Digital Wrap-Up: Recent Episodes

Riley Harden

Digital Wrap-Up takes listeners on the journey of a digital marketing agency from startup to success. Episodes will follow Harden Digital Founder Riley Harden each week as he uses different digital marketing techniques (that he often implements with his clients) to grow his business. Digital Wrap-Up will cover many different topics, including the work Riley does for his clients, different tips and tricks he uses to grow his business and a mix of fresh social media news/tips. This podcast is perfect for small business owners looking to follow along as another small business owner (Riley) goes through the ups and downs of growing a business. Social media managers looking to stay current on different best practices and new features will also find this podcast informative. Come join us for an exciting journey in the small business world!

Ever wondered how your passion for visual communication could unlock an array of career opportunities? Join us on this week's episode of Digital Wrap-Up, as we take you on an immersive exploration into the dynamic world of graphic design careers. Learn how traditional roles like brochure and social media graphic design can be gateways to specialized fields such as apparel design, video game animation, and even tattoo artistry. We promise you'll gain practical insights into how a foundation in graphic design can seamlessly integrate with various interests, paving the way for a versatile and fulfilling career.

We share personal anecdotes that highlight the unexpected career trajectories in the creative industry. Listen as we recount stories of how an initial interest in advertising evolved into a love for publication design and booklets, all while emphasizing the importance of mastering fundamental design principles and using accessible tools like Canva. Discover the challenges and rewards of art education, the value of collaboration, and the beauty of learning from diverse creative perspectives. This episode is packed with real-world advice and encouragement for anyone looking to navigate the subjective world of art and design.

Our conversation also ventures into the intersection of art and business, particularly through the lens of startups and small business branding. Uncover how creative skills from a graphic design background can be instrumental in various industries, from social media content creation to product design. We tackle the myth that careers in the arts aren't lucrative, highlighting the multifaceted nature of success and the importance of continuous learning. Plus, get a rundown of essential software tools, and hear tips for aspiring designers on building a portfolio, embracing continuous learning, and ultimately, turning your creative passions into a thriving career.

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Strap in for a deep dive into the heart of strategic business planning. We don't just want to ride the wave of our best year yet; we're all about paddling towards sustainable growth. Kaylee and Riley break down their approach to setting goals, from trimming the fat off non-essential tasks to doubling down on content that truly drives our business forward.

We're not shy about the struggles, sharing how we're navigating the ebb and flow of project workloads and the search for consistent clients. Plus, hear our candid take on sales strategies—because let's be honest, cold calling is nobody's cup of tea. So, whether you're a budding entrepreneur or a seasoned business owner, there's a nugget of wisdom in here for you.

We're also talking about our unfiltered thoughts on the office move and its impact, from the joy of natural light to the unexpected perks of close-knit business neighbors. Tune in to catch the buzz around how our content strategies are evolving in this lively locale.

Support the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1525549/supporters/new

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Prepare to inject some serious vitality into your brand's heartbeat! We're unpacking the mysteries of branding that will resonate deep within your market's psyche. Forget the days of branding confusion; our chat is the compass you need to navigate the visual and verbal jungles of your brand's identity. We'll cover the power of style guides that anchor you beyond the visual anchor of your logo, ensuring your brand's voice bellows consistently across the vast digital plains.

This episode is a treasure trove for the savvy entrepreneur or the corporate captain steering the ship through the growth squalls. Branding isn't just a stamp; it's the very essence that whispers (or screams) your mission, from the curvature of your fonts to the finesse of your email sign-offs. We even drop hints about our podcast's upcoming metamorphosis – think of that fresh coat of paint on your favorite café, stirring excitement for the tales it will host.

As we wrap up, we take a hard look at the gears of branding within the business machine. We examine the finesse needed for logo versatility, tailored branding across business sectors, and the always looming horizon of rebranding. This is the insider's guide to the whys, hows, and what-ifs of branding, complete with the financial wisdom to navigate the costs of a brand's evolution. Whether you're a newbie to the branding game or a seasoned player, we're here to fuel your journey to a brand that echoes unmistakably across the market's soundscape.

Read our blog on brand guidelines: https://hardendigital.com/easy-steps-to-create-brand-guidelines-a-beginners-guide/

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Imagine discovering that in the heart of affluence lies a hidden struggle with homelessness. Nancy Ramsey, Executive Director of Family Promise of Hamilton County, joins us to unravel this paradox, shedding light on the challenges that families face in wealthy communities. Our heartfelt conversation delves into how her organization is not only providing shelter but also legal support and stability services to those in need in Hamilton County. Nancy's personal stories serve as a powerful testament to the strength and resilience of the families they aid and underscore the importance of community-based solutions.

Collaboration is the lifeblood of nonprofit work, and in this episode, we celebrate the spirit of collective action in Hamilton County, Indiana. By bringing together nonprofit leaders, including the Good Samaritan Network and HAND, we uncover the incredible impact of partnership on combating housing insecurity. We bring you a moving success story of a family who defied the odds, fought eviction, and not only found stable housing but also became advocates for the community, all thanks to the support network provided by Family Promise and their New Lease on Life program.

Lastly, we discuss the vital role each one of us can play in ensuring housing security within our communities. Highlighting the "The Future Begins at Home Breakfast" event, we invite you to listen to real stories from those who've overcome housing challenges. We also explore the various avenues through which you can lend your support, whether it's through volunteering your time or making donations. Plus, discover how companies like Harden Digital and Design are leveraging digital services to amplify the missions of nonprofits, making it clear that in the fight against homelessness, everyone has a role to play.

Learn more about Family Promise of Hamilton County: https://www.familypromisehamiltoncountyin.org/

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This month at Harden Digital and Design, we're highlighting the selfless work of nonprofits that hold a special place in our hearts. Riley and Kaylee get personal, peeling back the layers on their partnerships with these life-changing organizations. It's a journey of passion meeting purpose, where we've committed our expertise at gracious rates to elevate their missions—starting with the remarkable Phi Beta Psi, a non-academic sorority funding cancer research that resonates deeply with its members.

Navigating the ebbs and flows of sorority involvement, we dissect the tactics that keep the spirit of camaraderie alive amidst an ever-shifting landscape. Discussing the poignant interweaving of legacy and kinship, we confront the conundrum of engaging a new generation in age-old traditions. As Kaylee recounts her steps to bolster their digital footprint, including a website overhaul with Kelly from the Virginia chapter, we reveal the nitty-gritty of enhancing public engagement and untangling the web of maintaining a unified brand identity.

Wrapping up, we don't just stop at web presence; we examine the myriad ways in which fundraising and marketing can shape the future of philanthropy. From the sell-out success of Bags and Bingo to the intricacies of planning community fairs, we're pulling back the curtain on the endeavors and challenges of nonprofit events. Stay tuned for our next heart-to-heart, where we'll share stories that are more than just close to our hearts—they're part of our soul here at Harden Digital & Design.

Phi Beta Psi - Theta Delta Chapter Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhiBetaPsiTipton

Phi Beta Psi - Theta Delta Chapter Website: https://www.phibetapsitipton.org/

Phi Beta Psi National Website: https://www.phibetapsi.org/

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Prepare to be whisked away on a whirlwind recap of Harden Digital and Design's year of social media feats and foresight, as Hannah and Riley reveal the sheer magic behind our most viral moments and heartwarming campaigns.

From the local business boom for a chiropractic office courtesy of social media to the finesse of blending meteorology with social content, we traverse the peaks and valleys of online trends from 2023. Our trek doesn't stop there—we peer into the crystal ball of 2024, plotting a course for uncharted territories in social media landscapes.

