Episode 17. Making Marketing More Human with Dyon Swanborough

12 June

In this episode of the BYOB podcast, I sat down with long-time friend, marketing specialist and our Queensland Social Star city leader, Dyon Swanborough. We talked through his 20-plus years in marketing, his deep love of tech and sound, and his practical, no-fluff approach to helping clients move people through the messy middle of the marketing funnel.

Dyon has a gift for translating complexity into simple, actionable systems. Whether it’s choosing the right software, designing a customer journey that actually converts, or automating the warm-up phase between interest and sales, he has a way of making it all feel human. I brought him on because I know firsthand how valuable his insights are — not just to our business, but to anyone trying to grow a brand in today’s market.

We swapped stories about our early days in business, the importance of curiosity, and how Dyon’s first brush with marketing came via a fax machine and a Peter Sun book. It lit a spark that turned into a lifelong pursuit of understanding what makes people tick — and how to serve them better. Over the years, he’s soaked up learnings from seminars, books, and decades of hands-on experience, refining his craft at the intersection of marketing and technology.

Our conversation also touched on the power of automation when done well, and how tools like the Social Star Hub (based on Go High Level) can dramatically reduce the manual effort in nurturing leads, without compromising personalisation. Dyon’s perspective on software is refreshing — he doesn’t get swept up in hype, but instead focuses on how tools can genuinely help businesses offer more value and guide clients with less friction.

One of the most powerful moments in our chat came when I asked Dyon what advice he would give someone just starting out. His answer was simple, sharp and so true:

“Have you got something that will feed a starving crowd? Because if no one wants it, it doesn’t matter how much you love it or how good you think it is. You need to validate it. Talk to people. Charge something for it. See if they’ll actually pay.”

It’s advice a lot of people skip over — jumping straight into branding or tech before truly testing the offer. But as Dyon points out, the best marketing starts with a hungry market and a clear value proposition.

If you're in the early stages of business or struggling to bridge that tricky gap between awareness and sales, I reckon you'll get a lot from this episode. Dyon’s experience, pragmatism and straight-talking style bring a lot of clarity to the chaos of modern marketing.

Andrew Ford

Marketing expert Andrew Ford, the founder of Social Star, has discovered the secret of ‘Powerful Branding’. With a fire for unleashing people’s inner brand and developing business models to generate profit from an individual’s passions, Andrew leverages ground-breaking digital and social media marketing techniques to create digital strategies for clients to attract maximum opportunities. Having established a strong name for himself in the field, Andrew blends traditional business techniques with now-necessary tools for entrepreneurs to achieve scale, quality, and influence in their niche. Andrew’s comprehensive business background and qualifications consist of a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) (RMIT 2003), a Graduate Certificate in Management (MBA Executive Program, University of Sydney 2005), and a Masters of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Swinburne University 2011). Continually on the cutting edge of his own education, Andrew has tested his marketing theories in forums such as the BCG Business Strategy Competition, which he won in 2005 against all Victorian MBA schools, and the Venture Cup Business Plan Competition (Swinburne University 2003), which he won in the Masters category. With experience working at Hewlett-Packard, Sensis (Telstra) and IBM, Andrew also has mentored dozens of junior staffs to help them achieve their professional goals. Meeting and influencing high-profile public figures helped Andrew to realise just how many professionals require more understanding and control of their public brands or appearance, and need help with the skills to use the many amazing free tools at their disposal to generate success. At Social Star, Andrew consults with clients to uncover their personal brand – both where it is today and where it can be tomorrow – and refine and define how that should be displayed in social media in order to attract their perfect target audience. Andrew mentors his clients to rapidly grow their business’ audiences, resulting in larger potential client bases and higher revenue. Applying formulas that integrate over twenty years of Andrew’s business experience and fifteen years of formal business education, Social Star specialises in building clarity and velocity for clients’ brands using the ‘Understand, Build and Leverage’ methodology. ‘Having a Personal Business enables people to have an authentic, congruent connection with their valued clients and partners, using their brand as the bridge,’ says Andrew. ‘I’m highly driven to work with the new breed of entrepreneurs and small business owners – people who have a passion for making the world a better place. Traditional business models are stepping aside as people follow their innermost dreams and my role is to see them operate within their values while creating wealth. Some people think you have to sacrifice what you love to be successful in your business, yet it is actually the opposite. Follow your passion and success will come.’ Lecturing at Swinburne University from 2009 to 2011 on brand dynamics and digital marketing, presenting at numerous conferences, and consulting to hundreds of clients, Andrew has seen his philosophy work that if you follow your unique path, based on your skills, experience, values and goals, you will automatically attract the opportunities you desire and achieve the success you deserve. Living his mantra, Andrew has created a successful business and attracts high-profile clients including musicians, athletes, authors, models, entrepreneurs, professionals and small business owners, helping them find their ‘why’ in their business and fulfilment in their lives. Business for Andrew is more than work, it’s personal. Running a personal business means that he is able to fulfil all of his values rather than separating his life from work. It supports his two boys while providing social opportunities, educational development, fitness opportunities, spiritual fulfilment and many valuable friendships. Social Star has now become the vehicle for Andrew to crystallise his mission in the world, to help people love what they do, supporting his ‘why’, that if more people loved what they did, the world would be a better place.

http://www.andrewford.com.au/

Episode 17. Making Marketing More Human with Dyon Swanborough

S2 Episode 16. BYOB with Andrew Ford - Michelle Letho