The Social Angle by ASI Featuring Swire Ho #thepromogy

TRANSCRIPT:

Vincent Driscoll (00:04):
Hi everyone. And welcome to the social angle. A podcast that helps promo pros gain an edge in the social media realm I’m Vinnie. And on this episode, I am joined by Swire ho of Garuda promotions to discuss how he has been able to grow his business through social media and podcasting Swire. Welcome to the show.
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (00:25):
Thank you, Vinny. Thank you so much for having me on your show.
Vincent Driscoll (00:28):
Absolutely. I apologize. It’s so early out in the west coast, it’s 11 o’clock here, but this was, this was the time that we could, we could get for this show. So how are things going out on the west coast? What’s the weather like today?
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (00:43):
Scanning warmers surprisingly last week was kind of chilly now. You know, I liked the warm , so I, everything is welcome a sunny day.
Vincent Driscoll (00:50):
Yeah, it’s same, same out here. It’s warm. You know, I think it’s a little too warm for this time of year, but you know, we’ll take it after that brutal winter we had anyway. So we have a great topic. We’re going to talk about how you’ve been able to grow your business through social media and also podcasting. So before we get into the questions, can you take a second and introduce yourself your business and how long you’ve been in the promo industry?
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (01:14):
Well, my name is Swire. I also call myself #thepromoguy, a name of our business is Garuda promo and Branding solutions. We are a promotional product distributor here in Los Angeles. Uhctually started our promotional journey, hor my last business, which we were in CD and DVD replication. We were actually a supplier in ASI, hroviding replication service pack, you know, 10 year plus ago. Uho that’s how we learn about the business. And in 2014 we saw, hhe CD DVD business and we thought about ourselves. Uhhen I say ourselves, me and my wife were a business partner, hhat should we do? And we kind of like the ASI distributor motto that’s when we, hecided to become a full-time distributors.
Vincent Driscoll (02:03):
Okay. and how long have you been doing distribution?
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (02:09):
I think back in the CD & DVD times you know, we started doing that because we do a lot of CD and DVDs for record labels and film company. So musicians were asked, you know, we’re going on tours. Can you guys help us with t-shirts and merchandise that we can sell or what we’re going to have a red carpet. Can you guys help us with their giveaway bags? And we said, yes. And using the resources that we have, we got into it. And we think that it’s interesting, you know, there are people that actually want to put their logo on an item, and we think that, you know, our industry is something that is not going to go away. It’s just, you know, you might have different items but then they’re always going to be, people want to put their logos on certain items.
Vincent Driscoll (02:55):
Absolutely. I agree. A hundred percent. So again are talking to Swire Ho of Garuda Promo, and we’re talking about how he has been able to grow his business with social media and podcasting. If you have any questions or comments throughout the show, feel free to post them we’ll get them on the show or we’ll get them answer. You know, hopefully during the show. So we’re on LinkedIn right now. We’re also on Facebook. So feel free to post those questions. All right, Swire. So for the first question I have for you, you have a small business it’s just you and your wife, but you have a really big social media game. I’ve checked you out. You’re on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn. You also have a blog and you have a podcast. Can you let us know how you’re able to make, maintain such a vibrant social media presence and also still focused on your business?
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (03:46):
Well, I think technology definitely helps, you know, there are different tools that we have available with us right now that we can actually time it, you know, I obviously, I don’t just be on their computer all day and not doing work and just post on social media, I think kind of like the model that we have, if we have multiple orders, then you don’t work on them or at once you write down what steps are they in? Are they in approving? Are they in production or are they ready to ship? So what I normally do is I have a Google spreadsheets that I that I have on my computer. So when I come across an article for example, if I’m from new Vinny, from your newsletter, or if you post something interesting on Twitter about our industry, I don’t repost them right away.
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (04:32):
I actually put them in my posting Excel sheets. I make notes of what this is about, where the link is. And then when usually once or twice a week, I’ll go to and look at all the posts that we have and I space them out. So I might seem a lot and be posting every single day, but it’s actually, I time it, you know, whenever that I got to it. So you don’t overwhelm yourself and think about different platform. And a lot of people just use the same content and posted on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram or whatever platform that they are. I will try to spin it a differently. You know, maybe for example, if one listener listening on LinkedIn, real, more business, when we go on LinkedIn, we, we like to look for business type content, but we, on Facebook, it could be business or it could be, I can post what I have for lunch just now, you know, that that can go right there.
