Rich Brooks is joined by Roman Burič, a senior behavioral consultant and copywriter at Mindworx, who brings a fresh perspective on making customer interactions as effortless as possible. Roman, with a PhD in experimental psychology, shares his expertise on reducing perceived effort to enhance customer engagement and satisfaction. This episode dives deep into the psychology behind customer actions and offers practical tips for businesses to streamline their processes for better online lead generation and customer success. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/523 Learn more about our Digital Marketing Summit: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/summit Pre-Register now: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/summit/register

In this episode of the podcast, Rich Brooks converses with Nick Usborne, a renowned copywriting expert who emphasizes the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Emotional Intelligence (EI) in copywriting to create compelling, human-centric content. Nick shares insights on differentiating content in an AI-dominated landscape by infusing more emotional intelligence, storytelling, and human elements, which AI cannot replicate. He argues that while AI significantly enhances productivity and creativity, the unique touch of EI makes content stand out. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/522 Learn more about our Digital Marketing Summit: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/summit Pre-Register now: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/summit/register Learn more about sponsorships: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/summit/sponsors

In today's episode, we dive into the world of small team marketing with the extraordinary Sarah Block. With 16 years of experience under her belt, Sarah has not only worked with industry giants like Apartments.com and Prudential, but she's also found her passion in aiding small teams to achieve monumental results. Creator of the Strategic Spark Workshop, The Strategic Story, and Tiny Marketing Framework, Sarah's expertise lies in transforming the limited resources of tiny teams into significant outcomes. Join us as we explore the unique challenges and opportunities for small marketing teams and unravel Sarah's innovative strategies for maximizing their impact. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/521 Learn more about our Digital Marketing Summit: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/summit Pre-Register now: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/summit/register Apply to speak: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/cfs Learn more about sponsorships: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/summit/sponsors

Are you considering putting on a virtual event? Are you looking for ways to build your audience, your credibility, and your business? In this episode of The Agents of Change, Rich Brooks engages Chris Mercer, a renowned expert in digital analytics and co-founder of MeasurementMarketing.io. Mercer returns for the third time to share his invaluable insights. This time, he delves into the intricate world of creating successful virtual summits, drawing from his extensive experience and the success of Measure Summit. Listeners can expect to unravel the secrets behind organizing impactful virtual events and learn how Mercer's strategies have led to astonishing attendee numbers and community engagement. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/520 Learn more about our Digital Marketing Summit: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/summit Pre-Register now: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/summit/register Apply to speak: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/cfs Learn more about sponsorships: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/summit/sponsors

In today's episode of 'The Agents of Change,' we're diving deep into the power of owned assets in marketing with the expertise of Casey Hill from Active Campaign. Casey, with over a decade of experience in scaling software companies, joins us to unravel the secrets of leveraging owned assets for maximum control and long-term growth in marketing. Get ready to learn how these assets can revolutionize your approach to consumer behavioral data, narrative control, attention capture, and building authentic customer relationships. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/519 Pre-register for the AOC Digital Summit: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/waitlist Apply to speak at the AOC Digital Summit: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/cfs

Discover the art of maximizing website conversions with Marty Greif, a seasoned expert in Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO). In this enlightening episode of "The Agents of Change," Marty unravels the secrets to transforming your website into a high-converting machine. From understanding visitor psychology to leveraging analytics and heat maps, Marty provides actionable insights that can revolutionize your digital marketing strategies. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/518 AOC Digital Marketing Summit Waitlist: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/waitlist AOC Call for Speakers: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/cfs

In this episode of The Agents of Change, Rich Brooks sits down with Crystal Carter, the head of SEO Communications at Wix, to delve into the pivotal role of schema in SEO. Crystal, with over 15 years of experience and insights from global giants like Disney and McDonald's, will enlighten us about how schema, or structured data, can be the game-changer in your quest for the top spot in Google rankings. If you're looking to elevate your website's visibility and traffic through organic search, this is an episode you can't afford to miss. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/517

If you've ever found yourself staring at stagnating metrics or struggling to revive the pulse of your PPC efforts, you’re in the right place. Andrew Percey of Prometheus PPC is here to unravel expert strategies, actionable insights, and success stories that will help you transform your flatlining paid search campaign into a thriving powerhouse. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/516

Description: Today on 'The Agents of Change,' we delve into the world of web design with a special focus on balancing aesthetics with practical functionality. Our guest, Arsh Sanwarwala, founder and CEO of ThrillX, brings a wealth of experience in UX and UI design and conversion optimization. With his extensive work in designing digital solutions for top global brands, Arsh offers invaluable insights on creating websites that not only captivate but convert. Join us as we explore the intricacies of web design and learn how to craft sites that are visually stunning and highly functional.

Boost your business and generate income by creating and marketing online courses! No matter your industry, online courses can establish your brand, increase awareness, and showcase your expertise. Nicki Krawczyk, creator of the Circuit Sales System, explains how online courses help us educate customers, demonstrate industry leadership, and expand our offerings to help grow our business.

As marketers, we should be using data to paint a clearer picture for us about the people who are already buying from us, as well as get a better understanding of who's likely to become our next customer. It's those patterns that will help us get with where we want to go next with our marketing. Phil Case explains how data driven information can really accelerate our understanding of who our customer is and how to best engage and interact with them. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/513

In this episode of The Agents of Change, join us as we delve into the evolving world of generative AI with Madeleine Lambert, a former content marketing agency founder turned AI detection expert. Madeleine, now at the helm of marketing and sales at originality.ai, shares her journey from content marketing to leading the charge in AI solutions. Discover how AI impacts content creation, the nuances of AI detection, and the balance between human touch and AI efficiency in marketing. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/512

In this episode of "The Agents of Change," we dive into the dynamic world of TikTok with Keenya Kelly, the CEO of If You Brand It. Keenya, a trailblazer in vertical video marketing, has transformed her business and helped others achieve monumental success through the power of TikTok. With an audience of over 500,000 and a knack for turning social media trends into lucrative opportunities, Keenya's insights are a goldmine for anyone looking to harness TikTok's potential in their digital marketing strategy. Get ready to explore the secrets of viral success and innovative branding on one of the world's most influential platforms. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/511

AI is reshaping the landscape of idea generation and strategy development, providing an unparalleled blend of creativity and strategic advantage. How many of your current tasks could be streamlined - saving you time, money, and frustration - that you’re not utilizing AI for? Mike Kaput from Marketing AI Institute shared valuable insights on how to leverage AI effectively within your business. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/510

Description: Customer service isn’t a race, but speed matters. Quick issue resolution defines good service, boosting customer satisfaction and sales. Regardless of your industry, there are universal strategies to expedite service. Jay Baer shares his well-researched tips for improving the speed of service and achieving greater customer satisfaction. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/509

Social media expert Kasia Johnson from Merge Forward believes organic posting to social media still matters. Discover how your brand can leverage authenticity and behind-the-scenes video to boost your social media presence. Kasia also reveals how getting your team involved in content creation can expand reach and engagement. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/508

What impact will AI and generative tools have on the future of SEO? Alexander de Ridder of SmythOS dives deep into how the supply and demand for these tools can dilute website traffic, and just how to come out a winner in the long game. 

Learn the secrets of understanding customer behavior and effective marketing from Debbie Levitt, founder of Delta CX! Discover how to navigate buyer's minds and avoid stereotypes in a customer-centric approach. 

It’s critical to create copy that connects with your customer, but is AI a tool that will help you accomplish that goal, or will it lead to generic copy that doesn’t serve you or your audience? Discover how employing AI tools can rescue your time, budget, and supercharge productivity but also the pitfalls you need to avoid. Join Abby Wood from The Content Lab as she shares her dos, don'ts, and must-know warnings about AI and content creation. Bonus article: https://www.takeflyte.com/blog/ai-content-with-human-voice

Looking to improve performance, productivity, and profit? Go beyond just generative AI to understand how artificial intelligence can give you a competitive advantage. Chris Carr, from Farotech, is here to tell us how AI is reshaping the marketing landscape, and how you can stay ahead of the curve. 

Looking to get you or your brand on Wikipedia? It’s not as simple as just creating a page. Discover what Wikipedia looks for and what to avoid. Rhiannon Ruff from Lumino Digital joins Rich Brooks to explore what it takes to get yourself or your business on Wikipedia!

In the ever-evolving marketing landscape, understanding your customers has never been more critical. Marketing Strategist Ardath Albee teaches us the importance of knowing our buyer personas, and how this powerful tool can transform your marketing campaigns, allowing you to connect with your audience on a more personal level and achieve remarkable results. 

Virtual summits can be a game-changer for your business, but not all of them are profitable. Sadly, most business owners who host summits don't understand what it takes to get real results. But when you do it right, summits have the power to boost your visibility, income, and impact, helping you reach your goals faster. Jennie Wright gives us an insider’s look and shares her winning strategies for executing a profitable online summit. 

What's a "secret" about AI that no one's telling us? - What's the best B2B strategy for a small business with a national audience? - What's the best alternative to a website? - If you could have a superhero's power to enhance your digital marketing skills, which power would you choose and why? - Who has been your most unusual or memorable guest? I answer all those questions and more in this milestone for the Agents of Change podcast, episode 500! 

Discover how AI is revolutionizing industries, enhancing decision-making processes, and shaping the future of business strategies with AI business strategist, Rebecca Emery. She shares her valuable insights and tips for when (and when not) to use AI, as well as her predictions for the future of AI in the corporate landscape. Register for the Conference: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/conference AI Webinar: https://www.takeflyte.com/flyte-school/live-events

You want to simplify your marketing strategy with data-driven insights! You need to eliminate the guesswork by measuring, analyzing, and taking action on analytics data. But first, you need to know what data to measure and how to set that up in your new GA4, but you’re only comfortable using Universal Analytics. Not to worry! JJ Reynolds stops by to tell us how he’s done it, and shares how to transition and find the reports that will make the difference in GA4.  Free AI Webinar: https://www.takeflyte.com/flyte-school/live-events JJ Reynolds on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jjreynoldsjr/ Mediauthentic: https://mediauthentic.com/

“Four marketing professionals walk into an AI conference…” That’s not the start of a bad joke, I promise! But I was recently joined by three colleagues, who all traveled to Ohio for the recent Marketing AI Conference (MAICON), and we sat down to chat after about what we learned, how we plan to implement AI in our businesses and for our clients, and our predictions for the future of AI. Shout out to Andy Crestodina, Brooke Sellas, and Ron Callis for taking the adventure with me.  Brooke Sellas and her team at B Squared Communications help businesses build relationships and connect with their online communities. Be sure to connect with her on LinkedIn, and check out her new podcast! Ron Callis is a visionary in his niche, helping tech businesses grow. Check out his website for a sampling of what his team at One Firefly can offer. And be sure to connect with him on LinkedIn. Andy Crestodina is a nationally recognized speaker on all things marketing, including at his own conference, Content Jam, and is usually ahead of the curve as a thought leader in his industry. Check out his website to see how he’s helping businesses get better online results, and connect with him on LinkedIn.

Usually when we talk about CRO or conversion rate optimization, it's about optimizing paths you already created. You run an a/b split test on landing pages, headlines, photos, button color, and so on. But what if you took a different approach, and created entirely new pathways to conversions that didn't exist before? Ihor Sokolov, CRO and UXO expert, joins us on the show to talk about a creative new way to generate more conversions at your website...if you feel you've maxed out your current CRO opportunities, you'll want to check out this interview! 

With the explosion of ChatGPT onto the scene, generative AI has become the focus of most people’s—and most marketers’—attention. But what other roles can AI fill in our marketing and business workflows, and how do we get started? Katie Robbert of Trust Insights gives a look into the data side of generative AI, but also what other tools are out there that we can put into use today. 

Are your Google Ads missing the mark? Do you want to lower your customer acquisition costs and generate more leads and sales? Of course you do! And this week’s guest is just the person to get you there: Brooke Osmundson is a paid search expert, a Top 50 PPC Influencer, and she’s got over 100 articles under her belt at Search Engine Journal. She shares how to dial in your targeting for better results now!   Register for our free AI and Marketing webinar here: https://www.takeflyte.com/flyte-school/live-events

Neuroscience and neuromarketing can unlock the secrets of your customers’ decision making, but they can also shed light into how you can perform better at your own marketing job! Lauren Alexander, of Neurohacker Collective, helps us take our marketing game to the next level by understanding how our brains work and the mental energy every decision takes.    Special Offer for Quail Mind: https://neurohacker.com/agentsofchange

Whether you’re looking to launch your first Google Ads campaign, or you’re dealing with plateaued results, you may be wondering how to better tap into Search, Display, Discovery, Shopping, and Video Ads for your business. Unravel the mystery behind Google wide variety of ad options with Jyll Saskin Gales as she empowers us to tap into new audiences, boost brand visibility, and achieve remarkable results. Links: Jyll's Inside Google Ads course: https://jyll.ca/pages/google-ads-course AOC Conference: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/conference 

Did you know that where you position yourself in the frame during virtual meetings can impact how others perceive your level of authority? Even things like facial expression and hand movements – or lack of – can all affect the impression you make on your audience. Rachel Cossar is an expert in nonverbal communication and leadership presence facilitation, and she’s here to help us show up the right way to our next virtual meeting or webinar. Virtual Sapiens: https://www.virtualsapiens.co/ Virtual Sapiens Free Trial: https://assessment.virtualsapiens.co/signup

It's time to level up and start attracting better, higher-paying clients! Many people don't realize that they need to drastically change their approach to content creation in order to see different results. Martin Huntbach and Lyndsay Cambridge, from Jammy Digital, are here to stop us from attracting just any client, and get us on our way to attracting the right clients for our business. 

Whether you’re a small business owner or a marketer, we’re always looking for the secrets to transforming your online business into a conversion powerhouse. Anatoliy Labinskiy is here to dive into his strategies, tips, and best practices that will help supercharge your website’s performance and revolutionize your e-commerce journey! 

Podcasting can be a powerful marketing channel, but how do you grow an audience? What type of podcast format would work for your business? How to you grow your listenership? In this week’s episode, Jeff Dolan, the CEO of Wavve, shares his experience and answers your podcasting questions! 

Is your content creation falling flat? Maybe you’re trying to close the sale at every stage, when instead you should be “selling the next step.” Konrad Sanders, the creative copywriter, is here to share his 13 Lenses approach to help optimize your words and sharpen your focus. 

With more than 2 billion monthly active users, YouTube is a potent platform for content marketing. Discover how to create videos that get discovered, get clicked, get watched, and drive qualified leads to your website. YouTube expert Augie Johnston shares insider tactics to up your YouTube game and grow your business.

As AI technology—such as ChatGPT and Google’s Bard--continues to advance, it presents both opportunities and challenges for businesses looking to create compelling content that resonates with their target audience. Joining us today is branding expert Mike Kim, who shares his insights on how to harness the power of AI to elevate your content marketing strategy. 

If you want your website or business to reach its full potential, optimizing for search engines (SEO) is essential. Crafting content that speaks directly to the needs of your target audience and incorporates key phrases, links, and metadata can significantly boost rankings in searches – bringing more visitors and prospects right to your virtual door! SEO expert Damon Burton is here to help us lay the groundwork for creating content that ranks, converts, and is easily repurposed. 

Email marketing is a cost-effective way for businesses to directly connect with customers, increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, and boost sales. It also provides valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences. But how can we make sure they're interested enough to open our emails? Alyson Lex is here to share her strategies for creating emails that get attention. 

Courses are the ultimate way to connect your business with others. By using them as a vehicle for content, you can extend what your company does beyond teaching and selling - like generating leads or providing gated resources! Sandra Scaiano is here to explain how to make deeper connections with customers through courses.

Personalizing your website can be a game-changer for small businesses. It allows you to create a customized experience for every visitor, boosting engagement and conversions. With personalized content, recommendations, and offers based on your visitors’ interests, you’ll be able to stand out from your competitors and build a strong brand reputation. Eric Melchor of OptiMonk helps us level-up our customer experience and loyalty! 

Confused by GA4? Feeling overwhelmed by the loss of Universal Analytics? You’re not alone! But GA4 offers powerful new tools for mapping and improving your customer’s journey through your website! Josh Cuttill of UncommonLogic is here to help us gain a better understanding of how GA4 works, and how it can work for you. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/480

AI (Artificial Intelligence) is quickly becoming a major force in the content marketing landscape. Although it holds exciting potential, its misuse remains prevalent. Jeff Coyle from MarketMuse is here to help us explore how AI can be best integrated into our content workflow. 

A website homepage serves as the digital front door to any business or organization’s online presence. It is the first impression that a visitor has of the brand, and it can make or break their decision to explore further. Rich Brooks takes you through his best practices to help you create an optimized homepage that will increase engagement, build trust, and drive conversions. 

Feeling like your sales funnel is missing something? Want to make it more engaging and personal for customers, but don't know where to start? Make it more personable and captivating with Anne Popolizio's techniques for providing customers the service they need rather than just pushing them toward a sale. 

Copywriting isn't just about tips and tricks. It's understanding what drives people to decide, purchase, or act. Knowing the psychology behind behavior can be a powerful tool in helping to remove barriers and get your target audience to take action. Daniel Daines-Hutt shares his psychology tactics to improve your content. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/476

Stop letting search engines struggle to understand your website's architecture - get ahead of the game with topic clustering! SEO expert Joshua George is here to explain why these clusters will make you an authority on any given subject and how they can help boost your website in the rankings. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/475

Bring new customers to your business with YouTube advertising! With just a few clicks, you can create eye-catching ads that reach potential customers on the world’s biggest video platform. Benjamin Jones unveils why this form of marketing is so powerful and how entrepreneurs and marketers can use it effectively. If you’ve been afraid of testing out YouTube Ads, you’ll discover the four-step process to creating the perfect YouTube Ad in this week’s episode.  https://www.theagentsofchange.com/474

Uncover the secrets of driving success with your Facebook ads! Learn from Jon Loomer, a renowned Facebook expert. He provides simple yet effective tips to target and engage an audience that you know will be interested in what you have to offer - all while crafting content that is sure to capture their attention. Take control of your business today by utilizing these amazing strategies for maximum impact!

How best to use AI in your digital marketing? We go straight to the horse’s mouth with this interview with ChatGPT. 

What’s the point of videos no one ever sees? In this episode we share how to optimize your videos for the search engines. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/471

If you’re not allowing customers to communicate with you via SMS, you’re losing out on potential business. Here’s how to get started. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/470

Discover the challenges and opportunities facing digital marketers in the B2B space and how to generate more leads online. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/469

Find out why leading marketers are more focused on search optimized content than social content, and why it might make sense for you, too. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/468

Twitter has been in the news lately, and not for the right reasons. As a marketer, should you abandon ship or stick it out? https://www.theagentsofchange.com/467

Ever wonder how an NFT business might work in the long run? Today we sit down with St3ak founders to find out! https://www.theagentsofchange.com/466

Still trying to wrap your head around NFTs, blockchain, and the rest of Web 3? Today we break it all down for you! https://www.theagentsofchange.com/465

As your competitors scale back or abandon Facebook Ads, now is the best time to take advantage of less competition, and here’s how! https://www.theagentsofchange.com/464

Can a bot market better than you? Probably not, but discover how AI tools can make you a more effective marketer. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/463

Struggling with consistent blogging? Discover how to use SEO and the FED method to create a year’s worth of valuable blog content. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/461

Discover all the different ways you can leverage a podcast to drive more business for your company https://www.theagentsofchange.com/462

Getting journalists to write about your company will be a lot simpler with a little bit of targeted research. Here’s how. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/460

Ready to go global? Then your SEO better be ready for an international audience. Discover the opportunities and pitfalls to avoid in this week’s episode. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/459

If only your website could talk…but maybe it can! Discover how to understand what your website is trying to tell you. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/458

Have you been avoiding Web 3 for your business? Discover ways business are beginning to use the metaverse, blockchain, and NFTs to build customer loyalty. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/457

Are you looking for ways to grow your business? You might want to consider using videos. Videos can help you reach a wider audience, and they can also help you build a stronger relationship with your current customers. Ryan Koral discusses some of the benefits of using videos to grow your business, including some tips for creating easy, successful videos that pack a ROI punch. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/456

Marketing videos are a great way to build your audience, generate leads, and close sales today…and there’s a strategy behind each approach. Video marketing expert Owen Video shares his secrets on what type of videos will help grow your business in this week’s Agent of Change podcast. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/455

No one looks forward to cold emails, but what if you could write ones that get opened, read, and acted upon…in an ethical way? https://www.theagentsofchange.com/454

LinkedIn is one of the most powerful social media platforms for business owners and marketers. But, like all social media networks, LinkedIn has algorithms that determine how much reach your posts have. Don't let those algorithms discourage you! There are a few "hacks" you can use to maximize your LinkedIn reach. Check out these tips from LinkedIn expert Andy Foote to maximize your results. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/453

Yvonne Heimann understands the importance of freeing up time and energy so that business owners can focus more attention on their passion. By automating or outsourcing the mundane tasks, you can focus on what you’re good at and what you love. But don’t be overwhelmed, implementation may take a little time and effort, but the payoff is worth it. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/452

As a business owner, it’s tempting to promote your brand on every social media platform, but it’s not always possible – and it might not be the best strategy, either. Brand strategist Phil Pallen shares his expertise to help you decide which platforms your businesses should focus on for maximum results.. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/451

Few people are taking advantage of one of LinkedIn’s most powerful tools: the newsletter. Discover how to set one up to reach a whole new audience.. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/450

Getting inbound links to your e-commerce website—or any website for that matter—can often be a time consuming, soul sucking grind. But by aligning your marketing with something you and your community care about, you can attract links from businesses and organizations that rarely link out, improving your SEO and driving more qualified traffic to your website. Dale Bertrand of Fire and Spark shares his purpose-driven SEO approach in this week’s interview. . https://www.theagentsofchange.com/449

You have a brand, either by design or by accident. If it’s by accident, it may not be a brand you want to stand behind. Branding expert, Bri Seeley, helps you discover whether your brand is actually serving your business, and how to fix it if it comes up short. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/448

Social media isn't a cure all, but it is about connection, community, brand building, and giving people access to your business. Done right, and it can attract the right customers to your business. However, you need a strategy, and that's what Jennifer Watson, star of The Weather Channel and ActiveCampaign, is here to help you get started. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/447

What is LinkedIn’s Creator Mode, and how you can use it to build an audience, establish thought leadership, and generate more leads online? https://www.theagentsofchange.com/446

What is agile marketing, and what benefits could it offer your business? Discover the framework that could speed your success online and off! https://www.theagentsofchange.com/445

The buyer’s journey is happening with or without you, so having a funnel in place to catch them along the way is going to be your best bet to grab those emails, get those signups, and finalize the sale of your products and services. Alisha Conlin-Hurd is here to explain how to nurture your leads by holding their hands and pulling them towards the cash register. . https://www.theagentsofchange.com/444

Are you looking for a fresh approach to your marketing or business? Stop looking at your competitors and discover how to mine ideas from other industries. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/443

Social media and digital marketing experts are talking up Web3…is this something you need to pay attention to or can you safely ignore it? https://www.theagentsofchange.com/442

Consumers want to work with companies that align with their values. How can you take an authentic position in social media and beyond? https://www.theagentsofchange.com/441

Discover how to deliver a clear brand message that’s on point and uses the right voice to engage your ideal customer. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/440

If you’re not getting the leads and sales you need, these website changes will boost your conversion rates and generate revenue for your company. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/439

Discover the different ways you can monetize your time on Instagram, and where to get started if you’re just starting out. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/lima https://www.seniorcaremarketingsummit.com/ https://www.theagentsofchange.com/438

If you’ve never considered TikTok for your brand, this is the perfect jumping on point. Discover the pros and cons, and how you can make it work for your company. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/437

Too often, e-commerce sites are all about the products, not taking into consideration customer experience. Discover how to create a successful, customer-centric online store.

How do you successfully add creativity and humor to your marketing? How do you take risk, but not risk it all? We chat with Saul Colt on how he handles it. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/435

Struggling to attract new clients using Facebook Ads? Check out this more “personal” approach to messaging that’s working for businesses that embrace it. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/434

What’s the best way to grab your customer’s attention AND keep them wanting more? According to Reese Spykerman, the answer is Anticipation Emails. Try encouraging your audience to countdown to the launch of a new product with you, or even tease them with a bit of intrigue – just don’t give away too much!https://www.theagentsofchange.com/433

What is inclusive marketing? How does it differ from multicultural marketing? How can you get started and be authentic? https://www.theagentsofchange.com/432

Discover how to create the right content for every step of the e-commerce funnel and customer journey and start selling more online today. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/431

Sales and marketing teams often disagree on what is a qualified lead, especially in B2B settings. However, when they do manage to work together instead of butting heads, the benefits to the bottom line are obvious. So how can marketers eliminate the struggle to communicate with their sales teams and nurture a more collaborative effort? According to Pam Didner (https://pamdidner.com), clarity around goals is critical but often overlooked. In this episode we’ll look at how to clarify what your sales team needs in a lead and how to get there. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/430

How much of your content marketing can you outsource to AI (artificial intelligence)? We dive into the pros and cons of AI in digital marketing. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/429

Most LinkedIn connection attempts fall flat. Discover a more effective, more human approach to prospecting and networking on LinkedIn. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/428

Do the influencers you work with all look alike? Discover the benefits and challenges to diversifying the influencers who help you reach your audience. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/427

Making your website accessible for one segment of society improves its usability for everyone. Discover what it takes in this week’s episode. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/426

Is it time to trash that under-performing Facebook business page? If so, what happens next? And what are the alternatives? https://www.theagentsofchange.com/425

This week on Fast Forward Maine we look back on 100 episodes. https://www.fastforwardmaine.com/100

If you’re looking to create viral videos that turn viewers into buyers, then you’ll want to discover the HERO system for videos that convert. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/424

Explainer videos can quickly demystify complex ideas, engage your audience, and improve your SEO. What goes into an effective explainer video? Find out here! 

Creating a content marketing plan seems like a colossal project, but here’s how you can create a one-month plan in just 30 minutes…or your next pizza is free!

Marketing a B2B company online is different than marketing a B2C company. Discover the tactics, platforms, and strategy that will help you generate leads and sales.

Discover how to market controversial products like cannabis or CBD online…what works and what you can get away with. 

Discover the 7 core elements that dictate where you show up on Google, and tips on how to improve each one.

Google Discover can help you reach new audiences, but you’re going to need to optimize your content and website to get in there. Here’s how.

If you’re selling product, you can’t ignore Amazon. Discover how to optimize your listings, run ads, and sell more stuff. 

If you’re looking to increase engagement and get viewers on social to “stop the scroll”, then video is where you need to be focusing your marketing efforts. According to Lauren Schwartz of The Loft 325, any experience level can create videos, and all you need is a smartphone and to follow a few of her simple suggestions for creating eye-catching creatives that make your product stand out online.