Hannah's one-year mark with Harden Digital & Design is no small milestone—it's a celebration of the spark and spontaneity that's fueled our journey with clients like Anchor Health. This episode unfurls the story of our creative alliance, revealing the behind-the-scenes intricacies of content approval, the tightrope walk between autonomy and client collaboration, and the unexpected voyages into niche markets like the pickleball community.

As we map out the content creation odyssey, this episode stitches together the patchwork of triumphs, trials, and the learning curve of creating more than 3,000 posts across diverse industries last year.

We reflect on the serendipitous moments that have given us our unique flair, and the pledge to keep that spark alive with a renewed commitment to our own content creation this year with the podcast and blog. So gear up, subscribe, and join us for the adventure ahead—it's one you won't want to miss.

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Prepare to have your design sensibilities both challenged and charmed as we reunite with Kaylee, our graphic design maestro. Together, we untangle the vibrant web of 2023's design trends, from the AI-generated self-portraits flooding our feeds to the loud and proud maximalist movement. This episode promises not just a critical look at the past year's visual highs and lows but also a leap into the prophecy of 2024's aesthetic evolution. We debate the delicate equilibrium between eye-catching and eye-watering designs, emphasizing the intrinsic value of whitespace and simplicity amidst the chaos of modern media.

Kaylee's penchant for precision shines through as we take a kaleidoscopic tour of design applied across social media, music, and urban art. We predict a comeback for the stark statements of bold typography and solid colors, while giving a nod to the art form that's gone from street to chic – graffiti. Our conversation becomes a vivid mural of thoughts on design's role in culture, as we discuss the transformative power of striking fluorescent hues and ponder whether the pixelated nostalgia of yesteryear will pixelate its way back into our hearts.

As we wrap up our session, we're tossing the confetti of admiration onto the bygone artistry of the 70s, 80s, and 90s. The discussion is a fond jaunt down memory lane, revisiting the warm palettes and dynamic designs that have shaped our visual landscape. We critically examine poster designs through the decades, from the 90s' grungy collage style to the 2010s' sleek rebranding wave, savoring the simplicity and impact of yesteryear's icons. Kaylee's insights leave us with an appreciation for design that stands the test of time, and perhaps a bit of that time-honored truth: sometimes less really is more.

Need help with your next design project? Reach out to Kaylee today: https://hardendigital.com/contact-us/

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When an impromptu idea catches on like wildfire, you know it's something special. That's the story of the Best of Tipton campaign, where Kaylee and I watched in awe as what started as a thought transformed into a community celebration that honored the standout individuals and businesses of Tipton. We're peeling back the curtain to share the entire journey, from the nervous anticipation of getting enough nominees to the tidal wave of community support that flooded in, showcasing the best of what Tipton has to offer.

Technical glitches and finding the perfect online voting system became an unexpected side quest in our campaign saga. But isn't that just like the Tipton spirit—undaunted in the face of a challenge? The behind-the-scenes chaos turned into a triumph of community engagement, as we saw an incredible number of votes cast within the first day. It's a chapter filled realization that our residents are as invested in this town's success as we are.

The final act of our tale is one of joyous celebration and a little bit of star-struck wonder as we connected with the beating heart of Tipton's local scene. As we wrap up the episode, there's a palpable excitement about the stories yet to be told by our winners and finalists—real people who make Tipton the vibrant community we love. Stay tuned for those episodes; they're going to be as sweet as South Pole's ice cream, the undisputed dessert champion of our polls.

View the full Best of Tipton Results: https://hardendigital.com/best-of-tipton
Support the Digital Wrap-Up: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1525549/supporters/new
Latest Social Media News: https://www.socialmedia6.com/

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As the CEO of Harden Digital and Design, I've witnessed first-hand the rollercoaster ride that was 2023, and I'm eager to share with you the highs, lows, and standout moments that have shaped our company in the last year. Together with Kaylee, we're pulling back the curtain to give you an inside look at our strategic expansions, the acquisition of new clients, and even some of the not-so-great moments. Our conversation is a treasure trove of insights and musings that will leave you inspired and ready to tackle your own business challenges.

Join us as we recount the intricate web of website redesigns and launches that have defined the past year. We dissect the pivotal role of aesthetics and content in driving online success, and delve into the nuances of managing client expectations, especially within the social media realm. It's a raw and revealing discussion about the delicate balance of serving clients while honing our own internal strategies. Plus, we touch on how our connection to the Tipton County community has not only enriched our work but also allowed us to give back in meaningful ways, setting the stage for our future goals.

Step into the future with us as we reflect on the valuable lessons learned from community engagement and the significance of solidifying contracts in our day-to-day operations. Kaylee and I expose our personal ambitions, from expanding portfolios to exploring new ventures like product photography, and we candidly tackle the complex task of setting fair pricing strategies for our services. We're setting our sights high for the coming year, aiming to churn out compelling content weekly. So, stay tuned, because if you thought this past year was a whirlwind, you won't want to miss what's next on Harden Digital and Design's horizon.

Subscribe to the Social Media Six: https://www.socialmedia6.com/subscribe
Contact Harden Digital & Design for help with social media: https://hardendigital.com/social-media-services/

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Ever wondered why your social media presence isn't giving you the business boost you expected? Prepare to have your concerns addressed and questions answered as we pull back the veil on outsourcing social media management. We guide you through the journey of allowing professionals to take the reins of your social media, freeing up your time and maximizing your online potential. The insights we share will illuminate how this process works starting from the contract signing, to understanding your business goals for a tailored strategy, and managing expectations for the best outcomes.

Now, imagine you've decided to hire a marketing firm to spruce up your business's social media persona. We get down to the nitty-gritty of what this entails. It's all about setting realistic expectations, adapting the content as needed and allowing for a buffer period to assess the effectiveness of the partnership. This episode is packed with invaluable insights, whether you're considering outsourcing your social media or you're a marketing firm eager to deliver top-notch service for your clients.

Plus, we have some exciting news on the latest updates on various platforms, including the expansion of Threads to the EU and the introduction of keyword search. Stick around to the end for a thrilling announcement about a new initiative from our team.

Subscribe to the Social Media Six: https://www.socialmedia6.com/subscribe
Contact Harden Digital & Design for help with social media: https://hardendigital.com/social-media-services/

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In this episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Kaylee is back to talk about the best Christmas color combinations for decorations and your designs. Kaylee and Riley also debate if it's too early to be all-in on Christmas right after Halloween or not.

This week's social media updates include some legal issues happening with Meta over privacy and its use of the "Threads" name. Riley also provides an update to polls coming to Instagram.

Take your Twitter experience to the next level with HypeFurry: https://hypefury.com/?via=riley-harden

Need help managing all your social media accounts? Vista Social is the perfect solution: https://vistasocial.com/?fpr=riley47

Support the Digital Wrap-Up: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1525549/supporters/new

0:00 - Introduction: Riley introduces the show and talks about the Harden Digital & Design YouTube channel.

2:37 - Social Media Updates: This week's social media updates focus heavily on some legal issues Meta is going through right now. Meta is currently in a legal fight over the name of "Threads" for its Twitter clone. It is also in an ongoing legal disputes about privacy concerns in Europe. Riley also provides an update to the polls feature coming to Instagram.

15:13 - Too Early for Christmas?: Kaylee joins the show and the two get into a debate about whether or not it's too early for Christmas. They talk about decorating their houses, Christmas music, Christmas sales for businesses and more.

