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One of the benefits of content marketing is in generating thought leadership, but how exactly does it work?This episode will go deep into content marketing, content syndication, traditional media, and how all of it can be leveraged to yield thought leadership. Specifically we will focus in on these 3 points:1. Thought leadership requires a deliberate strategy Associations and nonprofits are authorities on the industries, professions and issues/causes they represent. Association and nonprofit leaders naturally have deep expertise to share. But thought leadership doesn’t just “happen.” This should be supported by a thought leadership strategy - to media, policymakers, members, prospects, donors, etc. 2. Thought leadership involves multiple tactics - but brings many benefits: There is no one way to do thought leadership. Some campaigns are directed more towards policymakers, others towards consumer media, others towards donors. Thought leadership spans speaking engagements, blogging, video, social media, by-lined articles and more. It is not a one-time thing: rather establishing thought leadership requires regularly communicating knowledge, intelligence, and insights. It is a long game, not a short burst, but has huge benefits of building credibility, trust, visibility and recognition. 3. Leverage visibility opportunities by give media what they can use: Thought leadership campaigns can be standalone, though are generally part of a larger PR/visibility campaign for an organization and/or an issue. For any visibility campaign, make sure your “owned media “ (social media channels, blog, Linked In, etc.) is robust. Then make it easy for media to cover. Submit by-lined articles or columns that outlets can run with. Regularly share not just data trends, surveys, and forecasts, but also stories of impact. Associations and nonprofits have so much knowledge but generally share it only with members or donors, etc. That expertise can go so much broader by figuring out the best way of capturing and communicating it.Key Highlights[02:20] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Rick Smith[12:34] Why Deliberate Strategy Is Critical[13:46] The Real Challenge To Content Marketers[16:09] Ways To Build Up Your Credibility[19:41] Multiple Tactics For Thought Leaders[23:50] How To Leverage Opportunities Aligned In What Media Can Use[27:50] Connect With RickNotable QuotesThe challenge people face is, you start off by wanting to build that credibility or be that expert.You have to sit and think, what is it that makes you unique? What is it that you have to offer? You've got to craft your message.People should be doing utilizing every channel they have. If you got to think of it this way, the media is concerned about their audience, they want their audience to have interesting articles and interesting things that they will read. And that they want to read. So the key to doing that is to give them what they want. Guest Links:NewsUSA: https://newsusa.comLearn More:Join My Digital First Mastermind: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer Learn More About This Podcast:  https://podcast.nealschaffer.com

As we enter 2022,  are you looking for some new inspiration for your digital marketing? If so, this is the episode for you!Join me as I give you my suggestions on which 10 channels you should consider launching, or if you are already active but not getting the results you need, relaunching in 2022.Specifically, these 10 things that I discuss in detail on this podcast are:TikTokShortForm VideoYouTube ChannelPodcastPinterestBlogEmail ListMembership CommunityWorkshopCourseKey Highlights [03:22] First Area I Recommend To Invest: TikTok[04:33] How To Launch TikTok Channel[06:07] Looking At The Patterns And Formats[07:10] Type Of Content To Launch In 2022[07:43] The Importance Of Storytelling[10:07] The Third Channel To Launch Or Relaunch[11:00] Type Of Content To Create For YouTube[12:10] Developing Your Own Podcast[13:51] How You Should Think Of Your Podcast[16:00] Fifth Channel To Invest To Pinterest[18:07] Why You Should Be Blogging[19:08] Number 7: Email Marketing[20:44] Develop A Membership Community[21:36] My Community Membership[22:30] Develop A Workshop[26:12] Creating Course For Your BusinessNotable QuotesBegin to like not things that you personally like, but begin to like those things that you think your ideal customer would like.Think the only way to understand this in all honesty is you got to be on the platform, you got to be consuming.Consume process, reengineer and you need to find your own pattern, your own process that works for your company, to be able to do visual storytelling.If you start with the objective of I want to develop relationships, I want to deepen relationships with customers. Or I just want to understand how people that have a passion for something think, or you know, whatever it is, that objective will keep you going will keep your podcast going, I think it's going to be easy to achieve.If you're not sure, do some searches. See if your competitors are on there. See if there are content creators on there already creating content about your market. And if you see enough of it, go for it. If you don't see enough of it, I would still keep an eye on it and consider experimenting with.Really think of email marketing in a way to how can I best develop relationships not only with website visitors to have them opt into my email list, but once they're on my email list, how can I generally develop a better relationship with them that is going to pay higher dividends for my business in the future.It could be a very, very easygoing, low investment of time and resources way of allowing people to access you, but I think from your perspective, it's less about monetizing this and more about deepening the relationships and then getting the feedback for what you need to develop next.If I want to create a course, I'm not going to put all my eggs in one basket, or try to figure out what people want.Learn More:Join My Digital First Mastermind: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer Learn More About This Podcast:  https://podcast.nealschaffer.com