Pinterest has undergone a few major changes lately, and the word on the street is, quality over quantity will get you favored these days. Pinterest expert and friend of the show, Alisa Meredith, stopped by to give us the low down on all the recent changes happening at Pinterest affecting marketers, including explaining why curating boards is a thing of the past, and why ‘idea pins’ might just be your new best friend.

If you’re frustrated with low sales and can’t seem to figure out why, Bear Wade has the answer for you. Many times the problem lies in either not having a designated marketing plan or having one that’s not in the right order.

When it comes to paid ads, the old saying still holds true, “don’t put the cart before the horse.” Simply put, the most important thing to remember is to make sure that customer journey and sales funnel are dialed in and ready to go, before you start putting money into it.

Do you want to know what makes your audience tick? How to persuade them to take action? Today we'll be diving into some recent research into human psychology and provide some specific examples how you can leverage this information in your own digital marketing.

Stuffing keywords and STILL not seeing results worthy of your effort? Declared the “SEO rockstar” by the American Marketing Association, SEO expert Dmitrii Kustov shares his top 4 ingredients for SEO Success to start packing a punch WITHOUT a crazy budget.

Whether you're starting from scratch or your email list has gone dormant, Teresa Heath-Wareing knows the best way to build it up and fill it with your ideal customers. Discover proven methods for attracting and converting your audience through email.

How do you get to the first page of Google? No, it's not practice. It's content. You need to have the highest quality content that answers your ideal customer's biggest challenges. But how do you know if your content is of high enough quality? Travis McKnight, a senior content strategist at Portent, is here to share the proven strategies he uses with his own clients to help them rank higher and create meaningful content that consistently delivers a clear and polished experience for users. 

If you want to stand out online it all starts with your brand and your branding. If your branding is boring then your ability to attract the right type of clients and generate leads is going to be hampered. Learn how to walk away from your boring branding.

Your customers and prospects buy--or don't buy--for reasons they themselves don't always understand. In this episode, we speak with behavioral economics consultant Melina Palmer.

Discover the five step process to create videos that will engage your audience. Krista Mashore walks us through the process of creating videos for the pre-funnel engagement. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/405

Whether you call it the “buyer’s journey” or the “sales funnel”, the messaging for each stage needs to be appropriate. Discover what type of messaging and ads work for awareness, consideration, and decision.   Brendan Hughes of Optily shares with us what works and what doesn’t, and how to attribute your sales to the right message and the right channel. 

Maybe you think you're not funny. Or that your offering doesn't lend itself well to humor. Well, in this episode we're going to try and bust those myths and explain why and how to use humor in your marketing.   https://www.theagentsofchange.com/403

John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing is back, and we're breaking down The Ultimate Marketing Engine! This is a fresh take on marketing and business that you won't want to miss! https://www.theagentsofchange.com/402

Everybody has access to data, it's all around you. You're probably sitting on it and don't realize it. With the internet, there's data everywhere, so it's just a matter of going out and finding it and using it. Data mining allows businesses to collect a pile of not only interesting but very useful data, that can be used to help with growth as well as helping to determine what is and isn’t working with their current products and/or marketing strategies. This data can be very useful when it comes to finding patterns, changes, or anomalies that you may not have been aware of but can use to your advantage.   Janelle Hailey explains what tools she uses at Olika to find this important data, and how she’s used it to help the brand and products align with what their mission represents, and how they’re giving their customers what they want by better understanding their behavior. 

What makes you remarkable? What makes your company remarkable? If you're not sure, in this episode I'll share with you my Remarkability Formula; a process to help you uncover what's remarkable in your own business. You'll learn about the four lenses, Find, Focus, Fashion, and Frame.

If you're not getting the results you expected out of your Facebook Ads, this is the episode for you. From identifying objectives to organizing Ad Sets, this episode has it all! Expect to get immediate improvements after listening to what Lowell Brown has to share. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/399

Developing a personal brand isn't just for thought leaders and influencers. Everyone, especially owners, entrepreneurs, and marketers, can benefit from developing a personal brand. In this episode, Mike Kim breaks down the how's and why's of building your own personal brand. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/398

Social media marketing isn't just about "chasing the algorithm." With that approach you'll always be one step behind. Instead, understanding what motivates people and what engages them is the first step to your success. Learn more from marketing expert Stephanie Scheller in this episode. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/397

Stories move people to action. They change the world. But what if you're not a "born storyteller?" In this episode, Tamsen Webster shares a structured approach to storytelling that will have you spinning better stories in no time. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/396

Google Posts are a powerful way to drive traffic to your website or landing page. In today's episode we'll chat with Google Post expert Greg Gifford on how to leverage the different types of posts, optimize your images or video, and generate leads and sales for your business. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/395

All customers want and expect certain things from the businesses they conduct business with, good service, efficiency and friendliness, just for starters. But what else can you, as a product or service provider, do to make sure you stand out from your competition? In other words, what makes you remarkable? We the help of Forrest Dombrow, we dig into what businesses can do to differentiate themselves form their competition. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/394

Like an aging car, as it gets older, you start adding things to it to keep it fresh. The same can be said for Google Analytics. Google has rolled out Google Analytics 4 as the future gold standard when it comes to measuring your brand, including clicks, views, etc. On today’s episode, our friend Chris Mercer returns to the show to tell us what every marketer needs to know about the new GA4, how it differs from Google Universal, and how it will change the way you’re measuring your marketing efforts.

We’ve heard this enough that it’s a permanent script running through our heads, “Content is king.” But how can we keep things fresh and interesting and engaging to our audience so it’s not the same old stale blog posts that we’re pumping out week after week? Luckily for us, Shaina Weisinger from Repurpose Home, is here to share her strategies and ideas for repurposing content in a thoughtful, creative, and strategic way. Including her “7 by 7” method that she promises will help get you a year’s worth of content to share.

If your goal is to get more customers – and really, who isn’t trying to do that – then you need to be discoverable. Search is digital, even if you run a brick and mortar shop. Your customers are first going to go online to look for you, so the pressure is on you to make sure they can find you. The place to start is with your Google My Business account. Google is the ultimate at search referral, and your GMB account will help you get top results, improve your SEO, and provide access to analytics that will help you fine tune your paid search strategy. GMB expert Ben Fisher is here to help us navigate the constantly changing Google, as well as run through the do’s and don’t’s of GMB, so we can hopefully avoid risking a suspended account!

In the world of marketing, we’re constantly planning, coordinating, managing, and measuring all of our campaigns, which includes many repetitive tasks performed across multiple channels. Thankfully, there are a plethora of all too eager tools out there designed specifically to help you automate most of these tasks. No doubt we’re all using a few here and there to help us get a leg up and increase productivity. But what areas are best when it comes to taking advantage of these shortcuts, and which are better left to human touch? As Editor-in-Chief at Neilpatel.com, Kelsey Jones joins us today to give the lowdown on which tools she and her fellow staff are using to automate their systems and processes, and which tasks she still completes the old fashioned way.

Just what is the secret to creating great content? This is something every marketer wishes they knew the answer to. What it does not mean is to create insane amounts of content and throw it up on every platform possible – quantity does not equal quality in this equation. If you’re a technology, digital, and social media expert like today’s guest Will Francis, you will start adopting a more practical approach when it comes to your content marketing.  Remember, you don’t need to be on every platform to get traction on your content – and you shouldn’t. Less content with higher quality to it can still earn you loads of eyeballs. And don’t forget to get creative in your repurposing efforts! In today’s episode, our guest will give you practical advice and some great actionable tips to turn your marketing content into leads and sales.

When most people think of search, what immediately comes to mind for most advertisers and marketers is usually Google. But don’t dismiss the power of Microsoft’s Bing. What many don’t realize is that Microsoft actually gets much farther reach than they think, thanks to Microsoft powering a plethora of other search engines as well (AOL, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, etc). Microsoft ads and strategy expert at Big Click Co., Lisa Raehsler, is here to remind us not to forget the power of Microsoft search, with over 13 billion global searches, including being a leader in the voice search realm. This episode is all about what you’re missing out on by not utilizing Microsoft ads.

As marketers, we all wish we had that magic crystal ball that could tell us exactly what out clients want. Well, there is a way we can put ourselves in our customer’s shoes by zeroing in on their emotional needs. Because the truth is, most people buy based on emotion over logic.  Today’s guest, Wes McDowell, helps small businesses do exactly that by incorporating psychology into their websites. Find out how using certain wording can encourage a sale to go one way versus another, and how honing in on a few areas can really make all the difference.

In this current world of social platforms like TikTok and Instagram, we’ve all no doubt seen the influencer marketing boom hit like a ton of bricks. Celebrities, and even once unknowns, are thrust into celebrity courtesy of their ability to influence their large group of followers, are called upon by brands and companies to collaborate to market products and services. But Jason Falls, digital strategist, and author of Winfluence, cautions us to ask ourselves, do you just want people posting about you, or do you want them to influence an audience? There is a difference, and today we’re going to learn all about influencer marketing versus influence marketing.

Every digital marketer could lecture you for days on the importance of SEO and why your business absolutely needs it in order to succeed in the online search game. But what they also should be stressing, is how to prove the ROI of SEO.  Because after all, how can you improve on something - or even know it’s working - if you aren’t measuring it? SEO consultant, Roger Bryan, helps us understand different marketing techniques and opportunities, with a focus on the data. The numbers don’t lie and they tell a great story, you just have to learn how to listen to them and take action accordingly.

How do you know if you have a content gap on your website? How can you find and fix what isn’t actually there? In this week’s episode, Alex Valencia shares with us how you can do a competitive analysis to uncover what content is missing from your website and keeping you from generating more leads online.

It’s no secret that more and more people are using their mobile devices to access the web on a daily basis, outnumbering those using desktops. Google has recognized this, and  in order to ensure the very best user experience, it is taking a “mobile-first” approach to indexing websites. From an SEO perspective, what’s the difference in optimizing for desktop versus mobile? What does it take to rank at the top of the Google search these days, and how important is mobile to that? We posed all of these questions and more to Cindy Krum, CEO & founder of MobileMoxie, where she’s been optimizing for mobile even before the iPhone was a thing. She’ll update up on all the changes and what you need to be doing for yourself and your clients.

It seems like once one platform adds a new feature, the others all rush to create a similar one, making them all that much more similar to each other. But after seeing an article discussing how one company boosted their traffic by over 500% using the new Google Web Story feature, I obviously had to check it out. So we went directly to the source, the author of the blog post – and the creator of the Web Story in question – Andrea Volpini. In this episode, Andrea breaks down how Google’s Web Story feature is different than the other Stories you see from Instagram, Facebook, etc., and how you can put on your Director’s hat and create “trailers” for your other written content, such as blog posts.

When it comes to navigating the world of SEO, it’s an everchanging landscape. There are definitely some hard and fast rules that everybody follows, and then you have a few people making their own mark and creatively stepping outside the box.  One of those innovators is Areej Abuali, who we talked to in this episode. She offered some new and exciting insight and ideas into addressing SEO issues for our clients as well as our own businesses. She also looks into the crystal ball with us and shares her thoughts on the future of search, including up and coming new search engines, and its effect on the almighty “Google ranking”.

When it comes to inspiring others to dig deep to find their passions and turn them into success, John Lee Dumas - the Entrepreneur on Fire - is the luminary that immediately comes to mind. JLD is constantly finding ways to inspire entrepreneurs, and his latest passion is no different. We talk to JLD today about his latest book, and how he’s using that to embolden others who might be stuck on their path to success and financial freedom.

Whenever a platform releases a new app or feature, we go straight to the experts to learn more. When we heard that Instagram rolled out their new Guides feature, we called on our good friend and Instagram “It Girl”, Jenn Herman, from Jenn’s Trends, to help get us in the know. Jenn shared with us that this is Instagram’s way of allowing users to post longer-form content and filled us in on the latest news and tips on how to utilize this new feature perfectly for B2B marketing.

Curious about this new Clubhouse platform, we decided to dig a bit deeper into it and find out just what it was all about and why so many business professionals – and well-known names - were flocking to it. We reached out to Mike Stelzner, from Social Media Examiner, to get his take on this since he’s always ahead of the curve. And he did not disappoint. In this episode, Mike gives us the quick and dirty lowdown about what Clubhouse is, how it works, who’s hanging out there, and the many ways you can be leveraging the platform for your business.

We often discuss the importance of email marketing on this podcast, and this episode is no different. There is no other platform that allows you to own your continually curated list, and no fear that it could all disappear tomorrow if Facebook or any other platform you use to market on suddenly disappeared. That email list of yours is still there, and it’s still your property. We spoke with Jenna Tiffany of Let’s Talk Strategy, who also is an evangelist of email marketing. She got us excited about some new email marketing trends to look out for this year, and clued us in on some of her tired and true tips – including building and keeping your list clean -that continue to help propel her client’s businesses forward.

What metrics are your company looking at to gauge your performance - and that of your clients - when it comes to marketing? How could you do a better job marketing, measuring and reporting those results? The answers, according to Dustin Clark of Element Three, lies in your marketing value chain. By using this strategy, you’ll be able to not only see your bottomline, but explain exactly how and why you got there.

Have you noticed that your blog traffic is dropping off? Or that certain posts aren’t bringing in as much traffic as they used to? Perhaps you’ve been blogging since 2005 and you’ve got a lot of blog content that’s no longer relevant. If any of th

As marketers and business people, we’ve all struggled with outreach and figuring out how to start that initial relationship. Should we go email or try for an introduction? We certainly don’t want to come off as too salesy or overstep our bounds. But at the same time, you need to remember that taking a one size fits all approach is a recipe for failure. If you want to be successful in your outreach efforts, follow the advice of Rand Fishkin, CEO of SparkToro, find a way that is novel and unusual, and always put the focus on them and not yourself. Make sure you’re offering value to them, backed up by research. In other words, do your homework and put in the effort, as opposed to just asking for a favor. You’ll find you’ll have much greater success.

This past year has been hard for networking, especially those that rely on that and referrals for their own business’s survival. So how can you continue to network when you can go out there and plan meetups with large groups? Well, you take it 2D! Christel Wintel is a professional networker that hasn’t let the pandemic stop her, as she has managed to successfully continue her referral group’s regular networking meetings thanks to Zoom and a little creativity. By following a few simple rules with a positive attitude and a willingness to dive into something a little bit different, you can still benefit from networking in the current world we’re living in.

Did you know that even some the most well-know national newspapers are using AI to write some of their articles? It’s true. And you probably didn’t even notice. So how can Marketers leverage AI as part of their Marketing strategies? We’ve all undoubtedly encountered a chat bot a few times in the past few years, and that is certainly using AI technology. But RJ Talyor, AI platform founder & CEO at Pattern89, reminds us that the key is to make sure you’re not losing that humanness in the process. Machines are great with data, but it still takes a human to differentiate the nuances of those gray areas that test ethical or inappropriate boundaries. After all, an eggplant emoji is just an eggplant to a machine, but humans know better.

Are you putting together next year’s marketing budget, trying to navigate the coronavirus minefield? Wondering how much to spend, what channels to use, and what your messaging should be? Here are nine things to consider when developing out your own digital marketing plan.

Like many business owners, you’re most likely always searching for new avenues to be seen and heard. Have you thought about podcasts? Getting featured on the right podcasts will increase your visibility, help build your credibility, and attract new qualified leads for your business. But maybe you just don’t have the time to pitch yourself to podcasts, or maybe you just don’t know where to start. Consider working with someone who specializes in just that, like Kristin Molenaar from YesBoss. Kristin has built a career around helping business owners double their new client leads just by being a featured podcast guest.

What’s better than one social media marketing expert?  How about 4 of them teaming up to create a Marketing super team known as “The 360 Marketing Squad”. Covering all aspects of Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, this super group has the experience, knowledge and determination to help small businesses not only step up their marketing strategies, but learn how to track their progress so they know what’s working and what needs tweaking.

If you’re a baseball fan, you know that for the pitcher, pitching isn’t just about their arm speed. There are far more processes that must all come together to make a pitcher effective. And so the same can be said for sales and marketing. Most people aren't struggling with their sales departments. What’s happening is they’re spending too much money on sales and underinvesting in marketing, because they are having to rely on sales to do all of this work. Business owners need to know how to market better and what to expect, but also what to ask for from their own internal departments. In this episode, Sean Doyle of Fitz Martin, gives us a scientific approach to sales and marketing, and shows us a more effective way to close the deal.

Business relationships are obviously different than personal relationships, but both are very important. In life, we look to connect with people that share similar interests, live close to us, or have kids the same age as us. But how do we go about initiating relationships with businesses, and more importantly, what criteria do you use to go about this? Annalise Worn takes a creative approach to helping businesses with relationship building as part of their marketing plan. Learning how to foster customer loyalty and long-term engagement by providing information that is directly suited to your customer’s needs, will go a long way in helping you build trust and move the needle and drive sales.

There’s no better time to explore how your small business can use Instagram Reels as a part of your marketing strategy. Reels is the newest way for you to create entertaining 15-second multi-clip videos with lots of new and creative tools to help you drive traffic and sales. Take it from The Instagram Expert herself, Sue B. Zimmerman, if Instagram is where your followers and ideal customer avatar are hanging out, then Instagram Reels is a great opportunity to take advantage of adding music and other effects, while also allowing you to share educational, step-by-step and behind the scenes content. This mobile-only option is also a great way get out a quick video while on the go to let everyone know what your business or brand is up to.

Making connections is an important aspect for all businesses, and we often rely on face to face and in person opportunities to achieve this. But in a time like this with COVID-19, when social distancing has become the norm, how do businesses and brands go about making those meaningful and emotional connections that are so vital to building trust and often lead to sales? Kevin England, CEO of Vonazon marketing agency, reminds you to first get back to basics with the four main senses; touch, vision, hearing, speaking. You want to make sure that you’re always educating, regardless of where your potential client is in your funnel.

If you fancy yourself a bit of an expert in your field and are looking for yet another opportunity to get your name out there and build brand awareness, consider leveraging the power of sites such as HARO to exert your expertise and knowledge on a given topic. Greg Heilers, earned media guru and pitching machine from Jolly, reminds us that media pitching to sites such as HARO offers a multitude of benefits aside form just getting free publicity. Think about the benefits of finding potential collaborators, reaching your target market with you poised as an industry expert, being featured in high profile publications like The New York Times, as well as driving more traffic to your website.

Every business wants to rank high with Google, that’s a no brainer. But what are the top ranking factors that really matter, that will help to get you the top spots? Aside from the obvious things like links, mobile-friendliness and page speed, what are some other factors that rank most for SEO, and pass the ever-changing Google algorithm test? Darren Shaw, Whitespark founder and local search guru, advises you to start with claiming and optimizing your Google My Business profile. Invest your time here and worry less about citations. These days it’s more about conversion optimization than it is about ranking optimization. And never underestimate the power of reviews.

This week we've got a two-fer for you. I've got John Paglio from flyte talking about SCHEMA: what it is, why you need it, and how to implement it on your site.

We’ve all seen business ads pop up in our Facebook feed every day, and you’ve probably scrolled right past a majority of them. But what about leveraging YouTube to advertise your business, products and services? Aleric Heck of AdOutreach has done just that, helping innumerable business reach over 8 figures in sales using the YouTube ads platform.

This week's episode is about moving beyond the pivot. No doubt you pivoted when COVID first upended the world and your business, but did you stop there?   It's easy to fall back into a groove, but thinking things have "normalized" is the wrong approach. In this episode I share five things you can do to make sure you continue to evolve as your customers' needs do.

Do you ever wish you could get free business advice from someone in your industry, or who has been through what you’re going through now? The answer may be in joining or starting a mastermind. We'll delve into what a mastermind is, how to start one, and how to run one successfully.

Influencer marketing could arguably be traced all the way back to the 1800’s when the Conklin pen company wisely and creatively asked Mark Twain to say some nice things about their products. Influencer marketing has come a long way since then, especially if you’re a Kardashian. But just going for the big name is not necessarily the best strategy, says Agorapulse’s Mike Allton.

Successful SEO starts with keyword research. Moz’s Cyrus Shepard reminds us that you need to rank for what people are actually searching for, not what you think they’re searching for. That means truly understanding exactly what a keyword is, and prioritizing keywords by potential. Uncover more ideas by determining what keywords your competitors are ranking for.  Yes, you can actually do that.  Why recreate the wheel when they’ve already done some of the heavy lifting for you?

Like every industry, digital marketing also has their list of “best practices” that you’re told to follow. And while there is certainly some truth to that, Caitlin Halpert from 3Q Digital, can attest that with a little creative “pushing of the boundaries”, and letting the data from your creative testing do the talking, you just may find you’re driving more growth and efficiency through these new ideas.

So there's lots of different things to be looking at when you're doing email marketing, but I would definitely say those replies are the most important part. And when you see a lot of people replying, that's when you know you've definitely hit on something that's important. And that you've got to talk more about that

Why is B2B marketing important? Creating quality content allows you to establish your business’s brand and positional, as well as allows you to connect with your target audience and show your authority and credibility in your market.  But as B2B marketing expert James Soto will attest, the B2B buying cycle is much longer than it is for B2C, and customer expectation is different, so you need to make sure you’re adjusting for that throughout your process.

If you’re an ethical marketer, you know that buying an email list is considered “shady” and Email Service Providers such as MailChimp won’t allow you use use purchased lists on their platform. But Doug Morneau is here to explain that renting an email list is much different, and how it can help you reach more of your ideal, targeted customers. To break it down in its simplest form, email list rental – also known as “sponsored mail” – is really just another form of influencer marketing. It’s just one more way of allowing your brand/product/company to reach potential customers via their email inbox that fit a certain demographic that they’ve already shown interest in. You’re gaining a one-time right to contact them, but it’s the email list owner who conducts the actual mailing for you. 

In a nutshell, influencer marketing is really just a type of social media marketing that uses product mentions and endorsements from influencers – people who have already built up a loyal and dedicated following, and are perhaps seen as experts in their area or niche. So if the thought of riding the coat tails of a well-known or well-respected influencer while they talk up your products and services sounds like an easy win, influencer marketing expert Neal Schaffer is here to remind you that it’s not always that simple. You could do more harm than good to your business’s reputation is you aren’t careful and calculated when choosing which influencers to work with. Ideally you always want to work with someone who is also aligned with what your business and brand stands for.

The question some businesses are asking themselves these days, “To bot, or not to bot?” But the reality is, chatbots are a fantastic automated solution that allow businesses and organizations the power to handle not only more customers at once, but to also do it simultaneously. Talk about some bang for your buck!

It's crazy to think that we've done 350 episodes of the Agents of Change podcast. That's nearly 7 years of content for a weekly podcast.

In this episode I share how my thinking on “Black Lives Matter” vs. “All Lives Matter” has evolved. Not usually the material we cover on the Agents of Change podcast, but I’m realizing how this movement touches every aspect of our lives, regardless of our color. I don’t have any answers, as I’m just beginning the journey myself.

If there’s anything this world of technology has taught us, it’s that learning isn’t just limited to the classroom. Creating online courses to teach people is proving to be not only an effective strategy, but a booming business as well. Creating online courses may seem like a daunting and time consuming job, but seasoned online course creator Steve Nixon reminds us that even if you don’t have the experience or a lot of money to dedicate to this, there are plenty of great tools out there to help you along the way. Plus, online courses check off all the boxes when it comes to the benefits to you and your business, such as creating brand awareness, trust and authority in your given field, not to mention greater reach.

When it comes to creating the content on your website that will probably rank well and drive leads, it's got to be a combination of doing a little bit of keyword research, but also paying attention to the past conversations you've had with clients and prospects on your website and in person. This is even more vital with niche marketing.

LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to showcase who you are, what your expertise is, and make important business connections, all in front of a large, high-value audience. But unless you’re truly optimizing your profile, you’re not going to be able to take advantage of this opportunity, because people are just going to keep scrolling on by. Learning how to strengthen your LinkedIn profile will go a long way, according to LinkedIn trainer John Nemo, as it also strengthens your professional brand.

Pinterest aficionado Jeff Sieh – Pinterest isn’t just for the ladies - living proof of that. He shares some great tips and tricks that he uses to boost his creativity.

Don’t we all wish we could get inside the heads of our potential customers and find out what they want it will take in order to close the sale with them? Well, you actually can…kinda. According to neuromarketing expert, Felix Cao, you can apply certain brain activity measurement strategies to measure a subject's response to specific products, packaging, advertising, or other marketing elements to help persuade them into taking your desired action. So stop wasting money and time marketing to the wrong part of your customer’s brain, and start implement strategies that speak to their primal brain.

Video has proven itself to be a valuable part of a good marketing plan when it comes to attracting and promoting your business to your target audience. It goes hand in hand with other strategies – such as SEO – as it can help to increase the time people spend on your website and pages, and position you as a trusted source in your field. But as Ed Lawrence and Dave Foulkes of Business Film Booth will attest, if your goal is to increase audience retention – and it should be – then you need to be following certain criteria to allow you to get your message out the right way in an engaging way that educates the masses, lands more sales, and proves your worth.

Every aspect of your operational process contributes to the success of your business. This means there is a lot to keep track of as you make changes along the way to grow and improve. And as Steph Nissen from Atomic Revenue reminds us, the whole point of a CRM is to make your life easier.

What message do customers want to hear from you right now? What can you say and do to nurture resilience in your team? In yourself?   While these aren't usually the topics covered in the Agents of Change podcast, these are unusual times. So I turned to my dad, Dr. Robert Brooks, a clinical psychologist who researchers, presents on, and writes about resilience. I wanted to hear from him what we should be saying to our prospects and customers, as well as our team members, to nurture resilience and help them through this crisis.

There are many reasons why repurposing content is smart. First off, why reinvent the wheel? If you have a piece of content – whether it’s a blog post, a podcast, or an infographic, that’s done really good for you, it just makes sense to get more mileage out of it. Not only that, it saves both time and money. Top digital marketers, like Kim Garst, preach the benefits of content repurposing as part of their strategy to help businesses build, grow, and scale. After all, why bother spending all that time creating content if you’re not planning to amplify it.

Have you ever sat down and thought about all of the life lessons you know now, but wish you knew when you were just starting out? Do you have some sage advice you’d like to pass on to a budding entrepreneur or upcoming college graduate? Business renaissance man, Guy Kawasaki, is here today dishing out advice, reflections, and truth bombs, and explaining that you’re not going to find your dream job right out of college, nor is the path to success and happiness linear. And that’s absolutely fine.

Like any social platform out there, LinkedIn is always changing and evolving, as is its algorithm. So you’ve got to stay in the loop and keep your profile and content fresh to make sure you’re connecting with not just a lot of people, but with the right people. We gathered some of your top LinkedIn questions – and ours – and went to the LinkedIn Expert, Viveka von Rosen-Martin, to get her answers, thoughts and advice, on everything from how many followers you should have, if hashtags make a difference in LinkedIn, ‘connect’ button versus ‘follow’ button, and so much more….(including a ninja trick to make your headline longer.)