27:07 - Color Combinations Intro: Riley introduces the main topic for the discussion with Kaylee - her top 10 color combinations for Christmas.

30:24 - #10 Silver and Gold

31:30 - #9 Red and Lime Green

33:13 - #8 Red and Gold

35:57 - #7 Red and Silver/Grey

37:20 - #6 Black and Red

38:46 - #5 Blue and Gold

40:49 - #4 Gold and White

42:14 - #3 Shades of Green

44:15 - #2 Black and Gold

47:01 - #1 All White Everything

51:16 - Dishonorable Mention: Traditional Red and Green

52:45 - Kaylee's House: The two talk about the decorations and Christmas theme of Kaylee's house each year.

55:36 - Christmas Colors of the Future: Kaylee talks about future themes or color combinations she thinks we might see more of in the future and wrap up the conversation.

1:04:26 - Conclusion: Riley wraps up this week's episode.

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In this episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Kaylee joins the show to talk about outdated graphic design concepts that should have been left in the past awhile ago. Riley also talks about the new show format and breaks down some of the latest social media platform updates currently being tested.

Support the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1525549/supporters/new

0:00-1:43 - Introduction: Riley introduces the show and talks about the cold weather that arrived out of nowhere.

1:44-12:15 - Social Media Updates: Riley highlights some of the biggest social media platform updates currently in testing, including: Instagram feed polls, Instagram nearby stories, Meta Verified only feeds, 15 minute TikTok videos and more.

12:16-13:30 - New Digital Show Format: Riley talks about the new format to the show that will feature social media updates, followed by a more in-depth discussion or interview on a specific topic each week.

13:31-15:29 - Kaylee Is Back on the Show: Kaylee is welcomed back to the show after a few weeks off. The two provide an overview of what the types of graphic design concepts they'll be discussing in the interview.

15:30-18:57 - Double Spacing After a Period: Do you double space after your sentences? This concept is so outdated (it started with typewriters people...). Stop double spacing. 18:58-24:54 - Filling Every Inch of Space and Leaving No White Space: The need to fill every inch of white space is a very outdated design concept. White space is your friend in most designs (and websites too!). Too much text/content in a graphic or design makes it feel too congested.

24:55-30:50 - Script Fonts: Script fonts don't make your designs look fancy. It doesn't increase the "value" of your design if you use script fonts. A lot of times, it actually makes it harder to read, instead of making it look better. Kaylee also talks about designing full wedding packages for clients.

30:51-37:56 - Literal Logo Designs: Logos do not need to be super literal to get their point across. The two talk about a very popular logo design for construction companies with the same type of roof/window logo. The two give some examples of some of the most well-known brands with non-literal logos.

37:57-43:19 - Circular Logos: Kaylee talks about how over-used logos with circle outlines and the name of the business in the middle are. Logos with only the name of the of the business in the middle aren't true logos in that sense. They are very limiting in what you can use them on/with.

43:20-50:00 - Outlining Text: This is Kaylee's rant session of the podcast. Outlining text makes it so much harder to read the text most times. Kaylee strongly thinks that you should never, ever use outlined text. Riley challenges her on one example of outlining text he uses with one of his clients.

50:01-55:08 Interview Wrap-Up: Riley asks Kaylee about one more font that really drives him crazy. The two also talk about some other outdated trends for websites and discuss an upcoming podcast topic that Kaylee will be on the show for soon.

55:09-57:23 - Final Thoughts: Riley thanks Kaylee one last time and re-visits the new show format before wrapping up.

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In this Episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley sits down with dog musher Quince Mountain of Bravermountain Mushing. The two talk about all things social media, dog mushing and life as digital creators, with a few other fun topics mixed in.

Support the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1525549/supporters/new

Introduction: 0:00-2:06 - Riley talks about Quince's background and how he was able to interview him at a recent sled dog race.

How Riley was introduced to Quince and Bravermountain Mushing: 2:06-7:10 - Riley talks about how he first found Quince and Blair and the #UglyDogs community. He tells the story of how the Meteorology camp with the dog named Boo played an interesting part in Riley and Hannah's relationship.

Bravermountain/#UglyDogs Online Community: 7:11-14:18 - Q talks about how he and Blair use social media for Bravermountain Mushing and how the community (#UglyDogs) emerged.

Authenticity on Social Media: 14:19-20:19 - Riley asks Q if he feels more pressure to post consistently on social media since he has a bigger following who might expect more content.

How to Avoid Negativity: 20:20-28:52 - Q talks about how positive the online community around the mushing team is. The two also talk about building a community that focuses on quality over quantity.

How to Show Up Consistently, Without Losing Quality: 28:53-32:53 - Riley talks about creating quality content and his gold standard of businesses posting three times a week on social media.

The Hotel Room: 32:54-38:29 - The interview is taking place in Riley and Hannah's hotel room and Q breaks down the room and all the crap the two have thrown all over the place.

How Harden Digital & Design Works with Clients: 38:30-43:24 - Riley talks about how he works with clients to create content, whether they are local or far away. The two of them also talk about how just because you know how to post, doesn't mean you should for your business.

What the Algorithm Show Us: 43:25-54:37 - Hannah joins the conversation and the three talk about what types of content the different platforms algorithms show each of them. Hannah and Riley also share their new-found passion of Farming Simulator with Q.

Hannah and Riley's Relationship Again: 54:38-57:21 - Q circles back to the story of how Riley and Hannah became closer and eventually started dating because of Boo and Bravermountain Mushing.

Wrapping Things Up: 57:22-1:05:42 Riley and Q talk about continuing to learn, grow and try new things to end their conversation.

Show End: 1:05:43-1:10:38 - If you want to learn more about Quince Mountain and the Bravermountain Mushing team, check them out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bravermountain.

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How should schools be utilizing social media? What platforms should schools be using? What are some things schools should make sure they aren't posting?

In the latest Digital Wrap-Up, Riley answers these questions and more in a recent interview he did with a client of his. The interview was with Joel Rogers from EvaluWise. EvaluWise is the single most effective digital tool for streamlining and improving the teacher evaluation process, regardless of the evaluation model you are using.

The interview was used for their annual users' conference with school administrators and teachers.

This repurposed interview answers a lot of great questions geared specifically for schools, but also, a lot of these tips can be beneficial for small businesses as well.

Want to discuss best practices for your school or small business? Reach out to Riley today at riley@hardendigital.com.

If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, visit https://bit.ly/DigitalWrapUp.

For a free social media consultation, visit https://hardendigital.com/social-media-services/.

Take your social media to the next level with HypeFurry: https://hypefury.com/?via=riley-harden

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In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Kaylee joins the show to talk ask all her questions about TikTok.

Kaylee is a novice when it comes to TikTok, so she fires off her long list of questions about the platform for Riley to answer on the fly. Her questions cover everything from creating content as an influencer, how specific features work, whether your business should be on TikTok and much more!

If you're new to creating videos on TikTok or are a social media looking to up your company's TikTok strategy, this episode is great for you!

Be sure to follow Harden Digital on TikTok for more great videos and tips: https://www.tiktok.com/@hardendigital

If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, visit https://bit.ly/DigitalWrapUp.

For a free social media consultation, visit https://hardendigital.com/social-media-services/.

Take your social media to the next level with HypeFurry: https://hypefury.com/?via=riley-harden

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In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, we have content creator Nate Frederick on the show to talk all things making money through social media.

Nate is now a recurring guest, and was actually the very first guest on the Digital Wrap-Up back in episode 4.

