What is Digital Marketing?

Hi, my name is Tony Cutting and I am a personal coach and a digital marketing specialist. I can help you learn how to build your brand using digital marketing or help market you, your business or your jobs using my Digital Marketing network throughout New Zealand.

What is Digital Marketing (DM)

Digital marketing is an umbrella term for all of your online marketing efforts. Businesses leverage digital channels such as Google search, Adwords, social media, email, and their websites to connect with their current and prospective customers.

The reality is, people spend twice as much time online as they used to years ago and the time we are spending online is growing at a phenomenal rate.   People around the world are building their dream businesses faster and with more efficiency simply using digital marketing.

The key to your success using digital marketing is to promote your own profile as much as your business profile.  People connect with people and on many social media sites only your personal marketing campaigns will work.  The good news is you can be who you want to be, social media is about promoting the authentic you.

Where should you market

Well, you can check out who is using what platforms and see if they are your target audience or you can start using a number of platforms and over time (6-12 months) figure out which ones work best for you.

Marketing has always been about connecting with your audience in the right place and at the right time. Today, that means that you need to meet them where they are already spending a lot of their time: on the internet.

The Social Media Bible

Crushing it by Gary Vaynerchuk is my reference book for those people serious about building their brand through social media.  If you are in New Zealand I recommend you order it through Mighty Ape (I got my book in 2 business days).  Hit the link on the book image below to be taken to the Mighty Ape store.

Crushing it

 

Tony Cutting – Coach (Digital Marketing)

Whether you are wanting to learn about Digital Marketing to build your own DM business or you want to understand it and use it to build your own brand or business I have the skills and experience to help you.  I provide 1:1 coaching and/or you can join one of my Marketing Mastermind Collectives / Business Networks in Wellington or the Kapiti Coast.  I also run JobCafe a digital marketing solution that promotes jobs and people here in New Zealand.  During 2018 I will be setting up other groups throughout New Zealand.  IF you are interested in joining one of these please feel free to reach out and let me know who you are.  You can do this through the project site www.kiwibusinessnetwork.com

Other project links

www.wellingtontoday.co.nz
www.kapitinow.co.nz
www.jobcafe.co.nz
www.kumaravine.co.nz

 

Hope you found this useful – Tony

TC

Tony Cutting
Personal Coach / Digital Marketing Specialist

 

Contact Me 

Please feel free to contact me for a FREE 15-minute consultation if you are interested in using my Digital Marketing services or training.

Find me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tonycuttingdigital/
Website: tonycutting.com

Email. tony.cutting@peoplenet.co.nz

Mobile. 021 911 722

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‘Kāore te kumara e kōrero mō tōna ake reka’

Kia ora Koutou,

I was raised on Hongoeka Marae.  One of the first things I learnt while growing up in my community is you get more respect being humble than you do ‘showing off’.

There is a famous Maori proverb “Kāore te kumara e kōrero mō tōna ake reka” translation – The kumara (sweet potato) does not say how sweet he is

This proverb accentuates the value of humbleness.

Maori and Pasifika people are extremely humble and I know as a fact they have missed out on opportunities because of this. In a previous life, I spent many years in recruitment and have sat on New Zealand recruitment panels both in government and private organisations and have been involved with selection processes (designed by so-called experts who do not have humility as a part of their culture) and witnessed Maori and Pasifika candidates being marked down ‘because they did not speak up or sell themselves”.

In my case, I have been able to point out the situation to people on the selection panels about the prejudice of this selection criteria.  However, given nearly 80% of all recruitment panels do not have people who truly understand this cultural difference, how many Maori and Pasifika are missing out on jobs, and for organisations how many great people have they missed out on due to these very common practices.

The scary thing is I have witnessed many HR and Recruitment people, even after I have pointed out what is happening, fervently state that if a person is not able ‘to stand up for themselves’ or ‘show leadership’ they should not be hired regardless of their culture.  This has to be stopped.

In a world that is rapidly demanding that people speak up and promote themselves both in person and in digital form, how do Maori & Pasifika deal with this dilemma?

  1.  They go against their own values and ‘become’ a self-promoting ‘pakeha’ when looking for a job or pitching their business.  Not an option for many.
  2. They work hard and hope that someone recognises this.  Not really a practical solution, given the current situation with recruitment processes and the global trend to grow your personal brand if you truly want to accelerate your success.

There are really only three real practical solutions.

  1. Education.  Organisations need to either train staff to better understand this situation (a difficult solution right now, given the amount of prejudice throughout New Zealand and the world).  So they must include people in the recruitment selection process who understand this and will ensure a fair playing field for all applicants.
  2. Consultants like myself are engaged to help with a recruitment or procurement process.
  3. Marketers like myself become champions for people who find it difficult to self-promote and help them work out how to do this while also remaining humble. Then executing a strategy that builds their brand using a third-party approach.

