SPEAKER_00 0:00

Lead with value, lead with value, lead with value. What can how can you help people? What would get you to stop scrolling? What would you be interested in, and then go from there?

SPEAKER_01 0:14

Welcome to another episode of Connections That Matter. Today I have a super special guest, Brian Lamb, who is normally behind the glass, uh, even though we don't have glass, but does all the production of the Connections That Matter podcast. Uh, his business is Lamb Creative Solutions. He helps uh do a lot of amazing things for Northern Colorado business ownership. Brian, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

Andrew, thanks so much. It's exciting to be on this side of the camera.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Well, we've got a couple episodes in. So you've seen the good ones and the bad ones. Not that we have bad ones, but I'm learning. But Brian, you're you're such a great coach to me, like of um putting this thing that I've always wanted to do and um having some imposter syndrome about it, like, oh, well, you know, I'm not Joe Rogan, or I'm not these people that have these millions of subscribers. But you put it at ease and at least got me into action. And I know I'm not the only one. You've had you have multiple podcasts you do. So um for anybody who's interested in getting into podcasts, um, how would you recommend they start?

SPEAKER_00 1:14

You just have to start. Every you if you wait for everything to be perfect, it's not gonna be perfect. Um, like newsflash, your first several dozen aren't going to be what ultimately your podcast is. Um, I just tell people, be yourself and you got to just start rolling camera. Now, there's some things we do to prepare, but for anybody considering a podcast, um, you you know, you just have to start. You just have to start talking. And I would even suggest to people that even if you're not crystal clear on what your uh theme is gonna be or you know what you're gonna say, um, be okay with maybe not even airing the first few episodes. Now, that's a little different if you have a guest-based podcast like yours. You don't want to, you know, uh offend a guest like, well, I didn't think I was at my best, so we're not gonna air your podcast. Um, but for anyone just doing content in general or solo podcasts, um, and if they're a guest-based podcast, just being okay with the fact that like it takes time to find your voice. It takes time to find your audience. It just takes time. And the number one thing you can do to tank your prospects of having a successful podcast is to get into um just procrastination, um, you know, uh analyzation, paralyzation, what's the word? Um, and just not moving forward. So kudos to you for just saying, you know what, I want to do this, and it'll just do it. Now, my job is to make it easy for people, but at the end of the day, you're the one that had to sit down and had to, you know, decide that you wanted to do this and start talking, and you did, and it's been great.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

Yeah. Well, I, you know, we talk about connections that matter. Uh, you you have your own skill set, but you also have connections like this amazing studio uh that all I had to do is uh say yes, you coach me in and you make me my with my high production value. So um how did you how did you meet the the studio guys and and uh develop that relationship?

SPEAKER_00 3:05

Yeah, so we're in uh the creator content studio. This is they've been a great partner for me in the community. They make it really, really easy. So um I do a couple podcasts here. Um I do podcasts at all different places, a lot of times at client locations, um, some remotely. Um, but they made it easy for a client that doesn't have a location or that wants this nice sort of high-end production right out of the gate. Um, and I knew them from uh I'd volunteer as a video director at Flatirons Community Church. And uh the team that owns this, um, a few of them were actually on the production team at uh Flat Irons. And but the person that brought me in was a former client of mine. He's in the real estate space, uh Scott Severn. I'll just shout him out. Uh he and his wife still do uh real estate in addition to helping run this. Um and they're the ones that said, hey, we're gonna we're gonna build this space out. And we want to bring creatives in. We want to make it easy for creatives, and that's exactly what they do for me. They make it really easy for me to do my job. I own all this gear on my own, not this particular mic, but I own everything for the podcast I do. But when I come here, I don't have to bring any of that stuff. Sure. It's all set up for me. So I just am able to come in and start filming.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

Yeah, it saves you some time to get in and do that. And if anybody's ever been to Flatirons, it's quite the production over there. So I mean, uh, some of Northern Colorado's best to collaborate on that, Brian. Absolutely. But but uh if if you you talked about just getting people into action, just started. Like, is it as simple as taking your phone out, hitting a voice memo, and upload it, or would you recommend people maybe go a little bit beyond?