During the interview, we discuss short-form video vs long-form video and which one he's having more success with. Which platforms is he getting more views and making more money on? Is it Tik Tok, Instagram, YouTube? We talk about his strategy to adapt to which platforms are on trend and running with them.

If you're looking to grow your YouTube presence, you'll want to tune in to this interview as well. We spend quite a bit of time breaking down which YouTube analytics you should be paying the most attention to, how to create catchy thumbnails and testing out different titles until one sticks.

The main theme throughout the episode relates back to how you can start monetizing your social media presence across all the platforms. It doesn't take a huge following to start making money. There are ways you can utilize your social media accounts to drive traffic to other outlets (lead magnet, website, email sign-up, etc.) where you can then start to monetize as well.

Everything in this episode can be a resource for both content creators and businesses who are looking to be more effective and grow on social media.

Watch the full interview on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@hardendigital

Be sure to give Nate a follow on all his channels:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@aroundthefiremedia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aroundthefiremedia/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aroundthefiremedia
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aroundthefiremedia

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In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Kaylee joins the show to talk about expectations businesses should have when reaching out to design agencies, freelancers, etc. for graphic design (or any) work.

This conversation stems from several painful experiences that Kaylee and Riley have both experienced in their years of meeting with individuals who need to hire them for various types of marketing work.

The expectations discussed include:

We can't read minds
We can't always turn projects around in two days - don't come last second and expect to get it turned around right away
We can't use photos pulled from social media - we need quality photos (or you need to hire us to do photos as well)
We aren't experts in your field - we need additional info to help us understand your profession and what you're needing (and don't use acronyms!)
Always double check if the design agency prints your products for you or not
Come prepared with the right sizes you need for all designs
Time is money - this is what we do to make a living. We can't do things for free, no matter how much we know/like you

The last point on the list is the one that Kaylee feels most passionate about. As an industry, we are undervalued and people assume we can do things for cheap/free for various reasons.

That's simply not the case. Our time is valuable. The time we spend on your project is time we could be spending on other work as well. Don't expect us to do things for cheap or free. We have to make a living too.

And from the Harden Digital & Design standpoint, our prices are low compared to the industry standard. So when we get people who try and guilt us into doing things for cheaper than what we price, it's a real frustrating experience.

Are we passionate about this topic? Yes, because we've experienced it countless times.

If you are a business owner looking for help, hopefully this conversation can give you a better understanding of our processes and why we do things the way we do.

In the end, it's to save us both time and save you money.

Tune in to hear the rest of Kaylee's personal rant section ;)

If you'd like to support the Digital Wrap-Up, visit https://bit.ly/DigitalWrapUp.

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Have you heard the news? Threads was released this week. What exactly is Threads? It's Instagram's version of Twitter, which focuses on open conversation among users.

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Hannah joins the podcast to discuss all things Threads. Riley and her discuss first impressions, features they like and dislike, what could be added to make the platform better and much more.

Tune in to learn how to set up your account and join the more than 40+ million new users (at time of publishing this episode) on the new Threads platform!

Threads' release comes on the heels of Elon Musk causing some major drama over at Twitter last week when he introduced tweet limits. It was not received well across the Twitter universe..

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Will Artificial Intelligence take over social media in the near future?

It's a question Riley discusses in this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up!

Artificial Intelligence, or AI for short, is the hot topic on the internet right now, and for good reason. It's being used for new applications almost daily. You've heard of Chat GPT, right?

So with AI becoming so prominent in many different aspects of our lives, how will it make its impact on social media?

We're already beginning to see social media management softwares implement AI caption writing into their platforms.

Will it go beyond just caption writing? Will AI take over the role of the social media manager?

Riley doesn't believe so. He explains why in the episode.

Let us know what you think about AI in social media! Tweet us: @HardenDigital.

Enjoy the podcast? You can directly support the show by visiting http://bit.ly/DigitalWrapUp.

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Is #artificialintelligence taking over #Photoshop? Artificial, commonly called #AI, seems to be taking over everything in the digital world, and it's now infiltrated Photoshop as well.

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley has Harden Digital & Design Creative Director, Kaylee, on the show to talk about the recent update to Photoshop after videos have gone viral showing the new AI feature.

This feature can create backgrounds out of nothing. Add random objects into your photos and make it look like it was meant to be there. The possibilities of this new feature seem to be endless. But how well will it work right away? Are there any downsides to this new feature and AI in general?

Tune in to find out!

Support the Digital Wrap-Up: http://bit.ly/DigitalWrapUp.

smallbusiness #digitalmarketingagency #photography #photoediting

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In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley recaps his experience at #VeeCon2023.

Riley and Hannah both had the awesome opportunity to attend VeeCon this year in Indianapolis. It started with the chance to teach pickleball to people from all over the world and led to them getting to meet and hear from some amazing celebrities.

VeeCon was a chance to combine both work and play for the two. Yes, Riley talks about #pickleball, but he breaks down the conference speakers first, for all of you non-pickleball lovers out there.

Do you enjoy watching the Digital Wrap-Up? You can support the show by visiting https://bit.ly/DigitalWrapUp. Your support directly impacts the show and allows Riley and Harden Digital & Design to continue producing quality content each week.

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Want to start an online store for your business, podcast, streaming channel, etc.?

In this episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley walks you through the steps of easily setting up your online store using Printful and Shopify!

Harden Digital & Design recently launched their own online store selling merch, and Riley talks about the process he used to launch it. Using Printful (https://www.printful.com/) and Shopify (https://www.shopify.com/) make it easier than ever to get your online store up and running in just a few steps.

While it is relatively easy to do, that doesn't mean it isn't time-consuming. BUT once you set your store up once, this print-on-demand style of online store allows you to be hands off after that (aside from promoting your store like crazy!).

Have any questions? Shoot Riley an email: riley@hardendigital.com.

Check out the Harden Digital & Design store: https://hardendigital.shop/.

Support the Digital Wrap-Up: http://bit.ly/DigitalWrapUp

Support the show

Support the show: https://bit.ly/DigitalWrapUp

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley discusses the importance and value of investing in software for your small business.

Spending money as a small business owner can be challenging when you don't see an immediate return. When talking about software, you don't always see an immediate monetary return, but the investment is well worth it - if you do your research and spend your money on the RIGHT software.

That's one lesson Riley has learned in his time as being a small business owner.

Why is it so important to invest in software? At the core of it, most software is designed to make your job easier in one way or another. Whether it automates a task that would take you twice as long to complete or simplifies your business processes to free up more of your time, software is your friend and it's worth the investment.

Harden Digital & Design now spends nearly $800 on software alone each month. But Riley says he can't imagine what running the business would be like if he didn't have each one of those softwares.

Most of the software he uses daily. If not daily, at least every week. In this episode, Riley breaks down all the different software Harden Digital & Design pays for on a monthly basis to give you a glimpse into why he believes investing in software is so valuable.

Follow Harden Digital & Design on #socialmedia:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

Support the show: https://bit.ly/DigitalWrapUp

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley introduces the newest member of the Harden Digital & Design team, Hannah Carpenter.

Hannah is the first full-time employee at Harden Digital & Design, aside from owners Riley & Kaylee. She is our Account Manager, so she manages most of our social media clients, along with creating content for the Harden Digital & Design social media accounts.

In this episode, we discuss Hannah's background before joining the team and get her thoughts on how things have been going in the world of content creation for our clients.

We talk about some of her favorite things to do for the clients she manages and also some of the difficulties she has faced so far. As we talk about, there's a lot more that goes into managing social media accounts for businesses besides getting their passwords and starting posting content right away.

