Kerry Gorgone, Host of The MarketingProfs Podcast
By Cheval John
January 3rd, 2018
Today’s episode of What’s The Word? features Kerry Gorgone.
Kerry is the host of The MarketingProfs podcast, a show which interviews thought leaders in the marketing industry.
The show recently celebrated it 300th episode late last year.
Kerry also is a returning guest as she made an appearance on the 250th episode of my podcast.
In this episode, you will hear:
-How she celebrated their milestone of 300th episodes of the Marketing Profs
-Choosing Between Live Streaming and Podcasting
-The first concert Kerry ever attended
-If Kerry and Ann Handley released their “Christmas album”
Snippet on Vallano Media TV
Full episode on BlogTalkRadio
Kerry Gorgone’s Website: www.kerrygorgone.com
Twitter: @kerrygorgone
Quotes from Kerry Gorgone on:
300TH EPISODE OF MARKETING PROFS
What’s interesting about what Lou Imbriano had to say was it’s not just about X plus Y equals Z.
You can’t just do the same thing no matter what type of business you are.
Every customer segment is a little bit different.
Every business is a little bit different.
You can not give a formula about how to build a relationship.
You have to just be prepared to go the extra mile for your customers and know what it is you know or anticipate.
What it is that certain segments need and really genuinely express I think empathy and interest in helping them get the most out of your product or service.
It is a lot more human and it’s much more of an art than a science sometimes.
Sure there’s data behind how often those people renew because you put in the extra effort.
But can you draw a straight line between opening after hours so that somebody can get their work done because they are on a deadline and extra revenue through renewal?
That would be difficult, but the relationship is there nonetheless.
That’s what was interesting about Lou.
He works a lot now.
He was with the (New England) Patriots before.
So it’s very different kind of marketing.
But you still had your super fans and then you’re more casual fans and then people who maybe come to a game now and then and people who just don’t care about sports at all.
So who are you going to focus on?
Obviously, the people who cares and spend money with you.
LIVE STREAMING
Depends on your business.
It can always help you.
If you are talking about driving real specific business objectives, I think if you do events, even a user conference, then live streaming would be very beneficial to you because you are going to create kind of a fear of missing out among the people who did not attend the event and they’re going want to come next time.
So there’s a lot to be said for featuring users, customers, clients, employees, etc.
Live streaming gives you a look at someone literally that you could not get any other way from a glossy headshot and a well-written piece or even an audio podcast to a point.
I think that’s always gonna benefit you.
If you are selling Lamborghinis, then live stream, not while driving because it would be irresponsible.
I think it’s very valuable.
So the more you can do something different, the better your results are going to be for gaining some initial exposure.
Live streaming that way can be good too.
PODCASTING
You have seen an incredible renaissance in podcasting because it is so much easier for people to produce them and publish them.
It’s so much easier for people to find and listen to them.
Edison Research does this great series year after year called “The Infinite Dial”
It talks about the podcast listening audience.
It’s growing and is really valuable.
The people that listen to a podcast on average make more money.
They are more inclined to interact with brands online.
So if you are in marketing, you should be podcasting because the people who listen to podcasts, they are the people you want.
It’s better than a lot of other marketing channels we invest a lot in and do not think twice about.
From a qualitative perspective, it literally gives you your customers ear.
There is an intimacy to that.
I’ve had people recognize me at marketing profs events just from my voice which is hysterical to me.
There’s something very personal about it as well.
I just think it’s a medium unlike any other.
Not only is the research there to support that it’s growing, but anecdotally, people seem to gravitate towards it.
CHOOSING BETWEEN LIVE STREAMING AND PODCASTING
You can consider a live stream a podcast if you do it regularly.
It’s not audio only.
I mean you could have a video podcast.
For one thing, you must have effective live stream if you are video podcasting because it’s really hard to edit video.
So if you stutter or something and try to fix that, you will be like a jump out in the video.
If you’re a little skittish of post-production, then live streaming might be preferable for you.
If on the other hand, you’re afraid of saying something wrong, then maybe start out with an audio podcast because you can fix that.
So it’s really a question of your goals and your preferences.
There are times that watching a video is not convenient.
Going to the gym comes to mind.
You should not be watching a video while sitting in the car.
It’s just different.
You are reaching people at a different time.
The only thing is a lot of people watch videos with the volume off because they don’t want to get caught at work.
Unless they have close captioning or something, they’re not going to know what you are saying.
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Fiona Birch, Founder of Pro Athletes Online
By Cheval John
December 27th, 2017
Today’s episode of What’s The Word? features Fiona Birch.
Fiona is the founder of Pro Athletes Online, a company which helps athletes to be aware of how they present themselves on social media the right way.