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (05:27):
So maybe the tone for the same posts you can word at different days. So then people will respond it better. I think the the goal that you want to try to do is people go to social media to find answers that they’re looking for, or they’re trying to connect with like-minded individuals with either the hobby, the interests or their pain, right? So I want to find someone who has a similar pain or have been going through, or maybe recommend a restaurant that I want to go to. I ask people, you know, where should I go to have, let’s say, Mexican food, and then I’ll get tons of reply. So can you, as a business, be able to answer those questions, know if you are, then you have the engagement, then you have people actually want to ask you more question, and then you can become the expert who are answering all this question that your prospect might have online.
Vincent Driscoll (06:22):
Great answer. I love the fact that you’re doing different content across networks. And we’ve preached that many times on this show. We talk about how, yes, some of these social media management tools allow you to take one piece of content, one type of messaging and push it out in multiple places. I recommend that if you have the resources to dedicate to your social media strategy plan, don’t do that because like you said, Swire, perfect, like different networks have different types of you know potential clients. And, you know, you’re, you’re following this a little bit different on LinkedIn that is on Instagram. People are at these, in these different networks for different types of content. So like you said, like I always think about you know Instagram is a very visual network and, you know, to, to post what you’re posting on Facebook or Twitter, you know, also on Instagram may not work for you.
Vincent Driscoll (07:17):
So, you know, I like that, you’re, it sounds like you’re very organized. You ha you have a strategy in place. And you’re, and you’re, you understand the networks. And we always say like, sometimes the best content for us at ASI has nothing to do with the industry. We talk about things that are outside the industry, fun stuff. You know, I’m I like beer and I like horror movies, and I like to play the guitar. And some of the best content that resonates to our audiences are, you know, some of the people internally at ASI doing things that are fun, you know, it has nothing to do with the business. And a lot of people say, well, how does that matter for the business? Well, it makes the business relatable. It makes the business human, it results in engagement brand awareness. So there’s a, there’s a lot that can happen you know, from there. So, so I love the answer. So let’s talk about you and your wife working together. So so how long have you guys been in the business together? I, I, it’s probably the same amount of years as you’ve had the business, but how does that work out well for you guys
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (08:22):
Good and bad, right. Obviously, you know, this is someone, obviously you can trust, but obviously it’s your spouse. So the bad thing is sometimes when you wake up first thing in the morning, instead of, you know, how are you doing, you know, things like that. Where is my ups shipment, you know, you gotta, you gotta call FedEx right now and find out where to ship this, or, you know, you got to get the clients approved and, you know, if not, we’re going to be late, so it’s good and bad, but we find a place. We actually been business partner for 18 years now. So, you know, we know you know pros and cons for each other. And then we try to compliment each other and then going through to a promotional product industry fashion, when you attend a trade show, then you know that at lunch, it’s always mom and pop I’m in pop, you know, husband and wife team. So I think we kind of fit in, you know, we like that. Yeah.
Vincent Driscoll (09:14):
Yeah. I mean, I think a lot of people experienced during the pandemic, what it’s like to actually be around their spouses 24 seven, and, you know, I was the same way. And it worked out great. You know, I, I still think that, you know, this is something I could do indefinitely, you know, work together with my spouse at home. We’re not doing business together. She works for a different company, but certainly seeing somebody every day, you know, could be good and bad, you know, and yeah, we, we, there were challenges with that, but I think, you know, I joke like during the pandemic, people will really get to know their spouse as well, and like find out if they, they really married the right person. So it’s been crazy. But you know, for me, it’s, it’s, it’s been rewarding and I think it’s, you know, shown in the work that you know, we’ve done.
Vincent Driscoll (09:58):
So so I’m going to ask you a question and, and before I ask this question, anyone have any comments or questions about growing your business through social media that you want to ask fire or podcasting, feel free to drop it in the comments. We’ll, we’ll, we’ll try to answer it at the end of the show or during the show. So here’s a question that I have for you. So you’re doing something with podcasts that I’ve never seen anyone in this industry do. And that’s you reach out to become a guest on others’ podcasts. Can you let us know why and how you do this?