Welcome to 2022!After reading all of those blog posts about social media and digital marketing trends for 2022, how are you going to invest your marketing budget this year?This episode is focused on helping you find ROI from under-invested but important aspects of digital marketing in 2022, especially in consideration of recent trends.Specifically, these 10 things that I discuss in detail on this podcast are:Blog Content / SEOLong-Form Lead Generation ContentEmail Marketing / Marketing AutomationLong-Form Video ContentShort-Form Video ContentInfluencer CollaborationsEmployee AdvocacyCustomers and Customer ExperiencePeopleEducationKey Highlights [02:55] First Thing To Invest Your Marketing Budget In 2022[04:24] Ways To Be Resourceful On Your Blog[05:08] Why Search Intent Is Critical[06:13] Second Thing To Invest To[07:45] Third Area: Email Marketing/Automation[09:42] Email Marketing Tools[10:11] Fourth Things To Invest Your Marketing Budget[12:10] Should You Invest On Tiktok?[14:27] The Benefit Of Collaborating With Content Creators[16:29] Seventh Area: Employee Advocacy[17:56] Investing On Customer Experience[19:15] Ninth Item To Invest To[20:13] Invest In Your Own Education[21:55] Ways To Recreate Educational Experience[22:16] SummaryNotable QuotesIt's time to regroup, ton to figure out how to best invest I'm all about every year, or even every quarter, sort of pushing that reset button just so that we're always in alignment. And we always understand the value of every dollar or yen or pound or euro, or whatever currency you spend is in your marketing.Be the source of information by offering them something of value. It could be an eBook, a white paper, a webinar, a pre-recorded demo, but exchange that value for a lead, ie giving them some sort of information in a live or recorded format, to help with your demand gen efforts.Make every email a love letter. And if you can have that philosophy with your emails, I do believe over time, they will get open more they will get read more, you'll build a deeper relationship, and it'll lead to more business for you.There is value in influencer collaborations at the least, of learning how to better do this type of content by actually collaborating with influencers, having them do it for you, having them post to their social networks, but also in the contract, make sure you do this, but get access to the content so that you can utilize it for your own social profiles or website or social ads.And through the art of doing this, you are going to have a natural fan base that won't just amplify and support your own content. But they will talk about you naturally, as well.Invest in yourself, to really keep abreast of what is happening out there to understand the leaders in your industry, how they're handling the current environment, how they manage all these different channels, how they create content, whatever it might be. And obviously, that is something that will reap dividends.Learn More:Join My Digital First Mastermind: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer Learn More About This Podcast:  https://podcast.nealschaffer.com

In The Age of Influence, I talk about how leveraging influencers is the best way to incite word of mouth in social media if you don't have a large fanbase.What Mike Baddeley did for his brand Passchier is a case study that you can learn from as to how to go about doing this.We're not talking about randomly paying random influencers with large followings to talk about you. We're talking about strategically building relationships with those that will probably be interested in your product or service and gifting them product to kickstart things.It is an approach that many startups use with success, so listen in to how Mike has used this strategy to literally help build his business.Key Highlights[03:38] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Mike Baddeley[06:26] How Mike Started Passchier [08:52] How Mike Promoted His Products[12:08] The Marketing Technique Mike Did To Spread The Word About Handlebars[13:10] How Mike Find Influencers[14:51] The Problem Of Finding Relevant Influencers[16:24] Sustainability Angle[18:25] How To Maintain Relationships and Expand At The Same Time[21:44] Potential TikTok Marketing[22:39] Mike's Advice On Leveraging The Power Of Gifting[24:46] Connect With MikeNotable QuotesThe spread the word key audience is his bike tourists and commuters. Just contacting these influencers on Instagram, or on their websites, and just approaching all these people.You've got to get them in people's hands. And you know, you can't sell a secret member, someone saying that it's such an obvious thing to say, but you've got to get out there. And you've got to get people talking.The journey now is some of the influences we've targeted and had dialogue in there reviewed the product, we need, you know, maintain that relationship. So managing that relationship is a critical part of that journey.They've got an audience in the audience wants to hear information. And so if we can be proactive in providing that and providing product for their customers to to sample as well. So we're giving giveaways to their customer base as well, their member base as well.What people forget is that creators need not just creativity and an audience, but they need content, they need things to get content around, right.And it's a really good reminder that really what it comes down to is the content but also you being able to provide that and those do that have product have the ability to provide.It might be a little bit harder to get people excited about wanting to try your product, but the higher value offer and the more relevant it is for the people you reach out to obviously, the better results you're going to get.Connect with Mike BaddeleyPasschier: https://www.passchier.co.nz/Mike Baddeley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-baddeley-513b2113/More Info on Neal Schaffer and This Podcast:Join My Digital First Mastermind Community: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer Learn more about this podcast:  https://podcast.nealschaffer.com

While many still cringe at the term "influencer marketing," something that has surpassed that buzzword of late is the "creator economy."So what exactly is the creator economy, its relationship to influencer marketing, and how it can be leveraged by both business and, of course, creators?Listen in to understand the historical perspective of the creator economy, and how the pendulum is swinging more in the favor of creators in this Age of Influence.Key Highlights [05:16] The Creator Economy And Its Relationship To Influencer Marketing[07:19] The Golden Era Of Influencer Marketing[10:19] How Content Creators Leverage Advertisements As Main Revenue Sources[10:34] Other Revenue Sources That Content Creators Have[11:34] Social Media Networks As Potential Revenue Source[13:55] What Does Creator Economy Mean For Influencer Marketers?[15:20] How Creator Economy Brings Transparency and Authenticity In Influencer Marketing[16:37] Start Creating Content Now![17:46] SummaryNotable QuotesYou cannot become an online influencer without publishing online content, they go hand in hand. So being a content creator has always been a necessity to yielding influence online. But not all content creators necessarily become influencers.For the first time social networks are actually paying creators to create content, knowing that it is the content and the influence is creating that content that users trust that keeps people coming back to the site.I would argue that we're seeing an even greater democratization of online influence. And simply put, there are more content creators influencing more people than ever before.For the first time social networks are actually paying creators to create content, knowing that it is the content and the influence is creating that content that users trust that keeps people coming back to the site. Content creators prove that they are the only ones who can truly set the trend for what social media users, ie all of us, end up consuming.The most successful relationships are going to be long term, collaborative, and mutual Win-Win.With the democratization of online influence and digital content creation, we can say with certainty that the Creator economy is here to stay. And as a byproduct, it actually will only strengthen the role of influencer marketing, with additional options for marketers, and access to content that continues to build trust and generate results.Learn More:Join My Digital First Mastermind: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer Learn More about This Podcast:  https://podcast.nealschaffer.com