This issue is the reason I have adapted my consultancy services to help both employers and people who struggle in this world of self-promotion.  My goal is to help educate organisations in New Zealand on this serious problem while also teaching those who want to remain humble how to do this, and still build the dream life they deserve.

I hope you found this information helpful.

 

Nga mihi

Tony Cutting
Consultant/founder The Kumara Vine
www.kumaravine.co.nz

 

 

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Dear Cutting Family

This is an open message to my beautiful children Kate, James, Molly and Anna.  I am writing this on my blog so you will always know where to find it.  I love you all very, very much. I want you to have the best life you can, you deserve it.  To achieve a great life here are some ideas I would like to plant in your minds.

  • Chase your dreams, and make them big dreams!
  • Dreams will change and that’s OK, we are all on a journey but need direction.  If your direction changes then pursue your new dream as hard as you can.
  • The ultimate goal is happiness, and you strive to be happy every day.
  • Work on and be aware of your physical, mental, spiritual and emotional well being.
  • You can do whatever you want to do, provided you write it down, plan each day and take daily actions to get there. Mindmap your personal plan each year, use this as your motivation to stay on track.
  • There will be tough times in your life but if you chase your dreams, look after yourself, you will get through these and have a very happy life.
  • I love you.
  • Never be afraid to stand up for what you think is right.
  • Breath.
  • Write down your personal values and use them as your guide.  Read this journal on a regular basis. You can find my values on this website tonycutting.com
  • Be great at whatever you do, whether you like it or not.
  • Relationships are two-way streets, make sure your future partner understands your dreams and goals.  Make sure you understand theirs. Should your paths take you in different directions, so be it.  The sooner you get on with your plan the better for both of you.
  • Life is for the living and it does not need to be too serious, make it FUN. Make it your very own game, a game you know you are winning.
  • I love you
  • Don’t take sh#t from anyone.  Try not to hurt anyone. Respect everyone.
  • Work hard to be healthy and happy.  Money should never be the goal but it is OK to be financially well off.  Save 10% of your income for your nest egg and invest wisely so it creates another revenue stream for you.
  • You don’t always have to work for someone else, build the life you dream of and dream BIG. Take control.
  • Take risks if you think they may help you head in the right direction, and don’t worry if you make a mistake.  Everyone makes both big and small mistakes. Learn.
  • Meditate.
  • There are people in the world who won’t like you, and people who will make you feel sad.  Forget them and lose them fast. There are plenty of people who will love and support you, these are the people you spend time with.
  • Take regular walks on the beach, in the native bush, or in a beautiful park.
  • Look after the planet.
  • I love you.
  • Be kind.
  • Chase experiences and adventures, not objects.
  • Hangout with people you love and people who are as focused as you, to succeed.
  • Drink lots of water. Try not to drink too many poisons each weekend. Give your body more love than hate.
  • Stay away from drugs.
  • Work out what fuels your body works best,  and feed it this.
  • No smoking
  • More activity less TV.
  • Let the universe know what your intentions are through positive actions, it will reward you when you do.
  • I love you.
  • Look after your mother.

If you ever need my support do not hesitate whatever it is – ring me.  Wherever I end up in this world I will always be thinking of you, every day and every night.

I LOVE YOU.

 

Dad x.

 

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Happiness

How do you feel right now?  Are you happy?  If not it is time to make some changes.

The psychological and philosophical pursuit of happiness began in China, India and Greece nearly 2,500 years ago with Confucius, Buddha, Socrates, and Aristotle. We can find remarkable similarities between the insights of these thinkers and the modern “Science of Happiness.” – Source http://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org

Let’s face it, if we are not happy then we are wasting our time aren’t we?

I grew up in the greatest place on the planet, Hongoeka Marae.  Every one of my cousins that I grew up with will tell you the same thing.  We certainly did not come from families with money but we did come from a community that loved and cared for each other.  As kids, we were enabled to explore our talents, we were encouraged to get outside and play, we all had a roof over our heads and food in our belly’s.  We learnt from all our whanau (in my case my Mum, Nana, Poppa, Nane and many Uncles and Aunties who lived in Hongoeka Bay). We were very happy and that is what everyone wanted for everyone (well most of the time anyway).

When I was older and study organisation and management I discovered Maslow’s Theory and the first thing they came to my mind was that we had all the elements of his pyramid.  We may have not had much money but we did not even realise this because we were rich in all the elements that create a great life – We were happy.

maslow-hierachy-of-needs-min

Maslow’s Theory

As you can see from the image above there is no mention of Money.