This is a special episode of The Agents of Change Podcast. I’ve been getting a lot of questions around how—or even if—you should market a business during the Coronavirus (COVID-19.) As someone who owns a digital marketing agency, (and runs a podcast on digital marketing), I’ve been giving this a lot of thought. Here’s my take on marketing and advertising during a crisis.

Once upon a time LinkedIn was a very different place than it is now. It used to be that you kept your network small and tight knit, and it was treated more as a ‘connect & pitch’ platform. But Gaetano DiNardi is here to tell you that LinkedIn has transformed into more of a broadcasting platform these days, where you use it to amplify your content. To use LinkedIn strategically and successfully, your end goal should be to have a personal brand that is so big and respected that when you start promoting content or putting stuff out there, you’ll get the engagement and support that you need from your network that you’ve built. And that’s why it pays off to play the long game with LinkedIn.

If you’re a small to medium sized business, you’re probably short on both time and money, so you’ve taken a DIY approach to many aspects of your business. But when it comes to SEO, this can seem like an impossibly daunting task that only an expensive professional should tackle. Well, take it from Matthew Woodward, who’s been taking the DIY approach to SEO long before there was even a name for it, who guarantees you can see immediate success on your own by following a few specific strategies and utilizing the help of some great plugins.

When it comes to digital marketing, content is king. But it’s also difficult and time consuming to create. So how can you create content that works well in both search and social? Melissa Sciorra, who is the Senior Manager of SEO & Content Marketing for SmarterTravel Media, shows us how your content can do double duty.

We might think we know what our customers are thinking, but we’re wrong, according to revenue coach, Kristin Zhivago. And in order to really go down that journey of better customer service, you first need to toss aside any expectations of what you think your customers are going to say, and actually be willing to start talking to them.  By doing this, you get to find out your company’s strengths and weaknesses. You find out the things you're really good at that you want to promote, and the things that you need to fix in the background. And once you fix them, then you can promote those.

Not getting the results you want from your most recent Facebook Ads campaign? Was it the creative? The targeting? The bid? In this week’s episode we unpack a wildly successful Facebook Ad to better understand what works and what doesn’t. Jason Hunt, of Merged Media, was gracious enough to share some details of a marketing campaign he recently did for a small local company that was a roaring success and the lessons he learned.

To some people, Public Relations seems like this mysterious and intricate job reserved for people that have spent their careers making a lot of important and influential connections with big names in various industries and professions. And although that may be true for some in the business, even a PR expert like Dmitry Dragilev promises that you can actually do it on your own and still achieve similar success. If you have a compelling story, you can get the interest of journalists. And once you have that, there are some tried and true strategies that will help you gain access to personal contacts, backlinks, and leverage yourself as an expert.

If we’ve learned nothing in this digital age of social media domination, it’s that businesses need to up their game when it comes to customer service because it is more front and center than ever before. And as a brand advocate and customer experience expert, Jay Baer has seen how businesses can turn an unhappy customer into a raving fan for life, if they just follow a few key rules.

How we market and sell to our clients has changed over the years. Gone are the days of sounding like a slick, pushy, and overbearing used car salesman. As Nick Usborne will attest, you need to engage in a conversation with your clients, not just talk at them. Building trust can come through in tone and word choice, so opting to use everyday simple conversational wording over tech jargon will go a long way in building relationships and making sales. Discover how to “write  for the web” and engage your customers by engaging in conversational copywriting.

When you hear the term “ADA compliant”, you might immediately think of buildings and how they’re supposed to be handicapped accessible for people in wheelchairs. But you need to think broader in this digital age. There’s more for consumers than just visiting brick and mortar shops. These days, a great deal of shopping and research is done online. So Craig Kazda would ask you, “Is your website ADA compliant?” What are you doing to ensure that people with visual, auditory, or intellectual disabilities can access and understand the same information as everyone else who visits your site? If you haven’t started to consider this and make adjustments to your website, you’re not only losing customers and pushing away business, but you may find you’re being penalized in the Google search rankings, or even worse, being sued.

One of the best ways to create a rapport with your customers and earn their trust is through storytelling. When you learn to tell stories that customers in all points of your sales funnel can relate to, you’ve made your product or service that much more valuable to them. The ideal way to create your stories is to have a brand script in place, with carefully chosen words that resonate specifically with your customers. Your brand is about customer perception, so you need to be able to tell stories that substantiate and embody the challenges and experiences of your customers. Josh Cantrell helps clients create these scripts using a 7 point plan for effective storytelling.

We’ve all see the ham-fisted approach many people use on LinkedIn, so when I saw Thomas Libby of Diversified Sales Solutions speak on how he uses LinkedIn, I knew I wanted to have him on the show.

Regardless of the excuses you keep coming up with for not including video as part of your marketing plan, if you’re serious about growing your business, you can’t put it off any longer. According to Lou Bortone, thought leader and video pioneer since the launch of YouTube, video is must-have marketing. You know the saying, “a picture is worth 1,000 words”? Well, video is worth even more. It’s creative, it’s inexpensive, it’s easy, and it’s incredibly powerful when it comes to connecting with your audience in a more personal way.

You may have caught our Press Conference on Facebook Live earlier this week, but if you didn't we announced some major changes to our live events for 2020.

Looking for data-driven advice on how you should be using video to engage your audience? Want fresh approaches to standing out on YouTube and getting more views? Want to discover the latest tactics that are working for video marketing?

Taking a human-centric approach to SEO and digital marketing will go a long way to getting you in front of your most ideal audience, versus just pushing out ad impressions to the masses. That’s exactly the approach that Jason White and his team at PMG are taking to help some of the biggest brands out there. The key is to use your analytics and data – combined with creativity and technology - to drive your marketing efforts on multiple channels.

Your business is more than just a commodity, so price should not necessarily be the differentiating factor between you and your competition. Brand message expert Jeff Shaw shares how to create innovative branding strategies around the specific audience you wish to target and how to speak to them in their own lingo. Integrating your customer’s language into your communication will make all the difference in separating – and elevating – you from your competition. 

By now we’ve all been told time and again about the importance of your email list when it comes to creating your marketing campaigns. But there’s a bit more to it than just shooting off a few emails. Aweber’s Jill Fanslau has helpful and insightful tips and strategies that you can immediately put into action when it comes to your email marketing plan, with proven success.

It is a proven fact that one of the largest influencing factors for gaining local visibility in Google is by optimizing your Google My Business listing. After all, Google My Business is essentially your nerve center for controlling how the way your business’s information is displayed on Google and Google Maps during searches. If getting search engine traffic is important to your business, then Bradley Benner of Semantic Mastery has a thing or two to teach you about diving deeper into SEO to help build a solid foundation for tour business that will translate into marketing success.

We’re all used to video marketing on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Tik Tok…the list goes on. That’s great for one to many communication and marketing.  But how about leveraging the power of video—the visceral eye-to-eye, face-to-face style communication—in our emails? Our outreach emails. Our follow up emails. Our proposal emails.  We speak with Ethan Beute of BombBomb on how to embed video communications in your emails to increase your open rate, click through rate, and engagement rate, and how to get metrics to know if and when people are opening your emails.

If you find the process of Facebook Ads to be overwhelming, you’re certainly not alone. But besides having great content, an audience, and an ad budget, Facebook Ads expert Amanda Robinson  can’t stress enough the importance of building a solid foundation for your ads, and of course testing the heck out of them in a way that will definitely tell you which ads are working and which are not. Because no one wants to waste their ad dollars.

How do you market to people who don’t even realize you, your business, or your industry exist? How do you best use social buttons on your website? And how many branded domains should you be renewing each year? Answers to these questions and more on this week’s episode of the Agents of Change podcast!

Looking to rank higher in Local Search? Want to reach page one in the Map Pack (aka the Local Pack?) Should you focus on reviews or on Google Posts?   In this interview, Local Search Marketer John Paglio answers all these questions and more as we look to help you get found for all your local searches.

One of the most important things you can do after a big event, launch, or campaign, is to review it and figure out how you can do it even better the next time.

By now we’ve all learned that appeasing Google’s authoritative and ever changing algorithm will go a long way in helping us rank higher on the search engine. Structured data takes a technology-based approach to SEO, where it helps to better organize the data on your website so that it’s more easily processed and analyzed by Google, and they can have a better idea of what your website is all about. Pioneers in this area, such as Geoff Atkinson from Huckabuy, guarantee that taking this approach will see your website ranking higher, you’ll see more organic search traffic, and search engines will better index your pages for keywords more relevant to your business. Most importantly, this is a best practice that both large and small businesses should be adopting.

Thanks to Siri, Alexa and Google Home – among other devices – voice search is having a huge impact on content marketing, and will account for nearly half of all searches by 2020. Which makes sense when you think of the consumer convenience it offers with better efficiency and cool tech options.  But as Courtney Cox Wakefield reminds us, optimizing your content for voice search is a totally different beast than optimizing for text. So if you want to be found in voice search, you need to make some changes to your current SEO and content marketing strategies.

One area that nearly all businesses struggle with is how to price their products and services. Add to that the pressure of knowing that how you price is a direct reflection of your brand’s position and value in the marketplace. According to Paul Klein, it’s not just a matter of charging more or raising your rates, but rather it’s recognizing the circumstances around your products and services, and then positioning for maximum value for both you and your clients.

Podcasts are gaining in popularity. As a business owner, does that mean you should care? According to Ben Shapiro, “Absolutely!” There’s no better way to tell a story and connect with your audience than through the power of a podcast. Even better, there’s really no set “rules’ when it comes to podcasting, and there’s very little needed to get started. Imagine the power of positioning yourself as an expert in your field, all while reaching a new, targeted audience, and giving them the ability to consume your content in such a convenient way. And with so many great tools out there designed to help take the guesswork out of podcasting, you really have no excuse not to get started. So what are you waiting for?

Facebook groups offer a great way for folks to get together and rally around a product, brand, or service, as well as other related topics. Success starts with the advice of Facebook Group guru Bella Vasta, who stresses the importance of starting with a clearly defined goal for your Group. From there, your longevity and success will hinge on how well you keep it fresh, valuable, informative, - give them what they want, need and deserve - and market it so that you’re not only retaining current members, but also enticing new members to join.  

If you’ve been looking for another way to reach your clients, have you considered online courses? Once you have determined the major pain points and problems they’re having and know definitively how you can help them, creating an online learning course for them is a creative way to reach them and earn revenue at the same time. Janelle Allen is here to offer her step by step guide to help you figure out how to create and market your own successful online courses.

We are living in an age of video, and it’s only continuing to grow. With mobile devices making it easy and convenient to consume video content, they’re aso making it easy to create and distribute it. Smart business owners are looking to experts like Monique Johnson to help them leverage this power to grow their businesses by connecting with their customers, establishing authority, and selling their products, all while using the power of live video.

You’ve decided to start a podcast - Congratulations!  Maybe you’ve already figured out your platform and format, contacted possible guests, and perhaps even decided on the first few episodes. But how about your marketing strategy?  According to Laura Pence Atencio, you should be starting this at least 90 days prior to your launch date.  Unlike the field of dreams, if you build it, listeners won’t just magically come to listen. You should be priming your prospective audience so that they’re expecting and anxiously anticipating it by the time it actually launches.

Marketing a local business comes with its own unique set of challenges. Local business marketing expert Stacy Tuschl is here to remind us not to assume that people already know who we are, and also not to just copy what our competitors are doing.

With paid search advertising continuing its rapid growth, it’s becoming more competitive and more difficult to generate great results. That’s where Tim Jensen comes in, to help you inject innovation and creativity into your advertising to boost your ROI and lead gen. You need to understand not only your customers but also your competition – and test, test, test – so you have the right data that allows you to build powerful keyword lists and a campaign that spells success.

When considering a website redesign when you already have an established audience, the last thing you want to do is change everything on them that’s going to give off not only a different look, but a different feel. Chris Dayley urges us to remember that your website is not for you, it’s for your users, your customers, and your clients. And you need to keep that in mind when you’re undergoing a redesign. There needs to be a strategic approach when it comes to website redesigns. That includes a great deal of testing, research, and analysis to figure out what works and what doesn’t. It also helps to take advantage of tools like heat maps and customer surveys.

We’ve been told time and again that we need to be measuring our marketing efforts. But what exactly does that mean? Checking your Analytics is a good first step, but any measurement marketing expert, like (Chris) Mercer, will tell you that you need to go deeper and be able to turn that basic data into insight and outcomes, and use that to drive strategy for your business. Luckily, doing this has never been easier thanks to products like Google Data Studio, which allow businesses to manage data from a variety of sources and across multiple platforms. It will save you advertising dollars, increase conversions, and redirect your marketing strategies based on what the data is actually telling you.

With its convenience, ease, and variety of offerings, more and more people continue to do their shopping online.  And with Google’s current algorithms, good guys really do finish first. So experts like Dale Bertrand are here to teach you the importance of creating an e-commerce site that will build trust, authority, and rank high with Google. And for that to happen, you should be focusing on things link building, reputation, content, and how you’re setting up your category and collection pages.

Every good brand needs three good, strong legs to stand on; verbal identity, visual identity and value identity. When one of these legs isn’t aligned with the others, it can throw off the entire balance of the brand. Mike Kim has been working with top brands to help them find that balance within their marketing. Everything from the copywriting, to the design elements, to the blog posts & emails, and even the titles to your podcast episodes, all of these things need to speak one unified voice that consumers recognize as your brand so it’s positioned exactly where you want it to be in their minds.

Business advice I'd give my younger self

Do you frequently find yourself wishing there were more hours in the day to get everything done? Or perhaps wish you had a way to clone yourself so you’d be better able to stay on top of things.

We’ve been hearing quite a lot lately about how adding video into your content marketing plan should be a vital part of your strategy. But there are still many out there that think it’s only something that can be done in certain industries.

Too often, business owners think they need to be everywhere to get ahead. But in reality, it can be a real waste of time, money and resources to chase your audience where they’re not even searching or hanging out. By niching down to a specific area of expertise, Jessica Stansberry found success and grew her business through video marketing,  specifically, YouTube.

These days, a strong marketing campaign will also incorporate video into the mix. Video marketing experts like Amy Landino understand and appreciate the effect that video has for boosting conversion rates, increasing click-through rates, and building trust and authority for your brand.

As messaging applications have become a way for brands to reach consumers, chatbots have become increasingly more important. Carrie Gottschalk has proven that chatbots can be part of your marketing initiatives and help push your customers seamlessly through your sales funnel. Especially as they become more sophisticated and versatile. Chatbots can perform tasks that are both simple and repetitive at a much higher rate than would be possible for a human alone, and still provide a seamless user experience for customers.

Whether you were born with the “gift of gab” or not, there is no excuse when it comes to why you’re not killing it in the sales game, according to Matthew Pollard. Regardless of your industry, if you’re not prepared with stories to engage your client or prospect, and you don’t know the right questions to ask, then you’re not ready to make the pitch.

LinkedIn offers a unique opportunity for people and brands to communicate in a more deliberate and intentional way. Michaela Alexis has successfully helped entrepreneurs and small businesses make waves on LinkedIn that resulted in business growth as well as building a smart network of like-minded, relevant people and opportunities. LinkedIn has so much more to offer than as just a place to park your resume. The newest LinkedIn Live feature offers endless possibilities including showcasing your products or services, utilizing your personal profile and company pages to best attract the right people, host your blog, as well as a place to publish content and build a following that knows, likes and trusts you.

Video advertising is becoming the dominant force in the digital marketing space. Mobile is king, and attention spans are dwindling, so you need to be able to connect with your audience through visual content, and nurture relationships that way, all within the span of about 2.8 seconds.

Podcasting can be a powerful marketing tool for your business, regardless of which side of the microphone you’re on. As a podcast expert, Matt Johnson teaches that everything comes down to the foundation of what is the clear and compelling idea of why people should listen to you. If your podcast doesn’t build a sense that you’re the expert, then it doesn’t accomplish the mission

If you’ve been think about creating a blog and aren’t sure where to start, Leslie Samuel can teach you how to become a blogger and create content that inspires others and keeps your audience coming back. It’s vital to first know who your audience is

Quora is one of the largest online communities for questions and answers, as well as one of the highest quality user generated content platforms. As a Quora evangelist, JD Prater knows firsthand how leveraging the power of Quora’s user intent makes it a smart new option for marketers. While it offers many of the same options for marketers that they have become familiar with and embrace on platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook, Quora also offers unique opportunities for businesses and brands to build their expertise on given topics, as well as directly answer questions coming from actual users and potential customers.

With content, less can be more if you ask Daniel Daines-Hutt, as long as the content that you are putting out is of the highest quality and has proven it has what it takes to get attention and convert customers. He has proven that by writing far less often than most industry experts generally swear by, you can actually get more traffic and higher conversions.   But just as important as the content you’re putting out there is how you’re promoting it.  The way you target and test your content will directly impact how much you’re paying for your ads and how that relates to the lifetime value of your average customer.

One of the important things that Melanie Diezel stresses to all content marketers is to make sure they’re not just sharing the content they want to share, but to ensure it’s the content their audience wants - and needs - to receive.

If you’re looking for a new and exciting way to reach out and deliver content to your customers and prospects, Jen Lehner has the inside scoop on the newest tool, Alexa Flash Briefings!

Being everywhere doesn’t necessarily get you anywhere, or so says Andrew and Pete, so they’ve created a 90/10 rule that they believe is the backbone to great content marketing strategies. Rather than try to be a jack of all trades, be remarkable at on

What does it mean to be authentic in the digital age? How can you be authentic online? Is this something just for big corporations with huge marketing and communications teams, or can any small business or entrepreneur succeed? What if more businesses worked together instead of against each other?  It is this focus on collaboration that Nicola Smith believes is going to be a key to how businesses grow in the future.

Video marketing can attract an audience, but do you know what types of videos close sales? Marcus Sheridan does, and he’s been sharing that secret with businesses looking to grow. Thorough transparency and authenticity that only video can deliver, businesses gain not only trust but also brand awareness. Further, by using Marcus Sheridan’s “Selling 7” tips for which kinds of videos you should be making, you’ll develop a steady stream of new clients.

Steve Chou has cracked the code on how to effectively communicate with his customers online.   By successfully utilizing Facebook Messenger’s marketing opportunities – i.e., chatbots - he’s been able to find an alternative way to communicate with his customers outside of email, find new ways to get his content out there, use customized segmentation for different audiences, and increase his open rates and revenue per subscriber. It’s all about spreading things around and having multiple ways to reach people, instead of just putting all of your eggs in one basket.

After running a couple of pizzerias and having to figure out the promotion and advertising on his own, Bruce Irving turned his pizza shop business into a full on restaurant marketing juggernaut, helping not only his own businesses, but others see dramatic growth as well. Since he started in those pre-social media days and was still finding success, he quickly saw the advantages that social media could play – especially in local business – and adopted marketing plans on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram because of their incredible targeting abilities, as well as the reasonably priced paid marketing options, ability to run promotions/contests, use video, and even chat bots.

When businesses go looking for expert advice on how to drive business growth through LinkedIn, AJ Wilcox has earned that reputation for knowing exactly how and when to utilize LinkedIn’s numerous advertising options.

If you’re going to invest time and money into creating videos for your business, you want your ideal customers to find them and watch them. And since no one serves up more views than YouTube, your focus should start there. So how do you get those views? Tim Schmoyer understands what YouTube wants, and he helps people and brands create the type of videos that address YouTube’s three main concerns. What are those concerns?

The goal in marketing is to reach, engage, and convert your followers, but how do you accomplish that? By creating content that people actually want and need.   Michael Brenner knows the importance that empathy and storytelling play in marketing, and shares how brands can tap into this by acting as publishers instead of just creators of propaganda. This customer-centric approach to marketing will help you not only increase sales, but also appeal to your customers in a refreshingly organic and openly straightforward way.

As you know, SEO is constantly evolving. When I first started blogging, short posts (under 500 words) that narrowly answered a question was the secret to page one success. However, now Google is looking for longer form content from authoritative websites, aka "pillar posts."  What are pillar posts? How do they work? How can you create one? We answer all those questions and more with the first episode of 2019, an amazing interview with SEO expert Christine Whittemore.

When you think about it, in marketing what we’re really trying to do is influence people’s behavior. Whether we want them to try something, or buy something, or buy it again, or whether we want them to open and read, or give up some personal data, or refer us to a friend. Whatever it is we’re always trying to influence some kind of behavior, and behavioral science, social science, is ideal for that. 

Of all the social media platforms, Facebook is probably the one that changes most frequently and most dramatically.   What worked so well last year, or last month, or even yesterday, is dead in the water today.   In today's episode we speak with Michael Stelzner of Social Media Examiner who shares with us evidence-based reasons on why they changed up their video marketing on Facebook and what they're doing today that's working better.    He'll share both their current Facebook marketing as well as their online video strategy. What they've already learned could save you hours of frustration and thousands of dollars.

Budgets sound cheap. Budget travel, budget hotel, budget wedding. Budgets also sound restricting. What's the budget? Keep to the budget! Don't go over the budget!! But budgets are really about understanding how much your clients are worth, how much it cos

Are you just going to “roll over” your current marketing plan into next year? With 2018 rapidly coming to a close, Rich Brooks of flyte new media shares his agency’s changing strategies for the new year. How they plan to refocus their attention and generate more leads going forward. He reminds us that if you plan to do the same thing in 2019 that you did in 2018 – or just more of it – then you should expect disappointing results. Remember, your competition is already pivoting with the changes and you need to, too. Whether it’s diving into AI with chatbots, changing the way you create blog posts and other content, or even redesigning your own website, it’s time to shift your marketing plan to compete with the ever changing digital marketing industry. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/273

Worried that AI—Artificial Intelligence—is going to make your digital marketing job obsolete? Instead of looking at the future of AI in the digital marketing space as something that’s eventually going to replace us with robots, think of it instead as a business partner that will enhance your job and supplement your output. Artificial Intelligence can never replace humans in areas such as empathy, sensibility, strategic capabilities, and creativity, but they can do things like sort through and analyze data quicker than the human brain can. So approach AI as a member of your team that handles some of that data for you so you have a little more time to concentrate on the parts of marketing that humans do best. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/272

Have you heard about “RankBrain”? That’s the name of Google’s AI technology, making user intent a critical piece in search results. RankBrain is constantly trying to improve the Google’s Search Engine Results Page by attempting to understand what people are actually looking for when they search and delivering on that need. Better search results pages are better for searchers, but how can you take advantage of this shift to get in front of more of your ideal customers? In short, how can you optimize for RankBrain? Or is it impossible? If you want to understand more about how RankBrain in upending the search business and how you can stay on your feet, listen to Jeffrey Kranz, an SEO expert who focuses on RankBrain. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/271

Pinterest is an underutilized tool in your social media toolkit. A pin has a much longer shelf life than a tweet or a Facebook update. Pinterest offers search engine optimization benefits that other social media channels can’t match. Listen in to Pinterest marketing expert Jennifer Priest and discover how to leverage hashtags, videos, and search in Pinterest to reach more of your ideal customers and drive traffic and sales. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/270

Facebook’s ad platform gives you more control over your ad campaigns compared to any other platform out there. Whether you’re a pizza shop looking for more customers, or an online retail store looking to find more people interested in your products, Facebook’s audience targeting options allow you to reach the right people based on location, demographics, interests, behaviors, and more. Once you’ve properly installed the Facebook pixel on your website, you can go as broad or niched down as you need to get in front of your ideal audience, ensuring you can increase your reach and boost your sales. Listen to Andrew Bengel, the Ad Viking, to discover how to target the right audience to grow your business. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/269

How many times have you read a blog post by a social media expert that told you to do one thing, and then listened to a podcast by another expert on the same topic that told you to do the exact opposite? Now it makes sense that different people will have different opinions, but what does the actual data say? This is where Social Media Lab fits in. They are the Mythbusters of the social media world. They take a scientific approach and perform real tests on the types of social media questions that marketers have when it comes to what really works and what doesn’t, what will give you a better reach with your audience, and what gets more conversions...and they have the actual numbers to prove it. How many hashtags is too many? Instagram Carousel or individual photo posts? Instagram Story ads or Instagram feed ads? How do your current social media marketing strategies rank up against the data? Maybe it’s time to try something new. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/268

With our social feeds clogged up and algorithms working against us, how can we engage our audience? Well, there’s a relatively new offering from Instagram that may provide the solution: Instagram TV (IGTV.) IGTV displays full screen, vertical videos that can be up to an hour long. Video, in and of itself, is a great opportunity to nurture the “know, like and trust” aspect of warming your audience by showing them a more personal side of your business or brand. Think of the possibilities: vlogging, behind the scenes glimpses, influencer marketing, and repurposing content used on other social channels. The possibilities are limited only by your creativity! https://www.theagentsofchange.com/267

By now it should be safe to assume most people are aware that LinkedIn has much more to offer than as just a place to park your resume. But don’t think it’s a free-for-all opportunity to spam the heck out of people with cold business pitches. To success at generating leads from LinkedIn, you want to gradually build a network of people that are your ideal prospects. To do this, set up a process where you build rapport, gain trust, and determine if you can help with their pain points. Then begin a gradual process of explaining how that might look to them, and constantly stay top of mind. That is the key to successfully navigating and utilizing LinkedIn for your business. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/266

Webinars are a great way to grow and empower your community. When done creatively, they can also drive different revenue streams for your business. The very interactive nature of a webinar lends itself to being a fast track to building trust, engagement, and community– the building blocks for growing your business. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/265

It can be difficult for small business to compete at Google against large corporations who have bottomless pockets and huge marketing teams. However, there are gaps—keyword gaps—that you can take advantage of to get found by your ideal customers when they search. Find out how to discover these keyword gaps, take advantage of the “long tail” of search, and ensure that no technical problem is keeping you off the front page of Google. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/264

When running ads for your business, where you target potential customers is just as important as who you target. Search engines like Google generate more direct sales because people searching there generally already know what they’re looking for. Alternatively, with Facebook the key is to impress your potential customers by first getting them to know, like, and trust you. Too often businesses think if they just send ads out to everyone, then they’re bound to generate some business. But the smarter way is to niche down and target only the most ideal audience for your business. That’s what’s going to help you both stand out and survive. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/263

You understand the importance of SEO for your business and its online visibility. But just throwing up a bunch of blog posts and articles isn’t nearly enough to get the job done in today’s crowded, competitive marketplace. Instead, think quality over quantity. Carefully crafting – and curating – your online content is vital to how Google perceives you and helps determine if your offerings are valuable to the people searching online. This includes adding quality links from well-respected and trustworthy sources, and being smart and calculated with your keyword research. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/262

The importance of building high quality links has never been greater. But you can’t fool Google…grabbing any and all links will not boost you in the search rankings. You need to prove to Google that you’ve earned the spot by seeking out the ones from more authoritative and trusting sources. And when you research and contact these trusted sites, you need to take care with how you pitch them. Sending out a generic copy in a pasted email to a hundred people is only going to ensure your request hits the spam box or the trash. Instead, make sure you’re creating a pitch through thoughtful outreach. Include a subject line that compels people to open your email - that shows you’ve done your research and that this impacts their business directly. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/261