Paid Social is a mainstream form of social media marketing, and while many focus on fine-tuning targeting, have you thought about the impact that different ad formats can have on your cost and ultimate ROI?This episode features an interview with Lauren Schwartz, founder of the Creative Marketing Agency The Loft 325.  Lauren is a design professional with over 15 years of experience, including 8 years working in digital marketing.More importantly for us, her special power is in creating profitable creative strategies and creatives for e-commerce brands. and she is especially passionate about creating top-performing ad campaigns and creatives.Listen in for her advice on:Understanding the different ad formats and advantages and disadvantages of eachWhy video ads are the bestTips and tricks to create them and optimize them for maximum conversionKey Highlights [00:01] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Lauren Schwartz[02:58] Changes In Paid Social Over The Years[04:41] Lauren's Journey To Paid Social Marketing[07:09] How To Make Creative Branding And Creativity Organic And Authentic?[09:57] Is Paid Social Beneficial For Businesses?[11:18] Focus On Your Audience First[11:59] Different Ad Formats[14:55] The Trends In Different Story Formats[16:19] Why Video Ads Perform The Best[17:32] Navigating Video ROI[20:25] TikTok Ads[23:02] TikTok Ad Platform vs Facebook/Pinterest Ad[23:38] Ad Targeting and Guidelines[26:26] Tips And Tricks In Creating Ads[30:19] Connect With LaurenNotable QuotesI think the biggest thing is really trying to focus in on creators who just genuinely do give really good testimonials, and really do kind of show that authentic side.I'm making sure that the creators that we choose that if they do shoot content, that it doesn't seem sales, pitchy like I don't want them to seem like they're selling you something, I want them to talk to you I want them to make it seem like like they are really reviewing this product and talking about it.I think really just making sure that you have audiences to even talk to is probably the biggest thing that I would say that you need to focus on first.Now I kind of feel like more people are moving towards just different platforms really, like I don't necessarily think it's I mean, there's, there's so many trends and all the platforms. But I think the biggest thing is just, you know, making sure that it looks very organic.The biggest thing with creating the creative is, you don't have to have like a super high end production. Like you really just have your iPhone and shoot the content. And again, just make it very organic, make it very conversational.Connect with Lauren SchwartzThe Loft 325: https://theloft325.com/Lauren Schwartz on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theloft325/More Info on Neal Schaffer and This Podcast:Join My Digital First Mastermind Community: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer Learn more about this podcast:  https://podcast.nealschaffer.com

The other day I was helping my high schooler daughter apply to a summer program, where in addition to her transcript and essays, they asked for her LinkedIn profile URL.Yes, her LinkedIn profile!!!For those avid listeners of my podcast, I also covered a similar topic 2 1/2 years ago in 139: LinkedIn for Students: What Do I Put in My LinkedIn Profile if I am a College Student?If an overwhelming majority of college students, how many high schoolers have a LinkedIn profile in addition to their TikTok, Instagram, and, yes, Snapchat profiles?VERY few.So why am I even talking about this on my podcast?Because if you can picture yourself as a high schooler, who has little to no professional experience, and be able to complete a LinkedIn profile, you will see new ways not only to optimize your own LinkedIn profile, but also your personal branding and content you publish throughout social media.Don't believe me? Listen in, and then let me know what you think!By the way, the free ebook I mention in this episode can be downloaded here: Maximizing LinkedIn for BusinessKey Highlights [02:47] The Notion of LinkedIn Profile for Students[06:21] Which Social Network You Should Nail?[07:31] Strategic Value of Having a LinkedIn Profile[09:24] What Personal Branding Is About[10:01] The Common Application[12:57] Where Does LinkedIn Profile Start?[14:34] What Do I Need For A Background Photo?[16:35] The Professional Headline[17:27] Items You Need To Add To Your Summary or Headline[18:48] What Is The Feature Section?[19:54] How to Rock About Section?[21:36] What Can You Put In Experience Section?Notable QuotesYes, we brand ourselves through our content. But if there's any social network, where our bio is deep, and people will go through it, looking and readiness, and for whatever reason, whether they want to do business with us, whether they want to hire us whatever it is, or in this case, whether they want to consider you as an applicant to their university, they are looking at your LinkedIn profile.If there's any profile on any social network you really got to nail, it is LinkedIn.And I think the big thing here is if you want to brand yourself, and differentiate yourself, and create those emotional attachments, and really showcase who you are as a person, it's really going to come down to those activities.It really begins with that top visual headline, right? When I talk about personal branding, we need to get more and more visual.I think this is really where we look into those strengths that you have, what are those things that you want people to come to your profile to remember about you. And that's what we have here.I highly recommend that you do add this sort of imagery, it could be an image, it could be a video, but it should be something like an award, something that celebrates something that you've done.Learn More:Join My Digital First Mastermind: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer Learn More about This Podcast:  https://podcast.nealschaffer.com