In January 2015 I was diagnosed with a brain tumour, luckily it was benign and it would be removed via brain surgery in June 2015.  The next three years I have been recovering from this surgery which has resulted in an expected complication, damage to my pituitary stalk. This means I take a number of drugs on a daily basis to help replace the hormones which would normally be regulated from this area.

I am the father of four, my wife works but her salary alone does not cover all the bills.  Our savings and insurance claim ran out within 18 months and we were struggling.

I was not happy nor was the rest of my family.  At Fifty Four years old I have made the biggest decision in my life, to return to the happiness formula I knew so well when I was younger.

First things first.  Get as fit and healthy as I can.  Gym five days per week and eat healthy for at least six days per week.  Build a business I love (Personal Coaching and Digital Marketing) I love technology and using it to help people grow.

Create experiences and memories and spend time with both my loved ones and my wider whanau and friends.  Meditate. Help others in my community as much as I can and be grateful for the skills I have and the people around me.  Collect experiences not things. Grow. Try new things and just enjoy myself.

I am back on track, I hit Fifty-five years old this month, with the rest of my life ahead of me.  I have a plan and its foundation is happiness.  I have ambition and will make more than enough to pay off the credit cards and reduce the mortgage which has been leveraged to help us get by.  But money is not my driver – Happiness is.

 

I hope you find this helpful.

 

Tony Cutting

Personal Coach /Digital Marketer

 

 

 

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The 5 essential ingredients for success

Kia ora Koutou,

Throughout my life, I have been successful in many ways.  I have genuinely succeeded in most things I put my heart and soul into.

At a young age, I was a very happy kid and I was a good sportsman and during my school years fell in love with cross country running (I know, what was I thinking?), but I truly did.  In standard three (year 5) the school had its annual cross country races and to my complete surprise, I managed to come in 2nd place, to my schoolmate Richard Barlow. During that year I would try my hardest to beat him but I would suffer from stitch and could never seem to take him albeit he would only beat me by a few metres in the end.

I was playing football and my grandad would travel 40 kilometres to pick me up and take me to my games. During our conversation on the way to football, grandad asked me how school was going and I told him about my stitch.  he smiled and simply said, “Start singing while you run” and “train harder”.

The following week I did what grandad had told me.  I was pretty fit anyway but I started to run more and during my runs, I would sing “Waltzing Matilda” a song my grandparents taught me, which seem to work.  Singing helps you to regulate your breathing and it’s a great way to prevent stitch.

The next week I beat Richard by a decent margin.  I went through Plimmerton School as a champion at cross country and even in the first form (year 7), I was fastest in the school being able to beat all the kids in the year above.  At the regional competition, I run for the school as a senior during both my First and Second forms (year 7 & 8) and won my races by a few hundred metres each time.

The reason I was so good was pretty simple, I loved what I did, I received great advice, I trained well, I was lucky to be in a school that encouraged kids to run cross country and I had some competition to keep me sharp, I was a very happy kid.

This is very similar to the Five step formula, I and many other coaches will tell you, to be successful in life.

 #1: Do what you love
You spend a lot of time at work, it is so important you do what you love or over 50% of it is wasted.

 

#2: Just do it
As Nike tells us to. Find a way to follow your dreams, the fact you are following your own plan will make you happier even though you may need to work for someone else or work towards the career you will love. Don’t wait for the stars to align, they only align when they know from your actions what you want to do.  Make it clear to them and they will respond in kind.

A little bit of planning is good, but that’s all you need.  Passion and positive actions will do the rest.

 

#3: Surround yourself with success-minded people
One of the reasons I set up my business networking groups in the area I live is to ensure I am working with like-minded people.  When you are surrounded by successful people you can learn from each other and gain the knowledge you need faster than you can by yourself.  

Celebrated success expert Jim Rohn, who is no longer with us, used to talk about something he called the Law of Averages – average the income of the five people you hang out with the most, and that’s what your income is likely going to be.

This is because the way that people tend to think is contagious.

Ensure you spend regular time with people who are positive and looking to achieve BIG dreams, they support you and your dreams, do this and your clients and your business or career will benefit!

#4: Don’t stop growing
Don’t settle for what you have in life.  Demand more of yourself think of ways you can not only continue to grow yourself but help those positive people around you.  Learn and help others, If we all did this, the world would be a much better place.

#5: Smile
People love to deal with happy people.  Whenever you are feeling a little lost, take a good look at yourself and start working on getting your smile back.  Make the changes you need in your life to bring back the happy you.