She has spoken at conferences including Social Media Marketing World 2016 and is set to speak there again next year.
Fiona has also given presentations for brands and business schools including Air Zealand.
The show was recorded on Blue Jeans Network and simulcast to Facebook Live
In this episode, you will hear:
-why she decided to found Pro Athletes Online
-why college athletes should take control of their brand
-the importance of social media
-the one hero she would spend one day with past or present
Snippet on Vallano Media TV
Full Episode on BlogTalkRadio
Website: www.proathleteonline.com
Twitter: @fi_birch
Quotes from Fiona Birch on:
FAILURE AND SUCCESS
We grow up with every cliche your can imagine.
One of my father’s cliche was “The world is your oyester.”
The other one was, “It’s easy to be the same as everybody else.”
One of the things that I ask people is “Are you scared of failure or are you scared of success because I think a lot of people assume that they are scared of messing up.
For me, I would say, “I’m probably more afraid of success than I am of failure.”
I’m very good at picking myself up the ground and just doing it again.
Sometimes when it’s all about to happen and you feel it and know it’s about to go crazy.
It’s all about really being honest about what it is that freaking you out at any point in time.
You have to go into the next unknown phase.
Sometimes we get so comfortable and it’s been a struggle and getting knocked back and hitting your head against the wall.
ATHLETES USING SOCIAL MEDIA
When it comes to social media and somebody is building a brand for themselves, “it’s do not do this, do not do that, do not be an idiot.”
If you are not building your brand, then the only two people who are building your brand are the media and the trolls.
They will come after you.
They are not looking for a good story at all.
So that’s one thing we face a lot with athletes is the agenda of other people.
LAS VEGAS KNIGHTS STANDING OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
What they have actually created is what I think is an amazing feat for branding.
What summed up from a brand point of view is who is going to take VEGAS seriously.
They never had a pro team before.
They were very honest of what they were.
They are a city of entertainment.
They are a city of secrets.
They are a city that sort of everybody visits and have fun.
They got a great sense of humor.
There is actually a sense of community in Vegas when you live there.
For the rest of us, the perception is not they had to create this community.
The person that runs the golden knights social media account is hilarious.
He kind of looked at what the Kings did.
The National Hockey League (NHL) was pretty robotic in how they handle digital media to say it lightly.
So the Kings are the first to sort of went out there.
But Vegas went a bit further.
Lauri Nilo, Social Media Manager at Simply Measured
By Cheval John
Today’s episode features Lauri Nilo, social media manager for Simply Measured.
This interview was recorded months before Simply Measured got acquired by Sprout Social.
You will hear
-how Lauri’s entrepreneur mindset led her to start her blog
-how she helped grew the readership of the Gonzaga University Student Publications’ Bulldog Blog by 1,141 views
-the importance of studying abroad
-the one person she admires past or present who she would spend one day with
Snippet on Vallano Media TV
Full episode on BlogTalkRadio
Simply Measured’s website: www.simplymeasured.com
Lauri’s LinkedIn Page
Quotes from Lauri Nilo On
COLLEGE STUDENTS GETTING INTERNSHIPS
I think it’s really important for college students to have an internship before they graduate so that they can see what it’s like in the working world.
A lot of times what you learn in the classroom can be different from how things are actually implemented in the real world.
Let’s say for example, I anted to be a social media manager when I was in college and I thought that this is what being a social media manager meant and then I just went straight into this position and I found out like, “Oh no, this is not what I want to do.”
That’s why you need to have an internship before you graduate so that you have a better realization I guess of whatever it is you want to do.
STARTING THE TWITTER CHAT #SIMPLYCHAT
I started #simplychat because I really was looking into engaging the community that we have on twitter.
When I looked at the data, I found that impressions were not the roadblock for us, it was getting the people to engage back with us.
So I started asking questions in the tweets I posted and then I was like, “Okay, what can I do to really get this community together?”
Then I learned about twitter smarter and I was like, “Okay, how can I create a community like twitter smarter” because that’s an example of an amazing community.
I was like, “Well, why can’t simply measured start their own twitter chat?”
So I talked to my manager about it and wrote up this whole proposal of expected outcomes and why we should do this.
Together we decided to give it a try.
It’s going pretty well.
OVERCOMING DOUBTS
I think it’s natural for people to have doubts when they are taking a step in what they consider a risk.
So I definitely had some doubts but glad I took this opportunity at simply measured.
MENTORSHIP
My main mentor is actually my manager.
I remember talking to her about this during my interview process and she mentioned that it’s really important for her to not really be seen as a manager, but as a mentor.
So she is my biggest mentor right now.
There’s so much I can learn from her.