Local SEO is an effective way for businesses to promote their products and services to local customers online at the exact time they’re looking for them. By following a strategic formula that incorporates both original content and reputable curated content, as well as the often overlooked value from videos and reviews, your content will create a buzz that Google and other search engines and directories are looking for. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/260

If you’ve been in the business world and have a website, chances are you’ve been told the importance of good SEO. It’s also no secret that crafting a successful SEO strategy takes a great deal of time, research and effort, and many feel it’s a job best to hire out to a professional. But even if that’s your game plan, it is still highly recommended that you at least know some of the basics yourself. A smart and successful SEO campaign will help you choose the most profitable keywords, understand what the search engines are looking for, be able to hone in on what your competitors are ranking for so that you can compete better with them, have a powerful link-building strategy, and of course, create compelling copy that not only educates your customers but sends them further along in your sales funnel. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/259

Search engine optimization has this reputation for being a mysterious and difficult job, though a very important one. But in reality, a savvy DIY-er can learn to do this effectively themselves if they just put in just a little bit of time to learn it and dig in. Even if you do decide to hire out for your SEO needs, every business owner should at least know how to find where their website ranks, which keywords are and aren’t working for them, and what kind of content is both valuable to the search engines and effective at helping to grow their online footprint. It’s all about prioritizing usability and keeping content and keywords fresh. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/257

We’ve all thought at one time or another, if I could just come up with a great idea, it will sell itself and I’ll be rolling in money. Well, it’s not quite that simple. Sure, the idea is the impetus of the plan, but the process that you use to keep it moving forward – through a sales funnel – is what will determine your success or not. Once you’ve got your big idea, make sure you’re being intentional with the content that you’re creating around it. An initial free guaranteed offer is a great way to earn trust and continued interest. And from there it’s creating a continuous system that funnels your customers from one step to the next with continued opportunities for them, and continued revenue for you. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/258

Many small businesses offer their products and services to a specific geographical market. To be successful, they need to make sure they’re being found quickly in search engines. That’s why incorporating strategies specific to local search and SEO is an important part of creating a well-rounded and comprehensive online marketing strategy. To help increase your chances of getting found by customers, you can start by implementing local search strategies such as creating localized content for your website, claim and optimize your Google My Business page, obtain online reviews from customers, and claim and manage local listings and citations. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/256

After 21 years in business, I finally decided to take a sabbatical. If you’ve been wondering if you can take a sabbatical, or how to make it happen, I’ll share my process in this episode! And, if you’re not sure why you should take a sabbatical, I’ll share with you why I’m taking mine, and maybe it will resonate with you. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/255

As a business you always want to be building loyalty and trust from your clients and prospective clients. The best way to do that is by telling stories that they can relate to personally.  You should think of storytelling as tribe building.  And if you put out your story, you’re going to attract like-minded people for your products and services. And the clearer you are with story and the better you can tell that story, you’re going to continually attract the kind of people who are going to grow your business. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/254

Businesses are always looking for ways to cut costs and improve customer engagement, and chatbots have become the newest shiny object on the block that have filled the hole as an alternative way to engage conversationally with customers. More importantly, chatbots are available to companies of all sizes, so it allows the small guys to compete with the larger, more established brands. Chatbots have been proven to increase traffic flow, build email lists, provide a more personalized customer experience, and nurture leads. These are all things that every business wants. They also allow you to get creative with offers and promotions, and they’re available 24/7, unlike traditional customer service for many businesses, so you never miss out on an opportunity to engage with your audience no matter what time it is. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/253

Your prospects and customers are researching and buying online, so you need to focus your marketing to them on digital channels as well. The way to do that is to be specific in who you're trying to reach, know where they’re hanging out online, prove to them that your brand is trustworthy, and be able to measure your efforts so you’re only spending your time and money on the efforts that are actually working. The first step is in creating a realistic and specific digital marketing plan. You need to give them valuable content that they can actually use to make their lives easier and that will make them keep coming back to you. It’s building brand awareness and loyalty. In the world of digital marketing it’s quality over quantity, and slow and steady wins the race...and the customers. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/252

Many of us have these grandiose dreams of having it all, the family and the career where we’re our own boss. Well it doesn’t have to be a dream, you can make that a reality if you take the right approach. The key could lie first in finding your perfect community.  This is where you get support, tools, resources, connections, and even collaborations. Some people try to go too hard, too fast, but slow and steady often wins the race. Find your passion, stand for something, give value to others, and defend what you’ve built. In no time, you’ll have a community of like-minded individuals coming along for the ride with you. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/251

If you’re already creating content for your own business, why would you want to seek out guest posting opportunities for other sites? Well, because guest posting is a creative and important strategy for growing your own blog readership and community. Guest posting builds relationships, it’s great for search engines, it introduces you to a whole new audience, it associates you with other influencers, it helps build email lists, and the backlinks...oh, the backlinks you’ll get that will make Google so very happy. But you can’t just go into it willy nilly. It takes some research and time to create the perfect pitch that will have influencers interested and anxious to post your content to their sites. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/250

If you’re a business owner, chances are you’re already using Facebook ads as part of your marketing strategy. And the last thing you probably want to do - or have time for - is add yet another social platform to your repertoire. But don’t overlook the many benefits of Pinterest and what it can do for your business. Pinterest offers an abundance of benefits for businesses, and the best part, it doesn’t have to be just content that you’ve created. You have the opportunity to build relationships with influencers, re-pin older content of yours that did really well to keep it alive and get more new eyeballs on it, schedule pins all at once to save time, and don’t forget the benefits of group boards, where you can collaborate with others. A tweet has a limited shelf life, but a pin can last forever. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/249

It’s pretty common these days for businesses to use Facebook ads for business, but have you considered the power of YouTube ads? Everyone knows that video is a powerful way to capture your potential audience’s attention, and even more than Facebook, people turn to YouTube to find answers to problems they’re having. If you have answers to their problems, YouTube is a great place to find your target audience. Take advantage of YouTube’s high traffic rate to leverage your business’s expertise by creating some creative and entertaining content for your target audience. And like Facebook, YouTube also offers advertisers some easy ways to find your ideal audience as well as tracking which video ads are working well, and how you can do it affordably. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/248

Really, AI has been around as long as computers have. But over time, AI and machine learning have been able to take over certain functions in more concise, error-proof, and productive ways than humans can. We have benefitted from this in ways that encompass Netflix being able to recommend the kind of shows we like based on our viewing history, all the way to bidding on PPC ads on our behalf based on certain data it’s picked up from the various platforms. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/247

Businesses are always looking to find creative ways to target their audience, and geo-fencing fits that role perfectly. By setting up a geo-fence - or a virtual boundary - it allows businesses to access mobile device user’s WiFi/cell date/GPS to trigger push notifications, text messages, alerts, and even targeted advertisements, to deliver location-based marketing data. Think of the possibilities. As a business you have the ability to potentially reach customers when they enter one of your competitor’s businesses and hit them with an offer they can’t refuse. You can literally aim your ads to customize your audience’s local needs, and this is key for not only sales but for customer retention as well. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/246

Not all entrepreneurs and business owners are also financial wizards. That’s why it’s vital to make sure you have a person on your team that can pick up that task and do it in a way that shares your business growth vision, understands your needs, speaks to you in a way you understand, and doesn’t just throw around fancy accounting jargon. But where do you start? Do you hire an accountant, a bookkeeper, a CFO? All of these roles perform essentially the same task, but the way they do it may or may not align with the way that’s right for your particular business. Knowing where you’re at, where you want to be, and what you need to do to get there are all part of what makes a good business finance officer. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/245

What happens when you let a Pinterest expert take over your business account?  Rich Brooks found out the answer when he let Alisa Meredith do that very thing. The result: she helped him turn his dumpster fire into a well-oiled machine. If only more businesses saw Pinterest as the search engine that it is, instead of just a social site to pin crafty ideas. Pinterest can help build brand awareness and loyalty. It has its own amazing analytics to help you in your marketing campaigns and strategies. There are incredible opportunities here for content creators. You can use hashtags! Tune into this special episode (also available on video!), and see how to create a Pinterest business page that will help you direct traffic to your webpage and convert customers. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/244

You don’t have to look far to find influencers. They’re the people that have established their own following through their use of tools like blogs and social media to let their followers know when something is good (or less than stellar). It’s amazing what people will do when they get something above and beyond what was expected.  As a business, when you treat those customers in a way that makes them feel special, they are primed to become your biggest advocates, fans and influencers. They’ll give you great reviews, tweet about you, blog about you, recommend you to friends and family. It’s the kind of free marketing every business wants.  When you find a way to intersect with your customer’s lives instead of interrupting them and treating them like they come first, you’re focusing on your influencers instead of just targeting to the general masses. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/243

Improvisation on stage can be a scary, intimidating thing. Sure, you have some rough guidelines and an end goal, but you’re never quite sure of the twists and turns you’ll take in the middle. Well, isn’t business a lot like that, too? And just like the way an improv performer can reel in an audience with good storytelling, the same is true in business. We, as business owners and marketers, can borrow from improv to help us better interact and connect with our audience by creating layered stories, not being afraid to take risks, taking the lead and encouraging followers, as well as catering content to your ideal audience. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/242

Let’s say you’ve already heard about the benefits of Facebook groups from other business owners and now you want to try your hand at using it to promote your brand, products, and services as well. Once you decide why and how you’ll use the group, it’s a good idea to set up some rules and parameters for potential members to adhere to. You can even require they answer a series of questions before you determine if they’re a good fit for the group. Proper vetting is important because the success and growth of your Facebook group really depends on consistent engagement in the group. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/241

Almost all of the major social media platforms have added a live streaming feature, and marketers should be considering this an excellent addition to their toolbox. Given the way online users view content, video has skyrocketed to the top, and businesses and brands should be taking advantage of this. What better way to communicate with your audience and gain their trust than by speaking directly to them. Live streaming is a perfect way to conduct interviews, go behind the scenes at an event, or even introduce and demonstrate your products. And you don’t have to invest in expensive video equipment, if you have a smartphone with a camera, then you already have the minimum tools needed to get started. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/240

There's nothing quite like a live event--a conference, expo, or business networking gathering--to learn a connect with like minded people. However, too many people don't take full advantage of the opportunity.   In today's episode we're going to talk about how you can get more out of any business event with a little bit of preplanning, whether you're a newbie or an old hand.    Also, I'm going to be sharing some of what I picked up at Social Media Marketing World 2018 and what changes I'll be making to my own business.   https://www.theagentsofchange.com/239

When you’re starting out with your business you’re doing it all; making phone calls, fulfilling orders, handling social media, accounting, making travel arrangements, and everything else in between. But one of the main reasons we take the leap into entrepreneurship is to have more time, not less. One way to achieve that without bringing on a full-time employee is to utilize the benefits of a virtual assistant.  Think of a virtual assistant as an extra set of hands that works remotely to handle whichever tasks you assign them. Achieving success with this plan is going to depend on the work you put in on the front end with finding and training them to be an extension of yourself. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/238

A Facebook Group is a great way to create a community of like-minded individuals to create and keep a conversation going with little to no effort. The key is in setting certain ground rules and policies that will best serve that particular group for the long-term. Specificity and a shared goal amongst the members will go a long way in the success of Facebook Groups. Regardless of whether you choose to make it a closed, public, or secret group, making sure the conversation continues will determine if the group sees continued success and value. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/237

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) are the strategies and tactics that create an experience that allows you to convert visitors into customers on your website. To do this effectively you need to differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack, and you can do that with things like building brand affinity and creating offers that differ from everyone else. Making your marketing decisions based on analytics and not just what your competition is doing will also take you far in the CRO game. And most importantly, be curious and get creative. This is a good opportunity to do some A/B split testing and make sure your content and visuals are on point. If you follow these tips, you’ll turn that donkey into a unicorn in no time. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/236

Facebook is changing their algorithm again. This time you’ll be seeing less public content from businesses, brands, and the media, and more content that promotes meaningful interactions between people (get ready to see more pictures of your great aunt’s cat showing up in your newsfeed). This means businesses are going to have to work harder than ever to get their customer’s attention and be a little more creative when doing it.  Businesses and brands are going to have to pay more attention to what they’re posting and make sure they’re creating content that invites and encourages real, meaningful conversations. Gone are the days of link dropping. It’s time to explore other avenues such as Facebook Live, increasing the ad budget, and utilizing Facebook Groups. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/235

A Facebook Group is a great way to communicate and share common interests, information, and opinions around a common cause or goal. Anyone can setup and manage a Group as small or as large as you want. Facebook groups also offer many options to suit a particular Groups needs; you can make it public, private or secret, you can make admission limited or open, you can set guidelines for admission as well as for the Group members themselves. With the impending changes looming with how marketers can utilize Facebook, the Groups aspect offers another way to direct traffic to your other platforms, and even monetizing. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/234 Physical SMMW Tickets: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/smmw2018 Virtual SMMW Tickets: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/smmw2018v

Every dollar counts in today’s world of digital marketing. Our businesses are utilizing so many different platforms and technologies that we have to be able to effectively deploy these in a way that is both cost effective to you, and provides an optimal user experience for those visiting your website and apps. The way to do that is with tag management tools. Essentially, these tools allow marketers to impactfully manage and marry together various applications and data in the most efficient way by providing more agility, better performance, cost savings, and better data control. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/233

There’s a whole lot more to Facebook ads than just “boosting” a post. Just throwing money at Facebook isn’t the answer. Your business should have an end goal, and then a strategy in place for how to reach that goal, including where within that process to use Facebook ads. Otherwise, you’re just wasting money. You first need to understand how Facebook ads work, and where in your personal business funnel it makes the most sense to leverage them. You could use them to warm up your audience before sending them to your webpage or landing page, you could engage people on your email list, and you can even use Facebook ads as part of a retargeting campaign, too. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/232 Free 30 Minute Webinar on Facebook Ads: http://www.takeflyte.com/30facebookads   Attend Social Media Marketing World: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/smmw2018   Attend Virtually: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/smmw2018v

Currently one of the strongest - and often untapped - digital marketing opportunities is YouTube pre-roll advertising. You know them as those 5-30 second videos that run before the video you want to watch, sometimes giving you the option to “skip it” and go straight to your video. Sure, some people can find them annoying, but if you use them in a way that is found to be interesting or helpful, you could be nurturing a future customer. Pre-roll ads are a great way to build brand awareness and drive website traffic, all for a relatively reasonable price. Plus, these types of adds have shown to provide a more immediate ROI since they focus on  getting people who are ready to buy. Of course, a lot of that is in the finesse of how good you were at targeting your ideal audience. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/231

In this digital world, e-commerce is here to stay. One of the biggest platforms for this is Amazon. So have you considered selling your business’s products on there? Many businesses think of Amazon as their competitor, but what you may not realize is that it’s actually more of a partnership relationship. You can build brand awareness, market your web page, and even encourage reviews by selling on Amazon, all by plugging into their already massive traffic stream.   https://www.theagentsofchange.com/230

The landscape of content marketing has changed. To be successful you need to give your audience what it wants, where it wants it. And video offers a great opportunity to catch consumers where they hang out. Depending on which platform you choose to use, you should know what kinds of videos to be showing them. You don’t want to be using the same videos on YouTube as you would on Facebook because those platforms generally attract different audiences. For example, the Facebook audience is more of the consumer that is in “discovery mode”, so shorter - and oftentimes silent - videos are what will strike gold there. Whereas on YouTube this is more of an audience that is searching and looking for longer content. Remember, videos don't just go viral on their own - and that should never be the sole goal of your video marketing campaign - but being smart with where you put your video content and remembering to cater to the audience that your platform of choice attracts, will get you far in the long term. http://www.theagentsofchange.com/229 Social Media Marketing World 2018     Learn more and attend in person: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/smmw2018 Learn more and attend virtually: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/smmw2018v

By now you know the importance of an email list for your business. But are you using those email addresses wisely and strategically, or are you just bombarding your clients - and prospective clients - with emails that will eventually cause them to remove themselves from your mailing list? One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is using their emails to actually try to sell to their audience. The key is to use the emails to direct them to other platforms that excel in selling - like your website.  But avoiding a few common mistakes, you can start sending out the kinds of emails that get you more clicks, longer engagement, and make your audience want to read the next one, and the next one, and the next one.   http://www.theagentsofchange.com/228

There are many challenges that a small business will face today. How you overcome, improvise or jump those hurdles will say a lot about the direction your business is headed in. Learning to prioritize, plan for long term growth, utilize the strengths of your entire team, and knowing when to hire out certain tasks, are four of the top strategies that every small business should be thinking about and implementing. When we learn to “rise above the noise”, we can then be creative and unique in how we move forward. http://www.theagentsofchange.com/227

In order to create effective digital marketing campaigns, you need to have a strategy. Just posting willy-nilly on every platform without targeting - and retargeting - your audience will not lead to success and get them traveling through your sales funnel. Making sure all aspects of your digital marketing team are working together as a cohesive unit and building on each different part of the overall strategy will give you a clearer view of who you’re trying to attract, where to find them, and what content of yours attracts them. Remember, it’s all about the eyeballs; how many people saw it, how many people like it, and how many people are watching you. So if you’re not tracking that, you’re already behind in the game.   https://www.theagentsofchange.com/226

In preparation of a recent presentation on building your email list, I discovered that our email funnels were a complete mess!    I went in, cleaned them up, and I've noticed a surge in email signups since then.   In this week's podcast I share both the tips from the presentation as well as how I cleaned up our email funnels to jumpstart our signups.   Building your email list should be at the top of your priority list for 2018, and this episode will give you the tools, ideas, and directions, to make that happen.   https://www.theagentsofchange.com/225

You’ve managed to make the sale and get yourself a new customer, but do you know how to keep them a customer for the long haul? Businesses spend so much time, money and energy to acquire their customers, but often are not doing anything to retain those customers they worked so hard for. By following a few fairly simple rules, you can make your new customers not only long term clients, but also reap the benefits of their positive reviews and comments to help you win over future (hopefully long term) customers http://www.theagentsofchange.com/224

In digital marketing, there’s an ongoing battle between organic search and paid search. Which one yields better results, which one is more cost effective, which one tracks ROI better, and more importantly which one works faster?  Honestly, it depends on what your goals are, and of course all good long-term web marketing strategies should include SEO. But PPC can show results fairly quickly and has a proven track record of bringing in quality traffic that is more likely to convert. PPC advertising is also easily measurable and provides great insight to assist in making educated decisions about your PPC campaigns. And for all the small businesses out there, PPC advertising allows the Davids to compete with the Goliaths in a way other advertising options do not.   https://www.theagentsofchange.com/223

One of the most anticipated parts of owning a business is getting to choose a name for your brand and products. But there’s a little more to it than you think. Does your name easily resonate with your customers? Is it easy to pronounce? Will it stand the test of time for years to come? There are many factors to consider when choosing business and brand names, and making sure you can secure the matching domain name is a pretty big one. Alexandra Watkins has a knack for creating brand and product names that stick, and she has created her own genius checklist that she applies to every company and product before settling on a name. But don’t worry, if you decide you want to take the leap and go for a name change, we can help with that, too. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/222

Using video to reach and engage your audience isn’t just a new fad, it’s here to stay. So don’t be afraid to jump in front of the camera and utilize its awesome power to connect with your audience through the power of storytelling. Everyone has a story to tell, and that personal touch helps to gain trust and personal connections. One of the best parts of video is you don’t even need to drop a serious amount of cash on fancy equipment. If you have a smartphone, you have everything you need in the palm of your hand to start right away. And your content is literally all around you. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/221

Instagram has over 700 million active users. That means there’s less competition than other platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, which presents businesses with a great opportunity to really home in and target their audience without having to spend a ton of money to do so. Instagram has come a long way from the days when they were the new kid on the block and probably best known as a site for future brides to be to look for wedding inspiration. Instagram has added a number of tools to their toolbox to help businesses craft the kind of marketing strategy that best speaks to their ideal audience.  Whether it’s through photos, video, expanding their reach through hashtags, or the ever-popular Instagram Stories feature, this platform is proving to be a secret weapon in many business’s marketing campaigns. http://www.theagentsofchange.com/220

We live in an age where consumers are scrolling fast through social media, so we need to adapt to that in order to capture their attention in quick bites while still staying front of mind. Millennials are perhaps the biggest “mobile junkies” so if you want to reach them, you need to hang out where they are. Some of the best tools out there that you can utilize to accomplish this are Snapchat and Instagram Stories. We need to create a strategy that allows us to get our message across while still remaining true to our brand, but that also piques the interest of and engages our audience http://www.theagentsofchange.com/219

Your brand is your reputation, so you want to make sure you’re putting your best foot forward by making yourself known and trusted on LinkedIn. And how exactly do you do that? You follow a few key strategies that will help your profile stand out from the pack. A few things that will have both long-reaching and long term effects for you is to be calculated with your bio. Make sure you’re telling a story to everyone who sees your profile so they’ll want to keep reading. And don’t forget that LinkedIn actually offers some SEO benefits as well, so don’t forget that you can post videos, audio, slides and repurpose those blog posts on LinkedIn as well. http://www.theagentsofchange.com/218

How do you get people to know, like & trust you? You build a relationship with them, you tell stories that resonate with them, and you make them feel a connection with you. What’s a great way to do that – with video. Whether it’s for sales, marketing, or just a more personal connection than a simple written email, video has a power all its own. Video marketing is a gold mine right now because of all the multi-channel distribution options thanks to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc. Don’t let the stigma of thinking creating video is tedious, expensive, or doesn’t offer the same benefits as other content. And video platforms can also offer some insightful analytics info, as well.   http://www.theagentsofchange.com/217

How do you get clients to know, like and trust you, and even send referrals your way? You build a relationship with them. When you gain loyalty through meaningful relationships, you reap the benefits of long term business - and more importantly - referrals which can keep your business thriving for years to come. By devising a relationship marketing system for your business, you are showing your clients that you appreciate them. You achieve that by capturing their attention, articulating your message, continuing to build the relationships out, and providing exceptional customer service. http://www.theagentsofchange.com/216

A few weeks ago, leading up to the Agents of Change Digital Marketing Conference, I did a "Twitter Chat" with the help of my friend Madalyn Sklar, as well as a number of other digital marketing experts. We answered 12 digital marketing questions and had a rollicking good time! However, you can only give so much nuance in 140 characters or less, so I decided to take a few of my favorite questions and turn them into a Twitter-style mailbag episode! http://www.theagentsofchange.com/215

More than 2 billion people use Facebook daily, which makes is a no brainer as far as an advertising platform is concerned. Not only that, they collect so much data for its users that they share with advertisers to help them target their audience in even the most granular ways. But you can’t just throw up any ad on Facebook and expect the business to roll in, it takes a little finesse and testing to reach the right target audience that’s going to reward you with leads and sales. You need to choose the right objective for your campaign, as well as choose the ad set level, before you even go ahead and create that perfect ad. http://www.theagentsofchange.com/214

It’s a tale as old as time. For as far back as you can remember when you were a kid, you made friends by forming a connection with someone whether it be a shared interest or some other common or relatable trait.  In business it’s very similar. When you’ve earned trust then you’ve earned business, and that’s laying the groundwork for a sustainable business. When a business or brand relates authentically to prospective customers, it’s generally because they trust them and more importantly they share a common interest or even pain point. If you manage to get a group of these fans, then it’s like you’ve cultivated your very own cheering section that will virally tell their friends and family, and so on. It’s learning how to mix today’s social media with the “old school” way of going out and making personal connections. http://www.theagentsofchange.com/213

Staying ahead of the Google algorithm curve can be frustrating. Just when you think you’ve made some headway, they change it again. You need to remember that what works on Google today may not work tomorrow, so be prepared. A couple strategies to strongly consider that certainly don’t look like they will change as far as Google search is concerned, are making sure your website is both fast loading and mobile optimized. And don’t underestimate the power of the customer review. Google puts a lot of stock in how others perceive your business as a means to determine if you rank high in their eyes, so acquiring and maintaining a robust selection of customer reviews is also a great way to impress Google. http://www.theagentsofchange.com/212

Video is a great way to interact with your audience. Finding creative ways to reach your followers on all of the platforms they’re hanging out on and redirecting them to your YouTube channel can mean the difference between success and failure. So how do you cater to all of the different algorithms that each platform puts in place to ensure you get maximum reach? The key is trying different things and seeing what works. You have to remember things like using a YouTube direct link won’t go over too well with Facebook, and if you do that, you’re going to be penalized in terms of the reach they’ll allow you. So get creative, use URL shorteners, and always engage your audience so they know you appreciate them. http://www.theagentsofchange.com/211

You’ve spent a great deal of time crafting and publishing the perfect blog post, are you getting all you can out of that content? Repurposing your content allows you to get more mileage out of the content you’ve created.  It’s not that there’s extra work to be done, it’s that you’re able to get a lot more out of one valuable piece of content than having to continuously create new pieces of content all the time. Content repurposing is an essential part of content marketing, not just on your website, but it allows you to branch out and find your audience on all the platforms and in all the places that they’re hanging out, while at the same time saving your time. http://www.theagentsofchange.com/210

Times have certainly changed since the beginning of SEO, where the objective to winning the game was to just concentrate on a few keywords. Today, it’s also about researching your competitors - both direct and indirect - to see where they’re ranking and what they’re doing to get there.   Fortunately there are a plethora of tools out there now to help us dig deeper to find out not only what keywords rank well in general but what keywords your competitors are using, what backlinks may be helping them, as well as which of their web pages are getting the most attention. This allows you to leverage that information and make tweaks to your own site and content so you can beat the competition and rank higher in search. If you find a competitor is ranking higher than you and you just can’t figure out why, maybe the problem is that they are doing a better job at answering the intention of the searcher than you are. So don’t go reinventing the wheel, see what they’re doing as a jumping off point,  and then do it better. http://www.theagentsofchange.com/209

Like many things in the business world, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has changed dramatically since the early days, and continues to do so. Thanks to things like Google constantly tweaking their algorithms, marketers and content creators need to be crafty and smart with their SEO strategies. Gone are the days of just using your keyword phrases as many times as you could in your post or buying tons of backlinks to point back to your site. These days businesses need to take a more holistic approach to how they’re distributing the content. And that means carefully utilizing other social platforms, reputation management, quality backlinks, as well as strategic outreach opportunities. http://www.theagentsofchange.com/208

If you took a poll and asked people to explain what exactly Public Relations is, you’d most likely hear “press releases” repeated time and again. But obviously there’s a lot more to it than that. PR is the business of persuasion where it is their job to convince an audience - both inside and outside your usual circle of influence - to promote, support, purchase from, and recognize your business, product or brand. Public relations is a very strategic process of communication where you are attempting to build mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and their audience. This means you must know what your end goal is at the start, and build upon that to enhance and grow your reputation through channels such as the press, social media, television and radio by way of tools like blogging, speaking gigs, outreach events and yes, press releases. Nikki Lamb Tudico shares her experience and knowledge of the PR industry to help us with strategies that can fit any size business, because PR isn’t just for the big, national brands. http://www.theagentsofchange.com/207