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (10:30):
Well, I first learned about the concept for being a guest on other people’s podcasts, from my conversation with a PR professional, you know, her pouring the whole point is, you know, is be a known professional in your industry. So within my industry, within any industry, as long as you are in your business for awhile, you are the expert. But for example, let me focus in back on promotional products, industry top 10 distributors. You know, they have millions, a multi-million dollar business, but if you are not in the promotion part industry, chances are, you have not heard of any of these big company before, but they really big company. They have thousands of people working for them. But what if a Swire, the promo guy can become the known expert when people were thinking about promotional product industry, will that, will it be beneficial to me?
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (11:23):
You know, I came to a conclusion. Yes. That definitely be so imagine If people ever talk about promotional product on LinkedIn, they’re saying, oh, talk to the promo guy. He knows what he’s talking about. Why? Because I’m always on going on podcasts to talk about my expertise. Not only not, I’m not going there to sell myself, but then I’m going to different podcasts, you know, related to my industry. And then I’m telling the audience about things to consider. When you are thinking about doing a promotional product, how do you find your target market? What a product to get and what are the trends are? So I’m actually establishing myself as the go-to expert in an industry. So for example, my ultimate goal one day is if a TV station wanted to get a quote on someone in a promotional product for a particular segment that I’m working on, who would they reach out? Who would they know? And then if you’re in the known expert in the industry, that’s how people are going to reach out to you.
Vincent Driscoll (12:25):
Yes. So, so, so you’ve been on many podcasts, I’ve, I’ve, I’ve gone and I’ve checked on your channels. So, so how did you find these podcasts and how do you go about, you know, opening that door to getting in on these podcasts?
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (12:41):
Well, there are a different type of services, you know, you could, you know, first of all, find out if any of your business contacts currently have a podcast. So, you know, that will be the first place to go. If you already have a relationship with the person, that will be number one. And there are also a lot of websites right now you, you can pay for them. You can just use the free service to find out what podcasts are looking for guests. And they will also list for the topic that they want guests to be on. So just find the right one to have the right match. And if you have budget to spend, you can actually hire a PR agency, they will represent you and go and find the right type of podcast for you to be on. So there is no cost there fees and there’s always paying services.
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (13:30):
So I’m going like the middle route. So I will pay attention and look for podcasts that I think especially with what we do I like to go on marketing podcasts. I like to go on maybe talking about business or maybe talking about business development and talking about ourselves. So those are the natural podcasts that, you know, I would, you know, promote myself to be on and think about kind of like a resume. You know, you have to build a resume type of, for your speaking gig. That’s why, you know, when I, actually, this is a good example, Vinny, I listened to your podcast. I really liked the content. And I actually pitched myself to you to become a guest on your show. So in order for me to do that, I will tell you that I have microphones set up, I have a camera set up, you know, I’m ready. And I know my content and also send you a link to a few podcasts that I was on. So, you know, lucky enough that you listen to it and you’re interested. So think about, you know, a mini presentation of your speaking engagement. So that could work for when you go on a podcast, even later on, I can use the same thing to pitch, to maybe chamber of commerce, or maybe an association that has interested in related topic in marketing.
Vincent Driscoll (14:47):
Thank you, sir. We have a question actually from Melissa, she, she’s curious, what should you include in your pitch when reaching out
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (14:54):
A good headshots, right? I’m not comfortable in front of the camera, but I still include my headshots. Just maybe your buyer, you know, a short bio of what you are, and then give the host maybe three to five possible topic that you can speak on, you know, because we want to make it easy for the host because we need, you’ve been doing a podcast for a while and you know that, and I know that the, the podcast is your baby. So, you know, treat the host with respect and you know, that they care about their pockets very, very much. So think about how you could put in an add values to their show and how you can bring value to the audience, because you know, the host always, you know, cares about if they can grow and reach more of the audience. Can you do that? The last thing that you want to do is go onto a podcast and just sell and becomes a webinar. It’s think about it as a conversation. You don’t want to talk over people. You don’t want to talk all the time and you want to encourage actual conversation with the podcast host.
Vincent Driscoll (15:56):
Thank you, Swire. So we we have on LinkedIn question he wants to know this is from Steve and, and Kodiak and co-rec, I’m ho I hope I’m saying that name, right? Give us some examples of the podcasts you’ve been on.
