The Crisp Digital Business Series: Emma Mills, Founder of MiPA

In our Crisp Digital Business Series, Founder Matt Crisp speaks to thought and business leaders on how digital is enabling their growth.

In the next interview in this series Matt speaks with Emma Mills, MD of Mi PA Ltd.

How many of us make full use of video in our digital marketing strategy? For a lot of us, it’s something on the wish list that never quite becomes a reality. Some of us have experimented a bit but never dived in like we know we should. Emma Mills is here to show us how video should be done and just how effective it can be.

Emma’s company, Mi PA, provides call answering services and PA support for business leaders who need to take routine tasks off of their to-do lists. In doing so they give themselves the breathing room to focus on doing what they’re best at. As Managing Director of Mi PA, Emma is a leading authority on managing time and resources to enable rapid growth. She shares her hard-earned expertise in an insightful weekly video series called Mi TV. We spoke to Emma about how she uses video to wow potential clients and create truly personal connections.

Matt: Hi Emma, thanks for chatting, how is digital enabling you to engage your markets?

Emma: I’ve been working predominantly and consistently with video since January 2017, when I came up with the concept for Mi TV. It’s a five minute video that goes out every week to my mailing list and is posted across our online platforms. Mi TV is all about creating value. We want to teach people how to make the most of their time, so they can understand just how important a single hour of the day can be – what you do with that tiny window can be incredibly valuable or incredibly wasteful. Mi TV gives you guidance on how to maximise your time and leverage it alongside other resources, like virtual or in-house employees.

One of the great things about Mi TV is that it doesn’t take a huge amount of my own time because I’ve streamlined the process. I map out the topics I want to talk about in advance and then we create a batch of content on a single day every month. It also isn’t necessary to script each video. I talk directly and personally to camera, which is both quick and effective.

Mi TV has done so many amazing things for us. At first, I wondered, “Is anyone even going to watch it?” But it has really worked, because we’ve been so consistent. I don’t for a minute think that any one person is watching every single week, but people have come to expect that we’ll always arrive in their inbox every Wednesday. They will keep coming back to our content over time. That means our referrals have gone through the roof, even without help from other forms of marketing. It has also really helped to position me as a credible expert in my field.

Matt: Nice! Which online platforms do you send your content out across?

Emma: We get the most out of YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn and my own personal Facebook page. Instagram is really effective because we can easily post a 60 second clip from a 5-7 minute video and can also put that on IGTV. I also use my personal Facebook as a business platform for making connections, which is why that works well. We do also embed the videos on our website but nowadays we tend to send subscribers directly to YouTube instead. That allows us to track views and engagement more accurately.

Matt: How are you leveraging digital to identify intent?

Emma: I think that when we engage with potential clients via Mi TV, it can help them to better understand what they’re looking for before we even get to the point of a sales conversation. I’ve had conversations with clients who have signed up for our services and have specifically said that watching our videos has made their selection process easier. They feel like they already know what we’re about and what we have to offer. Or I might have shared recommendations for useful software or concrete time-management tips which enable them to see us as a forward-thinking company. It becomes a much quicker ‘yes’ for them.

Matt: How is digital enabling you to increase meaningful reach?

Emma: For me, it has been key to focus on what I know I’m good at. I’ve thought about doing podcasts, but I think I come across better talking to camera. It’s unscripted, so it’s very natural and it’s often very personal. I talk about my life, my own experiences – even my dog Ralph makes regular appearances. I want it to feel like I’m talking to you in person, over a cup of coffee. It creates the kind of meaningful, personal connection that you couldn’t achieve in any other way.

Matt: What trends do you see digital impacting on within marketing in the short term future?

Emma: I think digital will impact on buying decisions in more and new ways. I think if you get digital right, it can speed up the process of a potential client getting to know you and being convinced by you, so you get more referrals and recommendations coming in. Buying decisions are heavily based on trust. Digital is giving us more and more opportunities to create and build that trust.

Matt: What one thing do you think digital could do better for your business?

Emma: Rather I would say I think there’s more that I could do with digital for my business. I have a long list of things I want to try, software I want to experiment with and new approaches I’d like to implement. I feel like I’m not using digital to its fullest extent yet. I’m looking forward to exploring the incredible potential of the many digital tools and techniques that are out there.

Matt: Awesome to see such digital enthusiasm. Keep on smashing it Emma.

Emma: Thanks, really enjoyed talking with you Matt.

NOTE: If you’d like to be considered for the Crisp Digital Business Series please do get in touch with me via my LinkedIn profile. And of course if you have any digital business needs please do take our Digital Scorecard or get in touch.