When it comes to building our websites, we sometimes tend to believe that the more info we have on there, the better. But that’s not exactly true. Bogging down your website with images and content and code that is unnecessary and slows down your site is a big negative in Google’s eyes. If your website doesn’t provide an optimal user experience, you will be negatively impacted and rank much lower. Learning how to keep your site running fast – even if that means tweaking your content and photos slightly to accommodate things like different screen sizes and resolutions depending on the type of device it is being viewed on - will go a long way in providing both user satisfaction as well as appeal more favorable to Google. http://www.theagentsofchange.com/205

A dashboard is an information management tool that allows you to take control of the business and dig deeper into the “how” and “why” of where it’s been and where it’s headed, by tracking key KPIs and other key data points relative to your business. Dashboards help to calibrate the business, to not only make more money but to also support the customers. If you’re seeing a dip in customer satisfaction, you also need to know why the numbers are down. Dashboards give you the granularity to know how and where to take action. In Dan Faggella’s case, dashboards allowed his businesses to not rely only on him, and thus was instrumental in allowing him to sell his companies for 6 and 7 figures each, by showing that they could essentially steer themselves without relying solely on him to succeed. www.agentsofchangecon.com/204

You may think that the same SEO tactics apply to all instances, but you’d be wrong. Sure, it all starts with good keyword research. But ranking for Google is drastically different than ranking for YouTube. Not every video is lucky enough to go viral on its own, so utilizing tips like saying the keyword in your video, concentrating on quality over quantity, being mindful of video length & good descriptions, engaging your audience, and piggybacking on the success of videos with the same keyword, just might help boost your vids and get you some amazing traffic.   www.theagentsofchange.com/203

Every business needs to know what language their customers are using because that means you can relate better to them. When you relate to them in a way they understand, they will buy your products and services. And this is why SEO is so important, it makes your website easy for both users and the search engine “robots” to understand when you cater to what they’re looking for. The best way to speak the language of your potential customers is to do some research into what they’re “saying” when they go searching online, by looking at keywords. When you can narrow down the key search words that are most commonly being used, you are that much more likely to rank higher in Google search. And then you can take it even further and see what keywords your competitors are using and how those stack up against your own keywords. http://www.theagentsofchange.com/202

If you’ve been writing blog posts for many years, has your ideal client changed – and if so – has your content changed with that? Making sure you’re taking advantage of all the info your analytics is telling you about what your readers want to hear more of will also allow you and your content to evolve and change over time. Planning out a strategy to your long form content writing will make the whole process less daunting and easier to manage and fit into your busy schedule. The goal here is to make it something you look forward to doing, instead of a chore. http://www.theagentsofchange.com/201

Measuring the success of your podcast is more than just getting in the “New & Noteworthy” section at iTunes. And that means it’s more about getting people to actually subscribe to your podcast than to simply just listen to it. The most obvious way to garner buzz about your podcast is to utilize your email list. But what you tell them in the email is one of the most critical and key components to a successful podcast launch. Simply asking them to check it out will not do, you need to tell them what you want - and that is for them to hit the ‘subscribe’ button (even go as far as to tell them how to do it) - and of course make sure you tell them all the benefits of doing so. http://www.theagentsofchange.com/200

Pinterest is the typically underutilized social platform that’s quickly gaining momentum. When you look at things it has over other social platforms – longevity of content visibility, inexpensive – it’s a no-brainer for businesses, especially those with tight marketing budgets. Peg Fitzpatrick teaches us how to make Pinterest work for small businesses by helping us build relationships with influencers, creating different boards to highlight multiple facets of our brand, how to use enticing text and photos, and how to promote our events using Pinterest.   www.theagentsofchange.com/199

If you think Pinterest is only for DIY-ers and the wedding industry, then you’re missing out. Pinterest is the underdog that is constantly proving itself as a valuable marketing tool for all kinds of businesses. Not only is it good for businesses with limited marketing budgets, it has much more of a “set it and forget it” mentality than other social channels that need constant babysitting and attention in order to maximize their potential. With little effort, you can use Pinterest to highlight your company’s work, link back to your blog or website, and promote not only your own content, but other valuable curated content as well. And remember, Pinterest pins also show up in Google searches now. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/198

You can’t be everywhere at once, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could clone ourselves? Well, now you can…kinda. Using technology to interact with your customers via chatbots is the next big wave for businesses – large and small – to ride. Chatbot tools are now making it easier than ever to build a custom bot to interact with your Facebook clients 24/7 by answering FAQ’s and even using some of the lingo and personality that associates directly with your brand that people have become familiar with. http://www.theagentsofchange.com/197

Customarily, the way businesses generally go about things is to pump out large amounts of content through multiple channels - social media, email, paid advertising – and hope that does the trick. Then they might retarget those that didn’t bit the first time, including offering a few different low dollar purchase options before finally converting all of that effort into a few sales. But by reversing that sales funnel and simplifying it down to just 3 easy steps, you can convert even cold traffic with less work and less risk, and increase your customer’s lifetime value. Essentially you’re beginning with the end of your sales funnel and optimizing that by cutting out the middle man, which is faster and more cost effective for your business. www.theagentsofchange.com/196

Instagram Stories is the new kid on the block, a great new tool that individuals and businesses alike can use to engage in a more personal and authentic way with their audience. And here’s the thing…it disappears after 24 hours. If you’re a business looking for a creative outlet to connect with your audience, Instagram Stories gives you the ability to do things like show your product in action, tease for an upcoming conference or podcast, give a glimpse “behind the scenes”, and so much more. Sue B. Zimmerman - the “Insta Expert” - is here to teach us all the ninja tips and tricks to help us harness the full power and potential of all that Instagram has to offer us. www.theagentsofchange.com/195

We all know the importance of reaching the right audience, but what about getting a little help doing that. As the saying goes, “it’s all about who you know”, and there is a lot of truth in that. So why not find some influential people to help us get the word out about our products and services to reach an even wider audience? Amir Zonozi teaches us a thing or two about the different kinds of influencers, which ones are better poised to help us, and how we can form a working relationship with them.

Do you really know who your customers are? Is the information you have based on data supported facts or assumptions? If your assumptions are off the mark, then you’re straying from who your customer really is and what they care about. By spending just a minimal amount of time doing some basic research and perhaps even interviewing a handful of your customers - past and present – to find out why they came to you and how you can make the process easier for both of you, you can reap the rewards of your diligence with a ROI that pays out in more customers and sales for your business.   www.theagentsofchange.com/193

Like many business owners and entrepreneurs you're probably always searching for a new and creative way to get content out to your audience. Have you considered podcasting? Podcasting is a great way to serve up actionable items and valuable information to your audience without necessarily having to write out content in the way you would a blog post. Podcasts allow for infinite creativity in how you go about it, and it’s not expensive or that daunting of an undertaking. Plus, a podcast can give you and your business credibility while also allowing your audience another way - besides reading it - to enjoy and consume your content. www.theagentsofchange.com/192

With worldwide ecommerce showing rapid growth, there’s no better time to think about expanding your business to include online sales. An ecommerce model can be an excellent choice for entrepreneurs or small businesses looking to diversify or expand. The most obvious advantage is the ability to earn money when normal brick and mortar shops are closed. But making sure you have a solid strategy and marketing plan in place – as well as the right software to accommodate all of your needs – will be the key to not only getting up and running, but as to how successful you become.   www.theagentsofchange.com/191

Twitter chats offer a great way to gain exposure, build and audience and engage your followers, regardless of whether you’re participating or hosting. Don’t be intimidated, instead look at it as a creative way to either establish authority for your brand as a host, or network and connect with others as a participant,  all without having to do the dreaded cold outreach process.   www.theagentsofchange.com/190

Your website contact form is potentially your best source of quality leads, so when no one’s using it, you’re missing out on a lot of potential business. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the biggest reasons why your site visitors aren’t completing your online form, and what you can do about it so you can generate more leads and sales from your website. This past week I was doing some outreach for a side project of mine: Streamline Marketing Workshops and our first ever Spring Conference. It’s a marketing conference for wedding professionals. I was contacting a number of wedding planners, venues, and other wedding professionals with information about the event through their contact forms. Although many had completely functional forms, the amount of difficult I had contacting these wedding professionals made me wonder how much business some of them are leaving on the table.   www.theagentsofchange.com/189

So, it’s finally here. The Lead Machine. The reason I wrote this book is because after twenty years, I’ve worked with an incredibly wide range of businesses. Marinas, psychologists, bed & breakfasts, authors, jewelry makers, insurance companies, septic specialists, ticket sellers, universities and English as a second language schools! So many of them came into our offices at flyte and told me that their business was unique. That they were not like other companies in their town, region, or industry. That how they did business, reached their customers, or delivered their product or service was unlike any others.   www.theagentsofchange.com/188

It’s not an easy thing to ask for help, but it can be particularly important when you’re just starting out in business. It’s been said that the key to success - both in life and in business - is all about who you know. But how do you make the right connections with the right people that can benefit everyone mutually? Making these vital connections is not just about who’s popular now, but also seeking out those on the fast track with the potential to become influential over time.  Katey Dietz is a social strategist with a knack for making connections through conversations and stories, and massaging those into lasting business relationships that serve long-term. www.theagentsofchange.com/187

There is no doubt that video has proven itself an effective marketing tool. When you’re on camera, you’re allowing your audience to make a personal connection with you. In doing so, they’re earning your trust and feel a connection to you and your products or services. And with so many options out there today, there is zero excuse not to create video, whether it’s your face out there or not. Amy Schmittauer’s passion for video turned a hobby into marketing success. She knows how businesses can leverage the use of videos to help them grow their organic reach.   www.theagentsofchange.com/186

Writing good copy is more than just coming up with a clever slogan or tagline, it’s really learning how you use your words effectively. It’s learning how to peel back the layers to your “problem” and come up with a “solution” that speaks to your audience as a whole, and in a language that appeals to them. Joanna Wiebe knows the art of good copy and the effect it can have for businesses trying to boost their sales with more optimized email and landing page copy.    www.theagentsofchange.com/185

If you’re looking to start a webinar or podcast, for example, incorporating interviews into the mix is a great way to broaden your audience and increase traffic, among other great benefits. But if you have no experience as an interviewer, there are a few key tips that you should keep in mind that will help even a rookie interviewer navigate their way from start to finish. When you have over 30 years of broadcasting experience under your belt like Rob Caldwell does, you learn a thing or two about how to do a successful interview. But success comes from practice and learning from the not so successful ones. Today Rob shares some of his experiences and tips to help you get on your way to becoming a great interviewer.   www.theagentsofchange.com/184

How do you engage a diverse consumer market, in an increasingly distracted world? The concept of engagement has taken center stage, as marketers struggle to stay center stage with consumers who are searching multiple platforms on various different screens at any given time. Greg Cangialosi shares his ideas on how marketers can better engage their audiences, and successfully capture that crucial contact information, that will allow them to build the relationships they need with them to translate into future sales.   www.theagentsofchange.com/183

In business, we want to make sure that we’re always front of mind for our customers and prospects. But how do we do that without inundating them with a blizzard of information, overloading them just to make sure they remember us? Maintaining inspiration within your audience is the key. You need to make them want to keep coming back to buy from you and/or consume the content you’re putting out. Andrew Davis is an author and digital marketing strategist who challenges businesses to change the way they think, in order to find new ways to market their brands in this ever-changing digital world.   www.theagentsofchange.com/182

Email marketing can be a tricky beast. It’s more than just making sure you have an email list that you’re spewing out x number of emails to a week. You need to finesse your audience, make sure the content is informative, compelling and eye catching, and allows you to stay front of mind without bombarding them to the point of unsubscribing. Jessica Best has taught businesses how to do email the right way. Her decade of experience in email and digital marketing has allowed her to strategize for a diverse audience, while helping businesses improve their return on investment.     www.theagentsofchange.com/181

Bonus Episode! If you've ever struggled with closing sales, you'll want to listen to what Meryl Snow, author of Booked It!, has to share. This is actually NOT an episode of Agents of Change, but rather the first episode of a brand new podcast I'm co-hosting, Streamline Marketing Workshops. Yes, co-hosting. :) I'm working with Destination Wedding Planner, Amber Small, to create something brand new. This is a marketing podcast specifically for the wedding and event professionals out there. Great marketing and sales advice, but with a focus on how to book yourself solid. Enjoy this bonus episode and we'll be back later this week with a brand new episode! If you want to check out our new hustle, please visit http://www.streamlinemarketingworkshops.com If you dig the show, just search for "Streamline Marketing Workshops" on iTunes!

To communicate effective with your audience, your brand needs to speak to them in a way your listeners – and prospects – can relate to, understand and trust. But how do we do that effectively when there are so many different styles that appeal to so many different people? The key is to find the most authentic, unforced version of who you are and what you stand for, and build on that. Amber Naslund has helped numerous brands - spanning all aspects of business - to find their brand’s best voice to resonate with their particular audiences.   www.theagentsofchange.com/180

It may not be the sexiest topic, but regularly checking your business’s analytics can mean the difference between putting money in your pocket, or throwing it out the window. If you’re going to run ads, at least take the time to test and find out what’s working and what’s not. If you don’t know what each of your customers are worth, how can you accurately decide how much to spend on advertising to them and still make a profit? Jeff Greenfield combines technology and marketing to help businesses make smarter investments with their advertising dollars, while allowing them to better track their cost per customer for more effective ad spending.   www.theagentsofchange.com/179

Today’s use of mobile devices is not just a trend, it’s the future. It is a paramount shift in how we are interacting with the internet, and it is happening at lightning speed. As business owners we can’t afford to just sit back and see how it all pans out, we need to take action now. Mobile marketing provides customers with time sensitive, geographic sensitive,  personalized information that promotes our goods, services and ideas. Making sure you do this in a way that both respects and resonates with the people consuming your advertising content is critical.   www.theagentsofchange.com/178

Every business is constantly looking for ways to reach their audience and drive more traffic to their website. Unfortunately often overlooked, blogging is actually a fantastic and robust way to do just that. But maybe you’re not confident in your writing ability, or just aren’t sure how to start or what to write about. Have no fear, Rich Brooks - creator of the Agents Of Change podcast - is here to share 12 different and creative examples of blogging ideas that anyone can do. Now you have no excuse not to start that business blog and reap all of the benefits (SEO, drive traffic, establish authority, just to name a few) to help build and market your business.   www.theagentsofchange.com/177

Success comes from many places - the right education, the right experience, the right mentors. But it also starts from within. Keeping your body healthy also makes the mind sharper and more focused. And who wouldn’t want that edge over their competition? Jeff McMahon explains how making a few small and easy changes in your daily routine can not only lead to a healthier life for your body, but it can translate into greater success for you business-wise as well. Jeff crushes the typical excuses ("I don’t have time"), and provides, easy, quick, and realistic "hacks" to your normal routine that will have you feeling healthier, more alert, more energetic, more productive and more creative.   www.theagentsofchange.com/176

It’s not only what you do to help a customer - but how you help them - that can make all the difference, not only for them but for your business’s success. It’s not always about just giving them what they ask for. Although it can mean a little more legwork, digging deeper to find out what they’re really in need of - which isn’t always what they initially ask for - and doing it in a transparent way that earns their trust, is the key to success for both your customers and your own business. Jillian Vorce shares her unique formula for relationship development - and pivoting into a retainer model that’s more value based based than commodity based - that has allowed her to earn the trust and confidence of her clients, while also getting a deeper understanding of what her ideal customers really want.   www.theagentsofchange.com/175

If you’re looking for a visually creative way to market your business, then look no further than Pinterest. Pinterest offers a visually rich platform that appeals to customers in a way that blogging or other text mediums do not. It’s also a fantastic way to build brand awareness as well as a personality for your company. With a little patience and common sense, you can find that Pinterest offers another playing field to not only reach your audience, but also to position yourself to get more traffic through Google and other search engines. Tina Gammon uses her Pinterest expertise to appeal to her customers - in this day and age of instant information gratification - and she does it with visuals. Her savvy and creative pins allow her customers to use them like a catalog that they can flip through to find just what they’re looking for. And if you give your customers what they’re looking for, they’ll keep coming back.   www.theagentsofchange.com/174

If you’re looking for a way to really focus your time on the social media activity for your business, you may need to limit the number of platforms that you’re on. Using a few key tactics and strategies - such as interviews and surveys - can help you choose the best one or two platforms to concentrate on that can really help your business grow and drive more traffic back to your website. Beth Hayden is an author and marketing expert who uses her expertise to help businesses create and implement online marketing systems that work to increase traffic and leads.   www.theagentsofchange.com/173

With organic reach shrinking across the board, content marketers are scrambling for answers. See what media company Social Media Examiner has done to overcome the lack of reach and what you can learn from the steps they took. Michael Stelzer is a social media expert, and a leading authority on the topics of writing and marketing white papers. He knows the secrets to helping businesses navigate the various social channels available today with strategies and tactics that translate to success. www.agentsofchangecon.com/172

How can a small business with limited resources ever compete with the business giants when it comes to SEO? Fortunately, it’s not just about volume these days. Things like inbound links and a nice library of good content will determine the winner. And those are odds even a non betting person can get behind. Concentrating on things like keyword research, link building, and on-page optimization will allow your business to build a marketing plan around specific keywords and phrases, that will in turn help you improve the quality and value of the content you’re creating. Jennifer Christensen and Suzette Bergeron are the brains behind Bulletin Brands. Together they have honed a mostly organic approach to how they use SEO to build their business and can testify that approximately 95% of their new business comes from organic search alone. 
www.agentsofchangecon.com/171

How many times have you hit that fork in the road when trying to solve a business decision? Are you worried you’re not reaching the precise audience that’s right for your business? Have you ever envisioned what your one, ideal audience member would look like if you put a face and backstory to them? Creating an avatar of your one, perfect listener allows you to narrow your niche to the most precise audience member that you’re trying to reach. Your avatar is your targeted demographic that allows you to focus exactly on the people that benefit most from your message. Once you know who that person is, it allows your business to find its direction and become a magnet that people are drawn to. John Lee Dumas is the Entrepreneur On Fire, whose podcast was recognized as Best Of iTunes in 2013. John’s podcasts aim to teach upcoming entrepreneurs to take their leap towards success by hearing the stories of failures and lessons learned from other well-known entrepreneurs. www.agentsofchangecon.com/170

It’s fair to say that the marketing goal of most businesses is to attract, nurture and convert their leads all the way down through the sales funnel. But what’s the most efficient way to do that? When you send the right messages to the right people you peak their interest, and marketing automation allows organizations to more effectively streamline their marketing efforts on multiple channels  - such as email, websites, social media - and to automate repetitive tasks. If your goal is to increase your organization’s operational efficiency and grow revenue faster, then look no further than marketing automation. With over 17 years of experience in business development and strategic sales, Charles Chadwick uses his expertise at SharpSpring to develop effective and streamlined marketing solutions that drive business growth and bring immediate value to organizations.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/169

I can't believe we're TWO DAYS from the Agents of Change conference. There's STILL so much to get done it's crazy! So, I hope you can forgive me that instead of a typical interview, or me reading a chapter of my upcoming book, I'm instead sharing with you my presentation from last year, Digital Marketing in an Hour a Day. I've also posted the full video from last year's presentation at the show notes if you'd prefer to watch this week instead of listen.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/168

There are certain things that every business website needs. In this podcast I want to talk about a few things that you just can’t do without…   www.agentsofchangecon.com/167

With the population’s growing addiction to their mobile devices these days, you want to make sure you reach your audience where they're hanging out. And with a community of over 500 million, Instagram is one of the world’s largest mobile ad platforms and a perfect place to reach your ideal customer. Small businesses are especially ideal candidates for Instagram advertising, as it allows users to dip into Facebook’s enormous data and target specific audiences, as well as nurture audience engagement. So as long as you know your target audience and how to reach them - when done right - Instagram ads have almost unparalleled potential to increase brand awareness and conversion rates for your business. Morgan Sutton loves helping small businesses meet their business goals by assisting them with their operations logistics, including educating them on social media automation systems and how to effectively advertise on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/166

All good business decisions are based on crucial data. Knowing exactly what data will help you make the best business decisions is the key. But that sounds like a lot of work developing time consuming reports, right? Wrong. Google Analytics takes the guesswork out of it and can actually save you time and advertising dollars. Google Analytics can easily tell you who is visiting your site, how they’re getting to your site, what they’re doing on your site, and if they are actually converting. By simply setting up your Analytics with a few key bits of information, you can find out all of this crucial data, and more. In essence, Google does the math for you, ensuring you more successful marketing campaigns and accurate measurability of what’s working and what’s not. Andy Crestodina is a content marketing and Google Analytics savant. His knowledge, tips and advice on the topics of content strategy, search and analytics have made him one of the most passionate and sought after teachers in the marketing industry.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/164

By now everyone knows that your email list is gold, as far as your business is concerned. Unlike social media sites such as Facebook, where you’re basically just “renting space”, your email list is your very own property, as well as an invaluable business commodity. But in this ever changing and evolving world of mobile marketing, finding a way to mesh the two together is key. . In order to stay on top in the mobile marketing era, you need to balance keeping your email marketing efforts relevant in this age of social media. Keeping in mind how much time the average person spends on their smartphones these days - and reaching out to them there - will help to keep your business front of mind, authentic, and open up other creative opportunities for your business to engage with your audience. Heather Jackson has more than 20 years experience helping businesses with their online and offline marketing strategies. She loves speaking and presenting at seminars and conferences on the topics of digital, social and email marketing, as well as best practices to help businesses grow using available online tools.   http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/164

With all of the live streaming platform options out there, Facebook decided to throw their hat in the ring, too. And the result is pretty impressive. If you’re a small business and you aren't currently taking advantage of this shiny new toy, then you need to check it out. Because if you’re not using it, your competition surely is. Facebook Live allows users to share their experiences and content with their followers via real-time video on their timeline. It’s also pretty versatile, allowing access from both a smartphone and a computer. And as of now, Facebook’s algorithm is currently set to be extremely favorable to those going Live. So without much in the way of expensive equipment needed, Facebook Live is a great way to connect and interact with your audience, as well as create evergreen content that you can then share to other platforms. Ian Anderson Gray is a social media coach, trainer and consultant who loves to teach business owners how to leverage Facebook Live to engage and connect with their audience, all while creating valuable content to attract and retain viewers and customers.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/163

One of the first things I do when sitting down with a client for SEO, is to ask them two questions: What do you think are some of the phrases that your ideal customer would search for to find a product, service, or company like yours? What do you want to rank well for? These questions might start a brainstorming session, but really they’re not enough. Too many of us have spent too much time in our own industry. We’re not thinking about the questions that a brand new customer--someone not familiar with our industry--might ask. One of the exercises I recommend is to try and brainstorm keywords using five perspectives.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/162

With so many social platforms to choose from, how do you know which ones work best for your business? And once you find those two or three that let you really engage with your audience, what kind of content do you need to put out there to keep them interested and engaged? The key is to find your audience where they hang out, get them to trust you and find value in what you have to offer, and then keep them entertained so they’ll come back time and time again. Knowing early on that different platforms afford us different opportunities to amplify your brand, your voice and your content is what will translate to business success in the long run. Sue B. Zimmerman has a true passion for Instagram, and through her success there, has created proven tactics and strategies for business growth on other social channels as well.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/161

With so many advertising platforms out there, why should you choose Facebook, and what benefits does it offer over the other options? One of the biggest differences with Facebook compared to Google - for example - is that where Google helps you find new customers, Facebook helps new customers find you. Facebook boasts a huge worldwide audience of 1.55 billion active monthly users, and has unrivaled audience enormity. That reach alone makes Facebook appealing. But when you add in the ability to enhance audience targeting, increase reach for your content, awesome tracking of performance and ROI, and only spend as little as you like and still get results, Facebook advertising is a no brainer, especially for small businesses looking to make a big impact. Massimo Chieruzzi loves to talk about using Facebook advertising for small businesses. His business, Ad Espresso, is a leading Facebook Ads optimization platform. Massimo loves helping small businesses get the most from their Facebook advertising while keeping it both simple and affordable.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/160

Do you think sponsorships are only for nonprofits or big names and huge companies with a massive following and years of experience in their industry? Then think again. Even if you’re just starting out and looking to hold an event, if you have an interested audience then you can find sponsors to help you defray the expenses involved with such an undertaking. Squash the myths that are holding you back. You can go after the big companies, you can land the big bucks, and you can keep them coming back year after year. By building a relationship with them that blends cohesively with your intended audience and giving them the incentive to support you financially, you can be successful at landing big sponsorships whether it’s your first time at it or not. Linda Hollander knows how to attract big sponsors both for herself and her clients. Her thoughtful and compelling strategies for landing big names and big dollars are sure to help skyrocket your next business venture.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/159

We all know by now that Pinterest has proven itself as more than a wedding planning and DIY platform. More and more businesses are seeing the power of using Pinterest to market and grow. By following a few basic “rules”, you can effectively locate and market to your audience using Pinterest. Making sure you know your audience, create visually appealing content - both original and curated - make sure your boards really show who you are and you are categorizing them well, pin with some amount of frequency/regularity, and most importantly look to other pinners for inspiration. These are the “commandments”, if you will, to successful Pinterest marketing that will help you grow your small business in a steady way. Kate Ahl is a Pinterest pro, turning what started as a personal interest in Pinterest into a business where she helps take the mystery out of Pinterest marketing, and allows her clients to sit back and relax as she puts into place strategies to grow followers and increase page views.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/158

When people think about SEO, they often think of it as a cumbersome and laborious task, but it’s actually less complex than a lot of marketers make it sound. It is, however, a mandatory marketing tactic if you want to increase visibility and take your business to the next level. Certainly you can - and in some cases should - hire a SEO pro, but there are some fairly simple strategies and techniques - even free tools - that a novice can use to make all the difference. It all starts with content, of course, but making sure you’re choosing your keywords carefully, testing them out, and measuring their effectiveness makes all the difference. And don’t forget to check out your competition, learn from their triumphs and failures, too. With over 8 years of experience and a true passion for web marketing, Nicki Hicks loves to help businesses reach their ideal target audience and increase their online presence with smart SEO.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/157

By now you already know the importance of having a strong email list. It’s more than just numbers, you need to find the exact people that will engage with you, read your content, and buy your products and services. So where do you find them and how do you keep them? Facebook ads can be an important and valuable way to find that audience, for a relatively inexpensive option. Facebook ads offer concise options for targeting - and retargeting - as well as pretty cool analytics to help you track who’s clicking your links and who isn’t. Amy Porterfield is a social media strategy consultant who has helped countless entrepreneurs and small businesses establish strategies to boost the success of their online marketing efforts.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/156