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (16:12):
Well, I’ve been on podcasts, that’s focus in digital marketing. So I think you know, that will be a good fit. Also been on podcasts for non-profits because a lot of my clients are non-profits organizations. So I think that’s something that they don’t normally do. But then my question to them is, you know, how do you reach out to donors? How do you put together a nice virtual event? So these are timely questions. Then you have to change your pitch all the time, depending on who, whom you’re pitching in to kind of like when we do presentation to our client and business, you know, different business, you have to know them, you have to study and research for them and you know, like what I’m doing right now, you’ve got to take notes. The more you know about their audience the more you know about the show, you gotta listen to the show before you pitch them. So you know, that what you are presenting to them is relevant. You know, it’s the last thing a host want to do is is a copy and paste email. And they know that you send it to like 50 people.
Vincent Driscoll (17:14):
Yeah. And you get the wrong name and like, like, can you send somebody the wrong name? You’re just like, oh my God, there’s no way I’m getting on that a podcast. But yeah, I like, I liked, I liked the idea here, like, and this is kind of the gist of this podcast today is because when you first pitched this to me, I was fascinated about how you were actually positioning yourself as a subject matter expert and then pitching yourself to be on others’ podcasts so that you can then potentially, you know, get new clients you know, and it, and to me, that, that to me is fascinating because I’ve seen this industry and not unlike any other industry, like the increase in people having podcasts is, is just exploded. Everyone seems to have a podcast these days, but it’s kind of reversed, engineered. This approach is like, Hey, like you still have a podcast yourself, but you’re also saying, you know what, I could also do good for my business by taking the knowledge that I have, and then finding a podcast that gets a lot of reach, a lot of engagement, and then pitching myself as a guest on that podcast. And that’s worked for you. So can you give us an example of when you’ve actually, you’ve gotten new business from this approach, right?
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (18:29):
Yeah. Actually I wanted to point out a couple more things on it, you know, so after your guests on the podcast, it’s not said and done, so what I would do, and going back to your original question with social media, I will be creating you know, for example, this episode on as opposed on different social media. And what I will also do is I’m going to create a blog post based on the conversation that we have had today, Vinny. And then I’ll also extract the audio and there are websites that you could just, I think it’s 25 cents per minute, then you can actually transcribe the entire audio on to wording. So that will be the bulk of my bulk posts. Why am I doing that? You know, over the course of our conversation, I use the keywords promotional product. Maybe we talk about printered products, then these are the keywords that can help you on your SEO.
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (19:24):
And if the host is kind enough they will ask, you know, and include our website at the end of the conversation. This is backlink that you can link back to your website. So these are the obvious things. And I, and other benefits that why I want to be, I guess, is all the backlink that I have, I might be spending maybe 45 minutes to an hour sometime for my time commitment, but then the benefits, I couldn’t even say. And especially you know, when you asked me if we need the business that we are able to get from my guesting, I think you know, I I’m, this is what I do, like in my planning days right now.
Vincent Driscoll (20:05):
Right? So, so this is, I mean, you sounds like you have a little bit of a technical background. You know, not everybody in this industry has that, but you’ve really covered your bases in terms of understanding how to take content and kind of repackaging it and repurpose it, repurposing it for other networks, which, you know, we try to do for ASI as well. You know, w you know, we, we take the audio and we put it in SoundCloud and we’ve got YouTube. And, you know, we have a blog on ASI central for all of our podcasts. So, but you’re really kind of like, you’re, you’re reaping the benefits of, of being on other’s podcasts and you’re taking it to the nth degree. You’re really maximizing what you do on podcast,
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (20:49):
As you know, we’re a small company, you know so we learn actually from the agency, that’s something that they can do it, obviously they have more resources, they have more manpower, but then this is something that within our capabilities that can do, you know, you can go on to a free PR website. I could, you know, I will be writing a press release for our conversation, and then it’s going to be sent out for people. Hopefully it got picked up by other news agency about this conversation. So I think it’s available. And then, you know, I’m happy to connect with everyone afterwards, too, if you’re interested about a particular things that I talk about, but it could be done, you know, it’s just have to you know, follow the steps. And after a while it becomes a little bit easier. So
Vincent Driscoll (21:38):
You’re a distributor of promotional products, but not only that, you’re a distributor of content and information. I like that. You’re, you seem to have it really like you have the process down and it’s very admirable. I’m learning a lot from you. So let me ask you about being a guest on a podcast. What are some of the do’s and don’ts about doing this?