I have always thought that businesses can learn a lot from successful nonprofit marketing. The idea is that if a nonprofit that is strapped for resources can connect with their community, you should be able to connect with your own.This episode is all about nonprofit digital marketing, but in a similar vein, the advice here is applicable for all.It is an honor to have my Digital First Mastermind Community member, and someone that I can now call a friend, Beth Hammock on today's episode. Beth is CEO of Hammock Communications and is an expert in both Nonprofit and Higher Education marketing, and I think you will genuinely enjoy her advice as well as our conversation.Some of the digital marketing "magic" advice that Beth has includes:Illusions: Social media strategy - influencers, awareness, acknowledgement, appealsSleight of hand: Google ad grants - getting them and using them. How tos and examples of success. Magician's choice: Video storytelling - how to accomplish this on a nonprofit budgetKey Highlights[02:00] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Beth Hammock[05:54] How Beth Got Into Nonprofits[06:55] The Difference Between Educational Institution and Nonprofit[08:15] The Core of Digital Marketing for Nonprofits[14:30] Increasing Brand Awareness and Appeals[15:52] How to Create Perfect Facebook Ads for Nonprofits?[16:38] Are Social Media Platforms Effective for Nonprofits?[18:51] The Ideal Google Ad for Nonprofits[20:55] Successful Campaigns Stories from Google Ads[21:44] The Concept of Nonprofit Membership[23:00] Nonprofits Incentives and Businesses[24:39] Leveraging Resources In Your Community[28:00] Beth's Magicians Choice[28:49] Accomplishing Video Storytelling for Nonprofits[30:40] Services Offered By Beth[31:45] Connect With BethNotable QuotesSo nonprofits, rely on grants, community business support, events, a lot of them, that's where they get their funding, but really, in the United States, a majority of funding comes from individuals. And if they can just get connected, that's the marketing piece, build brand awareness, engage people to start building those relationships.I think you start with the core principles of marketing, which storytelling is the core. And you can tell stories if you don't have a lot of money.So development communications, you want to show the impact of giving. To illustrate that has a little bit of content and a call to action of giving now.I think that nonprofits can really improve though on their exclusivity is, especially the way that they message it, if you just would say one benefit, and shout it and it's something really good.Connect with Beth HammockHammock Communications: https://hammockcommunications.com/Beth Hammock on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethhammock1/More Info on Neal Schaffer and This Podcast:Join My Digital First Mastermind Community: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer Learn more about this podcast:  https://podcast.nealschaffer.com

If you were to look at my LinkedIn profile headline or the main menu on my website, you might see a title that you don't recognize:Fractional CMOA lot of people ask me exactly what a Fractional CMO is and what I do as one, while others, after learning about it, want to follow in my footsteps.So what exactly is a Fractional CMO? And why might you want to hire one to help you with your digital marketing?Listen in as I reveal all!Key Highlights [02:31] How My Journey Into Becoming A Fractional CMO Began[04:13] What Got Me Into Fractional CMO[06:30] The Reason I Wrote The Age of Influence Book[07:22] What Are the Requirements to Become A Fractional CMO?[08:48] The Concept Of A CMO[09:23] Ways of Working With Fractional CMO[10:19] The Bad Side of Being Fractional CMO[13:10] The Key Benefit of A Fractional CMO[13:23] Fractional CMO vs External Consultant[14:16] My Role As A Fractional CMO[17:18] SummaryNotable QuotesIt's the reason why I'm writing my next book on general digital marketing. Because so many companies wanted help with their influencer marketing, yet, there were so many other things they needed help with. This requires obviously, to have a certain amount of experience that you could create and implement a digital and social media marketing strategy for any business.Social media changes over time, you know how well you perform on the different digital marketing channels changes over time. So the needs are always evolving.In other words, you may want to work with a fractional CMO, they may not have the capacity, the bandwidth to work with you. But I believe it is great because it allows you to work with different companies. It allows you to gain experience working with different companies in different industries.In other words, if you're not quite ready to hire a full-time CMO, but don't want to outsource your marketing leads to an agency or a general project-based consultant, a fraction of the CMO brings experienced leadership to help accelerate your strategic objectives, and reach the next level growth and profitability.The role that a fractional CMO will play will come down to a combination of the needs of the company hiring them, and the skills and experience that the marketing professional brings to the table.If we can find the right person, I hope this really opens your eyes to the potential because look, digital marketing, can be done anywhere in the world, but it requires a lot of different skill sets. And there aren't a lot of really, really experienced people out there.Learn More:Join My Digital First Mastermind: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer Learn More about This Podcast:  https://podcast.nealschaffer.com

A lot of us in digital marketing tend to treat content marketing like a digital machine. Create this content and expect these results. Unfortunately, this leads to creating a lot of very average content that everyone else is publishing on the Internet, adding to the noise and not driving any impactful outcome for your business.Georgios Chasiotis, Managing Director of the B2B SaaS content marketing agency Minuttia, wants to change that. By looking at the current trends in content marketing based on his expansive client work, he wants to give you his advice on:Why "copycat content" isn't going to get you the results that you needWhat type of content you need to create based on your company's lifecycle stageWhy you need to focus on creating a library instead of a publication and how to do thatReady to significantly improve your content marketing for 2022 and beyond? Then listen in!!!Connect with Georgios ChasiotisMinuttia: https://minuttia.com/Georgios Chasiotis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgioschasiotis/More Info on Neal Schaffer and This Podcast:Join My Digital First Mastermind: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer Learn more about this podcast:  https://podcast.nealschaffer.com

