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Social media is replete with doctrine and myth, but those are no substitute for actually *thinking* about your brand's audience, goals, and intentions in social media. We all know something about social, but at least part of what we 'know' is probably wrong. Likewise, "going in there blind" costs us opportunities and time. Laurie Jamaitus, of Vetracom, manages social media and deploys brands into the social wild. Daniel DiGriz, external Marketing Director for hire, and Director of Strategy at MadPipe, asks Laurie to elucidate key points in social media strategy, and situates those into an overall digital marketing plan. Topics Include: "Doing" social media vs. portraying your business as a person Being directly involved in your social media vs. avoiding contact How the followers game tells your 'real' audience you're fake The elusive ROI in social and the flaw in A:B thinking Social vs. sales/advertising = owning vs. renting One size fits all rules vs. tailoring to your audience

Effective event marketing requires knowing how to carry yourself, when to give a pitch, when to pass, when to engage, and when to move on. Too often, a mixer can feel wooden an inauthentic. Networking groups often devolve into carrying around a stack of business cards and practicing your elevator pitch. Ruanna Sakols knows when to hold 'em and fold 'em. She offers sensible advice for mingling and shaking at marketing events and networking events, whether you host them or merely attend. Daniel DiGriz, Director of Strategy at MadPipe, asks Ruanna about competitors, braggarts, users and lonely hearts, as well as what to do with that giant stack of business cards. Topics Include: The criteria for a successful event How to create synergy and flow Optimal networking event behavior Thought leadership and nail polish What to do with your elevator pitch Four common human hurdles Picking events that will matter How to trust the process

A company can never outsource 100% of its marketing; it can't even outsource the most critical responsibility, which falls not with any marketing person, but with the owner. That critical role is the role of 'thought leader'. Steve Pruneau explains what thought leadership really is, and how it shapes the direction of a business from marketing to operations, whether by its presence or absence. In his words, "YOU have to do it." Daniel DiGriz, Director of Strategy, at MadPipe, and a thought leadership coach in his own right, asks Steve to explode some of the myths around thought leadership and the substitutions we often insert in its place. Steve and Daniel are also partners in a passionately growing startup called Free Agent Source, which is a management consulting firm made of independent consultants. Run your project on Free Agent Source, skip the powerpoint presentations, and just get it done. Topics Include: What a thought leader is Why thought leadership is important Why you can't just hire one How thought leadership differs from subject matter expertise Multiple thought leaders in one company Reproducing thought leadership in others The E-myth and thought leadership Conflicts with management culture

Graphic design can't do its job in a vacuum. Design exists to unify the elements of our presentation, to elevate the conversation with the audience. Too often, when we think of design, our minds go directly to getting a logo. But design is more important than that and, until we attach it to its proper role in our companies, even the logo won't convey our message properly. Pierre Janssen explains the role of design and how graphic design can reflect the intrinsic values of a company to change the end-user experience. Daniel DiGriz, Director of Strategy at MadPipe, asks Pierre about the vetting designers and the role of design in both digital and traditional media. Topics Include: What designers do How design is priced How to screen designers The relationship of designers to branding strategists / branding officers Differences between digital and print The hidden cost of cheap logos

"Spoken Media" is a name we'll give to the kind of content marketing and brand presentation that centralizes the human voice. That could be a podcast, a presentation requiring a spokesperson, or a video series in which a speaker delivers content. Terri Trespicio is a spokesperson, successful podcaster, host of various shows - such as Whole Living, and branding consultant that talks about what it takes to be successful with spoken media. Daniel DiGriz, Director of Strategy at MadPipe, asks Terri to reach into her extensive marketing experience and focus specifically on how spoken media fits into an overall marketing strategy. Topics Include Why brands need a spokesperson How a company can know if spoken media is right for their brand How to create a unified branding message How does the medium affect the message What it takes to run and grow a successful show Pitfalls and potholes in the branding exercise

It's  perhaps more important than ever to do effective PR with your business. Search has become overly competitive and penalizes shortcuts. Paid media costs are skyrocketing. Brand mentions count as implied links, and if you're a disruptor with a story, a killer placement or few can mean boots through the door. Hansa Bergwall runs Mira PR, and talks about what public relations is and how it works. He frames the discussion in terms of earned marketing and/or validation marketing - term it pays to understand. Hansa is laden with insights on what you can achieve with PR, what makes it effective, how it has evolved, and how to get involved. These are all precious insights for businesses tired of running on a marketing treadmill. Hansa points out that PR is just one tool in the toolbox, but your company's marketing toolbox isn't complete without it. Daniel DiGriz, Director of Strategy at MadPipe, asks Hansa how it all works and what companies can expect out of a PR relationship. This show might be the one that changes your mind and your strategic direction for the better, by including PR in your mix of marketing initiatives. Topics Include: What is PR and earned marketing or validation marketing? Is PR for any size business? What's the cost / benefit vs. say advertising? What's the real the value of PR? What are examples of effective PR? What does PR cost? How long does it take PR to be effective? How has PR evolved in the era of social? What's the ideal outcome of PR? What are the criteria for PR success?

Your marketing is too important to take on alone. One important step is getting a digital strategist like MadPipe. Another is partnering with other professionals across multiple industries. Generating referrals is about collaboration, trust, and commitment to a process. Jeff Nolan, residential real estate agent with Corcoran founded BNI 45 in Manhattan, a referral marketing group made up of other professionals in a diversity of industries. As president of that BNI chapter, "The Breakfast of Champions", he has a vision for how to grow companies and increase the clientele of individual professionals. Daniel DiGriz, Director Strategy at MadPipe, asks Jeff how effective referral marketing works, what kinds of businesses can benefit, and how to navigate the commitments it requires. If you're wanting more clientele with better return on your marketing investment and less competition to wrestle with, you owe it to yourself to listen to this podcast. Show Topics Include: The difference between networking and prospecting. How the referral process works. The significance of locking out competition. How to build a power sphere. The importance of structure. How trust drives referral marketing. Cost / benefit (ROI) on referral marketing. Which professions can benefit from a marketing group like BNI.