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (21:59):
I think never, you never want to sell, you know, I know, right. We have a lot of product, you know, maybe a supplier just gave us something that we know that’s going to sell. It’s easy for us to product dump, right. On a podcast, but, you know, but think about the listeners. Do they want it, do you hear what you’re saying? All your features and benefits, polar bait, they don’t, people always care about themselves to most, you know, it’s sad to say, but then we, we do, we care about self demote and, you know, judging on the type of podcasts that you’re going on, the title that you are being asked to comment on, you know, how can you provide more value, you know, to go is to have people say, Hmm, this is a person that we might want it to talk to.
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (22:44):
You know, this is my, this is a person that we connect you and you have to keep that in mind. Not everyone is going to like you, whatever that you say, even if you are the best performing person in your industry, there are still people that are not going to connect with you, and you have to accept that, you know, but then at the same time, there are people that are going to be drawn to your energy. Maybe you smile a different way. Maybe you dress a different way. Maybe you just look the way that you are and the people that are drawn to you. And those are the people that will be your potential clinets. So going into the sales mentality, you’re putting people, different people into your sales funnel, you know, everyone that is not related or don’t like you, they’re outside of your funnel. Now, now you’re putting more people into your funnel. And depending on your process, if your selling procedure, then you can get more people into your potential sales pipeline.
Vincent Driscoll (23:39):
Great answer. You know, I think that you know, th there’s a lot of do’s and don’ts, and you earlier about, you know, emailing, you know you want to do professional headshots. You want to present yourself in a very professional manner, obviously, so that you can come across as somebody who really actually means business. You want to establish yourself as a thought leader. You know, and that certainly helps when you have the amount of content that you have. So let’s talk about your pot. You do have a podcast you know, you’re certainly a guest on many podcasts, but you also do have a podcast, which is actually a Facebook live stream called the small business show. You know, you interview experts in the field of growing their business. How long have you been doing this live stream and how has it been received?
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (24:30):
It’s started the end of 2020. And, you know, with the pandemic, I think it kind of jumps out it. So people are getting more comfortable with online virtual interview. I used it in the first few episodes. I actually carry all my equipment, all my legs and camera. And I went to the person’s business and we actually talked, so there’s a lot of time commitment, but doing virtually now, Vinny, you and I are in different states and we’re able to connect. And I was able to have guests that are all the way from Ireland, from Australia, and that I’m able to reach out and you talk to you. And I think having a podcast is good, is a big time commitment and that’s as you know. But then what I want to listen to, to think about is for your own benefit recent, what if you can reach out to your best prospect, your dream client right now, and you, you tell them Mr.
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (25:25):
Dream prospect, I have a podcast and I really admire what you do. And I would like to have you on my podcast and talk to my listener about your expertise, the chances that you can yes, from the dream prospect will be a lot higher than you just cold call or, you know, using social media to connect with them. Think of how, how would you be able to do, if you’re able to connect with five of your dream prospect, you know, just because you have a podcast, you know, the way that it sounds, the way that they think about their distribution online using your podcast is higher now. And that’s how I’m able to get some of the Ted speaker that normally wouldn’t even talk to me to be on my show. And I’m able to go all the way to Ireland to talk to her exhibition professional in Europe, and to be on my show, to talk about virtual events events.
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (26:17):
And I know that being a streaming my show on LinkedIn, on Facebook, my client, my prospect are watching it. So I’m giving them the content that they want. So another example is, you know, in our industry is sometimes when our clients send the logos and it comes in all shapes and sizes, and they’re not in the right format. They don’t like me when I not criticize. I’m telling their logo is not right. They don’t like to hear that. So that’s why I put down all the questions that my client asked me. And I asked that designer to come on and I asked them on the show, all the questions that my client normally asked me. So whenever now I have a questions like that for my client. I don’t, you know, wanting to get into our relationship. I just set up, please watch this episode. I the designer actually taught you how to get your logo ready to be put onto a promotional product. So they like that. You’re so depending on what, the questions that I’ve been getting a lot from my clients are actually find an expert to come onto the show to address that issue. So I think that’s been very helpful and that’s how I’m able to grow our business, using the podcast that we have.