One of the biggest challenges she's dealt with so far is learning more about some of the clients she works with. The onboarding and learning phases for each new client can take a month or more sometimes.

Why's that? Because while we are experts in creating content, the ins and outs of the platforms and strategy behind the scenes, we don't always know everything about a company from the beginning. It can be a learning curve, as Hannah discusses in this week's podcast.

While there are some challenges, she has been enjoying the content creation side. Especially for our chiropractic client. She's finding a lot of success growing their TikTok and Instagram accounts through the videos she's producing.

Tune in for all of this and more in this week's episode! And by more, we mean a preview of our new intern, Boo the sled dog!

Follow Harden Digital & Design on #socialmedia:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

socialmediamanager #contentcreation #podcast #digitalmarketing #contentcreator #accountmanager

Support the show: https://bit.ly/DigitalWrapUp

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Harden Digital & Design Creative Director, Kaylee, breaks down her top choices for the color combinations you MUST avoid when designing. From yellow on red to pastels and pink, Kaylee has some strong feelings about some of the color combinations out there.

When designing, color combinations can be the difference between a great design and an absolutely horrendous design. Colors are what make designs pop. They drive people to look at your design. Often times, they're what make your design memorable.

But you don't want to be remembered for the wrong reasons, like a terrible color combination. We've all seen them before: those ads, billboards, banners alongside the road. There's nothing worse than seeing some type of design and cringey because it looks so bad.

From yellow on red to pastels and pink, Kaylee has some strong feelings about some of the color combinations out there.

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

Support the show: bit.ly/DigitalWrapUp

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley takes a look back at Harden Digital & Design in 2022.

A lot has changed for the business in the past 12 months, and specifically in the past 6-7 months. Most of it has been exciting. Some of it has been stressful. Riley spends some time talking about the ups and the downs of "re-launching" Harden Digital and some of the biggest accomplishments of the new business.

Riley also previews what is on the radar for 2023, including new services and goals for Harden Digital & Design.

If you enjoy the Digital Wrap-Up and want to continue getting great content each week, please consider supporting the show at https://bit.ly/DigitalWrapUp.

Be sure to follow Harden Digital & Design on social media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

Are you using LinkedIn effectively to attract more people to your business? In this episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Harden Digital & Design CEO Riley Harden breaks down some of the best tips to help your business reach more people on LinkedIn.

Using LinkedIn effectively (and all social media platforms for that matter) takes more than just throwing up a post every once in awhile when you have time. It starts with how you set up your business page. Is your page fully set-up and optimized to be discoverable on Google and LinkedIn's search features?

Once your page is optimized for success, it's time to consistently show up and be engaging with your followers.

Riley covers all of this and more in this episode! Tune in to hear the top industry tips and start putting together a strategy for success on LinkedIn!

If you'd like more information on how to effectively manage your company's LinkedIn presence, please reach out to Riley at https://hardendigital.com/contact-us/.

When is the best time to post on social media? This is a question we get asked a lot at Harden Digital & Design. In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley gives his expert advice on how to decide the best times to post for your channels.

We'll give you a hint...

There's no "one size fits all" answer to this question. There are several different factors at play that can influence when you should be posting to different social media platforms.

Tune in as Riley discusses those factors and helps listeners better understand why this question is so difficult to answer.

If your business needs help looking at analytics and developing a sound strategy to grow, reach out to Harden Digital & Design today at https://hardendigital.com/contact-us/.

Harden Digital & Design Social Media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

Top 5 Graphic Design Mistakes

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley is joined by Harden Digital & Design Creative Director, Kaylee Stewart.

The two of them discuss the top 5 mistakes that people make when creating graphics for social media, print and digital. Kaylee has been a graphic designer for more than 10 years and brings a diverse background in the design world to the discussion.

Tune in as she breaks down the biggest mistakes she commonly sees and offers her advice on how to avoid them.

If you or your business are looking for graphic design assistance, reach out to us today at https://hardendigital.com/contact-us.

To see a full listing of the graphic design services we offer here at Harden Digital & Design, visit https://hardendigital.com/graphic-design-services/.

If you like watching podcasts on YouTube, the Digital Wrap-Up is now on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@hardendigital. Be sure to subscribe to the channel and turn on post notifications!

Be sure to follow Harden Digital & Design on social media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Harden Digital & Design CEO Riley Harden breaks down the top 5 social media analytics you should be looking at each month to measure your performance.

It's not always about the number of new followers you gain, as Riley explains why followers can be a vanity metric to keep track of.

So what are his top 5? Tune in to find out!

Riley also gives an update on the latest with Twitter since last week. Not a lot of major developments in the past few days, but at least Twitter is still up and running!

AND... Riley finally hit the 10,000 views mark on one of his TikTok videos!

If you like watching podcasts on YouTube, the Digital Wrap-Up is now on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@hardendigital. Be sure to subscribe to the channel and turn on post notifications!

If you or your business needs help managing your social media presence or needs help dissecting your analytics, reach out to Harden Digital & Design at https://hardendigital.com/contact-us/.

Riley is back with a new episode of the Digital Wrap-Up! After a couple month hiatus from recording an episode, Riley breaks down all the craziness that is happening at Twitter.

Elon Must officially bought Twitter a few weeks ago, and it's been a madhouse ever since. In this episode, Riley talks about the biggest news that Elon Musk has rained down on Twitter, including laying off 3,700 employees and roughly 4,000 contractors, the new Twitter Blue subscription and "verification" and the potential for Twitter no longer existing.

Every day there is something new that comes out from Elon/Twitter, so it's hard to stay on top of all the developments. Riley will do his best to update the latest news on the Digital Wrap-Up each week.

Follow him on Twitter @rileyharden or the Harden Digital Twitter @hardendigital for all the latest news and developments. (That's if Twitter doesn't crash completely...)

If you like watching podcasts on YouTube, the Digital Wrap-Up is now on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@hardendigital. Be sure to subscribe to the channel and turn on post notifications!

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley discusses the number one reason he believes small businesses need help managing their social media accounts.

This topic has been on Riley's mind recently as he's had consultations with a couple different potential clients this week. At the end of both consultations, he came to the same conclusion: small business owners simply don't have the time to manage their social media presence and run the rest of their business at the same time.

Riley also spends some time in this episode talking about a few of the different marketing campaigns Harden Digital & Design is using now that they've been open for three weeks in their new office. From the launch of the podcast, Riley has been dedicated to sharing the journey of his business adventure from startup to success. He is open and transparent about how his different marketing tactics are working.

Tune in for more!

Be sure to follow Harden Digital & Design on social media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

It's been one week since CEO Riley Harden and his business partner launched Harden Digital & Design.

After the initial stress relief and excitement of finally releasing the new brand, Riley was back to work getting everything set up on the backend of the business. In this episode, he talks about the struggles he's currently facing, like getting all the payroll, taxes and insurance set up.

While the hard work is 100% worth it for him, it has been very stressful trying to figure out how to set up a business with no prior experience. But there's always exciting things to look forward to with the business, and he highlights a few of those things coming up.

Tune in to hear more about his experience as a CEO of a (sort of) new business!

Be sure to follow Harden Digital & Design on social media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

If you or your business needs any social media, graphic design, website design or any marketing in help in general, visit us at hardendigital.com and get in contact with us today!

After a month off, the Digital Wrap-Up is back and Riley brings a lot of exciting news about the direction of his business, Harden Digital.

Riley welcomes on his first in-person guest to the podcast, Kaylee Stewart, to talk about the new direction of the business. Tune in to the episode to hear the two talk about the new partnership, name of the business and new services that Harden Digital is now offering.