For example, anytime I write copy for twitter, sometimes I’ll mull over it for like 15-20 minutes and then I realize, “This is 120 characters, I probably should not be spending fifteen minutes on it.”
So I’ll send it over to her.
She’ll look at it and ten seconds later, it’s ten thousand times better.
FAVORITE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM
I like twitter in my role as a social media manager because it’s easy to learn from other people about building relationships on social media in general.
On a personal level, my favorite is definitely instagram because it really challenges people to present their best side which is a good thing and a bad thing.
I think it’s really fun to look at other people’s lives through this curated fashion.
Mike McGuff, Blogger and Social Media Power Influencer
By Cheval John
December 13th, 2017
Today’s episode of What’s The Word? features Mike McGuff.
Mr. McGuff is a blogger who covers breaking news in the Texas media.
He was named a Houston Social Media Power Influencer in 2014, 2016 and 2017.
Mr. McGuff’s work has been featured in media outlets like the Chicago Tribune, Houston Chronicle, NBC News, The U.K. Daily Mail and CNN International.
He also been interviewed on media like ABC 13 Houston, The Roula and Ryan Show and Fox 26 Houston.
Mr. McGuff also served as a correspondent for ITV’s Good Morning Britain
In this episode, you will hear:
-How he started blogging
-Why Texas media outlets sends him press releases of changes happening within their organizations
-The importance of being patient in building a business
Snippet on Vallano Media TV
Full episode on BlogTalkRadio
Website: www.mikemcguff.com
Twitter: @mikemcguff
Quotes from Mike McGuff On
FACEBOOK LIVE
I think it’s important to remember that even if you do not have the audience immediately during the live broadcast, you will get more of an audience after the live broadcast in the replays in people’s feeds.
I think what businesses can do is show a more personal human side to the business and get the information out there that they want.
You do not want to sell or market to someone.
Video is a great opportunity to get in front of someone.
It seems one-on-one though it’s not.
But you kind of feel like you know the person when you are watching them on video and actually seeing them and hearing them talk.
I think that makes a stronger connection from the client or customer than just reading words.
So really you’re going to humanize yourself and get the person to like you or your brand more and you can be selling indirectly at that point.
BUSINESSES LEARNING FROM THE HOUSTON ASTROS
When the Astros were sold, they lost a lot of the heart and soul of the team.
What they smartly did was used analytics to look at what they needed and they drafted the players that could help them.
I think any business should say, “Nothing Is Immediate.”
You’ve got to take time to grow your business.
You got to use analytics and measurements to kind of figure out what works and what does not work.
You look for people with specific skills and have the smarts and talent that you can help nurture.
You want to eventually achieve your business goal.
So I think any business can learn a lesson from the Astros definitely in that sense.
Work hard and do it smartly though.
You really got to have an ultimate strategy.
Clearly they had a strategy laid out to win the World Series.
SOCIAL MEDIA
I think social media is a daily struggle.
You always have to have new content out there that’s relevant and interesting to your audience.
What can I do today that will get me more followers tomorrow.
It’s something you always have to be thinking about.
If I miss a day, it’s probably because I’m sick or extremely busy.
Even on vacation, I sometimes put out stuff on social media.
I learned that from working in television because you are putting content out there and I think having that training is perfect for social media.
TWITTER BEING AN UNDERUSED RESOURCE FOR ENTREPRENEURS
A large percentage of my audience are members of the media because that is where they are.
The reason they are on there is because Twitter is immediate.
It really is perfect for delivering news.
Twitter is a headline service.
Though Facebook is fun and has news too, it has a lot of extra distractions.
You can sort through twitter and make your own lists.
For journalists, that extremely important.
So it is a great way to get out in front of them because a lot of times, while going on assignment and their photographers driving, they are scanning their phones looking at twitter and facebook, largely twitter though to search for stories.
HOUSTON MEDIA PERSONALITIES WHO STAND OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Some of the most popular, Dominique Sachse and Jennifer Reyna, those are two of the top people I think of.
Dominique has a YouTube channel where she is offering make up tips because as a television anchor, she has done make up for 20 years on herself and has learned a lot about makeup techniques.
The last time I looked, she had around 50,000 to 60,000 YouTube subscribers.
This is not just the channel to viewers in Houston, this is all over the world apparently.
She gotten this massive following by doing this.
That’s pretty smart to be able to have one successful career in television and then having a totally separate career in YouTube.
John McClain of the Houston Chronicle and Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston are excellent at using twitter to breaking news on the social platform.
You can leave a comment below if you agree or disagree with this post.
Jessika Phillips: Founder and President of Now Marketing Group
By Cheval John
December 6th, 2017
Disclaimer: This Is A Sponsored Post
Today’s episode of What’s The Word? features Jessika Phillips, who is the founder and president of Now Marketing Group.