Vincent Driscoll (27:34):
That’s actually a very common problem in this industry. And I, and I’ve seen it a lot. I had no idea that you had a podcast addressing this, you know, it’s, it’s fascinating because, you know, we see all these, like, you know, I don’t know if you’re in promotional products, professional, Facebook page you know, and we have ASI member exclusive group where like people just go in there and you’ll always see the questions about you know, improper art formats and sizes and all that. And, you know, it seems to be a very, very common issue. And I love that you, you’ve kind of like instead of having to have that conversation, you’ve already created content that addresses that through your podcast. So, yeah. So you’re, you’re, again, we’re talking to Swire Ho of Garuda promo. I know somebody had asked you know, what your name and information was, and we’ll get, you know, all your information at the end.
Vincent Driscoll (28:28):
But yeah, we’re talking about, you know, social media to grow your business and also podcasting and, and Swire is not only a podcaster, but he is, you know, a habitual person who is a guest on podcast, and he does it very well. So let’s talk about your live streams and like we’re doing right now, you seem to have a great background, you have hardware that is, is really crisp. And, you know, you’ve got a mic there. Like, what would you recommend to anybody who’s looking to either get into podcasting or become a guest? Like, what are some of the do’s and don’ts about hardware and software?
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (29:09):
Well, there is some commitment to it, right? You know, some resources or you have to buy certain things if you don’t already own them already. I would say to start if this is something that you want to get into, I’d say maybe about two to three hundreds of spending that you have to do. You, you got to want to my, a good mic, you know, because not only that you could use it on podcasts and when you do your zoom meeting, you can have the same set up. So I can’t tell you how many times my potential clients were impressed, you know, with my background and with the equipments that I have. So right now, if you’re still doing virtual presentation, you can also use the same equipment that you have. You know, a lot of times that we see a normal a presenter, they will have technical problems too.
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (29:58):
So we using a different platform that they’re not normally used, we’re using be live right now. So I actually, before we hop on, you know, for our conversation today, 30 minutes ago, I locked on for, I think in a few months right now. So I want to make sure that I sound right. I have sound on both of my microphone. I can listen to myself and also my camera and my lighting is correct. When it beyond, you know, the last thing that you want to do is, you know, you come, come on and you become like a, you know, kind of like a dark background. And then you kind of sounded like you’re in a cave. So do you put some time into it because when we we’re used to doing in-person presentation, you practice for it. Right. And do you actually have notes that you actually practice what you’re going to say? It’s very easy to do that. You know, especially if you are going to be doing it on zoom, you can actually record yourself for your presentation or pretend that, you know, you’re being asked a question, can you answer it the way that you, you are, you know, practice makes perfect. And I think that’s something that we need to continue to do virtually,
Vincent Driscoll (31:06):
Right. And I think being virtual for a lot of people have forced them into this sort of role, you know, in, you know, having a setup that is, you know, that works well. You know, we’ve seen set ups that don’t work well, you know, they’re poor wifi. I think people have adjusted in a year. And you know, they’re, they’re preparing to potentially work indefinitely in a virtual setting. So I think even if you don’t do podcasts, you should have some sort of set up that is appealing. You know, everything works. But those are great tips. So again, if you have a question for Swire, you know, pop it in comments and we’ll try to get it. We have a few more questions left. So you, you call yourself the promo guy. And you also use that hashtag across multiple social media platforms. Can, can you let us know how that’s worked out for you and in terms of how it, you know, on social media and also how you’ve kind of branded yourself over the years as the promo guy do people remember you as the promo guy?
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (32:05):
I certainly hope so. My name is not hard to pronounce after, you know, how they pronounce it as this Swire, but then, you know, for a person who might not heard all the phrase again it’s sometimes it’s challenging. So over the years I got people call can I speak to us? And then they kind of stumble or they, they stop or they try try the best interpretation I’ll Swire. So I decided, you know, for, for branding, especially in my industry, why don’t I call myself? The promo guy is catchy, you know, kind of hint that all of what I do, and especially, you know, if the listener have time, you know, Google my exact name, Swire ho has sacked the promo guy. You actually see all the podcasts that I’ve been on. A lot of the blog posts are written a lot of the social media posting that I’ve had.
