Episode 63: Black Belt Digital & Beyond with Rick O'Neill, FRSA

This week we’re diving headfirst into all things digital marketing for E63: Black Belt Digital & Beyond with Rick O’Neill, FRSA. Rick has spent 22 years focused on digital marketing, the last 11 of which he’s been at the helm of award-winning, UK-based agency, LTF Digital exclusively serving the Aesthetic industry.  Rick and his team are entrusted to lead the marketing efforts not only for the big brands that serve the Aesthetic Industry, like Merz, Allergan, AlumierMD, Crown Aesthetics, Lumenis, and Alma (just to name a few), but, they also intensely focus on marketing for practices. That’s a unique combination not found in many agencies- they understand the hyper-competitive aesthetic market from all sides, and they are able to maximize results across various budgets and differing needs.

Rick’s list of international speaking engagements is quite long, his client list is longer. He’s of the mindset that there’s no benefit in keeping his expertise close to the vest. As an entrepreneur, just because you can doesn’t mean you should, so one of his tenants is to ensure as an entrepreneur you understand what you should be looking for in an agency, how to measure impact and results, and how things SHOULD be done so that when you delegate those tasks to someone else, you can hold them accountable and keep tabs on their success.

But with a black belt in taekwondo, it was inevitable that he would apply some of the key tenants and discipline of martial arts to how he approaches digital marketing.  In his new book, Black Belt Digital, he draws many similarities between the two disciplines. In marketing and martial arts, you must have a focused plan, consistently show up, be flexible and adaptable in your approach, and be efficient with your energy and your time. At the end of the day, it’s a competition, whether on the mat or in the market, so tapping into that competitive spirit certainly doesn’t hurt! He just released Black Belt Digital, and in only a few short days, it’s shot to the #1 spot in The Medical & Healthcare Practitioners, Beauty Therapy and E-Business categories. This culmination of his 2 decades in marketing is a 60,000-word, 20-chapter field guide to all aspects of growing a digital presence with practical advice and insights into where to focus your time and attention.

 Some of our favorites of Rick’s digital building blocks include:

·     Mastering local Google SEO

·     Leveraging automations and a solid CRM

·     Using data and analytics to drive decisions

·     Diversifying your marketing strategy: a content, education, influencer, video & email marketing mix

·     And, knowing exactly who you are so you can stay laser focused on your target audience and craft your online presence accordingly

Rick is coming to Aesthetic Next 5.0 this year in Dallas, TX for his first US-based workshop! He’ll be bringing his Digital Dojo stateside to share his knowledge and provide tested strategies that are actionable and achievable. He’s also speaking in the Business Track, so make sure if you are attending, and if you have any part of marketing your brand or your practice, that you DO NOT MISS this workshop! Find more information regarding Ricks’ workshop at Aesthetic Next by visiting www.AestheticNext.com/workshops

As a For the Record listener, Rick is offering several FREE tools to take an objective assessment of where your practice is right now so you can start to map out what’s next. Click HERE to access your:

·     Free Guide on Google Optimization

·     Free Guide on Website Enhancement

·     Free Online Scorecard to assess your MedSpa's Digital Health

Here are some helpful links to learn more about Rick, his book and his agency:

Checkout Rick’s new book on Amazon and visit www.BlackBeltDigital.com for more information.

Find out more about Rick at https://www.rickoneill.co.uk

Find out more about LTF Digital at https://ltf.digital/