Be sure to check out the new website at hardendigital.com as well!

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share with your friends and family!

Follow Harden Digital & Design on social media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, host Riley Harden shares his thoughts on the three major short-form video apps and which you should be using.

Short-form video took the world by storm when TikTok blew up in 2020. Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts followed suit not long after. But which one should you be posting your content on?

There are multiple different factors to consider, and Riley breaks down his experiences with posting to the three different platforms in this week's episode. Based on his experiences so far, Riley provides listeners with his ranking of the three.

Enjoy the Digital Wrap-Up? Please leave a review on whichever platform you're listening on.

If you need help managing your company's social media accounts, need a new website or just want to chat with Riley, send him a message at riley@hardendigital.com!

Follow Harden Digital on social media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley talks with entrepreneur Inbal Claudio.

Riley and Inbal discuss some of the challenges she has faced starting two different businesses and how her new platform aims to connect businesses with social media influencers.

Inbal was born in Israel, and aside from a 4-year stint in North Carolina has spent the majority of her life in Southern California where she currently lives with her husband and 2 little daughters. As a candle maker, turned tech founder, her passion for networking with women entrepreneurs has led her to create Like Minded Collective, an influencer marketing platform and social community where female visionaries can collaborate and grow.

Influencer marketing can be huge for small businesses, but finding influencers can be hard, especially finding ones to meet your budget. That is what led Inbal to create her new platform, Like Minded Collective.

You can get a 10-day free trial by visiting https://likemindedcollective.com/. If you message Inbal on the Like Minded Collective Instagram account, @like.minded.collective, she will also give you 50% your first month!

If you are looking to hire a social media influencer for your next big product launch, project, etc., make sure you check out Like Minded Collective!

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review on whichever platform you're listening on.

If you need help managing your company's social media accounts, need a new website or just want to chat with Riley, send him a message at riley@hardendigital.com!

Follow Harden Digital on social media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley revisits an Instagram feature that is now available to all users.

Instagram released a new feature on June 7 that allows users to pin up to three posts - photos or reels - to the top of their profile. This feature has been in testing the last few months but has officially launched to all users globally. Riley discussed this feature back in Episode 22 of the Digital Wrap-Up.

Pinning a post is easy - click on the post you want to pin, tap the three dots in the upper right hand corner, and hit "pin to your profile". This feature will allow users to be more creative and customize the appearance of their profiles. Businesses and content creators alike can really benefit from this feature, just like they have on the other platforms like Twitter and Facebook.

Instagram is also testing out another similar feature that will allow users even more flexibility and creativity on the appearance of their profiles which by allowing users to rearrange their grids. This feature is not available yet, but Instagram is always trying to find more ways to allow more creativity on its platform.

If you enjoyed this episode and it was beneficial to you, please leave a review on whichever platform you listen to your podcasts!

And as always, follow Harden Digital on social media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley talks about a common misconception on Instagram: Shadowbans.

When your content on Instagram starts reaching less people and getting less engagement, it's easy to blame it on "shadowbanning." When in reality, Instagram has confirmed there is no such thing on the platform.

So what's happening when your content isn't performing like it used to? Riley talks about that in this week's episode!

If you enjoyed this episode and it was beneficial to you, please leave a review on whichever platform you listen to your podcasts!

And as always, follow Harden Digital on social media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley talks about a new feature recently released by Facebook that will help business pages engage better with customers.

Recurring Notifications was introduced "to help businesses drive more meaningful conversations." This new feature will be on the Messenger Platform and is very similar to an email marketing platform, but specifically on Facebook.

Recurring Notifications allows businesses to send proactive, automated messages, to people who have opted in to receiving them, that drive re-engagement and keep the conversation going, right in the thread.

Learn more about all the details and how businesses should start using this new feature in this week's episode!

If your business is looking for help setting up Recurring Notifications or any aspect of your social media management, email Riley today at riley@hardendigital.com.

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review on whichever platform you listen to your podcasts!

And as always, follow Harden Digital on social media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley Harden speaks with Shahar Erez about the rapid shift in workforce from full-time employees to 1099 freelancers/contractors.

Shahar is the Co-founder and CEO of Stoke, an on-demand talent platform empowering companies to adopt a hybrid workforce model that scales as quickly and efficiently as needed.

Riley and Shahar talk about how the workforce has greatly shifted over the past decade and why there isn't much job security working for one company for your entire career. The 1099 workforce only continues to grow, and has sped up tremendously thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are many benefits to both being a freelancer and hiring a freelancer as a business owner and Riley and Shahar break them down. There are also risks involved, as with anything, and Shahar highlights some of them and how you can go about avoiding big mistakes.

After listening to the episode, if you have more questions about hiring freelancers, be sure to check out stoketalent.com for plenty of freelancer resources.

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review on whichever platform you listen to your podcasts!

And as always, follow Harden Digital on social media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley talks about the struggle of balancing time between working for your clients and focusing on your business.

As business owners, especially in a service-based industry, it's easy to fall into the trap of spending too much of your working hours on your clients and not prioritizing working on your business. This can be detrimental for future business growth and success.

So how can you as a business owner take back control of your time? Riley discusses some new techniques he's using to prioritize his time and effort. A couple of them he picked up while reading a new book and one he has learned over time from listening to other podcasts. These include more effectively using his calendar to schedule out his work days, creating a digital to-do list and automating several business processes.

Tune in to hear his best advice on these techniques that have helped him tremendously since he started implementing them.

If you are a business owner needing help managing your social media presence, visit Harden Digital at https://hardendigital.com/contact/ or email Riley at riley@hardendigital.com.

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review on whichever platform you listen to your podcasts!

And as always, follow Harden Digital on social media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley talks with Angela Mulrooney about the importance of personal branding.

Dr. Angela Mulrooney, known as The Arsonist, is a global speaker, best-selling author, and personal branding expert. Her expertise enables clients to change the world with what they know by influencing and captivating their clients through content, podcast appearances, and public speaking while increasing sales.

Personal branding is more important than ever, especially for business owners looking to be successful. Customers and clients are doing more research into the people behind the brand, and if you, as the owner, have a poor personal brand, that potential customer may move right on by.

In this episode, Angela talks about how to evaluate and grow your personal brand through platforms like LinkedIn, podcasts and speaking appearances. Tune in to learn more about how you can become a thought leader in your industry!

If you'd like to learn more about Angela's Company, Unleashing Influence, visit https://unleashinginfluence.com/.

If you enjoy this episode, please leave a review on whichever platform you listen to your podcasts!

And as always, follow Harden Digital on social media:
Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley is finally back at his home office to talk about a couple big social media topics.

First up: Elon Musk has officially bought Twitter after a lot of speculation about the deal actually going through. What does this mean for the future of Twitter? Riley breaks down three of the bigger topics Musk has openly discussed if he were to acquire the platform.

Next up: Instagram is beginning testing on two new features to help customize how your profile looks. One is a feature that has been available on other platforms for awhile now and one is unique to Instagram.

Tune in to hear Riley talk about the hottest news in the social media world this week.

If you enjoy this episode, please leave a review on whichever platform you listen to your podcasts!

And as always, follow Harden Digital on social media:
Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley dives into some of the challenges he's currently facing with Harden Digital. Though they are challenges, they mean good things are coming because the business continues to grow.

Growth means a lot of new learning as a business owner for Riley. From figuring out how to navigate brining on new employees in the near future to restructuring Harden Digital's tax classification, Riley has a lot to figure out in the coming months.