SPEAKER_00 4:35

No, no, I no, actually, I mean, and not not every personal brand video series, not every social media account, not every bit of content needs to be a podcast. Sure. Um, and there's because there's challenges that come with that, as you know, booking guests and and finding time that works. The majority of people that are doing content, and a lot of the clients that I work with, um, just a just a few of them, we do podcasts, um, but some of them just do content. And for those getting started, um, just take your phone out. Just take your phone out and start filming and be consistent and be yourself. And again, it comes back to just do it and you will learn what works and what doesn't. You'll start to see what gets a reaction, what doesn't. You'll look at a piece of content and say, I don't like how I did this, or I don't like it when I say that, or this isn't getting um any kind of traction, and you'll start to make the changes. Um, I was at a um conference in Austin this last weekend, and a big theme was social media and branding. Great conference for me to go and just you know sharpen my skills. And the the speakers there were saying the same thing. They're they were saying, don't overthink this. When you start personal branding, when not everybody I work with does personal branding, but this would be the same for for for company brands and whatnot. But when you start doing branding, uh you just have to start. And sometimes that means just pulling your phone out. Then after a while, you go, you know what, would this sound better if I had a decent mic? And so maybe you get a lavalier mic for that phone. And you say, you know, would this look better if I had some lighting? So maybe you buy a ring light. Um, and it and it works like that. And one of the things that I love to do, love to do, because not everyone's a great fit for me as a client, um, is I love to just help people do this on their own. Um, so you know, when people come to me and they say they want to start doing content, whether it be a podcast, just social media content, or just their own videos, um, whatever that looks like, a YouTube channel where they're demonstrating something. Um, I love to just help them, give them advice and say, here's some tools you could use to make it look good right out of the gate. Here's some ways that you can uh make editing easy. Or um, you know, I just I love to, I'll sit and just spend time helping people with no expectation of picking them up as a client, just because I like to see people creating content.

SPEAKER_01 6:38

Yeah. Well, I for me personally, going from never produced a podcast to the first podcast, it's like a mental shift being like, oh, I've always wanted to be on a podcast or host a podcast too. I have a podcast. Uh and whether I had one episode, you know, and I know you have people that have like hundreds of episodes and stuff, but um powerful mental shift and also puts me in a different level of um uh you know, somebody who's doing something in what used to be like if you had a book or if you had a um, you know, a TED talk or something, which I think those things are probably still relevant. But if you have a podcast, um it opens some doors that I wasn't expecting.

SPEAKER_00 7:16

Yes, absolutely. I I think more people should be doing podcasts, um, or or it at least uh a video series, um, you know, YouTube channel, um a branding series, whether that's for their company, their team, or themselves, um, it does open more doors than you'd think. And the other thing that's nice is it's it's creating the content for you. So um part of the reason that I often recommend podcasts to my clients, and you're seeing this as well, is then you can take micro content from the long podcasts. Maybe this will be a micro content clip. I don't know. But what I've found is a lot of times those micro content clips, whether you put them on Instagram reels, YouTube Shorts, or TikToks, get better traction than just talking into the camera because people feel like they're listening in on something. Um, it feels like they're observing a conversation and they're learning. And there's an there's an art to editing it so that there's a little you you get a the hook and the you know in there to draw people in. But um, so not only do it gives you a little um status might be the wrong word, but people get a people they are they're intrigued by people with podcasts. Yeah. So it opens those doors, but it's also giving you a wealth of content so you can get even more exposure online. And that yeah, I mean, I've got some high-profile uh clients, and the reason we do podcasts is to build uh high profile partnerships, yeah, um, and then get them speaking events on big stages as well. So you've got this, you know, this platform where they've sp people have seen you talk in a conversational way, and they're just like we want to get them on a panel discussion at our next conference.

SPEAKER_01 8:49

So if somebody has that as a goal, um what are the steps to getting from point A to point B? Like uh who's doing it well and what did they do that uh to get the big wins?