 

My biggest success is my family, they not only make me proud to be their dad they also help me smile when times get tough.  I am very grateful to have been blessed with such a wonderful whanau.

 

 

Arohanui

 

Tony C
Personal Coach
.

 

 

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Want to grow your business?

Whether you are starting out or have an established business you are wanting to grow there are some actions you need to take if you want to succeed quickly.

Be Great 

The first step to finding success is to make sure you be the best business you can.  If you sell products you are better selling great products than cheap knock-offs.  Businesses who sell poor products and services might con the marketplace for a short time, but in general, you will be found out and as much as word of mouth can grow a business it is very quick at killing those who fail to deliver what they promise.

This means you keep developing your skills, and developing your staffs’ skills if you offer a service and you check and if possible test any products you represent.

My grandfather was a cobbler and owned a very successful Shoe Store, and while I was growing up often I would visit and sit in the back room and observe him at work.  I was there a few times when salesmen would arrive with shoes they were trying to promote for my grandad to sell in his store.  The first thing grandad would do is test the quality by bending the shoes often from toe to heal.  On one occasion I watched in awe as he bent the shoe and it totally fell apart.  Needless to say, that brand never made his shelves.

Grandad sold a variety of shoes with a range of prices from the very affordable to the upmarket shoes many of the wealthier customers would buy – they all had to pass his test.  He also repaired shoes at a time when many shoe shops did not offer this service.  I use to play with the scraps of leather and he would even watch over me when the shop was quiet and let me use the sewing machine. He would talk to me about the different leathers and quality, he was an expert at what he did.  He used this knowledge to help customers (Especially families on a budget) and his reputation for providing a great customer service and great products had customers travelling to his store from miles away. He had built himself a great brand not only for his store but for himself.

This would not have happened if he did not have all three elements, provide a great service, sell great products and give great customer service.

Network

Most successful business people understand the importance of networking and knowledge sharing.  Networking is possibly the greatest way to create champions for your business.  For people to trust you they need to get to know you and your personal brand is as important as the business you run.  When you join a network, you must work it, attend meetings and present who you are and what your business is.  Over time as people grow comfortable with you, they may try your products or services, and often they will recommend you just because you are that person they know from that network, that does that.

In today’s digital world you can also network with people thousands of miles away using online forums and social media groups.

Smart business owners do not just attend conferences for the information but get there because of the value of the networks they can establish, these can turn your local business into something much bigger if you build contacts, then relationships well enough.

Marketing

All businesses need to market themselves, whether you have your logo on your car or you have invested in business cards, signs, or leased a building in a high traffic area.  The key to marketing is to find out where your prospective customers hang out and make sure you are present.  This may be the local radio station (TIP. listen to who is advertising and if they are prospective customers there is a good chance they will hear your advert while listening out for theirs). A well-read local newspaper (becoming rarer each year), it may be an industry magazine or an online community.

Going digital is almost a must these days that means having a MODERN responsive website (over 70% of first-time visitors will be with a mobile device) that people can find you on.

TIP: People trust a business with a great website and will try you before your competition, also, social media sites use websites as an indicator of a legitimate business.  So don’t try and cut corners and just build a FREE Facebook page, invest in your website.

Before you go spending all your money on a website remember you will need some budget to help people find your website.  Failure to do this is very common and can really hurt a new business.  Luckily there are plenty of affordable options these days to build a high-quality web presence.

Cutting to the chase, if you own a business as well as registering your website as a ‘business’ on the major search engines like ‘Google My Business’ you should be building your social media presence, most likely on Facebook or Instagram. This is the most cost-effective way to promote your business and website.

You should also be building your personal brand and depending on what your business is that means thinking about using platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and whatever else comes out that attracts the people you want to sell to.

Don’t expect results overnight, you need to build trust and with marketing that is producing good quality content that explains the benefits of your business consistently and persistently.  Once you are established with a great brand in your marketplace then the magic will start to happen.

 

I hope you found this information useful.

 

 

Nga mihi
Tony Cutting
Personal Coach & Digital Marketing Consultant

 

 

 

 

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Build your personal brand to succeed

Kia ora Koutou

I live in New Zealand and people here generally do not like to promote themselves.  We like to be humble and there really is quite a tall poppy syndrome that goes on here.

Unfortunately, the world is changing so rapidly us Kiwi’s just need to start getting over it.  That does not mean we cannot be humble as you choose your brand and how you want to be seen, but it does mean putting yourself out there whether you like it or not.

The BIG game changer has obviously been social media which is creating more superstars every day than any other medium on the planet.