That is how life goes for a lot of business owners. There is no definite playbook for starting a business and growing. It often requires a lot of learning on the fly, which is exactly what Riley is going through right now.

Yes, owning a business has a ton of benefits and advantages, but it's not always smooth sailing. In this episode Riley shares some of his insights and thought processes as he navigates this challenging, yet exciting time for Harden Digital.

If you enjoy this episode, please leave a review on whichever platform you listen to your podcasts!

And as always, follow Harden Digital on social media:
Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

On this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley talks with John and Mark Cronin. John and Mark are the father-son team that founded John’s Crazy Socks, a social enterprise with a mission to spread happiness. John is an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, a speaker, an athlete and a dancer, who just happens to have Down syndrome.

Riley speaks with John and Mark about the story of John's Crazy Socks and how it has become the largest sock store. Their mission goes beyond selling socks, they simply want to spread happiness.

Learn more about their success and all of the great things they are doing in this week's episode!

Be sure to check out their new podcast, The Spreading Happiness Podcast with John and Mark (https://johnscrazysocks.com/pages/podcast), if you're looking for an uplifting weekly podcast.

Check out John's Crazy Socks at their website: https://johnscrazysocks.com/

Be sure to leave a review of the Digital Wrap-Up if you enjoyed this episode!

Follow Harden Digital on social media:
Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley talks with entrepreneur Sierra Wallizer about her journey from an initial product idea to running a successful business.

Sierra started her business, Kitelinens (https://kitelinens.com/), after she came up with the idea for sheets that stay tucked-in for her own personal use.

That idea sparked the start of her business after she found others may want the product as well.

So how did she take an idea for a product and turn it into a business? She talks about that journey in this week's episode. From finding a manufacturer, to overcoming design errors that required major damage control, to finding success and growing, Sierra breaks it down in her conversation with Riley.

If you're interested in Kitelinens, you can check them out at https://kitelinens.com/.

Be sure to leave a review of the Digital Wrap-Up if you enjoyed this episode!

Follow Harden Digital on social media:
Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley takes a break from interviews and spends time talking about a couple of new social media features that were released in the last couple of weeks.

First up, TikTok released TikTok Stories to more users across its platform. The new stories feature mirrors the likes of Instagram and Facebook stories and also introduces a photo-sharing option for the otherwise full video platform.

Will TikTok stories be as successful like Instagram Stories or will they flop like Fleets?

The next new feature Riley discusses is the new Instagram feed sorting options. Earlier this month, Instagram announced a new algorithm-free news feed that sorts posts in chronological order. Is this the newsfeed of the past that everyone so dearly loved?

Yes... and no. There are some steps you have to take to get to the newsfeed of old and it seems to be an inconvenience more than anything.

Find out what Riley thinks of both of these new social media features and if he thinks they'll be successful or not in this week's Digital Wrap-Up!

Be sure to leave a review of the Digital Wrap-Up if you enjoyed this episode!

Follow Harden Digital on social media:
Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley Harden talks with CatapultX Co-Founder and CEO, Zack Rosenberg.

Zack talks with Riley about his experience growing his business over the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. In some ways, Zack said, there was no better time to start his business. His team had more time and ability to tinker with the business to get their product right in ways they wouldn't have had otherwise in a normal, non-pandemic environment.

The two discuss both the challenges and opportunities that have presented themselves over the past two years that any entrepreneur, manager or employee can hopefully take away from the interview and implement within their business.

Zack shares insight into hiring the right employees, the growing importance of effective employee communication in the remote work world and how to keep a positive work culture.

If you are looking for help as an entrepreneur, aspiring business owner or anyone trying to reach a specific goal, you won't want to miss Zack's final piece of advice he shares at the end of the interview.

You can follow Zack on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/zackrosenberg/.

Check out CatapultX at https://www.catapultx.com/.

Be sure to leave a review of the Digital Wrap-Up if you enjoyed this episode!

Follow Harden Digital on social media:
Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley speaks with marketing guru Tim Fitzpatrick about how to take simple steps to develop a marketing plan.

Tim's main message is clear: marketing shouldn't be difficult. All you need is the RIGHT plan.

Riley and Tim spend some time breaking down the the different elements that make up a marketing plan. Businesses can follow Tim's simple, actionable advice on how to nail the marketing fundamentals that lay the foundation for long-term success.

If you want to reach out to Tim for more help on developing your next marketing plan, visit https://www.rialtomarketing.com/free-consultation-request/ and set up a free consultation with Tim!

On the call you'll discuss:

-Where is your business going?
-Where are you currently?
-Removing your marketing roadblocks.
-What other businesses just like yours have done to create success.

Be sure to leave a review of the Digital Wrap-Up if you enjoyed this episode!

Follow Harden Digital on social media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

On this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley talks with Hashtagslayer.com Founder Matthew Pierce.

Riley and Matthew break down the most common questions people have about using hashtags on Instagram.

Should you use all 30 hashtags? Should you use hashtags in the caption or in the first comment? Should you use hashtags that are over-saturated? Should you use trending hashtags even if they don't relate to your business/content?

Matthew answers all of these questions and more in this incredibly insightful episode.

Riley also learns more about Hashtagslayer.com and what the tool has to offer social media managers or the average Instagram user who is looking to grow their following.

Digital Wrap-Up listeners can get their first month with Hashtagslayer.com (https://www.hashtagslayer.com/) completely FREE by using coupon code HARDEN when signing up.

Use code HARDEN to get your first month FREE!

Head to hashtagslayer.com to learn more about how it can make hashtags easier for you, so you can spend your time and energy doing things you actually enjoy, like serving your clients and spending time with your family.

Be sure to leave a review of the Digital Wrap-Up if you enjoyed this episode!

Follow Harden Digital on social media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley speaks with Terry Begue, a fellow entrepreneur with 44 years of experience running a business.

Riley and Terry talk about a lot of great business ideas, with almost all of them leading back to one main idea: Focus on your customers if you want your business to succeed. They discuss the importance of being transparent and building that trust/relationship with your customers from the very beginning.

Terry also tackles the question of "Is the customer actually always right?"

Terry has owned and operated his house painting business for 44 years. And while he has seen huge success over the past couple of decades, it wasn't always as glamorous as it is now. Terry shares his story of building up his business and talks about some of the troubles and mistakes he made early on in his first 10 years that almost led him to bankruptcy.

But he was able to adapt and overcome by focusing on his customers and treating them right every step of the way.

To connect with Terry, find him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerryBegueSpeakerAuthor/

Get access to his new, free course: https://terrybegue.activehosted.com/f/3

Be sure to leave a review of the Digital Wrap-Up if you enjoyed this episode!

Follow Harden Digital on social media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley speaks with long-time digital marketer and entrepreneur Marco Torres.

Riley and Marco talk about the value of incentive-based marketing, how small businesses can stand out in such a crowded space, the power of automation for business owners and much, much more!

If you're a marketer or small business owner/entrepreneur, you won't want to miss the tips Marco provides in this episode.

Marco has been in the online and digital marketing game since it's early inception in the early 1990's. He started out with email marketing and has adapted his strategies over the past 25-30 years to grow his businesses.

You can learn more about Marco's business and take advantage of his special offer for listeners at https://marketingboost.com/podcast/.

Be sure to leave a review of the Digital Wrap-Up on whichever podcast platform you listen on!

Follow Harden Digital on social media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley talks with fellow Franklin College graduate (Go Griz!) Natalie Garrett. Natalie is currently the Public Relations Director for the Indiana Department of Transportation Seymour District.