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (32:53):
So because right now with Google, when you meet someone new either a prospect, a supplier or business partner, the next thing you do is you’re going to Google that Google, who they are, how, how do you want your things to show up? So if I have control with my name and my hashtag that I created for myself, you have more control of the other contents that you want people to see. So if you Google Swire, who, the promo guy, the, the first two pages, you’ll see the things that I want you to see. So maybe there are things that people would talks about me, but then, because I used consistently with my name and the hashtag. So these are all the platform that I want, my potential client or my business partner wanders to see. So think about if you could create a phrase, especially if you’re a more common name or maybe your business name, unfortunately have other businesses in different industries that have the same name, then how can you maybe add a keyword or maybe a phrase on there to make it unique. So when you tell people to search for you, ask them to search for you in the exact phrase
Vincent Driscoll (34:01):
We just had. Melissa and I, we just talked about hashtagging in a Facebook live last week. And it’s for those who aren’t very familiar with hashtagging, I think you touched upon a very important point. Like if you’re going to brand yourself with a hashtag, make sure you go in and check it out first you know, check out the social networks, go into all of them. They all support hashtags. Obviously not the audio ones because it’s just audio, but all the major social media platforms, support hashtags go in and search. Like, you know, when we were coming up with, you know, thinking about tags for our industry you know, I was looking around and saying, okay, what do we got here? You know, w how can we position our content? Certainly promo products is one that if you click on in any social media platform, you’re going to, to come up with content that is relevant to our industry.
Vincent Driscoll (34:53):
But if you click, if you hashtag products, it’s a different story. You’re going to come up with tons of stuff that has nothing to do with our industry. And just like the promo guy, you know when I searched you in with the hashtag, you know, the promo guy, boom, like I found everything that was for you. So you were able to kind of see, this is sort of available this, the know hashtag the promo guy is is an available hashtag that you could seize upon. I don’t know when you started doing it, but it was very, very effective because when you’re right, when you click on it, you find content from Swire, ho the promo guy. So it’s, it’s really something that you have to kind of look into and research because sometimes you jump on one that a million other people are on and it really not going to help you out because when somebody clicks on it, they’re going to get a ton of content that has nothing to do with what you’re looking to achieve. And that’s to funnel people down the path that you want them to go, not the path that leads in a hundred different directions. So, so that’s great advice. Thank you.
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (35:58):
Yeah. I had a kind of like a joke, but I, I think it’s a real tactic. So a social media expert actually tell me, you know, if something that, you know, along the way, there are going to be people who are upset or it just didn’t work out for whatever reason. Right. So they said that if you cannot fix it, you bury it. So if you don’t want people to see it, if it’s not on the first two pages of Google, it is not there. So how can you push it down? So then you, you know, things that you want people to see on the top. So if people say not so nice things about you, how can you bury it is to provide more content and more things with your key phrase. So then you know, that those are all showing up before the others.
Vincent Driscoll (36:41):
I like that idea. I think that’s a, that’s a separate discussion. You and I maybe have down the road because that’s a really you know, great idea. And that’s something that I think a lot of people struggle with because, you know, when you search some certain things seem to always be there. It’s like, how do you get rid of them? You know, you can’t just remove them. But anyway, I have one last question. We always end on a fun question. So you seem to be very, very busy, man. You’re always working. So when you’re not working, what are you doing for fun?
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (37:11):
Well, I’m actually believe it or not. I’m a strong first kettlebell instructor. So you know, I didn’t want to put that on there, but then I, I just, for fun, I’m so proud of my silver kitchen. I put it on LinkedIn. So actually when people reach out to me, especially on podcasts, when I the last question and the most interesting question, when people ask me, so you’re kettlebells you know, instructor, tell me more about that. They don’t even care about all my criteria, all my bio, this is went straight to the counterpart. So I think that’s a nice icebreaker even for you know, in a business setting.
Vincent Driscoll (37:51):
So that’s what you do for fun, huh? Yeah. Well, that’s great. So Swire so we’re at a time, but before we go you know, let the people know how they can, they can get in contact with you.
Swire Ho #thepromoguy (38:03):
Okay, well, so again, Google Swire, ho hashtag the promo guy the name of my business is Garuda promo and branding solutions. Happy to connect a network. I’m on LinkedIn. You can find me on LinkedIn. And if you have any questions, if you want to be a guest, or if you’re thinking about setting up your own podcast, happy to talk to you. So reach out to me, ask me any questions that you have. I actually have a list of equipments that I would recommend if you don’t know where to start reach out to me. Happy to talk to you
Vincent Driscoll (38:33):
Again. That was Swire ho, Swire. Thank you so much for your time. You’ve been a great guest and look forward to speaking with you again.