Looking to reboot your business’s marketing strategy? Maybe you’re wanting to try something different to give your business’s voice a kick in the pants. Perhaps you’re looking for a way to engage more intimately and directly with your audience. Well look no further, live video is here and easier than ever! Keeping your audience and customers engaged can be a constant challenge. Providing them with compelling content is just one way to keep them coming back. But creatively getting it to them and mixing it up is another great way to do that, and live video offers an exciting and more engaging way to connect with your audience, and lets them have in on the fun, too. Lou Mongello is proof that live video engagement can be an effective and creative tool for keeping your audience interested - and more importantly - coming back to you time and again. Live video is just one of the ways he has helped build his business and brand by keeping his content fresh and engaging.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/155

Are you having trouble getting people to fill out your online forms? Sometimes it’s as simple as offering some motivation to influence your users. No, you don’t have to offer a free Ferrari to anyone who fills out your form, but there are other - less extreme - ways. Paying attention to your analytics can make all the difference in finding out things like at which point your potential customers may be consistently abandoning your form, or how effective your forms actual are in converting customers. With a few tweaks, hacks and tips, you can optimize your forms and turn them into powerful, lead capturing goldmines! Marcus Taylor knows that forms separate your leads from non-leads, and he understands that they are one of the highest points of leverage that an online business has. His “Form Optimization Pyramid” framework outlines the different stages of how likely someone is to convert using a form, and can be used to help you optimize your business's online forms.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/154

Just what the heck is Google Display Network (GDN), and how can you make it work for your business? With so many ad platforms out there, what makes this one special and how can your business best benefit from using it? GDN allows businesses to advertise images and videos on websites of their choice, so you have the ability to get pretty niche here if you choose to. Plus, think of all ways that can help your online branding! You have the ability to find and reach customers that otherwise might have been missed through other advertising platforms. Lisa Raehsler is about as “expert” as you can get on the topics of PPC, display, retargeting, and social media ad campaigns. Her strategy and program development for countless businesses over the last 17 years has shown quick, proven results.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/153

So maybe your website isn’t quite performing as well as you’d like. Maybe you’re just not seeing much conversion, or at least the conversion rates you’re hoping to reach. How do you go about figuring out where you may need to start tweaking things to improve on that? A/B split testing is a great way to test a few different variations and see what jives better with your audience. But where do you start? For a website with a large number of pages, that can be a pretty daunting task if you start testing variations of every page. Your best bet is to first see what individual pages - and aspects of each page - are performing and converting well as is, and then start working on those that need help. Chris Dayley is the founder of Dayley Conversion, where he uses his expertise and knowledge of using scientific, data-driven testing to help businesses improve their customer’s user experiences.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/152

For business owners, it’s been pounded into our heads that we need to build our email lists. Build your list and email your audience with content, information and special offers. Sure, email is great, but do you realize the average person that owns a smartphone has it in their hand almost every 7 minutes? So doesn’t it make sense to hit them up where they’re hanging out? Texting isn’t just a convenient way to chat with our family and friends, it’s also a powerful mobile marketing tool. If you’re doing it in a purely opt in way, and offering some form of attractive incentive, texting can offer you benefits over other forms of marketing. Texting is quick, interactive and pretty inexpensive. It’s also a great way to send out time sensitive information, whereas if you were to send an email, that may not be opened by the intended recipient until the next time they log into their laptop or PC. Brian Mikes completely immersed himself in the world marketing, learning online marketing, email marketing, SEO and online advertising. Now he teaches the benefits and profitability of text message marketing.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/151

The world of marketing is ever changing and you need to keep evolving with the changing times in order to not only just keep up, but to also succeed. What worked 10 or even 5 years ago is almost obsolete now. What can you do to entice your audience to make you stand out from your competitors? Some people will tell you that you need to be everywhere that your audience is, and although that’s a fairly industrious undertaking, it just may not be possible depending on the size of your business and the manpower you have to dedicate to that. Remember that movie Field Of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come”? Well, the same is true for digital marketing. If you create something great, they will come to your channel, regardless of what that may be for you. It really does boil down to the content you create and send out. And that doesn’t necessarily equate to quantity. Try quality over quantity to differentiate yourself from the masses. For over 20 years, Robert Rose has been helping businesses tell their stories more effectively through digital media. His expert strategic marketing advice has boosted both small and global brands and assisted them in creating experiences that their consumers fall in love with.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/150  

So you've got yourself a blog, and like everyone else with a blog, you're looking for ways to use it to increase traffic and generate leads for your business. Naturally, you keep pumping out new content and sending it out to your email list and other social channels. But is that really enough? It's true, new content is important. But what happens to the older posts you've written, do you just let them collect dust and keep moving forward? The answer is "no!" By revisiting and carefully optimizing your older posts, you're taking advantage of the content that might still be generating traffic by invigorating new life into it, while at the same time providing great search results by updating information that very possibly has changed since it was originally written. Pamela Vaughan is HubSpot's blog optimization expert. Over the last year she has helped HubSpot double their conversion rates by optimizing their historical (older) posts. Her creative and innovative ideas on the topic can help your business’s blog do the same thing.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/149

Maybe you’re an entrepreneur looking to start selling yourproducts or services online, or maybe you already have a brick andmortar store but are looking to expand your business online.Ecommerce offers many advantages, especially if you follow a fewsmart tips.Ecommerce is more than just slapping some pictures of yourproducts online. Smart and precise advertising is key, you need toknow who to target and how to drive that traffic to your products.So is gaining your potential customer’s trust, prove to them thatyou’re the one they want to buy from. And what do you do if theytake their shopping cart to the checkout but never follow through?There are ways to save that sale!Steve Chou followed his dream of entrepreneurship and startedhis own successful ecommerce business. Through trial and error, aswell as some pretty cool tricks, he has built a successfulecommerce business that has grown steadily since he started it in2007. www.agentsofchangecon.com/148

Does the thought of putting on a live webinar scare you? Or maybe you’ve been hosting some live webinars but just aren’t getting the attendance or conversion rates that you’re hoping for. Don’t give up, maybe your structure just needs a little tweaking. By just following a few key tips and utilizing some handy tools - from platform selection, to creating valuable content, to follow up after the event - it can help you to better navigate the ever evolving world of webcasting. Your goal should be to create valuable and interesting conversations that convert to sales, all while respecting your audience’s valuable time. James Hilliard counts Fortune 500 companies as just some of the clients that he has helped in all aspects of webcasting, assisting them in delivering compelling presentations that audiences appreciate.   http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/147

When it comes to writing web copy, you probably thank your lucky stars you can hire a copywriter to do it for you. But if you can’t afford that luxury, or are just determined to do it yourself, you may have sorely underestimated how difficult it can be. The first thing you need to remember is that you’re speaking as your brand, product or service, not yourself. And although there may be some overlap there, don’t fall victim to the rookie mistake of forgetting how to talk to your audience in the voice of your product, while still sounding human. And then once you get your words on paper, you need to be able to edit that sucker within an inch of its life without getting attached to your own writing. It’s not as easy as you may think. Beth Dunn is passionate about good writing and offers her tips and tricks to writing and editing persuasive copy that speaks to your audience in a language they trust, understand and respect.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/146

If you asked yourself to name one thing that all successful companies have in common, you might answer, “marketing”. But even before that, they spent a great deal of time on their branding. Branding - in essence - is developing an image, with the results to back it up. And this certainly doesn’t just apply to businesses, there are plenty of personal brands making their mark in the world as well. Unfortunately, all too often not enough time is spent on branding before the marketing starts. But to truly have a successful marketing strategy, you need to have a solid foundation in place with your branding, and that’s more than just a cool logo. By following five key elements to build and define your brand platform, you will have a strong foundation to work with. Adrion Porter is a leading authority on brand building and personal brand development. His popular podcast, Gen X Amplified, empowers and inspires people to be leaders both in business and in life.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/145

A common misconception surrounding Google AdWords is that people think no one ever really clicks those ads that show up on the right hand side of the search page. But whether you personally do or not, someone sure is, as those ads account for 90% of Google’s revenue from advertising as a direct result of people clicking those exact ads. In order to get in on the action, your business needs to navigate the many choices and options offered by AdWords to best work with your specific business campaign’s goal. Quality is going to go a long way here, so making sure you are on point with your target audience will translate huge. Knowing where your audience is, attracting them with concise and helpful ad copy - think strong and concise keywords - as well as refining your targeting strategy (beware the automatic default settings), will all help you win big in the end. Ross Kaplan-Winn loves helping businesses learn, test and implement online strategies, and has been managing PPC accounts since 2008. His knowledge and expertise is continually evolving as he stays up to date in the ever changing world of paid advertising.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/144

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It is possible to build a business around your passion, people are doing it everyday. But aside from passion and commitment, what separates the successes from the failures? Making sure you are not a carbon copy of other businesses in your niche is a great first step. Think about how you can differentiate yourself, even if that is just by taking a different angle or “spin” on the same topics as your competitors. Other tips such as maintaining an editorial calendar and making sure that you are doing your research will go far in helping you reach your goals. By taking what he was truly passionate about, Scott Niswander was able to earn an income, and amass a large following with his YouTube videos, all originating from his love of the comic book genre.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/143

Do you know who the influencers in your business, industry or niche are? Do you know where to find them? These are the thought leaders that have built trust and credibility among their audiences through their products or services by creating great value. When you connect and engage with these influencers, you can begin to increase awareness of your own brand and increase your own reputation in the process. But learning how to properly connect in a way that’s mutually beneficial to you both is the key to creating and nurturing a lasting relationship. Fabienne Raphael is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs build their businesses. Her knowledge and expertise at creating and nurturing influencer relationships - as well as her mantra, “Connect, Build, Automate” -  has helped her to successfully land big name guests for her podcast, “Marketing To Crush Your Competition."   www.agentsofchangecon.com/142

Almost any business can benefit from using Reddit as a marketing tool. Afterall, it calls itself the “Front Page of the Internet”, which is more than appropriate with it’s fascinating mix of interesting links, conversations, news and social commentary. It’s a community for sharing content and ideas and pieces of information that you find useful. If you’re new to Reddit it can seem overwhelming at first. With the sheer volume of subReddits alone, Reddit is a neverending information buffet. The key is to just get in there and watch what’s going on. Search the topic of your business audience’s interest and see what people are saying. Reddit is a fantastic tool to gather ideas for things like content creation, blogs, podcasts, email newsletters and more. It will take your broad topic and niche it down into different related avenues - or subReddits -  that your ideal audience is also interested in. Jon Quinton loves talking SEO and coffee. He has also achieved success both for his own agency as well as that of his client’s by using Reddit as an effective and creative marketing tool.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/141/

Thanks to all of the digital marketing and social media platforms available to us today, businesses have the availability to reach their customers on a global scale. But what if you’re looking to concentrate on a more local level? Learning to expand your local footprint using these same platforms can be very important, too. Once you figure out the best digital market action plan that works for your particular business, you can begin to use the abundance of tools that these various platforms offer to niche down and target exactly the people you need to reach for your business’s success. By following the four main elements of a successful marketing framework - attraction, engagement, conversion and measurement - you can then pull in the different tools or channels that make the most sense for you based on your business and your audience, and you will find success. Rich Brooks is the founder and president of flyte new media, a web design and marketing firm in Portland, Maine. A thought leader in his industry, he has helped countless small businesses on the topics of search, social and mobile marketing as well as how to reach your ideal audience. His Agents of Change Digital Marketing Conference has brought together top notch experts in the industry giving you their valuable tips on leveraging the digital marketing channels available to businesses today.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/140

If you’re looking for a way to up the ante with your marketing repertoire, why not add video to the mix? It can be a great way to build brand trust and loyalty with your audience, as well as add another level to your marketing strategy.You don’t have to have a lot of experience in front of the camera to make great videos, you just need to follow a few simple rules and be willing to tweak things as needed. Shooting a video is more than just reading a script on camera. To make the biggest impact, you need to share great content and pay attention to small but important things such as lighting and audio. And of course once you have the finished product you need to know how to use it and share it to make the biggest impact and get the most exposure.Patrick Allmond knows how to help businesses use video to make the most impact with their audiences. He proves that you don’t need fancy, expensive equipment to make great videos that take your marketing strategy up a notch to help differentiate you from your competition.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/139

You can put a lot of time and effort into your Facebook ads, but if no one is reading or clicking on them, then what good are they? Every Facebook ad you create should be about results. And to get the results you want you need to stay ahead of the curve and pay more attention to the content you’re putting out, as well as understand how it’s being perceived by your target audience. Facebook ads are a bit different than, say, Google ads. With Google, your potential customer is seeing ads based on a specific search they’re typing in. With Facebook ads, you need to find out first who your target audience is based on their search behavior and where they’re hanging out in order to get in front of them. It can be tricky, but with careful research and testing, Facebook ads can give you a good amount of bang for your buck. If you hone in and really target your audience, provide them with great content that answers their needs, make the ads aesthetically eye catching and test them regularly for the best response, you’ll find Facebook ads are a great option to increase conversion rates and grow your business. Julie Lowe creates social media strategies for businesses looking to increase leads, sales and create a successful plan for future business growth. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/138

If you own any kind of business, you already know the importance of receiving customer reviews. For better or worse, it’s a way to gauge if you’re providing the kind of service your customers are expecting. Even more important, they can dictate whether a potential customer even decides to give your business a try just based on other’s opinions of you. So the challenge now becomes getting those customers who had positive experiences with you to leave an online review. But how do you actually go about it and is there a “polite” way to do this? And what do you do if you receive a negative review? The goal now is to develop a review strategy, take control of your reviewing platforms, encourage your customers to leave reviews and turn them into your brand ambassadors. Jason Baumann is the Chief Digital Strategist at Boxless Media, inventor of ReviCards and expert on online reviews. His passion for and understanding of the importance of online reviews has helped businesses grow using digital and social media while also encouraging them to embrace the online reviewing process. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/137

Being part of a startup is an exciting time. There’s a reason why people compare it to a rollercoaster ride! The ups: You’re filled with passion about creating something that will bring value to others. There’s a certain energy that fuels your dreams--no, that’s not the Red Bull--and allows you to take on new challenges that you might have felt impossible before. The downs: However, there are many hurdles ahead of you. You lack visibility, credibility, and leads. You have few or no customers. No one knows who you are. You’re on a shoestring budget. Maybe you think that social media is some sort of silver bullet, but you’re about to get a rude awakening. Take Facebook, for instance: you’re competing for the attention of your ideal customers against other startups, established businesses, local and national companies, news organizations, the PTA, mothers-in-law, college buddies, friends and family. But don’t get frustrated. Although social media isn’t the easy game it was just a few years ago, there is a method to grow your credibility, audience, and startup using digital marketing. agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/136

Marketers are always looking for advice on their email campaigns. How often should they send out emails, how can they improve open and click through rates? Segmenting is an often overlooked and misunderstood tactic, but a very important one. Too often marketers are concerned more with quantity over quality when it comes to their email lists. But realizing that your audience is made up of different types of consumers in various stages of the sales cycle and making sure you’re emailing them content based on their needs is the key. Learning to effectively segment your audience while keeping that in mind can help you both improve your reputation and yield better results. Stephan Hovnanian is an email marketer and web strategist who works with B2B brands helping them revitalize their email marketing efforts by revive and stimulate their relationships with their audiences.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/135

Almost out of nowhere, live mobile video streaming has seemingly become the newest craze. But is it a fad or is there really some benefit to it? With multiple platforms and apps offering this option, could this be the new frontier in social marketing? Streaming content online isn’t a new concept, but more and more businesses are seeing the benefits of mobile live streaming as it allows them to connect with their audience in a way that makes them appear more relatable in a "live event" type setting.  In return, businesses are getting better brand exposure and better interaction with customers. By using live streaming to boost live events, host interviews, giving a “behind the scenes” look and many other options, it gives businesses an opportunity to engage with their audience in real time. Vincenzo Landino’s expertise and forward thinking in the areas of social and content marketing has helped countless businesses boost their brands and command attention with their audiences and customers.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/134

Facebook has an incredible global reach of more than 1 billion active users, so it makes perfect sense why businesses - both large and small - are flocking to Facebook Advertising to reach their audiences. With a variety of platforms and options to choose from, Facebook makes it almost too easy to target exactly the audience demographic that you want, even allowing you to niche down to the most finite of audiences. Once you choose your objective, Facebook gives you the power to segment and optimize your ads in innumerable ways, including placement and even posting it to Instagram. But it doesn’t end there, Facebook also helps you to track your results, allowing you to tweak - if need be - as you go along to ensure your success. Katrina Crowell is the Digital Marketing Consultant and Strategist, as well as an SEO guru at flyte new media. Her sharp marketing skills - as well as a few learned tips and tricks - have made her both successful and effective while utilizing Facebook’s advertising platform, not only for flyte, but for their clients as well. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/133

Building an audience to ensure your podcast is successful is a no brainer. But how you choose to go about that can make all the difference between getting a few random downloads or getting a dedicated audience of listeners waiting with baited breath for each new episode that they loyally download and listen to from start to finish every time. Your goal should be to find those dedicated listeners that you know will anticipate every new episode - and hopefully - are excited enough to engage with you in the form of feedback. But how do you build that trust and loyalty within your audience? You start by providing them with the most valuable content you can, and then initiate and foster a sense of community and reciprocity where they feel inclined to offer the same to you. Cliff Ravenscraft is the "Podcast Answer Man," a highly respected podcasting consultant and coach at the top of his game. The best and biggest names in podcasting have studied and learned under Cliff’s tutelage and gone on to become some of the most respected and revered names in podcasting today. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/132

Hopefully by now we all know that Pinterest is more than wedding dresses, cupcakes and DIY projects. It can actually be a pretty powerful marketing tool used to drive business, if you follow a few key tips. Like with any platform, you should never just throw money behind a campaign for promotion unless organically it’s got some legs on it already. So, learning what content to pin - and what your audience is interested in - is vital to your success. Pinterest is an excellent way to promote your brand, and their “promoted pins” takes things a step further and increases visibility, so you get the right audience at the right time. Alisa Meredith is a Pinterest-obsessed content strategist and marketer. If you value more traffic, leads and customers, then Alisa’s tips and advice using Pinterest’s promoted pins will be a valuable addition to your current marketing strategy. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/131

Most businesses come up with all of their products and services first, and then go out and try to market them. But what about developing those things with your audience, in a collaborative fashion? Sort of like taking a "find them first and see what they need" approach. The key to any good marketing strategy is to market to the key audience that wants what you have, but what’s the most effective way? And if you find one platform or channel that works, should you just stick with that or add others to your repertoire? Try concentrating on your strengths and what is already working and then simply building upon that. A strong foundation is a great starting point, then slowly try casting your net deeper versus wider. John Jantsch is the marketing guy to look to if you're a small business trying to grow. His simple and effective approach to marketing can turn even the hardest cynics into believers once they start seeing real results from his effective marketing strategies.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/130

You’ve got yourself a website and a blog, but how do you get people to notice you? You can’t just post a few blog entries, sit back, and wait for the traffic to come. So how do you get noticed, find an audience and keep them? There’s more to content creation than just writing a few articles. Learning how to write effectively to reach the people searching for your topics will be your key to success. And there are a lot of tools out there to help you, you just need to invest the time and take advantage them. Things like guest blogging, backlinks, utilizing and reading your Google Analytics reports and learning how to find the most effective keywords, not only in your posts but in the titles, can mean all the difference when it comes to beating your competition in the search rankings. Rich Brooks - SEO savant and owner of Flyte New Media - answers your questions on how to do all of this and more in this latest “Mailbag” episode of The Agents of Change Podcast. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/129

You cannot truly learn anything until you have to teach it to somebody else. And with so many platforms out there – blogs, podcasts, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, etc – how do you find the most effective way to reach and advertise to your audience? But more important than knowing where your audience hangs out, you need to find out how your personal voice can lend a different perspective and spin on some of the same information that is and has already been presented and published on the same topic. Mitch Joel is a content marketing gangster and the guy that Google turns to when they want to explain innovation and marketing to some of the top brands in the world.   www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/128

When Snapchat first came on the scene, it was widely known as the “sexting platform”, where teens and millennials ruled the demographic. But like many social media platforms, marketers began to see it’s potential for businesses as a powerful marketing tool, making it the fastest growing social network to date. One of the aspects that sets Snapchat apart from its competing platforms, is that these posts  - or “snaps” - either videos or pictures, don’t just sit around and get lost in a user’s timeline, once they are opened. They are only around for 1-10 seconds before they disappear, allowing you to have your audience’s undivided attention once they open your snap. So make sure you get creative and offer extremely valuable content. You are giving your audience a unique opportunity to really engage with your brand in real time, so get savvy and create stories they can relate to. Nick Cicero knows social media platforms inside and out, and is a leading authority on how to get the most out of your marketing initiatives. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/127

Creating customer loyalty is the very backbone of many small businesses. But creating customer loyalty doesn’t just happen overnight, sometimes your customers need a little nudge to encourage them to keep coming back. And what better way to encourage them than by making it as easy for them as possible. The key is in connecting the transaction to the loyalty aspect for your customers. The philosophy behind customer loyalty programs is really quite simple; mobile payment apps provide both the merchant and the customer a faster transaction, repeat customers are rewarded, and the businesses sales increase. In today’s world of consumer savviness, businesses recognize mobile payment apps enhance the guest experience as well as help extend their brand, therefore making it crucial for brands to enhance their offerings, and loyalty programs top the list. Chris Munz’s mobile marketing technology expertise has helped countless national brands better understand their marketing needs, and helped them implement mobile strategies to succeed in business. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/126

To describe a webinar as an "effective tool" would be a huge understatement. They allow you to reach, teach and sell products and services to your target audience in one fell swoop. Webinars provide a vast number of benefits all with the same goal; to boost, support and build your business. They allow you to build your business contacts - and more importantly - your precious and valuable email list. You also get the opportunity to establish your business as an authority in its field, which adds value to your business. All this while maintaining close communication with your target audience, capturing sales leads and promoting your products and services. And best of all, you could even do it from the comfort of your living room couch if you chose to! Kimra Luna is a webinar rock star whose unconventional way of doing business brought her from welfare to a million dollar business owner in just 18 months.  Her tips and advice show proven results to grow your business through the power of webinars. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/125

You’ve just created a website, or maybe your latest blogpost, and you need some visuals to go with it to help grab your audience. But where do you look? Sure, there are billions of photos and graphics online, but how do you choose the best one, and what are the legal ramifications of using those visuals? There are many things to consider when choosing visuals for your projects. For example, are you legally allowed to use a particular image? Once you choose an image and pay for it, are you allowed to use it forever or is there a time limit on it? What resolution works best for your particular project? Where can you find “families” of similar photos to use in the same project to keep the same look and feel throughout? What are some reputable and recommended places to search for and purchase photos from, and is it possible to negotiate the price? Sarah Fix is an expert in stock photography and the rules surrounding usage of online images, in a career spanning over 20 years in the field. She is the current President of the Digital Marketing Licensing Association and has lectured extensively on the topics of commercial content creation and stock library production. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/124

With so many social media platforms at our fingertips, LinkedIn is an often neglected choice by business owners when considering marketing options. It could be that once you stop thinking of it as just a social media site but rather a bulked up CRM tool, then you can take advantage of the options it offers. It’s clear that more business owners and marketers would utilize LinkedIn more if they were aware of all the aspects it has to offer in regards to lead generation, engagement and relationship building, not to mention LinkedIn’s features, tools and applications to assist with publishing and advertising potential. Viveka von Rosen is the expert when it comes to LinkedIn. Her seminars, webinars and workshops have taught and trained well over 100,000 people on how to best use LinkedIn. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/123

Whether or not your particular business depends on ratings to get customers, it’s still unsettling to see even one bad review, and even harder not to take it personally. But once that bad review is posted, how do you move on from that, and is it really as bad for our business as we think it is? In the business world, reputation means a great deal. What better way to build that reputation than by encouraging your happy customers to write a review, share their experience and recommend you to others on one of the many online review sites, such as Yelp or TripAdvisor. How you deal with negative reviews is also important, especially if you are skilled in knowing how to turn a bad review into a positive spin for your business - and it is possible! Daniel Lemin was a pioneer in realizing the importance and power of online ratings and reviews, and understands the struggles business owners have with maintaining their online reputations. In this episode he shares his experiences, ideas and strategies for building and maintaining business reputations online, and how to put a spin on the negative ratings that can still make your business look good. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/122

One of the first priorities of any business - especially brick and mortar businesses - is to find and implement a marketing automation system. And with so many out there to choose from, you can just pick one at random and go from there, right? Wrong. One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is trying to implement a marketing automation system without first mapping out their processes. What they should be doing is putting the needs of the business first, and then finding the software that will actually achieve that result. Wes Schaeffer is The Sales Whisperer, with over 20 years experience in sales training, marketing and consulting with a special concentration on CRM and email marketing sales, support and optimization. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/121

Social media is not only a benefit, but an absolute must for any business. Sure, you can send a few tweets, shoot out a couple Facebook posts and blog like your life depended on it, but it’s actually a bit more nuanced than that. Just because you’re sending content to the people on your lists doesn’t mean you’re connecting with everyone you could - or should - be reaching. Sometimes you need to give people a little tap on the shoulder before they’ll knock on your door. Knowing the right techniques to reach out to your desired audience - and get them to check out your profile in return - can translate to more names on your email list and hopefully future business opportunities. Jen Lehner is a digital marketing strategist who uses her skills and passion to help entrepreneurs utilize all of their marketing tools to grow their business. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/120

We love to receive feedback, comments and questions from our listeners and relish the opportunity to answer any specific questions or pain points that you may have. Recently we received an email from a communications and marketing student from Canada seeking some information specifically around the area of blogging. So we decided to help her out with her school homework and answer some of her burning questions on the topic and offer a few pointers as well. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/119

Podcasts are a great online marketing tool for your business. They are portable, and therefore a more personal way, to connect with your audience. Whether you’re thinking of starting one or just getting into it, there are a few tips you’ll want to follow to ensure your podcast’s success. It’s no coincidence that the number of podcast downloads has increased as more people have gotten smartphones. Now use that to your advantage by making it easier for them to find you by considering getting an app specifically for your podcast. And now that you have a podcast, you need to find a way to consistently attract new listeners - and more importantly - get them to subscribe to and review your show. Finding them, reaching and engaging them, and keeping them is your ultimate goal. And how you choose to go about that will determine the success or failure of your podcast. Rob Walch knows more than a little about podcasting, not only because he hosts 3 of his own shows, but also due to his role as VP of Podcaster Relations at Libsyn. Rob’s knowledge, know-how and experience has helped both aspiring and seasoned podcasters to create and maintain successful shows. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/118