So whether you just want to snag your first job, or grow your career or accelerate the growth of your business, you will need to start thinking about building your PERSONAL brand.  Yes, you can build your business brand, but things will start accelerating when you realise it is your personal brand everyone is really interested in.

Yes, you can also choose to stay out of this game (and it is just that – a game, so have FUN).  Many people will make it big without social media.  However, thousands if not millions of people just like you will achieve their dreams much quicker by jumping in the deep end and going for it.

Where to start?

A great resource which will either inspire you or not is the book Crushing It by Gary Vaynerchuk.  The time to grab this book is now as you can download an audio copy for FREE from Amazon.  Once you have listened to this you may be like me and order the physical version and start using it to help you understand the nuances of the major platforms available to you today.

Secondly, signup to at least Facebook and Instagram and just start using them.

And finally, if you want support from a personal coach to guide you through getting started with either building your first resume or developing your career plan and/or build your dream business – contact me.

Nga mihi

Tony Cutting
Personal Coach, Personal Digital Marketing Consultant.

 

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Get off your arse! and move!

We live in times that are causing more disease and chronic illness than 60 years ago.  Funny enough our eating habits, exercise, sleep patterns and ability to sit still are also extremely different and not in a good way.

Now, normally I am the last to enter the world of chatting about health due to my many issues over my 54 years.  However, in some ways, my experiences are being repeated by the people I love so I thought I would share my knowledge and what I am doing now to fight the ageing process and focus on having a happy healthy life.  The changes I have been making are now helping me through possibly the most difficult time of my life  – multiple losses of people I love.

So how am I coping…

The biggest problem in our modern lifestyles is STRESS often this is the cause or the reason we do not look after ourselves.  My life has been a up and down see-saw of being pretty good until my mid 20s then being bad, being bad, being bad intervention (Liver problems) being good, being good, being good, being bad, being bad, being bad, (Broken Leg) being sad, being sad, being sad, buying my dream property, being good, being good, being good, being bad, being bad, feeling super stressed making a massive bad call with my business decisions, sudden drop of revenue, sale of my dream home I worked so hard for, doing jobs I hated to try and get back the income I lost, being bad, being bad (Brain Tumor), being sad (x100), being good, loss of loved ones being good, being good…

OK, the paragraph above paints a very grim picture and that is the point I am making.  The thing is for most of this time I have been pretty happy because I have a beautiful family and that’s all that mattered (I thought), I had some great times and outwardly my life seemed pretty good.  I built some very successful businesses and made a very good income and these skills I am proud of and still have today.

Reality check. The ‘being bad’ above refers to STRESS and looking after my health, it refers to bad diet, many sleepless nights caused by very bad habits, and most recently my lack of exercise.

So at 54, I am making a massive change, I making stress my mortal enemy (Funny enough it is for all of us).  I am getting through the loss of my loved ones by eating better (not perfectly yet), daily meditation, daily exercise (for me right now the big one) and making sure I do the things needed to give myself the best chance of having a great nights sleep.  Bed at 8:30 no technology (includes TV) after 7pm.

There is nothing wrong with making money, you just need to make sure you are looking after yourself.  I see many marriage breakups that should not be happening today, obese people (like myself) are far too common, where we try every diet under the sun and hit plateaus and try the latest fad.  The reality is 95% of this time it is because of STRESS!  Breaking up is not the solution to your marriage issues, caring for each other and working on stress is, eating well but not losing weight? changing your diet and stressing about it will not help, working on decreasing the stress will.

There are many things we need to change to work on our health, some could be small adjustments but for most of us, our evening and night-time habits need a major overall.

What has been a MASSIVE help to me was a small investment in the Calm app.  Not only does it help me meditate 10 minutes a day but the masterclass section has a great tutorial from Dr Rangan Chatterjee on the four pillars of health.  The Dr explains things very well and can give you the simple tips to help improve your lifestyle and health.  If you are like me then, yes maybe some big changes are in the wind.

So the message right now for myself is to get off my arse and move.  That means taking many breaks from my PC and moving around the house, doing some housework, ensuring I maximise the walking opportunities by doing simple things like parking in the farthest carpark when picking up groceries and walking up my stairs 3-4 times in one go, several times a day, going for a walk for about 30 minutes a day. The 10,000 steps rule is a good guide, so use it. As well as this I meditate, go to bed early, watch very little TV or Netflix, avoid technology, try to eat well most of the time (added bonus here of saving money), get outside when the sun is out to charge your batteries and a number of other things you will find mentioned on the app.

Please take care of yourself

 

Arohanui
Tony C

BTW I am not paid to promote the Calm app.  I am just so happy I found it.

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