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The Journey, a Social Media Examiner production, is an episodic video documentary that shows you what really happens inside a growing business.
Watch The Journey
The season opener reveals the conflict faced by Michael Stelzner, marketer and founder of Social Media Examiner. On the one hand, he’s on a seemingly impossible mission to grow his sales by more than 50%. On the other, he’s trying to implement a new business idea that everyone thinks he shouldn’t.
Planning the marketing for Social Media Marketing World 2019 begins in earnest, and Mike declares, “The real big thing is to map out a plan, knowing that the plan is going to get completely thrown out the window.”
In the absence of a professional cameraman, Mike and Marketing Manager Jennifer Ballard get creative (and low-tech) to record their planning session for the show. They start by defining the end goal – to sell 7,000 physical tickets to the conference – and reflecting on their experiences to acknowledge roadblocks and anticipate complications the team will need to overcome. They consider issues such as email deliverability, a mismatch of messaging, and the reality that Mike’s secret project may dominate his time and availability.
As a timeline is established and new marketing opportunities are outlined, Mike says he’s willing to invest whatever it takes to make sure that sales get as close to 7,000 tickets as possible, but expresses he’s concerned his team might not be able to accommodate the growth that’s coming their way.
At the same time, Mike is working on his secret project. He calls Mitch Dong, marketing specialist, with a phrase that’s familiar to many Social Media Examiner staff: “I have a crazy idea!” Watch as Mike searches for direction and begins to wrestle with the realities and fears of beginning Project Genesis.
How should Mike keep his marketing department focused while working on his new Project Genesis? Share your ideas and thoughts in the comments below.
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