Mixing in pictures, graphics and photos with your content and advertising is nothing new, but are you doing it effectively to get more bang for your buck as far as your audience is concerned? When you can effectively lay out your conversation point for your audience and convince them right away that the content is worth reading, then you’ve won half the battle already. It’s also a fact that the human brain processes visuals much faster than text. Powerful visuals give rise to certain emotions and feelings, which in turn drives a deeper audience engagement. You can develop a powerful marketing program driving your company’s authenticity and cultural relevancy using rich media such as visuals, videos and social media. Think of it as the inverse to “show and tell”, and instead you tell the audience your story by showing them through visuals. Learning how to do this effectively will have a huge impact on your lead generation and allow you greater success while marketing your brand. Ekaterina Walter is an innovator in the art of visual storytelling, and a best selling author on the topic. She has inspired creativity within organizations and proven that a picture really is worth a thousand words, or perhaps even more. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/117

Does just the thought of speaking in public make your heart beat faster, your palms sweat and you feel like you might faint? You’re certainly not alone. The fear of public speaking is the highest ranked fear, even over death. Over death!? The biggest problem to overcome is how to control our natural “fight or flight” instinct. Although we can’t - and shouldn’t - try to eliminate that natural response, learning how to control it is the key to successful public speaking where you remain calm, insight trust in your audience, and in turn, success for you and your business. Andy Saks knows the importance that public speaking can have on you to help you stand out in the crowd as well as help you generate leads for your business. His expertise on the topic - found both in his programs as well as his book, Presentation Playbook Series - has helped many people learn to utilize presentation opportunities to generate connections, leads, sales and more. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/116

We’ve all come across these people - a seemingly rare breed - that either seem to have a knack for being ahead of the next big trend, or come up with amazing and creative ideas with what appears to be an effortless ease. How do they do that, and more importantly, how can we do that? Well, it’s a bit more than just that old, standby advice of “thinking outside the box”. Making sure you’re telling the stories that your audience wants to hear, versus just the ones you want to tell can make a big difference in whether you engage them or not. Making yourself available and open to different people and experiences is a fantastic way to stimulate and nurture your inner creativity. It’s also a great way to discover what really interests you and where you can bring the most value to your audience. Joel Comm is an entrepreneur, speaker, author and consultant with over 20 years of internet business experience and has managed to find success among a variety of niches. He is a creative thinker who lives by the philosophy of embracing every opportunity as it comes. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/115

We’ve entered an age where less people receive their news and current events information in print but rather search for it online. And as the purveyors of news and information, our goal is to deliver this information in the most efficient, concise way, while still providing meaningful engagement to our audience. You could say that social media has come full circle and brought us back to “person to person” business. We see customer service issues resolved in front of our eyes on Twitter and Facebook instead of behind the scenes via an 800 number. Tweets are now playing a huge role in real time search results. Part of realizing that is knowing how to strategically craft the perfect tweet. Some valuable tips that will bump you up in the search results are to use SEO tactics in your tweets and learning how to maximize your tweet real estate by pumping out your keywords in the beginning versus the end of the post. And always, always fill out your Google profile! Amy Guth is a true renaissance woman who also happens to know how to win in social media. Her ideas and techniques have helped make the Chicago Tribune’s social media presence stand out among its peers, while leading the way for news to have an immediate and lasting impact on the way we, as consumers, receive it.    http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/114

Let’s face it, starting a new business can be time consuming. We all want to start selling our products and services and earning some money as soon as possible. But did you know that trying to rush the process could result in you a becoming an unfavorable statistic of the less than 30% still surviving after the first 10 years?   Finding, getting to know and earning the trust from your key audience will translate to success if you take the time and have the patience to craft your content to their specific needs and pain points. Taking the first 12 months to get up and running may seem like a long time to wait, but your patience can and will translate to success..   Joe Pulizzi’s strength lies in helping businesses become effective content marketers,  making them stand out among their peers as leaders in their industry. His proven model for success includes just 6 easy to implement steps that will help your business grow like crazy.   http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/113

Marketing research can give a business a much better idea of if their current business plan is working, what tweaks might need to be made, whether they’re meeting their customers needs and what kinds of new products or services might be profitable for them. Unfortunately, many businesses don’t set aside the funds for this kind of research, or simply don’t see the long term importance of such a task.  It’s important to know how current trends are affecting your business, or what your customers actually think of you. You can take the “try, fail and learn from your mistakes” approach, or you can be more direct and simply ask your customers and prospects why they did - or didn’t - choose you.  Tom Webster is a thought leader on the topic of market research and an expert in qualitative and quantitative research techniques. He has directed hundreds of studies in nearly every major U.S. and worldwide market. HIs company, Edison Research, has the unique distinction of being the sole provider of official exit polls for every U.S caucus and  election.  http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/112  

The significance of inbound marketing is undeniable. Consumers are smarter, savvier, know what they want and have innumerable resources to get it. So it’s our goal as business owners to be wherever our potential customers are looking for us. Pay per click advertising has a proven track record as an effective strategy for inbound marketing. It’s fast, nimble, far reaching and makes managing and tracking your efforts simple. If you find that your SEO efforts are not quite where you’d like them to be, pay per click is a fantastic complement to this, as well as providing a nice boost to your other marketing efforts. Leslie Lewis knows a thing or two about managing successful marketing campaigns. She leads her agency’s efforts in all online marketing, overseeing campaign management and strategy for search, social and mobile media buys. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/111

You’ve heard it a million times from everyone you come in contact with that you have to build your list, you’re nothing without your email list. But what good is a huge list if at least half of the names on it have no communication with you or your business at all? If only there was a way to figure out which of those people were solid leads with a deep, vested interest in your products or services. This is where building a tribe comes into play. When you build your tribe, you’re cultivating and connecting with like minded people that are more likely to purchase your products and services. Think of it as having your own, loyal following of Deadheads, if you will.  When you learn how to attract and communicate with the right names on your list, you build a valuable following of quality over quantity. Keith Perhac helps businesses increase revenue from their existing traffic by building authority and trust through their audience and customers. He also helps create online courses that add value to businesses and brands. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/110

A large percentage of the profiles that are currently on LinkedIn are incorrectly utilizing the platform as nothing more than a place to post their resume. First impressions are crucial, and with so many social media platforms out there, these first impressions are becoming more and more digital versus in person. What does your LinkedIn profile say about you? By just spending a little bit of time on your profile, you can be that person that continuously shows up in searches and generates a lot of buzz and attention. Personalizing your profile with things like a professional photo, non-generic headers and a vanity URL will not only get you noticed but it can also strengthen your SEO game.  Amanda Healy is a social media rockstar who knows a thing or two about how to stand out from the pack. She runs the corporate media accounts for her employer, TIBCO, as well as leading a team whose job is to devise and execute multidimensional campaigns for lead generation.  http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/109

Every business, regardless of the size of both the company or the community it is in, faces a certain amount of struggles and adversity. The key in overcoming them is to concentrate on what your strengths and advantages are and use those to leverage success. You need to stand out from your competition, whether you are one of 300  or only 3 of a particular business in your community. A common assumption is that big businesses and corporations have the upper hand over small businesses, and certainly those in very small, rural communities. How could the little guys possibly compete with the big guys, right? Wrong.  In the world of technology - and certainly social media - no one is limited solely by their geographical area.  Becky McCray doesn’t just talk about small business and rural living, she actually lives it. As the owner of two businesses in a community of only 30 residents, her experience and practical perspective make her an authority on how how small, rural businesses can grow while shaping and greatly impacting their communities. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/108

You’ve just created a shiny, new website for your business, now you just need to “SEO it," right? Wrong. Search engine optimization isn’t something you just sprinkle on at the end, it’s an important ingredient that should be used throughout the website building process. Like an onion, SEO has many layers that make up the whole. It is so much more than just picking some clever keywords and calling it good. No longer is it brushed off as an IT issue, but rather part of the ongoing branding and marketing process. By implementing elements such as optimized title tags, link profiles and metadata into your website, you’ll be well on your way to making friends with Google and ranking through the roof in online search. Thom Craver is a SEO ninja. He has been teaching the finer points and nuances of effective SEO and related digital marketing strategies to business owners, college students and conference attendees.  http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/107

More than 1.4 billion people use Facebook, and more than 900 million visit every day. That alone is reason enough to consider using Facebook ads as a valuable means to connect with your audience - they’re already there! But how do you connect with them efficiently and promote your products and services without looking like you’re just trying to push sales onto them? There are a few golden rules to follow that will allow you to earn your audience’s trust, promote your products and services and build your ubiquitous email list.  Amy Porterfield knows a thing or two about growing businesses. Her vast knowledge and experience as both a content developer and marketer for some of the country’s top corporations has given her the wisdom to know what works and what doesn’t when trying to grow your audience and build your brand.  http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/106

There are many ways to go about marketing your brand, and with the endless amount of social media platforms out there right now, visual marketing is topping the charts. But how do you connect with your audience through visual marketing in a way that influences and shapes the way they perceive your brand? Most important is to always be true to your audience. Find out where they hang out and be there. Maybe even consider finding ways to include your audience in the marketing with campaigns that include customer’s media such as photos. Steer clear of the trendy route and pave your own road that allows your brand’s voice to resonate with your audience and makes them want to share it with the world. Gregarious Narain is co-founder of Chute, where he helps enable businesses to create visually rich media that influences and shapes the way people perceive their brand. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/105  

Loss of focus is a huge problem, not just with marketers but with people in general. Part of what we need to learn to do is to develop the habit or the discipline of purposely simplifying our lives so that we can focus our attention on the things that are most essential and important. When we realize that behaviors such as “multitasking” are actually doing more harm than good for our productivity and performance, we can begin to retrain our minds with more positive habits that we can use not only at work but in our everyday lives. Sir John Hargrave is the author of Mind Hacking, a book dedicated to teaching you how to reprogram your mind in order to change your life for the better. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/104

Mobile is a bigger factor in your small business's success than you might think. The fact that 90% of all social media and email is first viewed on a smartphone means that your business is losing out big time if you’re not reaching your audience where they hang out. Understanding that when your audience is reaching you via their smartphones or other mobile devices, they want a frictionless and more condensed experience. They don’t want to have to scroll through multiple pages just to get a phone number or an address. That risky behavior will get you nothing but increased bounce rates and lost customers.   Tim Hayden saw the mobile future coming and used that foresight to help Fortune 50 brands make innovative changes in technology that has brought them bigger and continued success.  http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/103  

You’ve built up an email list and generated a good chunk of leads, but now what do you do with them? So many small businesses are putting all of their focus on generating more traffic through search, social media and digital ads, but they’re putting very little effort into actually converting these visitors into customers. And let’s face it, isn’t that the goal in the first place? Just trying a few simple tricks like tweaking your welcome email, offering some quality freebies, being careful of the words you’re using and doing some split testing, can make all the difference to boosting your conversion rate. As the conversion educator at LeadPages, Tim Paige spends his days helping business owners and entrepreneurs use various data points to increase revenue by converting quality leads into sales.  http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/102  

You’ve taken the leap and turned your passion into an online business. But what do you need to do next to turn it into a success and keep it that way? It’s one thing to get traffic to your website or blog, but how do you convert that traffic and get them to become customers and loyal fans?  Figuring out how to keep them interested and engaged is the key. Try breaking it down into multiple steps and funneling your followers through the process. This process can also help weed out the ones that aren’t as serious but will leave you with a loyal band of raving fans in the end. Josh and Jill Stanton said “screw you” to their 9-5 jobs created a successful online business where they encourage and teach other business people how to do the same and take control of their time and expertise. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/101

Can you believe it’s been 100 episodes already? For the past 2 years Rich Brooks has brought you experts covering all aspects of search, social and mobile marketing and asked them the tough questions you need the answers to, so that small businesses can get a leg up on their future success. Rich reflects back on some particular topics and guests that he found insightful and helpful, and shares some of the tips that he personally has implemented in his own business practices. And as a special “twist”, the tables get turned on our fearless leader when he becomes the interviewee and one of his podcast listeners gets to grill him and put him in the hot seat for a change.   Debbie Rosemont is a professional organizer and the owner of Simply Placed. She has heard Rich speak at her organization’s annual conferences and is a regular listener to The Marketing Agents Podcast. http://www.themarketingagents.com/100    

No one wants to lose a job because they quoted a higher price to a prospective client than their competitor did. But in trying to avoid that, we often risk undercharging, just to make the sale.  There’s nothing wrong with charging more, but the key is in how you go about selling your proposal and proving that you’re worth the cost. By shifting the conversation from what the client wants to what they’re looking to achieve, then you can start pricing on the value that you’ll provide to them. Brennan Dunn has helped over 14,000 students and freelancers learn how to increase their rates to charge what they’re worth, earn more money and work with better clients.  

Perhaps you know and appreciate the value of a good blog these days, but just aren’t a great wordsmith. Maybe you have a great personality but just aren’t having any luck getting that to show through on paper. Why not consider making videos instead?  But there’s a lot more involved than just creating a great video. You need to figure out how to create momentum for your video within the first 24-48 hours to give yourself a real advantage over your competitors. Finding creative and successful ways to shine a light on your content and get it out there is the key to video success. Think titles, descriptions, tags, and cross promotion, among other things.  Steve Dotto has parlayed his 15+ years of nationally syndicated TV show experience into a wildly popular YouTube channel where he continues to educate and entertain, while also focusing on helping others grow and monetize their own YouTube channels.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/98

With so many brands and businesses jumping online in an effort to find their audience amongst all of the social media platforms available these days, how can you find an edge over your competition? The key to successfully finding your online audience won’t happen overnight. You need to create content that appeals to potential customers on a personal level.  Insert some of your personality into your online presence, be honest with your audience and give them valuable content that they can chew on.  Ryan Hanley knows how to successfully help brands and businesses find their audience, tell their story and win the battle for attention online.  With a little patience and a few of his creative tips, your business can also experience an increase in online focus. http://www.themarketingagents.com/97

What’s the curriculum for mobile marketing and social media in colleges these days? How can you teach something that’s moving that quickly, and is there anything entrepreneurs can put to use from the course work?  The key lies in giving the students not only what they will need tomorrow to be successful, but to also give them the strategies they will use for years to come to improve their job performance and advance their careers.  Dr. Mary Beth McCabe is the lead faculty in Marketing at National University. She has developed a concentration in Mobile and Social Marketing as part of their MBA program, and shares in this episode some of the areas she feels are vital to the students taking this course in order to ensure future success in the field of Marketing. http://www.themarketingagents.com/96

Have you ever felt like you’re stuck with where your business currently is and are in need of a push in the right direction? Maybe you’ve been searching for other like-minded and driven people to inspire and drive you to re-strategize and brainstorm where you want your business to be in one month, three months or even a year, and what steps you need to take to get there.    Perhaps a Mastermind group is exactly the type of environment you’re seeking. Think of it as a networking group of like-minded entrepreneurs all struggling with different roadblocks in their businesses, but who also bring creative energy and ideas to share among the group in a supportive way.  Using different platforms such as live hangouts, online forums and in person meetups, Masterminds offer daily support and encouragement from peers that are all seeking advice and wisdom from others that share the same mindset and drive for success.    Dean Patino runs the Mastermind group associated with Entrepreneur On Fire, as well as his own business dedicated to helping entrepreneurs generate recurring revenue for their online businesses.    http://www.themarketingagents.com/95 http://www.themarketingagents.com/crowdfunding  

Digital marketing is key in this day and age. But how do you translate what you and your brand really are into what your audience will find interesting and compelling? Online ideo may offer a solution. Once you learn executable steps to discover your brand’s personality and market it across platforms in a way that works with the current trends of bringing stories and personality across, the possibilities are far reaching.  Learning how to attract customers with effective content marketing versus just an obvious sales pitch can make all the difference.  Amy Schmittauer is the founder of Savvy Sexy Social, and has been helping brands find and show off their personalities online in order to grow awareness and increase sales as part of their social media marketing strategies.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/94

At least once on our lives we’ve all found ourselves in a forum or other type of online group in an effort to search for other like minded business owners hoping to share ideas and experiences that you can use to grow your own business. But have you ever considered starting your own group?   The idea may seem daunting. There are so many platform choices to consider - Facebook, LinkedIn, a straight up forum, just to name a few. And how do you ensure you have enough interested people to make up an audience? How can you continue to engage and keep your members interested? Do you need a moderator for the group?   Kate Erickson is the content and community leader for Entrepreneur On Fire. Her passion and talent for creating engagement and participation within the community has helped make their forums and business pages wildly popular and successful in their niche.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/93

Whether you’re a veteran blogger or new to the world of blogging, the same goals apply: find, reach and engage your readers, and turn them into eventual customers. You achieve this success by building your readership and email lists, for starters. But how exactly do we do that?   The Marketing Agents Podcast host, Rich Brooks, reaches into the mailbag to discuss vital aspects of blogging including; creating value for your audience, keyword research, consistency, guest blogging, promotion using various social media platforms, as well as weighing in on how much value we should really be putting on blog comments.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/92

Have you been considering a podcast to reach more prospects? Build your platform? Generate leads and additional streams of revenue?   Shea Gunther has a successful niche podcast with a growing audience and great relationships with his sponsors.   Find out how to get started, build an audience, and find sponsors for you podcast in this week's episode!   http://www.themarketingagents.com/91

Do you have a strong desire to write a book but aren’t exactly sure where to start? Are you trying to decide whether self publishing or a larger publishing house is the best option for you? Unsure of where to even start with the basic writing process?   81% of Americans feel they have a book in them just waiting to be written. Sadly, the process overwhelms many and the books never get written.  But there are people and resources that can help you through the process and guide you not only through the writing process but the task of building your platform of future customers, marketing and building your brand and credibility.   Rich Mintzer is a professional ghost writer who has helped many aspiring authors reach their goal of bringing their stories to print. His talent and expertise in writing and publishing books have generated sales and brand exposure for companies and individuals alike.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/90

Are you one of those lucky people with a knack for spotting the next up and coming trend? Have you got a great idea but aren’t sure exactly what to do with it?  Websites and blogs can not only give you a creative outlet to share your ideas, but you can make money from them, too.   Once you figure out what your niche is and who the audience is that you’re trying to reach, you need to figure out how to monetize that to ensure all this hard work pays off.  And then when the fad fades or your interest moves on to something else, what do you do with the successful site that you’ve created and spent so much time building up?    Chrystie Vachon has successfully launched, built up and sold for profit multiple websites in the financial and pop culture lifestyle spaces. Her gift for trendspotting, coupled with her content marketing and social skills, have made her a successful and savvy entrepreneur.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/89

Maybe your small business is doing well, but you just seem to be lacking something that will take it to the next level.  Maybe a mentor can help you out.   Imagine having an inside track to some of the greatest minds in business today, and the ability to ask them for some of their secrets to success. It may be easier than you think.  Mentoring is a fantastic resource that can help change your life by providing you with the best business training and entrepreneurial education tools and building mutually beneficial sustainable relationships.   0 0 1 136 778 flyte new media 6 1 913 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial; color:black;} Clay Clark launched the online mentoring website, Thrive15, with the goal that every entrepreneur and business person can have a mentor in their pocket who is their own success story.  Clay enthusiastically shares how he got some of the most influential and respected minds in business to share their stories and advice with him, and encourages you to do the same. http://www.themarketingagents.com/88  

Crowdfunding is more than just begging, or asking nicely, for money to assist with financing your next project. There’s a certain finesse that you need to attribute to your campaign in order to be successful.   You need to learn how to successfully market your campaign, but instead, try thinking of how to do that from the bottom up. The most important part of any successful marketing campaign is to nail down exactly who your audience is, versus trying to connect with everyone. Once you figure out who your “tribe” is, you need to start a buzz that garners their interest months before you even launch your crowdfunding campaign.   As a crowdfunding expert, Clay Hebert helps people fund their dreams, having assisted over 100 entrepreneurs raise over $25 million for their projects. In this show, Clay shares some of his “hacks” and strategies for running not only a successful crowdsourcing campaign, but also setting up an effective “pre-campaign” to set you on the road to reaching your funding goal.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/87

If you’re like the large majority of people spending a great deal of time on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, why not consider using them as an advertising tool for your business as well?   Digital platforms like Twitter and Facebook make tailoring your advertising content to a specific audience easy and direct. The key is in knowing how to customize your advertising to find just the right people that are going to engage and be interested in your content. By learning a few simple techniques, you can pinpoint the exact audience you need to get your message in front of the people who are most likely to make a buying decision for the products or services that you’re offering.   Charlotte Redmann helps savvy brand managers expand their marketing efforts using her vast skills and experience in social media and digital marketing. Charlotte was the first person hired to the internal digital media team at Beam Suntory, and led the digital efforts for Pinnacle Vodka, Skinnygirl Cocktails and Cruzan Rum.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/86

Learning how to successfully network, close a deal or even impress a prospective date takes finesse, strategy and confidence. But learning how to do all of that and maintain a personal authenticity is the key piece in the puzzle.   Confidence is not simply achieved from name dropping and talking cool, that’s just a mask. Nonverbal communication goes a long way when it comes to exuding your confidence, such as how you carry yourself when you enter a room, and turning all of the attention on you.   Jordan Harbinger has made a career out of being charming and teaching others how to be, as well. Listen as he shares his vast knowledge and experience to help you become confident, successful and command the attention that you deserve, whether it be in your professional life or your personal life.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/85

Have you ever been to a networking event and witnessed someone truly working the room with such ease that it left you feeling envious? How about just wishing you were better at starting up conversations with people in general?    With the right tools you can learn how to leverage the power of social dynamics and psychology and use this to gain the respect of your peers, win friends, excel at networking and maybe even get the girl of your dreams.   Jordan Harbinger started a career as a lawyer before becoming a social dynamics expert. He is the owner and co-founder of The Art of Charm, a dating and relationships coaching company and the co-host of Pickup Podcast, a relationship advice and social dynamics talk show.    (This is part one of a two-part interview)   http://www.themarketingagents.com/84

We’ve all wished at one time or another that we could read people’s minds in order to understand them better. But since that’s unlikely to happen in the near future, how else are we supposed to uncover the secrets of human behavior?   The message and impression that we give off dictates the type of clients and prospects that we attract. When we learn how to weed out the clients that aren’t  a right fit for us,  we’re able to choose our own clients versus letting them choose us.     Roderick Russell is a professional sword swallower, mind reader, stage hypnotist and speaker, who is driven by a desire to help others discover their own inner remarkable.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/83

Trying to come up with new content on a regular basis can become a frustrating task, especially considering how many outlets there are these days to provide content for: blog posts, podcasts, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube...the list goes on. Figuring out how to creatively repurpose some of your own content can be the key to not only invigorating new life into your work, but also giving you more bang for your buck. Once you realize it’s not about how much content you can create but rather about doing more research, polishing it more and then promoting it more using some creative techniques, you’ll find that taking one recent presentation that you created can actually provide you with material for a blog post, a podcast, a few Twitter posts and more. Gini Dietrich is the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, an integrated marketing communication firm in Chicago. Gini is an author, blogger, speaker and proven authority on such topics as creating content, building an online community and developing an online reputation, and is one of the top rated communication professionals on the social networks. http://www.themarketingagents.com/82

We're back with more from Emily Best! In this week's episode we dive deeper into how to create a successful crowdfunding campaign.    But asking for money to help fund your project is so much more involved than you might think, if you want your campaign to be successful. And isn’t that the whole point? When you figure out who your target audience is, and how to best identify with them, that’s when your campaign will gain momentum.    Emily Best is the CEO of Seed and Spark, the most effective crowdfunding platform in the world. Through launching her own crowdfunding campaign, Emily learned valuable lessons - sometimes the hard way - of what works and what doesn’t, and out of this experience Seed and Spark was born.    http://www.themarketingagents.com/81

Begging for money - or soliciting contributions -  has been a time honored tradition most commonly identified by organizations such as public radio stations, non profits and even churches. Fast forward to the modern day spin on this and you’ve got crowdfunding. Crowdfunding - in a nutshell - is simply a way to solicit contributions in small amounts via the internet.   But asking for money to help fund your project is so much more involved than you might think, if you want your campaign to be successful. And isn’t that the whole point? When you figure out who your target audience is, and how to best identify with them, that’s when your campaign will gain momentum.    Emily Best is the CEO of Seed and Spark, the most effective crowdfunding platform in the world. Through launching her own crowdfunding campaign, Emily learned valuable lessons - sometimes the hard way - of what works and what doesn’t, and out of this experience Seed and Spark was born.    http://www.themarketingagents.com/80

You've got digital marketing questions, we've got digital marketing answers!   It's our first ever mailbag episode. Questions from you, our listeners on how to drive more search engine traffic, how to use digital marketing to beat the competition, how to separate yourself from the competition, and more!   If you've got questions about your own business and marketing, let us know at http://www.themarketingagents.com/contact   http://www.themarketingagents.com/79

If you’ve ever been to a conference or presentation, you know that not all speakers have the gift of being able to really engage their audience. What is it that makes some speakers have an edge over other speakers, and how can you get that edge for yourself?   The brain is designed to think and remember in terms of stories. By being an effective storyteller, you can not only make your point hit home harder, but it will also be more memorable to your audience. By learning new ways to tell your stories, such as personalizing them and making them relatable to your audience, you can engage them in ways that will make your message more memorable.   David Lee is an author, speaker and founder of HumanNature@Work. He helps organizations on topics related to leadership, communication and customer service, using his innovative and powerful storytelling techniques.    http://www.themarketingagents.com/78

Are you looking for a new way to reach and engage your audience? The answer may be a podcast. In this episode, Jared Easley shares some of his tactics on how to build a successful podcast to grow your business.    http://www.themarketingagents.com/77

Whether you’re writing blog posts, scripts for videos, or preparing podcasts, Ann Handley’s tips will have you creating more valuable content for your audience, attracting more traffic, and generating more leads at your site.    http://www.themarketingagents.com/76

Why does someone buy from you? Why do they visit your website? Click on a link? Fill out your contact form or pick up the phone?  If you understood what makes visitors at your website tick, you could greatly  increase your conversion rates and generate more business.  To help us understand our site visitors more, we’ve brought in Andy Crestodina, strategic director of Orbit Media, to share some amazing neuromarketing tactics that will directly improve your business’s bottom line. http://www.themarketingagents.com/75

When most people think about Instagram, they think about sharing over saturated moments of their life with friends. When marketers think about Instagram, they think about a popular social media platform where they can share pictures and quotes…in picture form. Today we’re going to be talking with John Kapos—aka Chocolate Johnny—who’s going to dig a bit deeper into the platform. He’ll share how he uses not just photos, but the comments, hashtags, direct messages and group messages to build awareness and loyalty for his product. If you want to uncover the secret power of Instagram, this episode is for you. http://www.themarketingagents.com/74

There’s no question that video is a critical marketing tool, from raising our online visibility, to improving our SEO, to driving more qualified traffic, and generating leads and sales. But not everyone has an unlimited budget for Hollywood-level production values. How can you create engaging, effective videos with a limited budget and with limited time in the day? Well, we brought in the DIY Video guy himself, Caleb Wojcik, to share his secrets on how you can build your business with video, without breaking the bank. http://www.themarketingagents.com/73

