east coast when this started. They were huge on the west coast and in Texas though. I knew I had a small window to brand my product and business. I never used the word cake pops, but instead called the “Sweet D Bites”. I started shipping nationwide, getting corporate accounts, and keeping myself busier than I thought.

I had an amazing mentor at the time who pushed me to get uncomfortable. Lenny Fisher, owner of Handel’s Ice Cream was a previous client of mine from the corporate world, who saw me on TV and said he wanted to mentor me. Looking back, I learned so much more than I realized from him and today think back to those conversations when trying to make a decision.

Anyhow, Sweet D Bites was doing great and a year later I was honored to be one of the winners of Top Mom’s in Business by Discover Card and StartupNation. It was an award that recognized moms who started a business and did a great job with their marketing. When that happened, I started to get a lot of women reaching out to me asking how I did it. I was using Facebook and Twitter at the time and it was still a pretty new concept when it came to using it for business. I shared everything I knew, with a disclaimer that I had no idea what I was doing.

Well, apparently, I did because it worked for them too! As word spread, more and more women wanted to learn, and by the end of 2011, I was hosting workshops teaching social media. I did this for years, until one day, I realized that people I had never met were reaching out and wanting help with their social media and website design. This is how CarbonSilk was born!

Looking back, even as a kid, I loved not only helping others, but taking an idea and running with it! I get to still do this today as I meet with business owners who either are just starting out with an idea or those who have been in business for years and want to know how to improve their online presence.

Each company is different, and I get to learn their brand and create ways to have them seen either via their website, social media, email marketing, text marketing, and SEO.

Some businesses want someone to do the work for them- and I can do that! Others want to learn how to do it themselves- which I do as well. I will share all of the “secrets” with anyone who wants to learn! I can work with them individually, train their team or speak at their conference.

I love traveling across the US to speak at both Marketing Conferences as well as Empowerment. It’s always fun to meet others and hear their stories!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Building an audience on social media sounds easy enough, but it can be challenging, especially in a noisy world. Sure, you can ask friends and family to like and follow your page and that’s great. But how do you BUILD that audience on social – you know, the one that like, knows, and trusts you? The social media audience that comments and shares your posts and eventually becomes your marketing army?

I’ll share how! But before I do, I want to give one piece of advice- stop following the numbers! Now that I said that, let me explain. Following the numbers is super important when it comes to growing your business! It’s a valuable piece of digital marketing. Growing a following, though, is about more. It’s about connecting with your audience.

Social media is bi-directional. That means conversations can go both ways. Unlike our marketing ancestors who created a print that we could see or a billboard we drove past, today, we have a way to communicate with businesses when we want. To grow your audience, there are three important factors to remember:

1. Communicate with your audience and allow them to communicate with you.
2. Be authentic. Allow them to know your and/or your brand. We are nosy by nature, so share those peeks behind the curtain and let us feel like we get the exclusive on you.
3. Be consistent. Post, engage, and show up consistently.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Two things helped build my reputation; I believe one does not outweigh the other. The first is my knowledge of digital marketing. Let’s face it, we all know someone who claims to be in digital marketing. It’s easy to wake up one day and put an “open for business” sign up claiming you are digital marketing. There are no required certifications and all you need to know is a little more than the person your helping. As digital marketing is becoming more and more important, business owners are starting to see through the fluff and seek out those who know what they are talking about.

One client recently said to me, “Everything you share with me about digital marketing goes deeper than the free stuff you can find on Google”. That’s why he hired me. That comment was flattering and also an aha moment for me. That’s exactly what consumers want. They want to know that you know what you’re doing, that you study your craft and take it seriously.

The second item that helped build my reputation is integrity. That’s a word I don’t take lightly in myself, my business, and those I surround myself with. Integrity means I will be upfront and honest 100% of the time. It means I’m human, make mistakes, and own them. It’s about doing the right thing all the time, even if the consumer doesn’t know about it.

These two items together are what have built my reputation over the years.

Contact Info:

• Website: carbonsilk.digital
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carbonsilk.digital/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarbonSilk.digital
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/80753155/admin/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/deannahinsz
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChZN8vkR9-2ROCzVtkdosVw