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Engaging an audience is hard enough through one medium, but imagine having to do it across four?! That’s what this episode’s guest, Ryan Serhant, has been able to master. You may know of Ryan from his hit TV shows, “Million Dollar Listing New York” and “Sell It Like Serhant.” Or, maybe you’ve heard he has a book coming out also titled, Sell It like Serhant. Or, maybe you watch his weekly YouTube vlog. Or, maybe you trade in multimillion-dollar New York real estate and have worked with Ryan on a deal. I’m exhausted just writing this post and all of that is Ryan’s life! In each case, he succeeds by engaging an audience (be it an audience of one or millions) and drawing them to him. It’s for this reason that we’re thrilled to have him on the podcast to see what we can learn from him. In this episode Ryan and I discuss: @2:05  Setting yourself up for success by defining yourself as, “I am the one who…” @7:00  How his hit TV show, Million Dollar Listing New York, has changed up it’s storyline strategy based on the changing taste if its audience. @8:20  Universal truths Ryan has learned about engaging with all kinds, and sizes, of audiences based on his years of real estate and media success. @11:35  The power of persistence and the long term benefits you can realize by keeping yourself top-of-mind. If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Kristen Soltis Anderson, pollster and frequent contributor to ABC News, MSNBC, FOX News, and more. Kristen and I discuss engaging with voters as real people, how to tailor messages based on your specific audience, and much more. Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you. Until next time, #BeEngagious.

(A video version of this episode can be viewed on our Engagious YouTube Channel here: https://youtu.be/Wek5M3a76F8) My guest for this podcast episode is Aaron Draplin, graphic designer, author and founder of Draplin Design Co. (DDC). Why would I interview a graphic designer on the Engagious Podcast? Because Aaron is not only an award-winning designer who’s done amazing work for Nike, Burton Snowboards, Esquire, and Ford Motor Company among others, he’s also an author and captivating speaker who’s authentic style comes across not only in his craft but in his method of connecting with audiences of all shapes and sizes. I’ve been wanting to talk with Aaron for a long time to get the stories behind some of the projects he’s work on like the Voyager 2 poster he did for NASA, designing a US Postage stamp, and developing the popular FIELD NOTES notebook brand. Admittedly, this is one of the most fun and free-wheeling conversations I’ve had since I started this podcast, and I know you’re going to enjoy it. Some of the things Aaron and I talked about were: @2:04  What it’s like taking the TEDxPortland stage in front of more than 1000 people. @4:08 Designing the P-Rod and Janoski logos for NikeSB @7:47  How he crafts a talk to engage the audience and take them on a journey. @9:51  What’s the story behind the NASA poster? @11:38  How the FIELD NOTES brand came to be. @31:50  What’s the story behind the U.S. postage stamp? I hoped you enjoyed the conversation with Aaron. If you liked this one, I recommend that you check out the episode featuring Pricilla McKinney of Little Bird Marketing where we discuss how persona marketing, when done right, can help business reach their full potential. Thanks for listening! If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please connect with us on LinkedIn or Twitter. We’d love to hear from you. Until next time, #BeEngagious

Welcome back to the Engagious Podcast. On this episode, I talk with Priscilla McKinney, CEO of Little Bird Marketing and host of the podcast Ponderings from the Perch. In addition to being a world class marketer and cultural anthropologist, Priscilla has carved out an exciting niche for Little Bird Marketing, helping market research companies reach their full potential. Priscilla is as genuine and practical as they come. I learned a ton from talking with her. In this conversation we discuss: @7:08  Why attraction works in business like it does at cocktail parties  @9:31  What is SOAR and how does it support a winning marketing strategy @12:05  Hard lessons learned about personas through failure @22:23  What’s the most dangerous thing that marketers sometimes do? @26:24  It’s NOT the marketing that’s annoying @36:28  How process and systems (not magic) lead to profitability If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Kristin Luck where we discuss, among other things, how to engage customers through storytelling and video. Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you. Until next time, #BeEngagious

On this episode of the Engagious Podcast, I talk with two of the biggest names and trailblazers in the DR business: Fern Lee, CEO of Thor Associates, and Tom Shipley, co-founder and CEO of Atlantic Coast Brands. Fern, Tom and I discuss some of their secrets of success in building multi-million dollar brands and how they’ve been able to evolve with the times and the tech to stay ahead of the curve. In this conversation, we discuss: @4:18  Tom’s origin story for Keranique @6:39  Fern’s keys to engaging consumers  @9:44  The impact of influencers @11:38  Customer touch points and the journey @15:30 Segmenting for success @18:39 TV is not dead If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out another DR-related conversation I had with Rick Cesari, the marketing mind behind the Juiceman Juicer, OxiClean, and the George Foreman Grill. Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please reach out to me at david.paull@engagious.com or on LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you. Until next time, #BeEngagious

What can a pair of red shoes teach us about running a business and delighting customers? Quite a lot, actually. I had the pleasure of hearing a keynote by Lonnie Mayne, founder of Red Shoes Living. RSL is a consultancy build around Lonnie’s five pillars for standing out for the positive in everything we do. Following that keynote, and in advance of his book launch, Lonnie and I sat down to discuss the Red Shoes Living framework and how to start applying it to your life and business right away. In this conversation we discuss: @3:57  What’s the big idea behind Red Shoes Living? @8:40  What are the five steps in the Red Shoes Living framework? @11:30  What are some things you can do immediately to start embracing the Red Shoes philosophy? To learn much more about Red Shoes Living and how to apply it to your work and life, check out Lonnie’s new book. Thanks to the Insights Association for partnering with us on this episode and introducing us to Lonnie at the Insights Leadership Conference. If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Kathy-Klotz-Guest where we discuss, among other things, how humor can be used to connect with customers as people. Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you. Until next time, #BeEngagious