SPEAKER_00 9:00

Yeah. Um again, I keep coming back to the steps are to just start, and as you grow, getting better and better, learning how to promote your podcast, learning what works, if it's a visual podcast and you're on YouTube, learning how thumbnails make a big difference, learning how to uh tie into the audience of the people that you're interviewing. Um and that's gonna be a good way to expose your podcast to new audiences because hopefully they're sharing the podcast episode that they're on. Um, a lot of times too, if when you uh interview people um on your podcast, they'll reciprocate reciprocate. And so now you can go on their podcast and now you're meeting their audience that way as well. Um so you know, it's all part of brand building, uh whether that be personal or corporate team, whatever. Um, but it's it's you're you're you're creating a platform, a visual platform, or you know, an audio platform if you're just doing audio-only pod podcasts. Uh, but it's allowing people to hear your message. And if it resonates, they're gonna want more of that and they're gonna bring you into their spaces. Um, it's funny, you mentioned um, you're like, well, you know, I'm not Joe Rogan or anything. Everybody compares themselves to like, you know, when it's like when who's doing it well, well, I mean, no one's doing it better than him, you know. Um, and I just tell people right off the the bat, like, you won't be that. You know what I mean? Like, you're not gonna have 20 million followers. And and by the way, if you do, it will take years and years and years. Um, some of the podcasters, like the big name podcasters that I follow, will talk about when they talk about their journey, how they started, you know, they get more views per episode now than they got in the first four or five years total of their podcast when they were filming out of their bedroom, um, interviewing, you know, college professors whose names you can't pronounce. Um, and they just stayed at it and stayed consistent and they listened to the feedback. They saw what was making sense. Were the thumbnails working? Was the content resonating? Who was it resonating with and how were they driving um driving that audience to their to their platforms?

SPEAKER_01 10:58

Well, I love podcasts because you can you can literally find a podcast on any like super niche, like very, very segmented uh thing. Like, I'm a big Nuggets fan, Nuggets are in the playoffs, but I've been tuning in to a lot more Nuggets play uh podcasts. Uh when I got into property management um and doing that at a higher level, it was like, how am I gonna learn? I read some books, but I also listened to some people that they had a property management podcast. I'm gonna stay in my lane. Uh, you know, I like to talk about connections and networking, but you produce quite a bit of a variety of content. So give a shout out to some of the podcasts that you produce and what are their topics?

SPEAKER_00 11:36

Yeah, um, one that I love uh producing is uh this Jest In with Jess Upoff of the concierge team. I follow her. Yeah, she's a she's a mortgage lender. We both know her. Uh that podcast looks great. We we do film it here. Uh we've got a clear understanding of who our audience is, um, primary primarily uh real estate agents. And um she has a co-host as well, uh her business development manager, and they just play well off of each other. Um, we've done a good job of bringing on guests that she has known and is comfortable with, and really sort of stretching into people. We've gotten some big names in the space um to get on the show. Uh, and she's done a good job of just exploring when she doesn't know somebody or and knows them from their online profile or whatnot, how to draw great information out of them. So that's a really fun podcast. Um, my highest profile podcast uh is called Piloting Health. Uh and when I say high profile, I just mean that it's in a circle where people may know uh this person. Um the Bob Hariri is the client, and he co-wrote Tony Robbins' book, um, Life Force. So we've had some really big name guests on our podcasts. Um, we've had Dr. Mark Hyman of the the um the farmer's the farm, the doctor's pharmacy is his the guy's podcast. But uh uh I've been able to get Bob on um Thomas Delauer's show. We flew to LA for that, and he has about four million followers on YouTube, um Sean Stevenson's Model Health Show, um Impact Theory with Tom Bileu. Uh so that's what I mean by by you know, like high profile. But um, it's the same thing. It's it's so that we can get him um big stages. Uh he's in Portugal as we're recording this, speaking at a conference there. And um, it's the same with uh with Jess. Um and I was doing a podcast, we put it on pause slightly, but I was doing a podcast with Hazel's Beverage World, the liquor store in Boulder. And it was just informing people about what was going on, um, like in teaching people about the world of uh wine, liquor, beer. Um, and uh that was really fun as well. We had an inexperienced person come on there that and then we had their experts that would teach her about these things. And that was really that was really cool. Very cool.

SPEAKER_01 13:43

Well, for some people, like starting their own podcast, it might be more of a something that they want to get involved with. But any business owner wants to promote their business. And if you have an opportunity to be on somebody else's podcast or to be a guest, it's huge opportunity to get a platform. Any tips for somebody who maybe got invited to a podcast that have never done it before, or um, of how to show up well and to get their point across?

SPEAKER_00 14:06

Yeah, I I do. Um first and foremost, is have some idea of what you want to talk about, um, but also just be open to what the host is trying to accomplish. Um, I've definitely seen it where people come on and just sort of take over and make it about them. And it's like, well, the the the interviewer has a an audience and they're trying to create a message as well. So just asking the questions about, you know, uh what does your audience want to hear? Um, but then you know, but of course you're the guest is on because they they're uh you know have knowledge of something or or whatnot. And um so just knowing ahead of time what you're gonna say. So sure.