Riley and Natalie talk about their shared experience, both attending Franklin College and working for the State of Indiana. Similar to Riley's experience with the state, Natalie took over her district's social media accounts when she started with INDOT.

Managing social media for a government agency provides its unique challenges and Riley and Natalie discuss a few of those. The social media atmosphere has changed a ton since most state agencies created accounts, but it's important for those agencies to continue to adapt and be creative to keep their audiences informed.

You can connect with Natalie on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ngarrett05/.

Be sure to leave a review of the Digital Wrap-Up on whichever podcast platform you listen on!

Follow Harden Digital on social media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/

In this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley highlights some of the exciting new things coming to the podcast. Mainly, Riley has been working on getting several new guests for the podcast through the networking service PodMatch.

Tune in to hear more about this exciting new adventure and direction the podcast is heading. Riley also highlights some of the things happening with Harden Digital since the last episode.

If you're looking into starting your own podcast, or already have one and want to get more guests on your show, consider using PodMatch. Use this link to let them know the Digital Wrap-Up sent you: https://podmatch.com/signup/digitalwrapup

Follow Harden Digital on social media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/
TikTok: @hardendigital

On this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley talks about his crazy month of January. After taking two weeks off from recording an episode, he explains the reasons why and what kept him so busy.

Riley talks about bringing on new clients, taking on a large website build and consulting for someone who get him into the public relations world... and fitting in a 10-day vacation right in the middle of the month.

January was the most successful month Harden Digital has had since it started in 2020. But with that success came a lot of long hours and stress. That seems to be common for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Special thank you to Joey Concannon with 99 Lives Music for the podcast music. Find him on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/99livesmusic

Follow Harden Digital on social media:

Twitter: @hardendigital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardenDigital
Instagram: @harden_digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harden-digital/
TikTok: @hardendigital

On this week's episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Riley talks about a topic that has been weighing on him a lot in the past year: social media burnout.

Burnout on social media can impact anyone who spends too much time endlessly scrolling through all the different platforms. But it can really take its toll on those who aren't as easily able to take a step back and disconnect: social media managers.

Riley spends some time this episode talking about his own experience going through a phase of severe social media burnout back in 2020 and provides some tips and resources to help mitigate the impact it can have.

More resources on social media burnout:

https://blog.hootsuite.com/ways-to-avoid-social-media-burnout/
https://later.com/blog/social-media-burnout/

Special thank you to Joey Concannon with 99 Lives Music for the podcast music. Find him on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/99livesmusic

On this episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, we talk with fellow entrepreneur Joey Concannon, who owns his own painting business and produces music on the side.

Joey and podcast host Riley Harden are long time friends, and now they find themselves 10 years out of high school both running successful businesses. But being a business owner isn't always as glamorous as it's made out to be.

Entrepreneurs face many challenges that they are often on their own to overcome. Joey and Riley spend some time talking about a few of their challenges and failures they've experienced owning their own businesses and how they've adapted and overcame.

Hear about some of the lessons they had to learn starting from scratch and some advice they have for aspiring or current entrepreneurs.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a review!

Special shoutout to Joey for creating the music for the Digital Wrap-Up. You can find more of Joey's music on his Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/99livesmusic)

Make sure to follow Joey's business, Midwest Painting Professionals, on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/midwestpaintingprofessionals/)

On this episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, we talk with Bill McCormick about LinkedIn sales and how to successfully leverage the platform.

Bill McCormick discovered the power of LinkedIn and social selling when he and his wife started their advertising specialty company. After successfully and consistently bringing on new clients by leveraging LinkedIn to build relationships and deliver value, he joined Social Sales Link as their CSO to teach others how to grow their businesses the way he grew theirs.

Bill has been teaching people how to grow their business by leveraging the power of LinkedIn for social selling, so they can start more sales conversations. It all comes down to converting connections to conversations through the power of LinkedIn.

In the episode, we talk about why LinkedIn is such a powerful platform for B2B sales and the different strategies to authentically sell on the platform.

Bill offers up the 5 biggest mistakes he sees sales professionals make on LinkedIn and ways to avoid them. He also outlines how to set up your profile to make it not look like only your resumé.

Be sure to connect with Bill on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/billmccormicksocialsaleslink/) and listen to his podcast "Making Sales Social" (https://socialsaleslink.com/podcast/).

Thank you for listening to another episode of the Digital Wrap-Up. Please download this episode and all the previous episodes and write us a review for a shoutout on an upcoming episode!

On this episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Harden Digital Owner Riley Harden talks with Meagan Hook, who is the Manager of Social Media for the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Among the several other social media platforms that she manages, Meagan also runs their TikTok account which has more than 171,000 followers and 3.5 million video likes.

Meagan offers a ton of great insight into creating content for TikTok, going live, why videos do or don't go viral and much more!

This episode is timely for Riley, as he recently launched the Harden Digital TikTok account @HardenDigital (https://www.tiktok.com/@hardendigital).

Be sure to check out Meagan and the Children's Museum of Indianapolis on TikTok @ChildrensMuseum (https://www.tiktok.com/@childrensmuseum).

In this episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, we cover a listener-submitted question: what's the difference between a Facebook Ad and Boosted Post?

We get asked this question often, so we figured it would be beneficial to break the two down. In the episode we provide the key features of each and which ones are more beneficial for different social media marketing goals.

If you have more specific questions after listening, please send us a message on Facebook or Twitter!

Facebook.com/hardendigital
Twitter: @hardendigital

In this episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Harden Digital Owner Riley Harden hosts his first interview with content creator Nate Frederick.

Nate makes content centered on his hobby: LARPing or Live Action Role Playing. Nate has been larping for over a decade and focuses on growing his hobby and his side hussle by making content for various social media platforms.

Riley and Nate talk about the different types of content and strategies Nate uses to reach his community. They discuss everything from niching down to a specific audience to creating a consistent posting schedule that works best for you.

There are a lot of good insights for aspiring content creators to take away from this episode.

Check out and support everything Nate (aka Godric Grai) is doing with his LARPing hobby and content creation at the links below!

Dragon Masters on Facebook
Dragon Masters Etsy Shop
Godric Grai on YouTube
Godric Grai on Facebook

In this episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Harden Digital Owner Riley Harden talks about the hottest forms of content on social media today: short form video.

What is short form video and is it worth it for you as a business owner, influencer, social media manager, etc.? Riley has two simple pieces of advice that he offers. This advice applies to not only short form video, but social media content creation in general. Listen and find out what he has to say!

To learn more about Harden Digital, visit hardendigital.com. To keep up with the daily happenings with Riley and his business, follow Harden Digital on Twitter @hardendigital.

In this episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Harden Digital Owner Riley Harden digs deeper into his decision to make his business more than just a side gig. Every business is different and no situation will ever be the exact same, but when nothing is holding you back besides fear... it's time to take the leap of faith! Listen as Riley talks about his journey and his decision to take the leap of faith after 1.5 years of running his business on the side.

To learn more about Harden Digital, visit hardendigital.com. To keep up with the daily happenings with Riley and his business, follow Harden Digital on Twitter @hardendigital.

In the first episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, Harden Digital Owner Riley Harden breaks down his goals for starting this new podcast venture.

Learn more about why he started this journey, how Harden Digital was started and where it is today and the direction the podcast will go in the future.

Riley is excited to share his business journey with his listeners and grow a community around the small business world.

To learn more about Harden Digital, visit hardendigital.com. To keep up with the daily happenings with Riley and his business, follow Harden Digital on Twitter @hardendigital.