Leapfrogging (pun intended as you will see shortly) off of my previous episode #234 speaking about the virtues of being a marketing generalist, here is a case in point: If you want to become a marketing leader, you need to have all of your digital marketing bases covered.What bases need to be covered? And what does a comprehensive digital marketing program look like?I am honored to have my friend and Digital First Mastermind Community Andrew Smith on as my guest today offering us an x-ray view of the digital marketing program that he is running as the Senior Marketing Manager for Leap, the leading all-in-one home improvement contractor sales software.Leap sells to other businesses so the program being described is a B2B digital marketing program, a treat for you B2B marketers. But even if you are a B2C or nonprofit marketer, the lessons learned from Andrew's experience are 100% applicable to your situation.Key Highlights[00:57] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Andrew Smith[03:55] Andrew's B2B Digital Marketing Background[04:44] What is Leap And What Does It Do?[07:27] Where To Begin Digital Marketing Strategy?[10:14] Deciding on How Much to Invest In Each AR Activities[13:32] Criteria To Look At When Deciding About Changes In Budget[15:18]  Targets Set For Marketing By The Management[17:31] Verticals Based On Data[24:44] Andrew's Advice For Marketers In Marketing Technology[29:22] Upcoming Leap Features[32:44] Connect with AndrewNotable QuotesIt's being at least in front of those people and keeping them at least engaged to the degree that they don't tell you to go away that then when they're ready to pull that trigger, you're still front of mind enough that they are aware of you to do that.Being able, to know that what you do is going to produce a certain amount is a good place to be rather than sort of doing something and not knowing what's going to happen.It's more about the quality of that content, rather, the budget to reach those people since we have that covered. So there's really no category that we're not in, but it's creating the content for the vertical that's more important, I think.Start out small, prove a little prove a proof of concept, right? If you're doing you know, advertising or content marketing, or email or any of the channels that you're not currently in that you need some budget for that and try something you know, small or free.The other flip side of being in a company where the culture is very collaborative and productive, so that you know, what you need in marketing, from the product or from sales or from customer success, you have those people in those relationships that are willing to help you achieve what you want to do, as well as for the benefit of the company.Connect with Andrew SmithLeap: https://leaptodigital.comAndrew Smith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewsmith1443/More Info on Neal Schaffer and This Podcast:Join My Digital First Mastermind: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer Learn more about this podcast:  https://podcast.nealschaffer.com

"The riches are in the niches.""You gotta niche down."You've heard these over the years, including on this podcast. And I don't disagree with the advice if you want to gain visibility in a noisy market.However, if you are a marketer or a marketing entrepreneur, just owning one niche might not be the ideal solution to your strategy and most likely not for your customers.Listen in as I share my own experience and advice and make the case for becoming more of a digital and social media marketing generalist.Key Highlights[02:27] Why It's Dangerous To Stick To A Niche?[02:50] How I Began Blogging[05:51] Wanting to Be A "Doctor of Social Media"[06:57] Offering Additional Value Beyond Niche[9:10] The Time I Went Generalist[10:34] Launching My Fractional CMO Service[12:29] Going Back to the Role of Generalist[13:06] Why You Need to Have a Broader Knowledge[15:31] My Work As A Fractional CMO[18:15] SummaryNotable QuotesIn other words, if you go to a doctor, you don't tell the doctor what you have, you tell the doctor your symptoms, and they propose something for it, that you might have this, you might have that, let's take some X rays, let's hear some medicine.If I want to pursue best practices, in my job, in my work in my career in my life, I have to provide the best thing that businesses need.Social networks don't exist in a vacuum. Social media does not exist in a vacuum. It's all part of digital marketing, which is all part of marketing.if your business obviously has something that is competitive in one specific niche area, it makes sense to go for it.Customers don't just use the tool to use a tool, they use a tool to solve a problem. Businesses don't look for people who seek out people with a niche, because they have a need for that niche. They have a problem that they want to solve.Niche gives you visibility. But it doesn't always solve all the problems that people that have an interest in a niche have. In order to become a generalist, you need to have niche knowledge. But it's not just one niche at the end of the day. It's a combination of niches.This really defines the current work that I do as a fractional CMO. Because it goes beyond just one niche, one category, it goes down to the problems that companies have, and the potential solutions for them. Using the entire toolkit of tools and channels that Digital Marketing provides.I do believe if you're not known for anything, the niche, without a doubt gives you that visibility. But as you niche, I want you to be thinking about the broader picture of the role of the generalists. And I don't want you to be afraid to go outside of your niche to gain other expertise, which I believe you will need, regardless of what niche you decide for what industry.Learn More:Join My Digital First Mastermind: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer Learn More about This Podcast:  https://podcast.nealschaffer.com

What does the term "affiliate marketing" conjure up in your mind?For those of you who have read The Age of Influence, you should remember that I believe that affiliate marketing is one of the earliest forms of influencer marketing. Not only does affiliate marketing provide many of the benefits that you can receive from influencer marketing, but it can also directly impact your sales, SEO, word-of-mouth, and other digital marketing metrics.To clarify what exactly affiliate marketing is and what are the best practices for utilizing it in your business, I am honored to have Kyle Kostechka as my special guest. Kyle is Business Development Director for the oldest and leading affiliate marketing company, Clickbank, and spends his days consulting with both brands and affiliates.I hope this episode is an eye-opening one that helps you take advantage of what affiliate marketing can do for your company.Key Highlights[02:47] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Kyle Kostechka[06:31] Who Is Clickbank?[15:50] ClickBank's Features[16:57] How Much Does ClickBank Costs?[21:22] How Does ClickBank Get Traction and Get Affiliate Sign Up?[22:52] The Mistakes People Do in Affiliate Marketing[27:30] Tip from Kyle[30:33] ClickBank Success Stories[33:57] The Best Practice to Follow to Be Successful[37:10] One Mistake That Companies Make With Affiliate Marketing[41:54] Connect With KyleNotable QuotesYou have to be really cognizant about in speak a language that's going to be attractive to them and make sense of them. That's how a lot of these deals start is you just have to go out, be bold, and say hi to somebody.One of the biggest things to remember with affiliates, especially when you're in a b2b, it's the trust is what you're paying for with those commissions.So if you find some and they are affiliates, that is an immensely valuable way of getting into that very niche conversation that otherwise would be very difficult to do. Remember that relationships are key. What I mean by that is a lot of affiliate marketing, the deal just doesn't always happen perfectly the first time, it takes some time to massage and get to where it needs to go.So even if it takes time, and that patience, if you build the relationships along the way, you know, it almost becomes a switch that you could flip on for traffic and revenue. Don't lose sight of the importance of those relationships in this community because it will pay dividends not only in the short term but definitely in the long term.Connect with Kyle KostechkaAffiliated: Clickbank's Official Affiliate Marketing Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/affiliated-clickbank-s-official-affiliate-marketing/id1547482335Clickbank: https://clickbank.comMore Info on Neal Schaffer and This Podcast:Join My Digital First Mastermind: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer Learn more about this podcast:  https://podcast.nealschaffer.com