My guest for this episode engages with what is arguably now the largest consumer market in the world—China. Golden Huang is the client manager for The Silk Initiative, an Asia-based food and beverage (F&B) brand consultancy headquartered in Shanghai. Golden has been conducting market research in China for over a decade with a deep knowledge of Chinese youth culture. If you have an interest in the Chinese consumer market, this episode is must-listen for you. In our conversation, Golden and I discuss: 02:30  The definition of Semiotics and how he uses it 07:30  Marketing to the youth culture in China 10:30  Advice for Western brands wanting to enter the Chinese market 12:30  Three emerging food and beverage trends in China 14:30  Why Pink Diamond ice cream is a hit with Chinese youth If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Rick Cesari where we discuss how he transformed no-name products into everyday brands like the George Foreman Grill, Sonicare and the Juiceman Juicer. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you. Until next time, #BeEngagious.

You hear stories about people who walk away from a prosperous career to launch a passion project, but don’t often get to talk with them about it. Well, in the case of former PR executive Gail Becker, we get the story directly from her. After rising through the ranks in government communications, entertainment, and finally as a president at global PR firm Edelman, Gail walked away to start CAULIPOWER, a cauliflower-based food company inspired by the dietary needs of her kids. In our conversation, Gail and I discuss: @3:45  The power of stories to engage with people @8:42  What she learned from being part of the entertainment industry’s shift from VHS to DVD @10:35  Universal truths for changing behavior through persuasion and influence @13:07  How her food company was born @16:58  How did she develop the brand and voice for CAULIPOWER If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Rick Cesari, direct response industry veteran and expert in B2B marketing. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you. Until next time, #BeEngagious  

Here on the Engagious Podcast, we do our very best to talk with the most experienced and qualified people in the fields of effective messaging, audience engagement, and storytelling. In this episode, Dr. Eric Solomon checks those boxes many times over. Dr. Solomon has held strategic and marketing positions at Instagram, Google, Spotify, and YouTube. Currently, he is Chief Marketing Officer in residence at Blackbird, offering organizations ‘fractional CMO’ services from C-suite marketers. This episode is in partnership with the Insights Association, bringing you the NEXT conference in Chicago on June 13-14, 2019. There, Dr. Solomon will be a keynote speaker bringing his incredible wealth of experience. In this conversation, we discuss: @4:43  How the CMO-in-residence concept was born and the value it offers @6:39  Machine learning’s (AI, AR, VR) role in how people consume, create, and distribute content. @11:55  What is “Hypertelling” and how does it take brand building and storytelling to a new level? @14:36  How social media platforms can effectively be used in B2B marketing @20:15  What is Dr. Solomon’s key takeaway for B2B marketers? If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Gary Vaynerchuk (GaryVee) where we further discuss content and social media marketing in the B2B space, plus a lot more. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you. Until next time, #BeEngagious

On this episode of the Engagious Podcast, our guest is Dr. Lindsay Portnoy. Dr. Portnoy is an educational psychologist, professor, author, and Chief Learning Officer at a company called Killer Snails that creates science-based, experiential learning games for kids. She’s an expert in the science of engagement, with both kids and adults, and brings an incredible wealth of experience to the topic. In this conversation, Dr. Portnoy and I discuss: @7:28  How an advertisement on a train changed the course of her life @9:05  How she defines “engagement” and relates it to learning @20:00  How game-play and gamification relate to learning and engagement @28:01  Universal truths for creating engaging content and experiences @41:47  An overview of her forthcoming book on how design thinking can be used to identify and help solve problems If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with JoAnn Schinderle. JoAnn is an award-winning improv and stand-up comedian and our conversation focuses more on the art of audience engagement. Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you. Until next time, #BeEngagious

I put it out there in the universe: I wanted Gary Vaynerchuk on the Engagious Podcast so you and I can learn from him what it takes to use strategic content and digital marketing to grow a business. Well, my friends, thanks to some good fortune and the help of some awesome people we made it happen and GaryVee did not disappoint. Gary Vaynerchuk is one of the biggest names in content marketing and audience engagement. He has dominated every social media platform, written five best-sellers, launched an online wine business and grown his own media agency to more than $150MM. Not to be cheeky, but we do have a lot in common. We are both bootstrappers, entrepreneurs, and family guys. He’s just operating on a whole different scale and that means he has a lot to share. In this wide-ranging discussion from his office in NYC we talk about: @1:46              Why speed matters in sports and business (especially B2B) @3:52              Spending less time pondering, considering, and debating and more time doing. @4:40             Gary’s Content Pyramid and how he creates dozens of pieces of micro content from one macro piece @9:00             How there is no right way to make content, there is only the way you’re best at @11:05             The 79/21 Rule of where to focus your content marketing attention @15:42            Why social media marketing works for B2B and what you should do about it. @19:45            How Gary survived his interview over blazing hot wings on the popular YouTube show, Hot Ones If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Ryan Serhant, star of Million Dollar Listing New York. Ryan and I discuss killer sales strategies and setting yourself up for success.   If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you. Until next time, #BeEngagious