SPEAKER_01 14:42

Well, that's good advice. Yeah. And Brian, I uh had a networking event and Chris Parks showed up, and we we had an opportunity to give uh testimonials about people that like make you a better business owner. And I have never heard an entrepreneur give another entrepreneur the level of love and testimonial that uh Chris Parks gave to you. So uh if you don't know Chris Parks, he is an amazing attorney in Boulder County uh and a huge uh Brian Lamb fan. So, how did you build that relationship? I wanted people talking about me the way he talked about you. Through a networking group.

SPEAKER_00 15:16

Okay. So powerful. Networking groups are so powerful. Chris is he's been a client, but more than that, he's a friend. Like we will, you know, we've we developed a friendship through creating content for him. We never did a podcast, but we did, you know, that's just one piece of what I do. But we did that, we've done a tremendous amount of content, hundreds and hundreds of videos that are on his website. And he's just fun, he knows his business, and um I just try to do a great job for him. And uh so he he likes to share the work that we've done together. And uh I I love it. You know, he's very complimentary, but he he's a great guy, yeah. Personal injury attorney in Boulder, and um what what a what a great human being. Awesome.

SPEAKER_01 15:54

Yeah, well, social media, it's it's sometimes it's a lot of noise and there's a lot out there. Um, how do how do you get people to find their voice or where they're interesting and not just posting content to post content, but actually giving people a reason to tune in or to just stand out something that's different? The question I ask people is what do you like to watch?

SPEAKER_00 16:18

You know, I'll ask a client and say, you know, what what do you like to watch? And they'll tell me, and then the content we do is nothing like that at all. And it's like, well, if if you wouldn't watch you, who would watch you? Um you know, you've gotta know your audience and you've got to know what they want. Um you know, Gary V, people might know Gary Vee, obviously he's big in the social media space. Um, he's said this. I've heard a lot of other people say this too with social media, but it's this concept of like jab jab uppercut, which is um provide value, provide value, and then you can make asks. And way too many people make it about the ask, and they're there's their their their their social media is a sales pitch. I don't want to watch a sales pitch, you know. Yeah, I want to get value, you know. So now if I'm invested in somebody and they have an offering that maybe now that I'm invested in them makes sense, okay, but you have to lead with value. Um, so what I tell people if they're just posting constantly, but they're just posting ads, it's like you're you're just posting ads. So I've even told people, you know, just don't mention your business like for just a couple posts, just provide value. This is really interesting. This is a great little tip. People are gonna like this. Go on Instagram and go to the, you know, where you you actually just watch the reels and scroll. And you know how it at next to the name, it'll have the button to follow. And if you're already following them, it'll, you know, take you there's something else take you to their site. But just start scrolling, and nine out of ten, nineteen out of twenty say follow. Well, what does that tell you? It tells you that most of the people that are seeing your reel and your TikTok don't follow you. So why are you starting with something that like you think people know you, or you're starting with an ad which everyone's gonna scroll past? You have to start with a hook and you have to finish with value. And if you can combine that effortlessly, that's how you can get someone to stop, possibly explore your page. Yeah, I like this, I'm gonna check this out. And that's how you'll grow followers. But if you're just posting ads, you're you think it's your people seeing you, it's not, it's new people, and they don't want to see an ad. They want value. Uh, if you want to, and even with the ask, a lot of times I'll tell people, well, put your ask in a story. If it's and I'm on Instagram here, I'm specifically, but they they have stories on Facebook and TikTok as well. Um, the stories only reach your followers for the most part. Um, so that's a great place to make an ask. And you can also put links on stories where you can't and just the regular posts. Um, but lead with value, lead with value, lead with value. What can how can you help people? What would get you to stop scrolling? What would you be interested in and then go from there? So, like I love your podcast because it's giving people ideas on like how to connect better in Northern Colorado. Like there's value in that, you know. Um, but if this whole podcast was like sign up today and uh you're 10% off here, and then we just sat and talked about that. Well, I'm not very interested in watching that, you know. But at the maybe at the end or after I've watched a few, you know, that's that's the way to do it.

SPEAKER_01 19:19

So well, very cool. Um, how do you grow your business, Brian? So you're you're there to like, you know, lift up these other brands and make them look good, but um, obviously you've got a you've got your own business you're trying to grow. And um, what is that process like?