In this week’s episode we’re going to be focusing on what you can do to improve your own search engine visibility by getting more inbound links. To do that, we’ve brought in an expert on inbound linking, Brian Dean from Backlinko.com. If you want higher search engine rankings and more inbound links and traffic, be sure to listen in! http://www.themarketingagents.com/72

You know that Pinterest can increase online visibility and even improve a company’s search engine optimization.  You know it can drive tons of qualified traffic. So why aren’t you using it? Maybe you feel it’s not right for your business—either because you’re b2b or your in the service industry. Or maybe you feel like there’s just not enough time in the day.    Well, today we’ve got Pinterest marketing expert Vincent Ng to share with you how Pinterest can work for any type of business, how you can get started on Pinterest, and even how you can manage your time on Pinterest.   If you’re looking for more traffic and want to generate more leads, you’ll want to hear what Vincent has to share about Pinterest.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/71

Are you looking for new ways to find new customers and clients? LinkedIn is a powerful tool for prospecting, especially for B2B companies. In this week’s episode we’re forgoing the typical Q&A format, and I’m going to be sharing with you some of the best ways you can find new prospects, warm cold calls, and build your sales process using LinkedIn.  http://www.themarketingagents.com/70

This week we’re talking to Mike Ambassador Bruny about how to build your own brand, whether you work for yourself or are part of a bigger organization. He’ll share with us some of his own techniques and tools that will help you get recognized both online and off.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/69

How would you like to write proposals that generate business? What if you had a blueprint for writing proposals that got your prospects to buy from you 80% of the time? Well, our guest this week, Jason Swenk, has a process that will help you do just that. So if you’re looking to close more of the business you propose to your ideal customers, you’ll want to check out this week’s show. http://www.themarketingagents.com/68

Do you ever struggle in your business with what to do next? Where to put your focus? Or do you find that your marketing efforts are missing the mark? If so, you probably need to create an avatar for your business. Today we’re going to talk to marketing and podcasting all-star John Lee Dumas all about Jimmy—the avatar for his Entrepreneur on Fire podcast. You’ll discover how to create your own avatar and greatly increase the effectiveness of your own marketing. http://www.themarketingagents.com/67

Have you ever considered writing a book to help grow your business or build your brand? But you’re still just thinking about it? Well, that’s something you and I have in common, which is why I asked copywriter and ghost writer Julie Ann Eason to come on the show this week and help us get our books written, published, and read! If you know that a book can help you get paid speaking gigs, generate business, and build your brand but you haven’t written it yet, this episode is for you. http://www.themarketingagents.com/66

How’s your conversion rate? Are you getting enough of your site visitors to sign up for your email newsletter? Download your white paper? Fill out your contact form?   Well, to help you up those numbers and increase your conversion rate, I invited user on boarding expert Samuel Hulick to this week’s episode to share with us some of his techniques to get more people on board with what you have to offer.    If you want to turn more visitors into prospects and customers, you’ll want to hear what Samuel has to say.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/65 

As Google looks to deliver more relevant results and as more of us use mobile devices for search, local SEO is becoming more and more important to businesses looking to generate more leads and business.    In this week's episode you’ll learn how to make sure that your site appears as a top result when your ideal customer turns to Google...or Siri.   Andrew Shotland is an expert in Local SEO and he'll share with you what you need to do to optimize your site for local search.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/64

Having a list of opt-in email subscribers is critical to all businesses, but how do you start one from scratch?   What are some of the techniques that will get your site visitors to give you their email, and how do you keep them engaged?   How often do you educate, and how often do you sell? What's the role of auto-responders in email marketing?   All these questions and more will be answered by marketing expert Daniel Faggella in this week's episode of The Marketing Agents Podcast.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/63

  Every day we use our phones. We use them to get directions, check the weather, catch up on sports or news, make calls, play games, take pictures, check emails, tweet, Instagram, Faceook, check out a website…the list goes on and on.   Yet as business owners we’re so often immobile in our attempts to be mobile friendly.   So today I invited Jamie Turner, mobile marketing expert, to share his secrets for how YOU can get started with mobile marketing and start reaching more of your ideal customers.    It’s not that difficult, and with today’s conversation, you’ll have a blueprint on how to begin.    http://www.themarketingagents.com/62

Twitter is a powerful place to build influence, attract more of your ideal customers, and drive qualified traffic to your site.    So why aren't you taking advantage of it?   In this week's episode, Mark Schaefer, author of four best selling marketing books including the Tao of Twitter, shares with us some of the best ways to connect with more of the people who will build your business.   You'll walk away with an understanding of how to use Twitter lists, how and when to use Twitter ads, and how to uncover your best customers with Advanced Search.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/61

Many small businesses overlook speaking opportunities as a way to reach new audiences, engage prospects, and generate more leads and sales. In today's episode we talk to Hugh Culver who has been helping speaker succeed with a framework for amazing presentations. Learn what to do, and some deadly mistakes that will destroy the trust your audience has in you. http://www.themarketingagents.com/60

Facebook used to be a magical place where small business could reach and engage an audience for free, but lately it's just become a nearly empty auditorium where only a fraction of fans can even see our posts.   Is it still worth using Facebook as a platform? To answer that question, and see how we can get more out of our Facebook investment, we bring in Facebook expert Rick Mulready.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/59

Have you ever wondered how many people actually click the paid ads on webpages? Just ask a company like Google who counts around 97% of their revenue from paid ads. Learning how people search on the web is key to building a successful business. By choosing the correct ad words and using “high commercial intent queries”, you can target the specific type of people who want to buy your product, increase your “click thru success rate”, and grow your business. Larry Kim is the founder and CTO of WordStream, and provides internet consulting services as well as leads a team that develops and sells software for search engine marketing automation. He is the guru of helping businesses cherry pick the best keywords to target ads that fit exactly what they’re selling.  http://www.themarketingagents.com/58

Do you feel that Instagram is fun little app for taking pics, adding cool filters and sharing with your friends, right? But what if you could turn that mobile app into a lead generation machine, attracting tons of passionate customs?   Well, Sue B. Zimmerman did! And in today's episode she's going to share with us just how she did it, and how you can do it too, no matter WHAT business you're in.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/57

Pandas and Penguins and Hummingbirds - oh my! The world of SEO is ever changing and evolving. We are a world that searches in question form, not just with simple keywords.   Google is constantly upgrading their algorithms to determine a website’s relevance. As a result, you need to stay up to date so that you, like Google, can anticipate a searcher’s needs. Mobile accessibility is also key in separating the big dogs from the rest of the pack.   Today we talk to Search Engine Land's Monica Wright who will share her strategies for creating content that ranks well and attracts your ideal customers.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/56

Using Facebook to help build your business brand is more than just getting “likes” on your page.  But how do you take those “likes” and turn them into a true business asset?   By using 6 key elements when setting up your Facebook business fanpage, you can actually use this social media platform to drive engagement, capture emails and generate sales for your business.  These elements have returned an incredible increase in conversion rates, which in turn means more revenue for your business.     Nathan Latka, CEO of Heyo, has become the “go to” guy for Facebook fanpage building.  He’s devised a 6-step matrix for helping businesses double their email lists with Facebook campaigns and contests. These lists then become an asset that these businesses have no matter where they go in the future.    http://www.themarketingagents.com/55

You know that content is important to building your business, but you're not sure how to start, or which content is right for your audience.   In this week's episode Jon Wuebben shares his secrets for creating content that makes a difference for small businesses.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/54

Building an audience is critical to your online success. That's why we're talking to audience hacker Jonny Andrews, who's going to share his three step process for building an audience.  A lot of this week's episode is going to be around building an audience for a book launch, but even if you have no plans to write a business book or the next great American novel, you're going to get tons of great information out of today's episode. http://www.themarketingagents.com/53

If you've ever felt limited in your revenue opportunities in your business, you'll want to check out today's episode.   Jon Goodman was a top rated personal trainer who quickly reached his earning potential. After all, there are only so many hours in the day and only so many clients you can handle.   Jon turned to Internet marketing and created new ways to generate income and scale up his business.   Along the way he learned fascinating techniques on how to influence influencers and a unique approach to blog comments.    You'll definitely want to check out Jon's journey, and use some of his techniques to grow your own earning potential.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/52

Did you know Google Hangouts and Hangouts on Air (HOA) can help you build an audience and increase your online visibility? Or help you build valuable relationships when you're not face-to-face with someone?   If not, then you're not alone. A lot of small businesses don't know how to use Google Hangouts or even how they can connect their existing Google Plus page to YouTube. By setting up a Hangout in Air and sharing your broadcast of the video, you can boost engagement and find more ways to interact with your audience.   This week we have the Hangout Helper, Ronnie Bincer, to share how you can take your business to a whole other level with Google Hangouts.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/51

One of the best ways to get recognized as an expert in your industry is through personal branding, and with social media, you can accelerate and share your brand faster and wider than ever.   The Franchise King, Joel Libava, stops by this week to talk about personal branding, the importance of building your own platform, and the challenges and opportunities that franchisees and small businesses see in social media.    http://www.themarketingagents.com/50

Have you noticed that you're not getting the reach or engagement you used to with your Facebook business page?   You're not alone.   Lots of businesses and non-profits have noticed they only a fraction of their fans are seeing their updates.    Like it or not, the only way to reach your intended audience on Facebook is to use targeted Facebook ads.   But don't worry! Facebook advertising expert John Haydon is here this week to walk you through the do's and don'ts of Facebook advertising so you can make the most of your advertising dollar.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/49

Are you a freak? Don't be offended by the question. I am, and so is today's guest, Chris Brogan.   Today we're talking about freaks and how we can run better businesses. Chris always delivers great content, so I'm sure you'll get a lot out of today's conversation.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/48

Visual content is one of the most powerful ways we can engage our audience, tell our story, and drive traffic to our website.   Whether you're using infographics, photos or illustrations, you can instantly connect with your ideal customer if you're using the right images.   In this week's episode, we talk with Donna Mortiz, who shares her secrets of creating amazing images and infographics that will help build your business.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/47

For years, blogs were heralded as the most important tool in a business's online marketing toolbox.   But still many small businesses struggle with content, time, and showing any type of real results.   Does a business blog REALLY help generate leads and sales for a business?    It does, if you do it right. And in this week's episode of The Marketing Agents Podcast, Marcus Sheridan, the Sales Lion, shares how blogging helped save his company.   If you've never heard Marcus's amazing story, you'll definitely want to check it out. And even if you have, you'll want to check out the great tips and advice that he offers in how you can turn your own blog into a tool to help attract more of your ideal customers.    http://www.themarketingagents.com/46

Have you ever looked at a product online, like a pair of boots, only to see those boots follow you around the Internet wherever you go? Visit NYTimes, and the boots are there. Check out your FB newsfeed and those boots are there. Go to your favorite blog and those boots are there.   In fact they follow you around until you succumb.    That's called retargeting, and it's within the grasp of everyone and every small business. In today's episode we're going to chat with Nick Unsworth who's going to walk us through the process of setting up our own retargeting campaign.    http://www.themarketingagents.com/45

There's been a lot of speculation about Google Plus lately, Google's social media platform that ties all the different Google properties together.   So we brought in Google+ expert,  Martin Shervington, to discuss whether G+ should still be part of a small business's marketing plan.   He has tons of great information to share with you, and I probably learned as much in this interview as I have in any other interview we've done yet!   By the time he's done, you'll be ready to fire up your Google Plus and give it another ride.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/44

Social media is all about relationships. However, too many brands and small businesses don't spend the time required to build those relationships.   Entirely focused on ROI (Return on Investment), they completely ignore the possibilities of ROR (Return on Relationships.)   To talk about ROR, we brought in Ted Rubin, who co-authored the book Return on Relationships.    Ted is the most followed CMO on Twitter according to Social Media Marketing Magazine; one of the most interesting CMOs on Twitter according to Say Media, #13 on Forbes Top 50 Social Media Power Influencers, 2013, and number #2 on the Leadtail August 2013 list of Top 25 People Most Mentioned by digital marketers.   There's some great advice in this interview to help you not just REACH more of your ideal customers, but how to ENGAGE them.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/43

Do you attend networking events only to come home with a handful of business cards but no real leads? If so, you'll find help in the new book Networking is NOT Working by Derek Coburn.   This week, Derek shares with us how he got out of the networking event rut and instead created an insanely powerful networking group that creates leads, business and loyalty…and how you can, too!   http://www.themarketingagents.com/42

If you're like most small businesses, you've seen your Facebook reach and engagement plummet recently. That's due to changes Facebook recently made.   Is it even worth being on Facebook anymore? Is it worth your time and resources?   To answer that question, we're going to speak with Mari Smith, possibly the most recognized Facebook marketing expert on the planet, to uncover what you can be doing to improve your engagement and generate more leads from Facebook.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/41

With the search engines providing more personalized results, and everyone carrying a mobile device around with them, Local SEO (search engine optimization) is more important than ever for small businesses.    In this episode, Local SEO expert , Nathan O'Leary of Mainely SEO, breaks it down for us. He shares how you can make small changes to your website and directory listing to get big results, and take on your biggest competitors!   Drive more qualified leads to your site and build your business by optimizing for local search.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/040

Networking is how we make connections, generate referrals and build our business, whether online or off.    However, the very thought of networking chills some of us to the core. How can we get better and get out there to make these connections? And which offers a better ROI for small businesses?   To find out, we brought in Susan Baroncini-Moe, author of Business in Blue Jeans, who knows her way around a conference and social media.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/39

Today we talk to two members of the Social Media Club at Catherine McAuley, an all-girls Catholic high school in Maine.   What we uncover is not just how to market to teens and tweens, but how to use social media to reach and engage any audience, regardless of their age.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/38

This week we talk about something that is critical to your online success: your email list. While social media gets all the attention, your email marketing is what drives traffic, leads and sales for your small business. That's why we asked Heather Jackson of Constant Contact about how we can build our list, get our emails delivered, opened and read, and most importantly, how we can generate more business from our email list. All that and more in this week's episode of The Marketing Agents Podcast. http://www.themarketingagents.com/37

Sometimes you can have everything in place: you've got a website, your active on Facebook and other social media platforms, you've got an email list, but things still aren't clicking.   Is your mindset to blame?   This week, we bring in Jeremy Frandsen from Internet Business Mastery to talk about the importance of mindset to your success.   Jeremy's been wildly successful helping entrepreneurs create the life they want to live, and he's here to share some of his best secrets with you.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/36

WordPress isn't just a blogging platform, it's a publishing platform.    And with the right plugins, you can multiply the reach and power of your WordPress website and blog.   However, many small businesses don't know which WordPress plugins are worthwhile and helpful. That's why we asked Syed Balkhi, web marketer and tech guru in this week's episode of The Marketing Agents Podcast.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/35

Guest blogging--when done right--is a great way to get in front of a new audience, create engagement, drive traffic back to your website and build your business.   But how do you get these guest blogging gigs, and how do you make the most of them?   In this week's episode of The Marketing Agents Podcast, Kristi Hines stops by to share how she got started in guest blogging and how it helped her reach a wider audience.   http://www.themarketingagents.com/34

Do you find social media marketing overwhelming? Do you wish there was an easier way to create, promote and measure your social media marketing?    This week, Andrea Vahl, co-author of Facebook Marketing All-In-One for Dummies and social media consultant and speaker, stops by to share some of her favorite tools for speeding up your social media marketing.   http://www.themarketingagents.com.com/33

How would you like to have influential bloggers in your industry share your blog posts with their audience, driving quality traffic to your site? Awesome, right? Well, in this week's episode, Michael Stelzner of the Social Media Examiner shows us step by step how to make this happen. http://www.themarketingagents.com/32

Jaime Tardy is the founder of The Eventual Millionaire, a weekly podcast where she interviews millionaires on how they got where they are. Today she joins us on the other side of the mic to talk about how she used her podcast to build and engage an audience, build her career, and ultimately land a book deal.  If you've been looking for ways to market your business through content, but don't like to write or blog, this is the episode for you.  http://www.themarketingagents.com/31

In this episode we talk to Laura Fitton from Hubspot--aka @Pistachio--about how you can use inbound marketing tactics to generate more online leads. Laura talks about how to best use Twitter, Facebook, and other inbound methods to build your list and grow your company. http://www.themarketingagents.com/30

Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine does a great job using social media to engage their fans and attract more people to ski the mountain. Today we talk to their Director of Marketing, Ethan Austin, on how they use social media to engage their audience and build their business. You'll hear great tips and be inspired to take your business to the next level.  http://www.themarketingagents.com/29

Membership sites allow you to create a community around your business or passion, build a loyal audience, and create a recurring revenue stream for additional profits. In this week's episode of The Marketing Agents Podcast, Stu McLearen, founder of Wishlist, stops by to show you how you can get started with your own membership site. You'll discover the benefits, how to get started, and how to build your own membership site. http://www.themarketingagents.com/28

There are two major hurdles that most small businesses struggle with when it comes to their marketing…online or off.  One is technical, and the other has to do with the fear of communication. In this week's episode, Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing helps us overcome both of these hurdles.  Plus, we talk about how to develop effective knowledge-based products. Be sure to check out this action-packed episode! http://www.themarketingagents.com/27

A great way to reach new customers, establish your expertise and build your business is public speaking.  Whether you are already doing presentations, or the very idea makes your stomach lurch and your heart go cold, you'll want to listen to this week's interview with Pat Flynn.  Pat's a great public speaker who will walk you through the process of preparing to give presentations that will engage your audience and bring you business, whether your goals are lead generation or paid speaking gigs.

Facebook recently admitted that companies will have even less organic engagement going forward…and recommended marketers prepare to buy ads, and lots of them! As luck would have it, The Marketing Agents just interviewed Facebook advertising guru Jon Loomer on how small businesses can use and maximize their results on Facebook with advertising. If you've been looking to reach more people on Facebook, this is the episode for you! http://www.themarketingagents.com/25

Rick Calvert is the CEO and co-founder of NMX (the artist formerly known as Blogworld), and in that role he's seen all the changes in the industry since 2007 and before.  The evolution of blogging. The rise and fall and rise again of podcasting. The emergence of social media platforms. The changing opinions of how often you should create content for your social platforms. If you are a small business or marketer, you'll want to hear what Rick has to say about where he sees the industry heading in the next year, and how it impacts you. http://www.themarketingagents.com/24

People buy from people they like. We know this from experience, from the research, and in our hearts. If you and your company are more likeable you'll get more customers, more loyalty and more business. Today, Dave Kerpen, author of Likeable Social Media stops by to share how you can become more likeable and grow your business through likeable social media activity. http://www.themarketingagents.com/23

Looking for great social media tools that will increase your productivity, extend your reach, and help you build your business? Today, Ian Cleary from RazorSocial drops by to share his top 10 list of social media tools you can't live without. Whether you're blogging, tweeting, updating your Facebook page or curating content to build an audience, Ian's got the best tools to help you get more done in less time. http://www.themarketingagents.com/22

Learn how to develop the freedom you crave by using social media to build your audience and create multiple streams of income. Natalie Sisson achieved all that and more as the Suitcase Entrepreneur, and she shares her life lessons in this week's episode. http://www.themarketingagents.com/21

LinkedIn is a powerful tool for networking, prospecting, reputation management and reaching more of your ideal customers. Yet so many small businesses ignore it's reach in favor of Facebook or Twitter. Discover how your small business can leverage the power of the world's premier social platform for businesses, how you can create an irresistible profile, get the most out of LinkedIn groups, and whether you should upgrade to the Premium LinkedIn with Linkedin expert Stephanie Sammons. http://www.themarketingagents.com/20

Do you know how to measure your social media activity, and see if it's all worth it? If not, you're not alone. Many small businesses have no idea how to set goals and measure the time and results they get from social media. That's why we asked Nichole Kelly, author of How to Measure Social Media and CEO of Social Media Explorer, to show us how, in this week's episode of The Marketing Agents Podcast. http://www.themarketingagents.com/19

The Saco Drive-In was at risk of going out of business. New movies were being released in digital format, requiring a nearly $100,000 investment in a digital projector.  However, Honda's Project Drive-In was going to provide the needed projectors to five drive-ins around the country. Ry Russell, one of the owners of the Saco Drive-In went to work, leveraging social media to get the word out. Hear how he used social media to save New England's oldest drive-in in this episode of The Marketing Agents Podcast. http://www.themarketingagents.com/18

It's time to start marketing less and selling more. It's time to stop pitching yourself, and start positioning yourself as the go to resource for your ideal customer.  So says Joe Pulizzi, the founder of Content Marketing Institute and Content Marketing World. Joe is a content marketing evangelist, and he's here to show you how small businesses can win with content marketing. By creating content that focuses on your target audience's biggest problems and solving them. You'll discover how to create a content marketing mission statement, how to uncover your niche, and how to own your content platform. If you want to reach more customers but don't feel you can take on any additional marketing, this episode is for you. http://www.themarketingagents.com/17

In a new feature on The Marketing Agents Podcast we'll be talking to real people about their own success stories using search, social & mobile to reach their ideal customer. Today we talk to David A. Pride who started the I Love Christmas page on Facebook and build a community around it.  Discover how he did it and how you can build your own thriving community. http://www.themarketingagents.com

There are 70 million users on Pinterest, and more than 1/2 million businesses. If you're selling online, traffic from Pinterest  spend 60% than Facebook users, and 22% conversion rate. Whether you're B2B or B2C, Pinterest can help increase your online visibility, drive more qualified traffic to your site, and help you generate more revenue. Cynthia Sanchez of Oh So Pinteresting shows us how. http://www.themarketingagents.com/15

In this episode of the Marketing Agents Podcast, Jason Falls of The Social Media Explorer blows apart the myth that you can't sell in social media. He also shows you how you can measure your results for all of your social media activities. Plus, dirty words. http://www.themarketingagents.com/14

Social media can be the secret weapon for small businesses, allowing them to build loyalty and make deeper connections with their customers. However, most small business owners don't know how to bake social media into their regular marketing activities.  In this episode, social media author and consultant Jeff Korhan joins us to show how small business owners can use social media in all aspects of their business. http://www.themarketingagents.com/13

Shama Kabani is a well respected and sought after presenter on social media marketing for small business. In addition, she's the author of The Zen of Social Media Marketing. In this week's episode of The Marketing Agents Podcast, we break down how small businesses can use social media to build credibility, generate buzz and increase revenue. http://www.themarketingagents.com/12

By 2014 more than half the world's Internet traffic will be delivered to a mobile device…are you ready? In this week's episode we talk with mobile marketing expert Greg Hickman of Mobile Mixed. He talks about different approaches to mobile websites and which is best for YOUR company, how mobile is changing the way email is read and experienced, mobile apps, text messaging and more. Whether you're a mobile marketing newbie or a seasoned pro, you're going to walk away from today's interview with a much better grasp of how to move forward with mobile.  http://www.themarketingagents.com/11

Do you ever find yourself thinking there's just not enough time in the day? Or there are certain tasks in running your business that you hate doing, or you aren't very good at, or that you shouldn't be doing any more because they're keeping you from growing your business? If that's the case, a virtual assistant may be your ticket to freeing up your time and succeeding with your business. This week Chris Ducker stops by and walks us through how you can find and get started with a virtual assistant to free you up to do the work that matters. http://www.themarketingagents.com/10

There's actually two main topics we cover in episode 9 of The Marketing Agents Podcast: how you can create a business blog that generates leads and customers, and how you can easily create additional streams of revenue with knowledge-based products. Denise Wakeman, online marketing consultant, shows you step by step how to turn interviews, articles, and just about anything else you've created into knowledge based products that can be used to generate leads or revenue. For the show notes, visit http://www.themarketingagents.com/9

Chris Brogan shares how to build you business by playing to your strengths, developing a platform, and owning the inbox.  We talk about bravery, moving from free to paid content, and what comics we're reading from Marvel.  All that and I've got a special offer for you. Check out the show notes at http://www.themarketingagents.com/8

Have you ever wondered if you can really grow your business through content creation? Michael Stelzner is the founder of Social Media Examiner and author of the book Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition. Mike has used content creation to launch several successful businesses, conferences, books and a podcast.  In this week's episode he shares with us the secrets of how your business can create valuable content that will attract an audience and build your business. From fire starters to different types of content fuel, you'll discover how to grow your business by creating the right type of content. Bonus this week: get an amazing deal on Mike's Social Media Success Summit! Check out the show notes at http://www.themarketingagents.com/7 for more info. 

Podcasting is a powerful way to attract an audience, establish your expertise and build your business.  John Dumas, who runs the wildly successful podcast The Entrepreneur on Fire, shows you how with step-by-step actions you can take.  He shares an amazing amount of online resources to help you launch your successful podcast, which you can find at the show notes: http://www.themarketingagents.com/6

If you're looking to grow your business online, you shouldn't be focused on the latest Twitter tricks or SEO hacks, argues Social Trigger's founder Derek Halpern. Instead, you need to focus on the psychological triggers that will get people to share your content with their networks.  You need to differentiate yourself, get your content shared, and build your email list. Derek shares with you how he used these strategies and more to grow Social Triggers into a successful business. http://www.themarketingagents.com

Today we welcome Jay Baer to the show, where he discusses  how businesses can become invaluable to their ideal customers. He talks about the shortcomings of SEO and online visibility, radical transparency, and how we our battle for people's attention against their friends and family.  If you're looking to become invaluable to your customers and clients, Jay's got the answers in this episode of The Marketing Agents Podcast. http://www.themarketingagents.com

One thing almost every small business and entrepreneur wants more of is leads and business. In this episode, Michael Port, best selling author of Book Yourself Solid, joins us to talk about how you can get all the business you can handle. He shares how to identify your best customers, and which ones you should walk away from…even fire! You'll learn about personal branding and creating knowledge-based products to grow your business.

Facebook is the world's most popular social network…so why do so many small businesses and entrepreneurs fail at it? In this episode, Amy Porterfield, one of the world's leading experts on Facebook marketing and list building, stops by to share her secrets for building your brand on Facebook.  We'll discuss building your fan base, getting them to subscribe to an email newsletter, and turning likes into leads. 

YouTube has over 1 billion unique visitors every month, making it a critical piece of a small business's marketing plan. In the inaugural episode of The Marketing Agents Podcast, James Wedmore walks us through the process of making and promoting videos on YouTube for maximum effect.

Welcome to The Marketing Agents Podcast! If you're a small business owner, entrepreneur, or marketer, looking to increase your online visibility, drive more qualified traffic to your site, and convert that traffic into leads and business, this podcast is for you. We'll be talking about search, social and mobile marketing--the three most important components of digital marketing today--and how you can master each one. Rather than pretend I had all the answers, I'm interviewing marketing experts from around the world in this podcast…thus The Marketing Agents. We'll have guests like Chris Brogan, Derek Halpern, Amy Porterfield, Michael Port, Chris Ducker, Jay Baer and more, all sharing their best tips and tricks to help you succeed.