Her Ohio based company is a Forbes agency which serves about 200 clients nationally and worldwide.
This podcast episode was recorded on facebook Live using Blue Jeans Network months prior.
The reason for the disclaimer: Two weeks prior to the airing of this episode, Now Marketing Group became a client for my company to promote their upcoming conference, “Social Media Week Lima 2018” and this blog post is one of the ways I am promoting the conference.
Even if they were not paying me, I would still promote social media week lima because I spoke there as a panelist earlier this year and I saw first hand how well run the conference is.
I saw first hand how Jessika worked alongside her Now Marketing Group team and the university student volunteers from the University of Northern Ohio.
This is one of the reasons why I would recommend attending Now Marketing Group’s conference.
In this episode, you will hear:
-How Jessika decided to start Social Media Week Lima
-How she got the opportunity to speak at Social Media Marketing World 2018
-The difference between a magnet and bullhorn (her terms)
-The one person (past or present) who she would spend time with
Snippet on Vallano Media TV
Full episode on BlogTalkRadio
Website For Social Media Week Lima 2018: www.nowmarketinggroup.com
Facebook Page: Now Marketing Group
Twitter: @jessikaphillips
Quotes from Jessika Phillips on:
OVERCOMING DOUBTS
The doubts came before I started the business.
You get super comfortable and the biggest obstacle you have to overcome is just getting started.
If you can get started, you’ve built up enough momentum to keep you going.
You just have to feed that momentum.
Whether that’s through training, getting connected with other people or hosting things on your own, you just have to keep that momentum going.
I sat with my computer for five to six hours with the same screen up before I hit enter to submit for my business name.
I was so paronoid because I had a good job, a company car, the whole thing.
It was like, “do I really want this or do I not?”
Sometimes your family and your friends, God love them, they are not always going to tell you that you can go after that thing.
It’s something you have to do within yourself.
It’s something that you have to say, “I’m willing to take this chance. I know that I am capable and I know what I want to do is going to serve someone else.”
Your family and friends are there to try and protect you and they may be afraid for you.
But you literally have to put blinders on and just be in your own lane and keep your momentum going.
ON BEING A MAGNET THAN A BULLHORN
They have been trained that marketing is having to spend money and broadcast your message out.
They preaching the same message that everybody cares what you have to say and all you need to do is say it to them.
I attribute that to being the same as you only calling someone every time you need something.
They are gonna get pretty annoyed with you and not want to pick up the phone.
So you have to think, “How can I offer value. How can I work as a magnet and draw people in to me” because they have more options.
Now you are competing with a larger audience and there’s so many pools for our attention.
Customers don’t want to be bullhorn.
That’s why DVRs exists.
That’s why Pandora exists.
That’s why YouTube is out there.
You can get news on Twitter.
People do not want to be interrupted in their day.
They just want to be in their own lane and be around things that are serving to them.
So you have to think of ways you can attract people to you.
We as marketers need to do a better job of working with our clients to tell them the same thing like “Yes, people will care about what you have to say, but they have to know you care first about what they are struggling with or what they are trying to find an answer to or why they’d be coming to you” because if not, then you are just an interruption and a part of the noise.
Listen more. Know who you are trying to talk to and how you can help them along the way.
ON LIVE VIDEO
When podcasting was becoming big, I just could not see myself podcasting.
So I was like, “how can I do this in another way?”
I was comfortable with video at the time.
I worked with our videographer to actually shoot videos to keep people up to date on what was happening in social media and what new things clients could try out.
I just knew I could help more people if they had instant access to it and did not have to come to me or sign up for a webinar.
They could just find it online.
Then live video rolled out.
Now we don’t have to produce this and wait for it to be edited.
We can go live in the moment.
So it was a very easy decision at that point to say, “Let’s double down and do this, make it consistent every tuesday at 4 p.m. eastern, we’re going live and we’re gonna have a show concept all about how you can be a magnet versus a bullhorn with your marketing.
ON CHOOSING THE LIVE VIDEO PLATFORMS
It depends on their goals.
If their goals are to be found, then I honestly would say YouTube because I do see a huge potential on YouTube Live right now in the moment, having your video there, building up a community especially if they already have subscribers.
Facebook right now seems to be the one that’s kind of holding the trump card as far as live video.
I’m excited to see where that goes and how they are going to be building this creator community of people that are going to be going live.
It truly does depend on who you are trying to target and who you are as a brand.
I still see value in instagram.
I still see value in snapchat.
I have seen several people that have done really, really well on snapchat as an influencer. They are building up a community and some of the millennials are still there.
If you have a super niche, periscope (twitter’s live video app) works for so many brands.
So literally, this answer could change depending on what company you are and who you are trying to attract.
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