Maximize Your Social With Neal Schaffer

Today I have a special guest who is also an influencer marketing expert discussing the past and future trends of influencer marketing. P.J. Leimgruber is the founder of one of the leading influencer marketing platforms, NeoReach, and he most recently founded the Clash App.He developed this new app because he feels that the existing brand deal system that is prominent in influencer marketing is broken. That's why PJ recently joined forces with former Vine sensation, Brendon McNerney, to launch Clash, a short-form video app with built-in creator monetization tools, to solve the problem, and provide the infrastructure necessary to create a more sustainable brand-deal ecosystem.Some of the things we discussed include:How social media user behavior is changing going into 2022, and why that's a good thing (creating more authentic interactions, building off of connections to niche audiences and devoted fanbases)How brands can leverage "microtransactions" and tools like Clash drops to connect with

With all of the changes that society, technology, and social media undergoes at a frenzied pace, have you taken a step back to analyze your results from the previous year and use that insight to pivot your digital marketing strategy?This podcast provides you a living example of how I balance my own digital marketing channels, what I learn from the data, and how I plan on applying it to all of my digital marketing this year.I hope this episode both inspires you and provides you with a concrete example to help you truly Maximize Your Digital (and Social, of course!)Key Highlights[02:34] A Little Personal Story[08:06] How to Pivot Your Digital Marketing Strategy For 2022[10:04] Looking At The Output in 2021 [11:26] Blogging As Part of R&D[12:33] My YouTube Output[13:44] My Podcast Output[14:52] Rebranding My Podcast[15:45] My Email Marketing Output[17:05] The Big Three Areas of Digital Marketing[17:53] Initial Results for my Blogging[19:40] Initial Results for my YouTube[20:07] Initial Results for my Podcast

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-line

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] M

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 Collaboratin

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

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 beco

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:

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

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 budg

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

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!!!Key Highlights[01:20] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Georgios Chasiotis[04:03] When and Why Clients Come to Min

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

"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 t

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] ClickBan

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 leveragin

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 i

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 wi

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 Medi

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