A lot has been said about blogging, both good and bad. Is it dying? Isn't social media more important? All of these arguments miss the point: In a Digital First world, being visible in search engines should be of utmost importance to every business, and, when done right, blogging holds the keys to success.Learn from my own success in blogging and why I continue to double - triple - quadruple down on it and the concrete steps that your business can take to do the same in this episode of my podcast.Key Highlights[01:31] When Did I Start The Process of Doubling Down On My Blogging[02:07] What Can I Do To Get The Word Out About My Book?[03:33] Seach and Social on Social Media[04:19] YouTube and Google Search Engine Strategy[06:23] The Things That Dominate Search Engine Results[07:33] What You Need to Do If You Find Bad Content On Your Website[09:27] Why I Create My Own Library of Content[12:42] The Statistics I Get After Creating Library of ContentNotable QuotesSo list building strategies, and then leveraging technology that allows you to utilize marketing automation, to improve your chances of converting people on your list.You need to share your perspective, you need to help people you need to help them make or help other businesses make the right decision, and they are not being served by the current search results.Blogging is about building equity. It's about creating assets.I'm building up my library, and I'm seeing that the strategy is working because I'm genuinely creating useful content for people without trying to sell them a tool.I am going to start treating all this content not as a one and done, but as assets that have long term shelf life, and I'm going to start a process of revising them.If you're not creating that content that is truly useful and resourceful that would normally be in the format of a blog because you are missing out on the search aspect of this. In fact, everybody's searching is going to your competitor, or they're going to irrelevant or bad content.It begins with the mindset that the search engine rankings are exposing bad incompletes old or irrelevant content and my company or me, I can do better. I am the best I am the expert, our company's the expert, we need to get this content out there. And when you have that mindset and when you have that passion, you can achieve exactly what I did.Learn More:Join My Digital First Mastermind: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer Learn more about this podcast:  https://podcast.nealschaffer.com

Influence marketing will continue to be a critical part of digital marketing and only increase in importance as brands' organic social media reach continues to decline while newer form of short-form video that are the staple of many social media sites make it challenging for businesses to create and compete with the creativity of the global social media user base.That's why I'm especially excited to interview Sanna Ödmark, Head of Marketing for the Swedish influencer marketing agency Cure Media. You see, more companies are investing more money into influencer marketing, but they aren't necessarily doing it in an effective way.In fact, only 30% of CMO's in a survey that Cure Media conducted answered they know how to collect accurate ROI data from the channel, which is far behind other digital channels, such as website (55%) and SocialMedia (54%).That is why our topic that we discuss,  how to measure success in influencer marketing, is of critical importance.Key Highlights[04:43] What is Cure Media?[06:32] Sanna's Research About Influencer Marketing[09:04] How to Measure Effect of Influencer Marketing[14:41] Mistakes that Marketers Do When Measuring Influence and Marketing[21:31] Ways to Best Measure the Full Effect of Influencer Marketing[26:02] Why Long-term Approach to Influencer Marketing Is Important[29:27] Connect with Sanna and Cure MediaNotable QuotesWithout the correct ROI data, it's impossible to measure whether the activity has been successful, or to debt and which channels drive the most sales.One of the mistakes that many brands do today is that they work with influencers in sales marketing in a silo not using it, as you say, as an integrated part of the digital marketing infrastructure. Everything needs to go and be measured hand in hand.The strength of the channel is the ability to create these brand ambassadors that can talk to your audience in a way that they trust relate to, and rely on. And this is the relationship that you need to take time to build.If you haven't done any major changes in those channels like if the bodies/tactics are the same, you can quite easily attribute those changes or improvements to influence marketing. And if you do this over time to do a very concentrated period of punishments among influencers, you can, over time see trends and patterns. And it will eventually become easier to draw conclusions to learn based on these insights and data.I think what brands really need to remember is that this short term attitude towards influence marketing, this campaign based approach is in direct conflict, where the primary strength of the channel, which is relationship building,  authenticity, credibility, and just like in real life, it takes time to build trust and relationships. And taking a short-term approach to influence marketing is not the best way to go as this ignores the actual goal and value of the channel. Connect with Sanna OdmarkCure Media: https://www.curemedia.com/More Info on Neal Schaffer and This Podcast:Join My Digital First Mastermind: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer Learn more about this podcast:  https://podcast.nealschaffer.com