Your brand needs a home, but it doesn't need to STAY home. A brand travels, from hand to hand, eyeball to eyeball, and through word of mouth. Promotional products are the vehicles on that brand marketing highway, but selecting the right product that fits the company ethos and the marketing purpose requires more than a drag and drop mentality. Whitney Blam is a promotional products consultant in New York City who translates brand strategy and event goals into stunning promotional products for corporate and small business marketing. Whitney arranges everything from sourcing to full-on visceral experiences for the clients of her clients. In this feature length show, Daniel DiGriz, Director of Digital Strategy at MadPipe, asks Whitney to help us get beyond the stereotype of promo products and think both inside and outside the box for reaching our audiences with our brands. If you host, sponsor, or get involved with event marketing or branded marketing, you need to hear this show. Show Questions Include: Can we get beyond pens and mugs? What's the most unusual promo product? How do promo products fit into event marketing? What is hardest to understand about promo products? What about ethical sourcing and eco-products? When does it make sense to get exclusive products? What are the most interesting uses of promo products?

You aren't a web designer, and you don't need to be. You do need to make your web design adhere to your business objectives. That leads to an overall marketing strategy, which leads to content and a certain user experience that suggests a design. It may sound complicated, but it really isn't; the conversation is about who your audience is, what you want them to do, and how we intend to engage them in that conversation. Shayne Spencer is a web developer in New York City who delves into the essential criteria for delivering a visually stunning website that delights and converts potential customers. Shayne advises business owners and non-profits on how to think about design trends, competitors, mobile readiness, and strategy so that the resulting website is actually a marketing platform. In this feature length show, Daniel DiGriz, Director of Digital Strategy at MadPipe, asks Shayne what elements companies and organizations should prioritize in the web design process, about nailing down user experience, and about changes in search engine optimization that affect what a website is designed to do. Show Questions Include: How to ensure a more effective web design process. How to evaluate design trends, including fads & bandwagons. How has SEO changed, or morphed into content, social, and PR? How should we know what to pay for a website? How to choose between a content management system like Wordpress or a pure HTML site with no CMS. The pros and cons of copying competitors. How to prepare for the website design process. How to navigate mobile options like a responsive site vs. a separate mobile site or mobile app.

The quintessential element of effective marketing is communication. The content of our event marketing, such as panel discussions and presentations, videos and webinars, and blogging and social media, involves a particular art form - that of communicating confidently and effectively. Taren Sterry is a professional speaker, Communications Coach, and Team-building Coach based in New York City. Those who work with Taren uncover their core genius, revive their personal confidence, and engage others effectively for mutually meaningful conversations at any level. Taren digs into the risk-taking and humility required to connect with an audience or with those in our work and personal lives. She reminds us of the collaborative nature of communication and the requirement for authenticity, and underscores consistency in working on our skills. Daniel DiGriz, Director of Digital Strategy at MadPipe, asks Taren about how to be fully expressed in marketing communications, whether the target is a crowd, a cluster, or a small circle gathered around our ideas. Show Questions Include: How can someone find the courage to be fully expressed in their marketing? How can we dig into the core branding for a presentation? How do we identify the commonalities we share with the audience? How does one deal with the paralyzing effects of perfectionism?

Your business copy, web copy, and other content depend on the written word, even if it's video or multimedia. Whether copy converts or leaves the audience feeling flat depends on getting into their headspace, with intuition. The missing piece in your content strategy might be enough to turn an otherwise compelling web or print presentation into a dud. Jean Tang runs a content strategy and copywriting agency that works with big and small brands worldwide to distill a company's brand tone and core message, then capture an audience's attention with alluring, engaging copy. Daniel DiGriz, Director of Digital Strategy at MadPipe, asks Jean about which comes first - copy or design, key problems with most marketing content, risk vs. comfort in your brand tone, and how to evaluate copywriters and their output. Show Questions Include: Does copy come first, before design? What's the lasting significance of copy in a multimedia world? What are the key problems with most marketing content? Am I really the best judge of my content? Copywriters seem ubiquitous - by what criteria should I screen them? How does a business owner navigate the risk of engagement vs. the comfort of conservative copy?

An authentic conversation with clients starts BEFORE they read your web copy or social post. It starts with the visual context that content fills. A stock image, portrait photo, or random background may not be the way to go, if you're trying to connect with potential clientele. Ed Lefkowicz is a marketing photographer in the NYC area, helping companies truly engage their audience with visual information. Daniel DiGriz, Director of Digital Strategy at MadPipe, asks Ed about the role of stock photography, how the new big graphics ('hero graphics') on web sites need to be shot, and what to do with that internal company library of custom images. Show Questions Include: What is marketing photography? What's wrong with stock photography? What role does context play in marketing with photography? What's important, when it comes to hero images on websites?

Marketing actually starts with business goals, clear and rational thinking, and dealing with the fear and paralysis underlying a business. A poorly organized marketing plan can usually be tracked back to problems at the business level. Elizabeth Hulings is a business strategist working with New York City companies on optimizing their business processes, achieving their business goals, and working in what they love. Daniel DiGriz, Director of Digital Strategy at MadPipe, asks Elizabeth about the dysfunctions facing many companies, business owners, and professionals. Current public examples are explored, with conclusions for prioritizing business concerns. Show Questions Include: How would you characterize the priority of business strategy over marketing? What are some examples of process and goals challenges that businesses have?