SPEAKER_00 19:35

Ironically, I don't do it through social media, although I really I really should start. I'm like the general contractor whose own house is uh falling apart. Um I'm on social media all day for clients that it's like, oh, I don't have time to make my own stuff. Um, and part of that is is because it takes one of two things to do great social media. It takes time or money. You either got to do it all yourself, it takes a lot of time, or you got to hire someone like me that's gonna do it for you or do most of it for you. And I'm not gonna pay someone else that does what I do to do it for me, and I just don't have a lot of time to do it. So almost all my business is repeat and referral. Uh I really don't market very well. It's in uh uh almost all my business is repeat and referral. That being said, a lot of the ways that I initially met clients um, you know, outside of the repeat and referral is through networking groups. That's how I met Chris Parks. Uh, that's how we met a many years ago. Um, it's so powerful. I think what you're doing is really cool because it's such a great organic way to meet people in a in a genuine way. Um, that you don't have to spend a lot of money, you don't have to spend a lot of time. It's an opportunity, you know, once a week, maybe to um to just meet a lot of great people in your area that are looking not only for help, but looking to help you. And um, so yeah, that's that's how I've always just grown my business is networking and repeat and referral.

SPEAKER_01 20:51

Well, since you're on this side of the camera, uh, there's an opportunity for you to ask for connections that would matter to you. So there's any other industry professionals, people you'd want to develop more of a one-to-one business relationship with or um any type of clients that you're seeking out that might want to hire you.

SPEAKER_00 21:08

Yeah, I do well with professional services. Uh, I'm a uh now and I've done a lot of different industries, I've worked in many different industries, but I do well with people. Obviously, with podcasts, it's a people-based thing. Most of my social media content for clients is people-based. So I don't do a lot of product-based video in social media. Um, so people in professional services, where essentially they are their brand, you know, it's um are great people to uh connect with. Uh, and again, it goes back to the people that understand the importance of social media, but they just don't have the time for it. Uh again, it it takes either time or money. If they have the time and they don't have the money, I would love to just jump on a call or sit down with someone and just explain to them how they can make their own social media great without hiring me. Sure. Just just to, you know, at some point maybe they will, but you know, for now, like here's how you can do it on your own. If they don't have The time and they do have the money and they understand the importance of a social media presence. That now let me let's have a conversation. But at the end of the day, I just like to be able to help people and say, if this is what you're looking to do, maybe I'm the right fit, maybe I'm not. But I'd love to tell you how you can grow what you're doing. Um, so that's that you know, that's how I like to connect with people. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:20

Well, I think there's something uh vulnerable in being a beginner. Like if I'm watching people on social media, there's people who like are elite athletes or running these big races, but uh I see a lot of people get engagement when they have made the decision to start day one or or get going on. And for me, like uh, you know, like I said, I don't have a hundred episodes under my belt, but now that I have uh, you know, over 10, uh all of a sudden people are actually I they feel like I'm approachable because if they would go to this the people that have thousands of episodes, um, that's not as relatable as somebody who just uh has a dozen and is getting started and is getting better every day. But I do have a lot of people in the audience that are checking me out. They're like, oh, I've always wanted to do a podcast, or I never knew how to get started. Um, and obviously I'm a big fan. You talk about repeat referrals, like I would love to refer you. How can people get a hold of you if they are interested in either learning about what you do or learning about how you could teach them or hiring you to produce?

SPEAKER_00 23:19

Yeah, give me a call or uh shoot me an email, and that's uh my number is two six nine two one six one four seven four. My email is Brian at lambcreative solutions.com. That's L A M without a B, just L A M Creative Solutions.com. But I just, you know, anybody that wants to have a conversation, and it real quickly, a podcast is not for everybody. Sure. Social media is in general is more important. Uh so that conversation may just be, you know what, a podcast isn't the right fit for you, but you should have a YouTube channel, or you should uh just go big on LinkedIn or you should go big on TikTok. It's part of what I like to do when I talk with people, again, isn't to make a sales pitch. It's just figure out what they're trying to accomplish, who their uh audience is, and then give them advice to say, here's how you can reach the audience on these platforms that you're most comfortable with or that where your audience is and and and go from there. Awesome. Brian, well, thanks so much for coming on the show.

SPEAKER_01 24:13

This has been great. And uh next episode, you'll be on the other side of the camera. Uh, but I loved having you up here. Thanks so much for coming on the show. Andrew, thanks so much. Hey all, thanks for watching. I love networking and building relationships with other Northern Colorado business leaders. So if you want to come meet some of these podcast guests, meet me, or meet some other amazing entrepreneurs in Northern Colorado, I would love to have you attend one of our next events. Uh, go in the podcast description. There's a way so that you can see our upcoming schedule. And maybe you could be a future podcast guest as well. Thanks.