We are all using digital marketing to grow our business, and in doing so we are creating brand equity along the way. Brand equity is a powerful concept that doesn't appear in your income statement but indirectly helps you grow your business in tandem with your digital and social media marketing.When it comes to brand equity, there are some legal aspects that are important to understand so that what you grow in your business becomes rightfully and legally yours. This is especially true if your dream is to sell your company to a larger entity or receive funding from venture capitalists.For that reason, we have a unique interview with someone today, Bao Tran, an IP attorney who is launching a new startup to help democratize the patent application process. In this interview you will learn:1) Why brandings are a significant part of company valuation2) Different innovative ways brands can be protected with Trademarks3) Different ways brands can be protected with CopyrightsAfter listening to this episode you will be able to navigate the legal system from a branding perspective and understand what next steps you might want to take.Key Highlights[02:54] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Bao Tran[07:29] Company Valuation[10:00] The Ways Companies Can Protect Their Brand and Valuation[12:53] Things That You Can Get Trademarked[14:58] Ways You Can Distinguish Your Product[17:03] Why Trademark Clearance Search Is Important?[17:26] Trademark Search Options[20:00] What Are Copyrights?[21:35] Best Practices for Copyrights[24:16] The Third Element in Trademark Context[26:17] How Can I Protect NFT?[27:37] Connect with BaoNotable QuotesIn our present world that most of the value is in the consumer recognition of your brand and that's why your work and you know, and your co-workers work in marketing is super critical to the value of a company.The point here is it's under your control. If you don't want anybody else to come in, you can do that, if you want to allow people coming in, in exchange for a royalty you can do that is under your control.But you know, when you're doing that for a very for a year, if you're stretching out to a year period, the risk is increasing that possibly somebody could enter your business ahead of you, and then block you from using that name.It’s what we call a specimen. So you just upload that to the copyright, very inexpensive, and, you know, you can do it yourself and get that protection, easy protection.If you think that somebody is going to reuse that, then you want to control that by having a copyright registration. Copyright registration allows you to then go and pursue the party that you know, you think is misusing your copyright.Connect with Bao TranBao Tran on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugeidea/Email Bao at btran@patentpc.comBao's New Software Product: https://www.powerpatent.com/More Info on Neal Schaffer and This Podcast:Join My Digital First Mastermind: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer Learn more about this podcast:  https://podcast.nealschaffer.co

If you're doing your social media for business or yourself the same as you have for the last few years, your time is up. All of the trends in social media show us that we truly need to think visual first in so many ways in order to gain visibility within social media news feeds.In this episode I analyze all of the changes that have occurred in social media over the years, putting even niche platforms like Tsu and Ello (remember those?!?) into perspective. From this I believe the future of social media and thus social media marketing becomes clear, and I finish this episode with my advice on the ideal trifecta for your social media marketing going forward into 2022 and beyond...Key Highlights[01:33] Introduction[02:40] The History of Social Media[05:15] The Emergence of New Social Media Platforms[07:55] Dynamic and Emergence of Reels[10:28] Pinterest Dynamic[12:06] What Are Video Pins?[12:28] How To Get More Impressions from Different Social Media Platforms[14:13] The Effects of the Changes in Social Media[15:26] Tools You Can Do For Livestreaming[17:13] The Use of Video Content[17:59] Easy Ways of Repurposing Video Content[19:39] Why All Social Networks Now Want Content Creators[20:53] Get Paid for Sharing New Reels[21:31] The Other Important Type of Content[21:41] What Are Idea Pins?[23:00] Why Carousel Images Perform Better[25:12] Where Does Influencer Marketing Come to Play in Content Creatio?[27:18] SummaryNotable QuotesWhere we start with everything is we need to have a digital presence and the digital presence, the digital gateway becomes our website.If you want to get more impressions on Instagram, you do reels. If you want to get more impressions on Pinterest, you do video pins. More impressions mean above the funnel visibility and brand awareness does it add to more clicks or not, is a whole other story.It's about showing yourself showing up doing real-time content. You can't do reels you do videos igtv. But if you can do something longer, and cut it up into something as engaging as real, it's a new skill set that we sort of all has to learn. If you want to get the most visibility for your content, almost everywhere, video is going to be the key.The reels is all about entertainment. The carousel, the idea pins, and carousel images are more about education. And what's really interesting is that your results are going to vary.If you can't create the content, there is a ton of people out there that can't create the content are creating the content that you need to figure out ways to collaborate with. That's the heart of what I wrote about in the age of influence.People completely misunderstand, misinterpret influencer marketing, it's tapping into the influence of others in social media, whether they have 100 followers, or have 1000 followers.People that have influenced people that are able to build followers are a great content creator.Learn More:Join My Digital First Mastermind: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer Learn more about this podcast:  https://podcast.nealschaffer.com

In all of the social media platforms that exists and the various marketing tools that businesses can use to support your presence there, there is one social network for which there is one tool that rules them all.That social network is Pinterest, and the dominating tool is Tailwind.Learn from Senior Community Manager of Tailwind, Melissa Megginson all about their tool and comprehensive best practices not just for Pinterest, but also for Instagram and Facebook, which Tailwind supports.Key Highlights[04:09] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Melissa Megginson[06:14] What is Tailwind and How Melissa Started[08:39] Pinterest's Evolution[11:28] What Type of Pins Should I Be Posting?[15:30] Melissa's Advice When Creating Idea Pins[17:37] Best Format and Practices for Video Pins[18:03] Does Repurposing from Other Platforms Work?[21:51] What is Tailwind Create?[24:38] Tailwind Communities[29:53] Best Practices and Recommendations for Pinterest Ads[31:52] How to Do Keyword Research on Pinterest[33:24] What Makes Tailwind Different from Other Platforms?[36:48] How Should I Approach Instagram Through Tailwind?[39:30] Melissa's Advice on Facebook Marketing Strategy[43:38] Final Advice[44:31] Connect with Melissa and Tailwind Team[45:05] Summary[47:17] OutroNotable QuotesI would definitely think about it as a way to reach a broader audience. So, you don't want to be giving away everything that you have on your website and an idea pen because you still want to drive people to your website.It's just super simple to get that really top of funnel, introduce yourself to the Pinterest audience to new potential buyers and pull them in so that once they're following you, you can hit them with those video pins that people can click through on or the static pins that people can click through on.So, building up your, your website, your email list, all of that is really important, but you need people to land there first.Start with the organic content that's performing for you. I think that's a really good way to just sort of juice what's already happening and getting bad content that's already performing well in front of the right people. In social media marketing in general, we talked about the need to be consistent. I think when creating any kind of social media posts, you need to think about the story that you're telling rather than the individual posts that you're creating.Use the platforms. Don't just go in as a marketer. Use the platforms yourself. Get to know them, get to know what you like, get to know what is performing well, and you'll do a lot better as a mark Get her.Find Our More about Tailwind: Click here to start for free and get a $30 credit for a future subscription – only for my community! (affiliate link)More Info on Neal Schaffer and This Podcast:Join My Digital First Mastermind: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer Learn more about this podcast:  https://podcast.nealschaffer.com

Digital and social media are the field of dreams for every business. The problem is that you first need a roadmap to get started, but even with that roadmap you will have your successes and failures, new discoveries, and learn a lot both about your target audience as well as your product and branding.This is why a mindset of never-ending experimentation is critical for success in digital and social media marketing as well as if you have a digital product or service. But its not just experimentation that is important: Equally important is understanding when you need to pivot and then actually making that alignment.To me digital marketing is art, which is why the creative aspect excites me on a daily basis. I sincerely hope that you find some inspiration in this episode.Key Highlights[01:54] How Neal Created His Membership CommunityThe story of how Neal's membership community started and why it was now called the "mastermind of business leaders".[05:29] Why I Like Setting Up Quarterly Flags[06:55] When To Do Reassessment?[08:57] The Importance of Building Library of ContentWhat does the library of content do in my business?[11:53] What Did I Do To Promote My Book?[13:27] What Do I Need To Do To Start Generating Results?[14:00] Why You Need To Experiment NOW![16:14] The Critical Items On Influencer Marketing[17:02] Read The Signals And Act On It!Now that you know how to read the signals, what is the next step? Act on them![19:43] Experiment and Get the Data[21:26] ConclusionNotable QuotesIt's always you're only as good as your current quarter sales, not even your previous quarter sales.When we launch a business, or we're working on behalf of an employer, or an entrepreneur, we want to make an impact. And I do too, in everything that I do. So if I see something not making the impact that I thought it would make, then it's time to reassess.With digital, anything is possible. And you don't know what is possible until you have your tentacles out there.A little tweak is sometimes all you need. with digital to start generating results.But the key thing here is that number one, you got to be experimenting. That's obvious. Number two, you got to be listening for the signals.Digital marketing is more about an analog way of thinking than a digital way of thinkingYou want to excel in social media marketing, you need to be an active consumer of social media first.Relationships are critical. You know this from those that read the age of influence, and my views on influencer marketing. But it also means to have critical thinking analytical skills, to be able to piece things together for me to go have that aha moment.Learn More:Join My Digital First Mastermind: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer Learn more about this podcast:  https://podcast.nealschaffer.com

The world of advertisement has truly changed. Consumers are now savvy and smart – they know if the advertiser is genuine or not. In addition, the channels in which you can connect to your customers are continuously expanding. As a product-based business owner, you may wonder, how can I make my business a success?Well, worry no more because, in this episode, we have the experts and the combined force behind The Product Boss Podcast -- Minna Khounlo-Sithep and Jacqueline Snyder, who will help you make your dreams come true! Join me as we learn everything you need to build a successful product-based business - and the importance that you need to always place on relationships.Key Highlights[01:28] Introduction of Podcast Guest, The Product Boss -- Minna Khounlo-Sithep and Jacqueline Snyder[02:26] Who Are The Product Boss?[03:42] How "The Product Boss" Started[05:42] How Marketing Products Changed in the Age of Social Media[08:46] The Most Effective Way of Connecting with Your Customer[10:13] Will Product-Based Business Work on a Team?[14:15] Curating the Right People to Talk About Your Brand[17:49] Most Successful Ways to Grow a Product-Based Business Today[21:12] The Things I Should Pay Attention as A Product-Based Business Owner[22:46] Mistakes to Avoid When Running a Product-Based Business[25:03] The Product Boss' Advice[29:03] Connect with Jacqueline and MinaNotable QuotesWhat we've seen is people buy from people. So no matter what you're doing, if you're building a business right now, it really is about that relationship.It's really about getting customers to be obsessed with you. And it's harder for them to be obsessed with you trust you feel like they're part of your life or that you resonate, or they resonate with your part of life, when it's a product that's forward facing versus a person that's telling you why the product matters to you, and why it matters to them.Whenever we coach people to hire on for their team, it's values based. So you hire for values before you hire for skill, because you can always teach skill.The influencer has to be able to develop their own story how they speak how they talk. That's why their audience engage with them. And so it really is about the story and how it's told by the influencer.We're digital marketers, we could come up with 100 different ideas of courses, and coaching programs, and masterminds and all the things but we try and stay sort of within our niche and make sure that we're kind of honing in and focusing on what our customers need.Guest Links:Jacqueline and Mina's Podcast: The Product Boss: https://www.theproductboss.com/podcastWebsite: https://theproductboss.comSignature Course: https://multistreammachine.comShop1in5: https://shop1in5.comLearn More about Neal Schaffer:Join My Group Coaching Membership Community: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Contact Me about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/contact/ The Age of Influence Free Preview: https://nealschaffer.com/age-of-influence-preview